toptermpaper.com

The term community has various meaning. We can define community is a place where people living in the particular geographical area and they shares their common values, interests and they follows a particular way of living. The term community may refer to the national community or international community. In biology a community is a group of interacting people sharing a populated environment. Apart from a geographical area a community is a group or society, helping each other. In human communities belief, resources, needs, interest and a number of other conditions may be present in common, which also affects the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness. In every society various types of communities may take place. Some categorizations are as follows:-

Geographic communities: It ranges from the local neighborhood, suburb, village, town or city, region, nation or even the planet as a whole. These refer to communities of location.

Communities of culture: It ranges from the local clique, sub-culture, ethnic group, religious, multicultural or pluralistic civilization, or the global community cultures of today. They may be included as communities of need or identity, such as disabled persons, or frail aged people.

Communities are nested; one community can contain another-for example a geographic community may contain a number of ethnic communities.

Identity is also one of the important factor to assess the type of community. For example if a group of people indicates the common identity other than location then it would be a community based on their common interest. Also a professional community can also exist in society where a group of people are with the same or related occupations.

There are different things that bind people together to their different communities or that they may have in common with the other people living around them, which includes beliefs and values, language, territory, religion, culture and occupations.

Community Mobilization:

A strong community feeling is also evident at times of crisis and change for families, such as marriage and death. In a community people shared their ‘we feeling’ with each other. As we know that proper management and utilization of resources is the best possible way for the development of the community. Therefore community mobilization is always prominent for the development and upliftment of any community. For mobilizing the community people make their plans and then do the things accordingly. They take charge, transforming, developing their community and their lives as well. Community mobilization is a process which allows people in the community to:

Identify needs and promote community interests.

Promote good leadership and democratic decision making.

Identify specific groups for undertaking specific problems.

Identify all the available resources in the community and mobilize or generate new resources.

Communities can mobilize to work for changes that will fulfill the social, emotional, financial and physical needs of people. Community mobilization is a process to create awareness among people regarding the present situation of the community in order to encourage positive change in the future

For community mobilization communication is one of the important tool to achieve it. Through proper and effective communication various methods of mobilizing the community can be implemented. Here we are discussing the various methods for community mobilization by given actors as per the fig 1.1.

Mobilizing the community

Political Parties

Social Movements

Individual groups

Political Parties

The use of social networking sites by political parties and other politically active groups has been increased. These groups have realized that using of social networking potentially increases people mobilization. The Internet has become a fast and low-cost communication tool and enables quick and easy aggregation of political information among potential voters. For instance Mr. Barack Obama successful used Twitter, Flicker, You Tube, Facebook among others to communicate and mobilize people. He also had a $2 million dollar custom campaigning and social networking site built called MyBarackobama.com. As political parties are now actively engaging with social networking sites as part of their strategies to mobilize the maximum people in the community. In the present scenario, the use of social media is really important to mobilize the people and communities for collective action. We know that today millions of people are connected in one way or another to the internet. People are easily accessible on internet. It is another way of reaching large numbers of people to mobilize them for a group effort. Facebook, Mixit, Twitter can also be effective for the above. To generate awareness among people and to mobilize them in large number to make a community independent.

Newspapers, radio stations and the TV have the authority to inform thousands more people about various campaigns for mobilizing any community.

By writing a press release, a political party can highlight the facts, people’s demands, and what people want the media to talk about regarding the development and continuous empowerment of their community. Parties can also organize a press conference. So they can invite the reporters to come to a meeting where spokespeople from the community organization speak out publicly about the problem and the solution of the problems of community. All these strategies political parties can apply to mobilize the community and people as well to generate awareness among them and to provide them a platform where people can discuss issues their community problems also mobilize the resources.

Apart from above, Political rallies and the use of local languages are instrumental in the mobilization of groups for social action.

Social Movements

Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations which focus on specific political or social issues for their development. In other words, they carry out, resist or undo a social change in the society. Social movement campaigns play a critical role in mobilizing and maintaining the submerged networks of social movement communities. We discuss the importance of such movement campaigns and their effects on movement communities, subsequent collective action, and cultural and political change. Our research contributes to an understanding of the shape of social movement communities and the connections between local and international campaigns.

Community mobilization is often used by grassroots-based social movements, which includes revolutionary movements. The process usually takes the form of large public gatherings such as mass meetings, marches, parades, processions and demonstrations. Those gatherings usually are part of a protest action. These are the different ways by which a community can be mobilized and can raise voice for the demand of development of the community. In other words, community mobilization seeks to facilitate change within the community for its development.

Modern Western social movements became possible through education (the wider dissemination of literature), and increased mobility of labor due to the industrialization and urbanization of 19th century societies. Social movements have been and continued to be closely connected with democratic political systems. Occasionally, social movements have been involved in democratizing nations, but more often they have developed after democratization. Modern movements often utilize technology and the internet to mobilize people globally. Adapting to communication trends is a common theme among successful movements. Research is beginning to explore how advocacy organizations linked to social movements use social media to facilitate civic engagement and collective action.

It is a type of political ‘organisation’ we need to think about is the social movement. A ‘movement’, by its very nature, is not something that can be easily pinned down since, as Glaser (2003) suggests, it represents a ‘loose community of like-minded people who share a broad range of ideas and opinions’. This type of definition, therefore, covers a range of behaviours, a good example of which might be something like the ‘environmentalist movement’ – a very broad category of people who, in a variety of ways, are concerned with protecting the physical environment. Della Porta and Diani (1999) refine this general idea by thinking about social movements in terms of Informal networks – the movement as a whole is loosely structured. People come together, at various times, on the basis of: Shared beliefs and support for a general set of ideas, usually based around: Conflictual issues, especially, although not necessarily, issues of national and global significance. Part of the reason for social movements is that issues of concern to movement adherents/members are either not being addressed by political parties or, if they are, the movement’s adherents are strongly opposed to the policies being proposed/ enacted. This is one reason why such movements often involve: Protest in a range of forms (such as civil disobedience, demonstrations or publicity stunts). In other words, as Schweingruber (2005) puts it, social movements involve:

‘Continuous, large-scale, organized collective action, motivated by the desire to enact, stop, or reverse change in some area of society.

Social movements are any broad social alliances of people who are connected through their shared interest in blocking or affecting social change. Although social movements do not have to be formally organized. Social movement is always an important tool to bring the change in society and as well as to mobilize the communities for their own development.

By arranging people in mass meetings, parades, marches, discussions on various issues, movements for stressing the education of people, bringing the concept of democratization in light communities can mobilize through theses social movements. Social movements are always a part of society, and people may compare their options and make rational choices about which movements to follow. As long as social movements wish to be success, they must find resources (such as money, people, and plans) for how to meet their goals. Social movements are competing for a piece of finite resources, and the field is growing more crowded all the time.McCarthy and Zald (1977) conceptualize resource mobilization theory as a way to explain movement success in terms of its ability to acquire resources and mobilize individuals. For example, PETA, a social movement organization, is in competition with Greenpeace and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), two other social movement organizations. Taken together, along with all other social movement organizations working on animals rights issues, these similar organizations constitute a social movement industry. Multiple social movement industries in a society, though they may have widely different constituencies and goals, constitute a society’s social movement sector. Every social movement organization (a single social movement group) within the social movement sector is competing for your attention, your time, and your resources.

Individual groups

It is always easy to start a fire and involve a number of people. Community members need to choose certain people whose role will be to keep the fire of community mobilization burning. In this guide these people will be called ‘motivators’. People in the community know each other very well. Take time to carefully choose honest people who are respected by others, and who can encourage others to work well together. They need to have some time and energy available, have a desire to bring change and be willing to work free of charge. Each community should select two or three motivators. The people chosen will need equipping and support in their role.

Each local area has a number of different kinds of resources. People use these resources to keep alive and to cope with changing seasons, political change and cultural pressures. Helping people to understand and to value the different resources they have is very important. These are the main kinds of resources:

_ Natural resources include land, trees, forests and water.

_ Human resources include the skills, knowledge, understanding and labour of local people.

_ Financial resources include money, access to credit and loans, credit unions and government support.

_ Social resources include the culture, traditions, organizations, friends and extended family.

_ Physical resources include buildings, tools, roads, water pumps and transport.

_ Spiritual resources are the strength and encouragement that people gain from their faith.

Local people already know more than any outsider about their community and the people living there. Many people assume they know everything about their local area, but there is always more to learn and understand before making new plans. Take plenty of time to help people in the ‘community’ to tell their story together. One very effective way of doing this is to draw maps, either using clear ground with sticks, leaves and stones, or if available, large sheets of paper and pens. Encourage small groups to draw different maps to show:

– the natural and physical resources in the area (hills, forests, roads and rivers, for example)

-where people live, noting important people and organisations

-how the area looked 50 or 20 years ago (only for older people).

So for mobilizing communities, individual groups can do the social mapping of the community so that the people can aware about the present problems in the community.

Another helpful way to focus on key issues within the local area is to encourage people to prepare a role-play to express their concerns. As people discuss what subjects to use, they will often focus on important issues. However, they are also likely to share these in funny ways. Laughter has a way of taking the pressure out of a situation, helping people to discuss sensitive issues, sometimes for the first time. Again, encouraging people to work in small groups is another way to mobilize the communities.

Having chosen their first priority for action, local people need to decide whether they have enough information to take action. For example, if education is identified as the priority, people may need more information about the problems and whether they are at primary or secondary level. The problem may be poor attendance and, if so, there is a need to find out why.

Considering electing teams of local people to gather relevant information is another way to mobilize the communities. Choose people who can be trusted and who know their community well. Before sending teams out to gather information, take plenty of time to decide exactly what kind of information is needed. Apart from this, conducting role plays- street plays in the community is always a good strategy to mobilize the maximum number of people and to preparing them for a social action.

By Arranging a community meeting to share all the information gathered is showing information clearly to the people. A large number of people can mobilize for the collective action after getting all the facts and problems of the community.

Also, motivation plays an important role in this activity. As keep motivating the people in right direction is always worthy and will be fruitful for attaining maximum development of the community.

Initial contact with the community is another way to mobilize people. Understanding community practices and traditions prior to establishing contact can help identify the appropriate approach for engaging with different groups and members of the community. It is important to focus on learning from the community, especially during the initial contact. Taking every opportunity to meet informally with diverse members of the community (at the health post, during registration, at distribution points, in the queue for water). Also utilizing community leaders also increases the chances of reaching a cross-section of the population and not just a narrow representation. It is essential that all members of the community receive word about mobilization and how they can be involved. Outreaching to those who are isolated, vulnerable or considered. If they cannot personally attend a meeting, it is important that they be represented in some way. So as per the above discussion, motivating people, arranging meetings, initial contacting with the communities, utilizing the community leaders, conducting role-plays, street plays, community outreaching are different ways to mobilize the maximum people of community by individual groups.

Also, identifying an existing committee or a community-based organization which can give individual groups access to the community and facilitate distribution of messages. Meeting the host community and the authorities is important to reach out the goals for community development and mobilization. Messages might only reach certain groups, such as community leaders, and not all members of the community. Developing outreach strategies with the leaders and others to ensure that everyone is informed, including women, girls and boys, minority groups, and people with mental and physical challenges. Making sure that information is delivered in a language everyone can understand, is culturally sensitive and is correctly perceived and understood. As always communication should be effective and strong for the mobilization. Arranging meetings at mutually convenient times. As far the mobilization concern, for development of any community individual groups should make positive rapport building among the community with key people- like facilitator, leaders, service providers etc. and whole community as well. A good rapport building is effective strategy to mobilizing the people. Transparency, respect and consistency are essential for building trust, confidence and collaboration between organizations and partners, including members of the community. Also individual groups have to make ensure that after the first contact immediate follow-up action is taken or not.

Orienting the Community is another way to mobilize the people. The first step in mobilizing the community is to orient them to the process. This can be done in a number of ways, including written communication, television, radio, or an organized meeting. Meetings are more personal and conducive to building relationships. They also facilitate two-way communication where questions can be answered efficiently. As groups can motivate community people for their maximum participation in every discussion as they should feel that they are the key part of it. Also to start these meetings as soon as possible, so that trust and a positive working relationship can be built between parties. Having the meeting sponsored or hosted by a respected individual or group within the community can add credibility to its agenda. This may happen through a church, school, tribe, or other local group. Utilizing community leaders also increases the chances of reaching a cross-section of the population and not just a narrow representation. It is essential that all members of the community receive word about mobilization and how they can be involved. Outreach is prominent to those who are isolated, vulnerable or considered marginal is critical. If they cannot personally attend a meeting, it is important that they be represented in some way. Individual groups should take care of these things before conducting any activity as part of the community or within the community. An only arranging meeting is not as sufficient. The goals of the meeting must be carefully considered and reflected in the agenda. Community leaders can provide assistance presenting the information in a culturally appropriate manner. Some of the community leaders may be chosen to convey topics with which they are familiar. During this meeting, it is important to invoke the input of the community. Identify their needs and begin to priorities how those needs will be met. Individual groups should know that this meeting will be an opportunity to develop an awareness of what the contributing organizations can provide, and also an opportunity to learn about the strengths and resources of the community. It will be important to define mutual goals and develop a plan as to how to reach these goals. This will include organizing individuals to work together and coordinate services. Proper organization of every resources and management is necessary to mobilize the people. Also individual groups should develop ongoing ways to communicate for mobilizing the people. Once goals have been defined and a plan has been developed, it will be important to identify ongoing ways to communicate. Rather than having large meetings, cluster meetings of project staff, community leaders and community members working on similar tasks are more manageable and efficient. The groups should begin team building with all team members (international and national staff, community leaders and community members). It is vital that marginalized and vulnerable people are included in these teams. Intervention with the community may be required for them to ‘allow’ marginalized or isolated members of their community to participate in a team. Working in small teams that include affected people as well as outside helpers. Team leaders should meet daily for sharing of information, planning and coordination. Not all teams will be required for all emergency response projects. Some people may be a member of more than one team.

Conclusion: – It is to be concluded that for continuous community development mass awareness, people mobilization is very important. In our society there are different resources which can perform to mobilize the community. But one should only need to generate these resources within the community or outside the community. Maximum resource utilization and mobilization of people are key things for developing any community.

Community development emphasizes participation, initiative and self-help by local communities but should be sponsored by national governments as part of a national plan.

Pierre Bourdieu was born in France in 1930 and died in 2002. He is well known for his works in the field of Sociology, Anthropology and Philosophy. He is best known for his theory of class distinction, which he theorised in his book “Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste”. Another theory he worked on was the theory of power and practice, where he dealt with subjects such as “Symbolic power” and “habitus”. [1]

In Bourdieu’s view, agency and structure constantly sustain power, which is created within a culture and can become symbolic. This happens due to what he refers to as “habitus”. Habitus represents the norms and rules of society which are used to control people’s behaviour and way of thinking. Habitus is ‘the way society becomes deposited in persons in the form of lasting dispositions, or trained capacities and structured propensities to think, feel and act in determinant ways, which then guide them’ (Navarro, 2006).

Society is the one that creates habitus. The patterns developed can be transferred from a context to another and they change given different circumstances or a different period of time. Habitus ‘is not fixed or permanent, and can be changed under unexpected situations or over a long historical period’ (Navarro, 2006).

Free will and structures interact and give rise to habitus. There is no need for conscious thought or “deliberate pursuit of coherence”.

In addition to “habitus”, Bourdieu talked about the concept of “fields”. These refer to several social or institutional networks where people can interact with others, thus showing their different kinds of capital and expressing their dispositions. Networks can be represented by relationships formed among people, relationships based on similarities such as: religion, education, culture. Power is not experienced in the same way in all environments; this means that the context a person is in has a big influence on habitus. Different contexts have an influence on the way people react to power. While a person could not be affected by power in one field, the same person could see it as a challenge in a different one.

Bourdieu also talked about a concept he called “capital”. He elaborated on three types of capital, which go beyond material assets: cultural capital, symbolic capital and social capital.

These concepts were presented in Bourdieu’s book “Distinction” where he argued that society maintains its order by following the rules of language, values, education, thinking or activities. These norms that people follow lead them to accept without thinking the differences present in society, the hierarchies made and the social inequality surrounding them.

The three elements: habitus, capital and field play a central role in Bourdieu’s theory of Practice. These interact with each other forming the actions of people. A person’s dispositions, or habitus, her capital and the fields in which she operates form her action repertoire.

Social capital is one of the forms of capital mentioned by Bourdieu in his theories. It can refer to the networks of friends a person has, to the networks of the family or acquaintances or even of contacts. Social capital brings befits to a person by exerting preferential treatment towards in group members.

Bourdieu’s economic capital refers to the material possessions of a person, for instance money and property. Having a low economic capital implies not having as many possessions or chances to afford high priced affairs. A high economic capital means a person owns more material possessions and is able to afford luxurious things. However, having a high economic capital does not mean a person is considered from a higher class. What Bourdieu suggests is that economic capital only combined with cultural capital forms the hierarchy of classes.

Cultural capital plays an important role in the hierarchy of society. It is used by higher classes as a way to distinguish themselves from lower classes. It is a form of domination that is not based on economic domination. Instead, taste is the primary weapon of differentiation. Focusing on taste preferences instead of material assets became a method to hide inequality while still maintaining a well-defined line between lower and higher classes.

Cultural capital is formed by the cultural knowledge and goods a person possesses. This form of capital includes artistic preferences and taste, educational background, aesthetic taste in fashion or furniture, as well as many others. Bourdieu’s theory of distinction states that cultural capital is represented by: cultivated disposition, which can be verbal facility, the way in which a person expresses herself in a conversation, but it can also be body posture, manners and general behaviour. Other representatives of cultural capital can be material objects that require specialised knowledge to appreciate, such as sculptures or old pieces of art which are not well-known by the general population. In addition to these, he argues that cultural capital is institutionalised, which refers to the educational background of a person. Attending a high ranked University is usually evidence of a higher level of cultural knowledge.

Symbolic capital is closely related to cultural capital and symbolic forms and it refers to recognised legitimation by the society. The place a person occupies in society and the way society responds to that becomes symbolic capital. Being recognised as an influential or knowledgeable person offers one a high symbolic capital. It becomes a source of power which can be used by its holder. When this power is utilised by someone, that person exercised symbolic violence. Symbolic violence represents the imposition of a certain way of thinking upon another person. It imposes social order because it is embedded in people’s unconscious, making them follow the dominant or superior person’s way of thinking.

Bourdieu argues that social origin and cultural capital are the most important. He claims that although social and economic capital are indeed acquired as time passes, both of them depend on the social origins and cultural knowledge of a person.

Another topic Bourdieu elaborated on was Social Illusion. He saw reality as being constituted from a number of roles people follow. Everyone engages and follows their own path in life, similar to how a character from a book follows the storyline. The rules and norms society follows add a sense of reality and help the formation of the social illusion. Like a fictional character, a human being has a “beginning”- his birth, and an “end”-his death. The beginning is associated with someone’s cause, reason to be there while the end reminds of his purpose, the role he managed to play. Bourdieu called this sequence of events “biographical illusion”. There are some attributes that contour the created illusion. The symbolic power of the sate supports these attributes by giving people dates of birth, citizen numbers, grouping them based on nationalities and sex. People often compare life to a story that is being written as time passes. They see it as a journey in which decisions guide the outcome of the narration.

Bourdieu constructed his theories based on real life circumstances that intrigued him. This means the theories can be tested by others as well, by applying them to a personal context. An example of social networks I am part of would constitute my participation in the Rotaract club. This allowed me to interact with other peers, have conversations in which we exchanged knowledge but which also allowed people to show their cultural capital. Being part of the club requires one to pass through a process of admission, which means that it is necessary for one to possess a certain amount of capital to enter. Once in, how you express your dispositions becomes one of the things other members notice first about you. The norms, or habitus, of the group can soon be observed as being different from the patterns developed in other circumstances. These patterns are assimilated by new members in an unconscious way and create a new way of thinking for that person. The objective experiences one has become subjective, interpreted in different ways by everyone.

This social network, or field, constitutes one part of my social capital. In addition to this network, being part of a class in high-school, maintaining a group of friends or even being part of my family is considered a part of my social capital. Similar to my capital, is the social capital of one of my friends. However, attending a different school, being part of a different family and having a different group of friends influences the amount of benefits he could gain from being part of a network. Our systems of dispositions might indeed be similar at a superficial level, given that we both come from the same class, in the same society. However, our acquired schemes of thought and perception differ at a deeper level. Institutional education as well as family education influences the most profound cognitive interactions. I received an education focused on science, which gave me a different way to view the world compared to him, whose education was based on art and music.

Little differences come from our economic capital. Comparing all of our possessions would lead to the conclusion that the only difference is him owning some musical instruments. However, the value of these instruments, an acoustic and an electrical guitar, does not put him in a different societal class. The differences in hierarchy, as Bourdieu argued, come from the quality and amount of knowledge one possesses, which form our cultural capital. Taste in food, art, music and literature are good indicators of class. Appreciating exotic food is something in common for both me and my friend. The differences would surface when comparing artistic and musical knowledge. I, for instance, cannot read music; neither can I play any instruments. But, playing the guitar is not an indicator of higher glass. Uncommon, more difficult ones, like piano or violin, are the ones that make the true hierarchy distinctions.

Yet, one cannot say that cultural and economic capital are not interconnected. For example, if cultural capital is institutionalized, meaning a high ranked university plays a role in defining the hierarchies, a high economic capital is also needed to be able to afford attending the said institution. Moreover, symbolic capital could also surface from this interaction. The majority of society views high ranking universities as something out of their touch, thus, they offer respect and power to people who got in. Having prestige and power usually means being part of more groups, having more interactions with people. This implies that one’s social capital is higher.

In conclusion, Bourdieu’s theories covered most of the components of society. These components interact and form subsystems which, glued together, give rise to the unified society. Social illusion gives people reason and a story to continue. With the use of all different forms of capital, people draw boundaries between them, differentiate themselves from the crowd. But still, society maintains the control through habitus, the norms everyone follows unconsciously. And given that humans are social creatures, they need to interact; Bourdieu presented the fields, which represents the subsystem that allows people to express themselves, to show their dispositions and continue playing their role.

Critically explore the claim that women have been excluded from the history of sociology.

When studying the history of sociology, it is evident that the perspective of male scholars and theorists has been much more prevalent than that of females and has had a greater influence on the nature of society today. In patriarchal society, men have made their own knowledge and their own gender representative of the whole of humanity (Daly, 1973;8, cited in Spender, 1981). The most dominant theorists who pioneered sociology during their time, were males such as Durkheim and Weber, regardless of the fact that they had many female contemporaries (such as Weber’s wife, Marianne, who became a feminist and writer) who at the same points in history, had developed theories and conducted research of their own. This essay will aim to critically explore the claim that women have been excluded from this history, and will attempt to show arguments both for and against this statement.

The exclusion of women in the history of the sociological field can only be fully understood when examining the exclusion of women in the history of society as a whole. For example in late 19th century England, women were not recognised as individuals. They were confined to the private and domesticated world, where they were unnoticed by public society. Some women did engage in more public activities, although there were restrictions, such as the factory legislation, which limited the involvement of women in the industrial sector. Men held formal power over the family, and women were confined to the private sphere of society and were excluded from the public sphere where they enjoyed few of the same benefits and privileges as men (Eisenstein, 1986).

As during the 19th and 20th centuries, the dominant role of women was involved in the private sector rather than the public, this could perhaps have lead to the exclusion of women in sociological history. This meant that sociologists at the time were unable to conduct research on women, as they were unaware of the exact roles of women in this sector of society had. Additionally, at this point in history there were many other aspects of society that were to be observed, for example the industrial revolution. This created many changes in the lives of the working classes, and as such a majority of the work force was male, this only aided in the exclusion of women, as they were unavailable for observation by sociologists. It is because of this, that sociologists who sought information on working classes were unable to obtain sufficient information on the female workforce and accurately represent women. Instead they could only describe the working classes as being predominantly male and based the majority of theories on this (Spender, 1981).

In 1865 Mill became a member of the House of Commons and fought for women’s suffrage, and fought to “amend the laws that gave husbands control over their wives’ money and property” (Eisenstein, 1986). Such suppression is also evident in other sectors of society, for example women have been encouraged to specialise in less prestigious areas than men, and areas which are least likely to be thought of as preparation for any academic career (Roberts and Woodward, 1981). The omission of women from the expansion of knowledge in academic fields such as social and physical or natural sciences has been documented (Roberts and Woodward, 1981), this illustrating the lack of female perspective and lack of acknowledgement of females in academic fields. The majority of knowledge in our society is that documented and discovered by men, although has been passed off as the knowledge of mankind as they claim it is representative of the whole of humanity. The views of men have become the legitimate view of society as a whole (Spender, 1981). Even the knowledge that society has of women, is not from a female perspective, but that of male scholars. It is also men who controlled the media outlets, such as women’s magazines in the 1950s, which dictated to women their expected roles and behaviours and according to Betty Friedan, was so influential in shaping their lives (cited in Spender, 1985).

From more recent investigation, it seems that employment prospects of women in social sciences have yet to see much improvement (Roberts et al., 1981). Beard (1946, cited in Spender, 1981), insisted that women had actively contributed to the development of society throughout history, however as womens’ contributions to society had been ignored for so long, this only makes it easier for this to continue and also reinforces women’s poor self image (Spender, 1981). It has been argued that women need to prove themselves to be better than their male counterparts in any field before they can be accepted. It is perhaps for this reason that there is little documentation on what women did in the past (Spender, 1981). However, throughout history women seem to have played a lesser role in times of crisis and revolution in comparison to men. For this reason Hexter argued that “historians were concerned with the process of social change and that since women did not play a decisive role in such processes, they were not the legitimate subject of history” (Spender, 1981; 55). In other words, the patriarchal society of this time did not see the actions of women to contribute significantly enough to deserve historical mention. Evidence of the continuation of this

Despite the majority of sociologists, during times of the industrial revolution, focusing for the most part on the lives of the working classes (or in other words, working class men) Margaret Hewitt (1958, cited in Spender, 1981) was writing about the behaviours and experiences of wives and mothers in the Victorian industrial era. Even before this, Pearl Jephcott (1949, cited in Spender, 1981) wrote on ‘Girls Growing Up’ which remains a classic text in sociology. This would suggest evidence against the exclusion of women in sociological history, as there were sociologists who were writing about them.

Although these sociologists mentioned were themselves, women, and as previously described, the patriarchal society of the time did not see the opinions of women to be as important as that of men. Therefore it can be said that whist the place of women in society, and their lives, was acknowledged by female sociologists, as it is a male dominated field, their works were not to be regarded highly amongst their male counterparts. In identifying this, it can also be realised that the majority of well known female sociologists, are those which discuss the roles and lives of women, over that of men. Their stance on sociology, is that from a feminist viewpoint, rather than adopting the theories of the classical sociologists, such as Marx or Durkheim. Female sociologists who take these view points are to be forever in the shadows of the original male theorists, where as female sociologists who write and research under the principles of the feminist movement seem much more likely to gain wider recognition for their work.

To conclude this essay it can be seen that women were not fully excluded from the history of sociology, as there were other women who wrote about them and documented their place in society. However at the same time they did not receive the same recognition as males in society did and were not seen to have such a significant role in the history of society. Therefore the claim that women have been excluded from the history of sociology is largely true as their work and input have been much less appreciated and acknowledged in comparison to men of the same time. Jessie Bernard (1972, cited in Roberts et al., 1981) asked “not what sociology can do for women, but rather what women can do for sociology”. It can be seen that in the sociological field there is a definite bias towards the presence of men in society, both as subjects and as researchers, whilst that which involves women receives much less recognition. After all, the founding fathers of sociology, are the founding fathers and not the founding mothers (Spender, 1981).

References:
Eisenstein, Z. (1986). The Radical Future of Liberal Feminism. Boston: Notheastern University Press
Roberts, H. and Woodward, D. (1981). ‘Changing patterns of women’s employment in sociology: 1950-80’. The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Dec., 1981), pp. 531-546. Blackwell Publishing [Online] available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/590132?seq=1
Spender, D. (1985). For The Record. London: The Women’s Press Limited
Spender, D. (ed). (1981). Men’s studies modified. Oxford: Pergamon Press Limited

Education is one of the most important aspects of society and benefits the individual and society as a whole. It benefits society through economical, political and cultural means. But what has to be assessed is whether the aim of education is to benefit each individual, whether it is to further the development and production in society, or whether it is to do both, but in a fair and equal manner without causing separations and problems within society. Modern day society is ever expanding and globalization, which Coatsworth says “is where the movement of people, goods or ideas among countries and regions accelerates”, increasing. This then results in the world requiring a ‘global workplace’ of people working for TNC’s (Trans-National Corporations) across multiple continents in order to create the biggest amount of profit and spread of goods. Whether globalization is a good thing is one question but what is central, is whether education needs to be transformed to prepare children for this ever developing market.

Arguably, there are many different purposes of education. The Functionalist view is that education unifies and stabilizes society, it benefits society as a whole and is based on a meritocratic system. Education contributes towards social cohesion through shared experiences and a common curriculum. The expansion of education, for Functionalists, is directly linked to the requirements of industrial production. Therefore, the essential purpose of education for Functionalism is to keep society going by creating workers and people who can benefit society economically. The Functionalist belief is that each individual child’s achievement is based on how hard the individual works (meritocracy) and whether they want to achieve highly. This is a very positive view of education but unfortunately, Functionalism fails to notice any negatives within society and education. It fails to recognize any exterior or genetic factors that can affect a child’s achievement within education such as poverty, gender or ethnicity.

Karl Marx would argue that the “purpose of education is to reproduce inequality and social hierarchy” (keep the rich, rich and the poor, poor). What Marx says is that children are being labelled in school according to their social class and then the education system makes sure they are kept in that class to produce low-skilled workers and manual labourers for means of production within society. “The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation into a mere money relation” (Marx, 1848). Making profit is more important to the capitalist society than the effective development and education of our future generations. One of the ways children could be kept in their social class within education is through language. Basil Bernstein said that humans use a restricted and elaborated language code depending on what social situation they find themselves in and with which types of people. The Restricted code is a simple understanding of language used with family and friends whilst the elaborated code is more abstract and complex and would be more commonly used within institutions. Bernstein’s research found that working-class children had access to the restricted code whereas middle-class children had access to both the restricted and the elaborated code. It is the dominant use of the elaborated code within education though, that is disadvantaging working class children by affecting their understanding and ultimately resulting in lower achievement from them.(Bernstein, 1977). Marxism would argue that social class is based on the possession of means of production but in the modern day society class is based upon knowledge and wealth. Capitalism has created a society where knowledge creates wealth and power. Overall, the Marxist view would be that education is already preparing children for the global workplace by reproducing inequality and manual labourers who will be underpaid and mistreated in the workplace so that Trans-National Corporations can make the biggest profits; whilst the middle class children shall become the management of the companies and the hierarchy shall be present in the global workplace as it was in school.

Weber’s Interactionist theory examines how individuals and groups create patterns of behaviour which shape the systems. Becker’s labelling theory explains how if a teacher labels a pupil negatively in school then a pupil will go on to fulfil that label. Labelling is an effect of the characteristics of a pupil on a teacher’s views of the student. If a child is labelled in school by a class teacher because they appear scruffy or lazy, this can be down to relative poverty in the home which could cause the child to be frequently tired and without the necessary resources to assist their learning. This can result in a teacher labelling a pupil as lazy, unenthusiastic or simply unwilling to learn, which then goes on to affect the child’s achievement within school and possibly even later life. Labelling is potentially a major factor in working class children going on to perform manual labour jobs, making up the majority of a national and global workforce and remaining in their social class. Marxism would maintain this is true and would state that this is the sole aim for the education system, to produce a global workforce that can benefit society economically.

“The world is in a transformation that means there is ‘no longer a clear distinction between international and domestic, external and internal affairs” (Rosenau, 1990). This statement by Rosenau explains how the world through modernisation is now merged into one global workplace. Globalisation has created a world where each individual country is now reliant upon one another for goods and services and so act not alone, but more as one.

“Globalisation has integrated rich, affluent, and educated classes, but has fractured working classes and marginalised the poor, who do not have the skills and economic clout to profit from open markets” (Shalmali Guttal 2007). This statement from Guttal shows how Globalisation may be positive in terms of benefitting the rich and providing opportunities for the middle class but at the expense of the working class. Therefore if a student struggles academically and cannot go on to higher education, they should not suffer in today’s society by not benefitting from the gains of globalisation. This is one way that Globalisation is creating inequality in society and if the education system was to prepare students for the global workplace then this would simply be reinforcing inequality in school. The purpose of education is to benefit the lives of all children in school not just to progress the lives of those children who have already been born into the middle and upper classes. Economic gain is not the vital target for the result of education. “Globalisation enters the education sector on an ideological horse, and its effects on education and the production of knowledge are largely a product of that financially-driven, free-market ideology, not of a clear conception for improving education” (Carnoy, 1999).

Bowles & Gintis explain how school relates to the workplace via the overt and the hidden curriculum. Orders are given by the teacher/boss to the student/worker to follow. The person in charge of the student/worker will have to give permission for the individual to use the toilet, when to go and return for fixed time breaks, will assign work tasks to the individual/group, give rewards for hard work, place emphasis on attitude towards tasks, give work to be done at home and discipline the students/workforce. Nearly every single thing a person will experience when they enter the workplace is imitated within the schooling system to prepare students for the global workplace.

The restricted and elaborated language code explained by Bernstein not only puts working class children at a disadvantage in the schooling environment but also in the working environment and especially in the multi-national corporations of today’s global workplace. If a working class child is underachieving in school because of the dominant elaborated language code used by teachers, then that student will not secure themselves a well-paid job in the management sector of TNC’s because of their achievement academically and because of their dominant use of the restricted language code. In the global workplace, as well as in education, the elaborated language code is used. Therefore, the use of the elaborated language code in education and the global workplace is reproducing inequality by keeping the working class limited to the restricted code which results in them only gaining manual labour jobs and becoming the primary workforce of the global workplace. As a result of this, more emphasis needs to be put on teaching children the elaborated language code in school before they reach the workplace, but in a gradual, subtle way so they can pick it up rather than being at a disadvantage right from the beginning of school. This is one major way that education needs to prepare students for the global workplace simply so that inequality is not being reproduced as a result of the schooling system.

Bourdieu’s forms of capital can link to Bernstein’s language codes in terms of class and social structure. Bourdieu’s says that a group or an individual’s position in the social structure depends on three forms of capital: Economic, social and cultural. Economic capital is everything with a monetary value a person owns, social capital is what types of groups the individual may belong to and cultural capital is the way a person may have been cultured such as frequenting museums and art galleries as a child. These three forms of capital are something a child is either born into or not and as a result is crucial to the individual’s position in the social structure as they grow up. It is also important to mention that economic capital can be converted into cultural and social capital by means of paying for a University degree from King’s College, London, and influencing the right to membership of an esteemed social group. A further form of capital that Bourdieu also explains is linguistic capital. If an individual is raised in a higher class family where the elaborated language code is used on a daily basis and the child even comes into contact with another language such as Greek or Latin, then that is going to raise their position in the social structure right from a young age (Bourdieu, 1986). Consequently, it is easy to see what role that child shall go on to take in terms of hierarchy in the global workplace and what role a child who has grown up without that form of capital will take.

Harbison and Myers say that the role of education “Unlocks the door to modernization”. In terms of capitalism though, it is debatable whether modernization is a positive thing when it is reproducing inequality and reinforcing the class system. However, inequality is being reproduced not just now in a national sense, but a global sense where the poverty-stricken underclass are being exploited for cheap labor in third world countries by capitalist countries such as America.

In conclusion, education is crucial to the development of society but not at the expense of the majority of individuals within that society. The rise of the global workplace through Globalization has created possibly more inequality and greed within the world and to prepare students for that in school would be ethically and morally wrong. It would be right to prepare students for the global workplace by dismissing social backgrounds, treating all equally and assisting those in more need. This could go on to reduce the gap in social class to create equal opportunities for all within the hierarchy of the global workplace. School already prepares students for the world of work in terms of its discipline and rules, and with the world becoming an ever increasingly multi-cultural place, schools are teaching children about other cultures. This therefore, is already preparing children for the global workplace. However, when there is so much inequality and exploitation in the global workplace, simply to enable cheap labour costs and higher profits, it is more important to focus on creating equality in the classroom and trying to make sure all children can achieve what they desire.

Karl Marx- (1848), The Communist Manifesto.

Margaret L. Andersen & Howard F. Taylor, (2005) Sociology: understanding a

diverse society. Fourth edition.

Howard F. Taylor, (2007). Sociology: The Essentials. Cengage learning, P.425

S. Bowles & H. Gintis, (1976). Schooling in Capitalist America. Basic Books Ltd.

Shalmali Guttal, (2007). Development in Practice, vol 17, numbers 4-5. Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. Reproduced in Ball, S. (ed.) (2004) The RoutledgeFalmer reader in sociology of education. London: RoutledgeFalmer, pp.15-29.

Bourdieu, P. and Passeron, J.-C. (1977). Reproduction in education, society and culture. London: Sage.

Layard, R. & Dunn, J. (2009). A Good Childhood; Searching for Values in a Competitive Age. London, Penguin.

Paul Willis, (1977). Learning to Labour: how working class kids get working class jobs. Columbia University Press; Morningside edition.

Bernstein, B., (1977). Class, codes and Control vol 3. London: Routledge.

Bourdieu, P., (1986). The forms of capital. Reproduced in Ball, S. (ed.) (2004). The

RoutledgeFalmer reader in sociology of education. London: RoutledgeFalmer, pp.15-29.

Child sexual abuse is definitely not a new or modern phenomenon and even though it was not necessarily acknowledged before the 1800’s, it does not mean that it did not exist. Throughout history, documentation about child sexual abuse has existed, with references especially to Greek and Roman civilisations, as well as in colonial America and Europe (Bolen, 2002). Jean-Claude Chenais (1981), in a study using multiple data sources has been pivotal in the attitude changes in Western societies over the issue of child sexual abuse over the last hundred years. His studies have shown that due to a number of different contributing factors, in some European countries like Germany and France, child sexual abuse was so frequent as to be considered normal (Bagley & King, 2004). As cited in Bolen (2002), in his research on classical childhood analysis of different historical eras, DeMause (1988), states that:

“The history of childhood is a nightmare from which we have only begun to awaken. The further back in history one goes, the lower the level of child care, and the more likely children are to be killed, abandoned, beaten, terrorised and sexually abused”.

In her research of historical child sexual abuse, Florence Rush has found that it is predominantly a phenomenon of the patriarchal systems in history, where children were considered as property of the father. In Talmudic law it is the tradition that a female daughter can be betrothed by her father by means of sexual intercourse after the age of three. Even though not encouraged, sexual acts including intercourse with a child younger than three years is not a crime. Such sexual activity with young girls was not discouraged by the Catholic Church either in history, as in a Papal decree of the sixth century stated that for a marriage to be valid it was copulating that was the overriding factor and consent only desirable. The age of the girl was taken into consideration for the purpose of betrothal where if the girl was not at least seven years old than this was considered invalid. Also, through history we find however that sexual abuse was not limited only to girls. Especially in Greece, it was popular to use boys for sex. It was also common to castrate young boys and buy or sell them as sex slaves (Bagley & King, 2004).

In its broad sense, child sexual abuse is when an older person forcibly engages in sexual activity with a child. The definition of the terms sexual assault on children or child molestation is different in different legal jurisdictions (Rowan, 2006). As cited in Kinnear (2007), child sexual abuse is defined by Fraser (1981) as being “the exploitation of a child for the sexual gratification of an adult”, whilst Baker and Duncan (1985) claim that “[a] child (anyone under 16 years) is sexually abused when another person, who is sexually mature, involves the child in any activity which the other person expects to lead to their sexual arousal”. In their 2003 report on the maltreatment of children, the Children’s Bureau of the US Department of Health and Human Services defines it as the “involvement of the child in sexual activity to provide sexual gratification or financial benefit to the perpetrator, including contacts for sexual purpose, molestation, statutory rape, prostitution, pornography, exposure, incest, or other sexually exploitation activities” (U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, Administration for Children, Youth and Families, 2005). The age of consent is also different from one country to another. However, it is commonly understood, that a child is not able to understand or willingly consent to sexual experiences with an older person. It is also acknowledged that there exists sexual experimentation between young people and therefore molestation charges are only enforced when the older person is sixteen or eighteen and that child is three or five years younger (Rowan, 2006).

There are certain factors which categorise sexual encounters as abuse according to the World Health Organisation. As well as the age difference it also includes in the definition the misuse of a position of authority by the adult which then leads to sexual acts. The child must also be unwilling to participate in such acts even if he or she did not offer resistance. It also requires the attempt to touch the genitals or breasts of a child or make the child touch the ones of the adult. If the adult attempts to touch the child by exposing himself or if the child is undressed, made to, as well as the attempt to seduce or tempt to take to another place whilst psychology threatening the child (Fegert, 2003). Sociological definitions of child sexual abuse differ from the clinical or legal ones and whilst some are universally acknowledged some are less so even though equally important and influential (Lawrence, 2004). One of the definitions widely accepted by child protection services is that of Schechter and Roberge and it states that “Sexual abuse is defined as the involvement of dependent, developmentally immature children and adolescents in sexual activities they do not truly comprehend, to which they are unable to give informed consent” (Schechter & Roberge, 1976).

When researching child sexual abuse, it is common to associate this with the phenomology of pedophilia. When assessing and treating sex offenders however, professionals know that it is important to explore different variables that have an important role in such deviant sexual behaviour. The sexual preference and history, including any of crime or violence, are taken into consideration. Any other disorders such as endocrine or neuropsychological ones as well as any other biological factors are to be explored (Langevin, 2003). By definition, a pedophile is generally an individual who for no less than a period of six months fantasises about having sexual encounters with young children or is sexually aroused by the thoughts of such fantasies. Usually the sexual urges of such individuals are focused on children younger than thirteen years of age. Pedophiles can be frustrated from these urges and often suffer from interpersonal difficulties because of these sexual impulses. However, even if not necessarily always the case, some pedophiles will act upon such fantasies and are usually only apprehended or brought to attention because of this. Most pedophiles are usually not necessarily disturbed enough about such fantasies about children and as a consequence do not seek voluntary medical help (Hall & Hall, 2007). The key factor in the assessment of pedophilia is the age of the children for whom interest is shown. In its most strong forms, exclusivity is shown towards prepubescent children with no sexual urges or interest in other adults. Not all pedophiles however commit sexual offences with child victims and not all sex offenders with children are pedophiles (Seto, 2004). Dr Langevin (2003) noted however, that even though there seem to be a number of factors that are common between pedophile priests and other pedophiles in terms of sexual preferences, pedophile priests generally have less antisocial behaviour characteristics.

In light of the huge amount of media coverage of the clergy abuse crisis in the last few years, it seems that even though much interest by the community has been sparked on the topic, little research has been carried out by psychological and clinical bodies. This may be due to a long existing mutual indifference between the Church and the mental health field. Only a few studies have actually addressed the issue of the ‘pedophile priest’ or the priest who sexually abuses children. Despite the surmounting media coverage and attention of the issue providing an alarming public assumption that most priests are pedophiles, an American study estimated however that only 2% of priests are pedophiles whilst another 4% being ephebophiles. However, it is also taken into account that a probably large number of sexual abuse cases by the clergy are not reported (Plante, 1999). Michael Rezendes (2002), part of the Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team was one of the first journalists who brought attention to the issue of child sexual abuse allegations against the American clergy. A year of investigations carried out by this team resulted in the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law on the 13th December, 2002. This was mainly due to the exposure of a series of shortcomings and mistakes, in his handling of a well known pedophoile in Boston; Rev John J. Geoghan, where after being reported of sexual misconduct with children, he was reassigned. However, it was clear that Geoghn was only a sign of a more serious problem. The Spotlight Team investigated further into the Archdiocese of Boston and by the time of Law’s resignation, had published over 800 stories.

An earlier singular case which also received worldwide publicity however dates back to 1984, where Fr Gilbert Gauthe of Lafayette, Louisiana was charged on multiple counts of child sexual abuse. This was the first criminal case of its kind to receive such level of media attention and publicity and also was the first time that a civil suit was initiated against a diocese on the grounds of failure to protect children from a known abuser in its clergy (Murphy, Buckley & Joyce, 2005). Dr Richard Sipe, a psychotherapist and psychiatrist as well as a former Roman Catholic Priest, wrote extensively on the subject of child sexual abuse and reports that even as early as 1976, before the big scandals broke out on the media, there opened a programme, the first, perhaps, in the world dedicated to the treatment of psychosexual disorders for clergy. This included the treatment of disorders which involved the sexual abuse of children. The need for such a programme and its preparation, years before its opening, shows that knowledge of Catholic Clergy who had problems of sexual misconduct was already widespread in the 1960’s and 70’s (Sipe, 1995). With such an increasing interest in the phenomenon of priests as sexual abusers of children, the Catholic Church seemed to be spiralling into a crisis as portrayed so by the media, with an increasing number of people coming forward with new allegations all over the world. Philip Jenkins (2001), as cited in Dokecki (2004) explores the terms of moral crisis as opposed to moral panic. In order to fully understand weather the Catholic Church was being victimised by a new panic born out of media frenzy or if the panic was due to a moral crisis deeply rooted in actual facts and reality of the problem, one must also explore the issue in its full context. It is worth noting and reflecting upon the possibility of child abuse scandal by clergy as being a classic example of social construction. This is not to belittle the seriousness of priests committing such lewd acts with children, but it is more a manner of asserting how the media portrayal of such events can impact the way it shapes the social response to it (Jenkins, 2001).

The way that this issue in the US has been widely covered and reported by the media, it has undoubtedly generated a growing popular feeling of mistrust in the church. This might have been a trigger in the claim that the Catholic Church has been inefficient in its response to such abuses and allegations, as the increasing number of cases began to crop up all over America as well as the rest of the world. By 2004, the time of the Globe’s investigation of the Boston cases, it was reported that between 1950 and 2002, four thousand three hundred priests were alleged to have abused or molested almost eleven thousand children or adolescents (Paine & Hansen, 2002). A study of child abuse committed by clergy which was conducted by the John Jay College for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002 recorded these figures. However, this only reflects the numbers for those victims who actually reported their abuse and came forward to the Church authorities. Studies have shown that a great number of victims, especially males, never come forward to disclose their abuse to anyone and even more never report it to the authorities. It is also important to note that not all dioceses participated in this study and not all kept official and accurate records (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2002). In the matter of establishing whether the problem of child sexual abuse by clergy in the Catholic Church is just moral crisis as opposed to just moral panic, numbers alone do not suffice. It is often normally recognised for organisations and public entities to take defensive measures when dealing with such serious accusation against its employees or members. Most importantly the defense would most certainly be targeted against a blanket condemnation of the whole organisation. Sometimes, such corporations genuinely fail to recognise and acknowledge the fact that the destructive effects of such allegations have deeper roots than simply moral panic (Dokecki, 2004).

Studies of other organisations entrusted with the care of children show that the prevalence of child sexual abuse is also of concern. In his study as reported in The Washington Times (1991), Patrick Boyle outlined that between 1971 and 1989 there were one thousand, one hundred and fifty seven reports of child sexual abuse out of a million volunteers (all adults) and four million member scouts; with the majority believed to be boys aged between eleven and seventeen. Case studies also seemed to indicate that in order to safeguard the image of the Boy Scout organisation, certain information was covered up in order to prevent the possibility of a crisis scandal. The police were not involved if the alleged abuser left the organisation. However, it was common practice for these offenders to move to other states and join new troops whilst those reported to the General Headquarters still managed to bypass the system and re-roll in new States (Boyle, 1994). Other studies of different organisations for youths and children also show sexual abuse incidents reported. These include institutions like the Big Brother Organisation, the YMCA as well as other athletic organisations and centres for child care-giving in day care institutions or families. In sporting organisations, the perpetrators were found to be involved in the majority of cases with a school; i.e., teachers or principals who appeared to have multiple victims, with one coach reported to have four hundred counts of sexual abuse. The majority of these cases occurred in the US, the UK and Ireland. In both the sports organisations and the Big Brother one, however, it seemed that legal action was taken against the perpetrators and screening processes put in place for all future volunteers (John Jay College, 2002).

As seen from the community, the sexual abuse crises in the Catholic Church presented a larger moral shock than any other abuse scandal, predominantly because of the social status priests hold within the same community. The priest is believed to be not merely a man serving the pastoral functions for his church, but also a delegate of Christ on Earth. The priest is often held in a position of trust within society; where people look upon him as a source of comfort and advice. In Catholic communities the clergy are viewed as central and present in everyday life through their work within the parish and as reference points for the safeguarding of the souls (Cozzens, . However, priests do not only function in a society as preachers of the word of God. In most cases, they will take on the role of therapists, care-givers and educators. They do not only earn their loyalty from the altar, but mainly from being there for the sick, the troubled, the dying and the dead. It is understood, because of such an intimate involvement in social and community life, that any case of sexual abuse by a member of the clergy will have relational and social implications as well as personal ones (Frawley-O’Dea, 2007). According to Lebacqz (1985), from an ethical perspective, priests are professionals and as such, a relationship of mutual trust needed. The clergy however go beyond our normal understanding of their sacramental office and thus in the relationship between priest and child, the typical power discrepancy is significantly amplified. This is so because the context of the relationship is the church and also the professional is a priest and the client a child (Dokecki, 2004).

From their early years children are socialised to view the Church as a ‘mother’ and a priest as a fatherly figure; hence also priests being called ‘father’.

Family can be defined as a group of people related by heredity, such as parents, children and siblings. It is sometimes broadened to include persons related by marriage or those living in the same household who are emotionally attached, interact regularly, and share concerns for the growth and development of the group and its individual members. There is legal definition of the family, but it varies depending on the jurisdiction and purpose for which it is defined. The family can have two basic types: nuclear and extended family. A nuclear family consist of adult husband, the wife, and their dependent children who are not of age, and the extended family is composed of the nuclear family and other relatives. Apart from the above mentioned types of family, there are other types such as the lone-parent families, which is one parent and his or her dependent children, the reconstituted family- when a new family is created after divorce through a second marriage and the empty nest family where the children of nuclear family has grown and left home.

Functionalism is a theory that sees society as a social system designed to meet the basic needs and to promote the survival of its members. According to them, the social system comprises of economic, political, kinship and culture and each of these has an established institution that plays a role in the running of society. Functionalists talk about society being like a human body. The organic analogy incorporates the ideas of a system to emphasise the inter-relatedness and mutual dependency of the major institutions of society. To them, the family is at the heart of society. They therefore, see the family as changing and responding to the needs of society. The systems approach has been used by functionalists to explain how social change occurs in society.

Talcott Parsons is one of the most important functionalist sociologists who studied family life in the 1950s. He referred to families as ‘personality factories’ which meant that, families produce children who share the basic norms and values of their society and were moulded in the image of the society. He saw the family as the basic and most vital institution in society whose irreducible function is the stabilisation of adult personalities, where the family gives the emotional support necessary to cope with the stress of everyday life, especially at younger age in order to develop a strong emotional bond and to grow and function well in the society. Once the personality is produced, adults need emotional security and a source of release from the stresses and strains of modern life. The emotional support of partners helps to provide this security and prevent stress from overwhelming the individual and threatening the stability of society. This is the warm bath theory: the husband arrives home from a stressful day at work and sinks into the ‘warm bath’ that his family (wife) provides.

Peter Murdock, (1949) is another functionalist who studied 250 societies and identified the functions of the family as sexual, where the family provides environment for regulating sexual desires. Families make sure that, such activities happens or takes place at the right location. The next function is reproduction, essential for survival of human society. Families ensure the survival of babies becoming adults. Babies are born vulnerable and incapable of taking care of themselves. It is therefore the duty of the family to train and equip them until such time that, they become adult and matured enough to face the world on their own. Another function of the family, according to Murdock, is to instil the norms, cultures and values of society into children and to make sure they are satisfactorily socialised. The family also provide economic support for other family members. This can happen in all sorts of forms like provision of child care and financial support in difficult times.

Murdock’s ideas were that, the nuclear family is so useful to society, inevitable and universal because it fulfils the essential functions. This is because he had found evidence of nuclear families in the 250 different societies he studied. He saw the nuclear family as the most efficient arrangement for performing all of the above vital functions and defined it as a universal human social grouping, either as the sole prevailing form of the family or as the basic unit from which more complex forms compounded. It exists as a distinct and strong functional group in every society.

However, they have been criticised by the way they see the family. Parsons picture is of a typical middle class USA family which may not be representative for most families. They have also been accused of idealising the family. Functionalist fails to consider the validity of other family structures and do not consider the diversity of family types. They ignore conflict, abuse, gender inequalities, and rising divorce rates within the family. Interpretative sociologists tend to argue that, functionalists concentrate too much on the importance of the family to society and ignore the importance and meanings of family that individuals perceive.

Feminists argue that the functionalist view of the expressive and instrumental roles as natural are in fact socially constructed. They also disagree with Murdoch’s idea that the nuclear family is natural, believing that there is no preferable family structure and encourage family diversity. They are of the opinion that, the functionalist view of the family encourages oppression of women.

Marxists argue that the functionalist view of the family views those family structures which support and benefit capitalism, and that, the nuclear family is part of the superstructure with the sole purpose of perpetuating a capitalist system.

They also believe that, the family socialises its members to accept the false consciousness that capitalism is good for all and that the government helps the people through healthcare. Marxism also rejects the functionalist idea that society is based on consensus; they would say that current society is based upon a conflict between the small powerful ruling class and the working majority.

Both Marxists and feminists disagree with the functionalist idea that each organ of society exists for the benefit of society itself and for its individual members, they believe that they exist for the benefit of the ruling class of either capitalists or men.

The next theoretical approach is the feminist. It is worth mentioning that, there are several types of feminism, included are, liberal, radical, socialist, and humanist but they all share in common the following about the family according to Barrie Thorne (1982). They see the society as male dominated, the family as an institution involving power relationships, men having different ideas of being in the family from women, the family being a source for the control of women, that there is no biological need for the family which is just a product of culture rather of nature, the ideologies of socialisation is based on gender, men gaining more from family life than women, and has also challenged the view of the family as being based on cooperation, shared interests and love.

Feminist see society as being patriarchal where things are made up of unequal structures of power between men and women. It practically means ‘rule of the father’ which is more to do with culture and makes us believe and think the family is one of the biological things we need naturally. Beechey (1986) is of the view that, people has taken the family for granted and the family requiring different things from men and women, and are also made to believe that, it is ideal to bring up children in a family setting where most of the work is done by women. Feminist think that, all this has contributed and continue to the male dominance in the family and society as a whole.

Benton regards the structure of the family life as the main cause of women’s oppression (housewife role), where the wife provides a relaxing environment for the male worker.

Things have changed in recent years in the family. Decision making in the home as pointed by Stephen Edgell (2000) shows that, in middle class homes, women have sole responsibility for financial decisions in areas as home decorating. Some things still need to be changed when we look at the following which has been pointed by the feminist as the dark side of the modern day family. The family contains a large amount of psychological harm for women, and still perform the majority of the housework. Evidence suggests that many women today have a dual burden of labour-home responsibilities as well as work. Majority of emotional work still remains a job for women and there are lots of instances of sexual and domestic abuse of women in the family.

The Marxist theory of the family was developed by the work of Karl Marx (1818-1883) and believed that, society was made up of two important parts, the economic base and the superstructure which includes the family. He describes the economic base as the most important because it influences the superstructure. The family will therefore reflect the values and concerns of the economic base.

The Marxist idea of the family was that, society was the family and believed early society was based on a primitive form of communism where there was no such thing as private property, no rules limiting sexual behaviour and promiscuity was normal. Their idea supports capitalism where the family forms part of the superstructure and passes on ideologies that justify inequality and enables the bourgeoisie to maintain control of the economic base. The family evolved in order to establish paternity to protect private property and its oppressive inhibited creativity. The family is therefore an ‘ideological conditioning device’. In short, the family was seen as an institution ‘when wives play their traditional roles as takers of shit, and often absorb their husband’s legitimate anger and frustration in a way which poses no challenge to the system’ (Ashley). Also, ‘the child is in fact primarily taught how to submit to the society but not how to survive’ (Cooper).

This theory has got the strength of exploring the role of oppressive ideologies and offers explanation for the development of the family. It also acknowledges the dark side of the family, links it to inequality in capitalist society, and offers critical approach.

It has however been criticised of ignoring family diversity, seeing the nuclear family as simply determined by the economy. It ignores how changes may come about due to legal and attitudinal changes and also ignores the patriarchal nature of society.

Considering the above discussion, it is true that men, the state, society and its institution have exercised enormous power over women by deciding how parenting and household responsibilities should be distributed? Who should have a right to household earnings and property? Who has the right to form a family? What defines a parent? How many parents can a child have? How many children can a parent have? Answering these already complex questions is additionally complicated by the existence of new technologies that make possible multiple ways of becoming a parent.

Below, is the examination of two main values that feminists have argued should guide the families we make, individual choice and equality. The traditional family has seen many changes in the last fifty years. In the decades following WW II increasing numbers of women entered the labour force. Divorce rates increased dramatically: the divorce rate in the 1980s was almost two and a half times what it had been in 1940. The development of the birth control pill has made it easier for women to avoid unwanted pregnancies and to plan when to have children. There are a growing number of single parent families, gay families, and extended families. By 1989, 25% of children were living in single parent households. Economic, technological and social factors have together made the full time-stay at home housewife and mother with a working husband a statistical minority. Laws governing families have also changed. Modern laws are more likely to view men and women as equals, who can be subjected to the authority of each other only with their own consent.

How far should the idea of women’s right in marriage, the institutions and society be taken? Some feminists have proposed contract model of marriage to allow any and all consenting adults to marry and to freely choose the terms of their association. These feminists would abolish state-defined marriage altogether and replace it with individual contracts drawn up by each couple wanting to marry (Fine man 1995, Weitzman 1985). Indeed, contracts would allow not only gay couples to marry but would also allow multiple marriages, as in the case of polygamy and determine the domestic division of labour. They argue that by moving marriage from an implicit status based, patriarchal arrangement to an explicit contract, women’s freedom and equality would be enhanced (Weitzman 1985).

Divorce has become more commonplace due to the fact that, feminism has altered the perception of what a wife might expect from a marriage, women have become more financially independent of their husbands, religious values have become less important and the process of getting a divorce has been made easier. The question therefore to ask, is this right and freedom we are fighting for good for the society? I will say too much of everything is bad and we need to be aware of the consequences of such changes upon family members and the structure of families. One example would be the growing number of reconstituted family. Another issue to consider is the decline of the nuclear family due to a greater acceptance within society of other types of family. For example cohabitation is no longer described as “living in sin.” Women are now more wiling to consider alternatives to raising children within the nuclear family, which is partly due to the impact of feminism; divorce is more socially acceptable than in previous generations and there is a greater willingness amongst many people to accept alternatives to the family.

Once a taboo entity, only found in seedy movie theaters and sold behind closed doors, pornography has now become increasingly more visible and accessible to the public. Today, the access of pornography is as simple as a few clicks of a computer mouse, and those clicks afford the viewer a vast collection of sites and images that would otherwise be unavailable without technology or the media. With this accessibility comes a new issue: is pornography at all to blame for sexually deviant behavior? It seems as though sexually deviant crime is taking place at unheard of rates, and the link to pornography has been cited before. However, the question of whether these crimes are on the rise or just hyped by the media remains to be seen. One factor that has played a part in the debate is the issue of pornography, and the link between the two seems to hold valid evidence to prove some sort of connection.

How Does Pornography Affect Us?

Pornography undeniable affects each person who views it in some way. Whether these individuals find the content stimulating, exciting, or disturbing is subjective, but research has shown that men, women and children have the tendency to act in a certain manner when studied in groups rather than on an individual level.

Children may be the most affected group when it comes to viewing pornography, and have the tendency to shape their future actions on what they have seen. According to Dr. Catharina Welin (2006), “because of the widespread availability of pornography in the media, youths are exposed to violent or bizarre sexual activities long before they have had any personal sexual experience” (p. 293). In this case, children with little to no knowledge of sexual activity, having viewed such material, begin to associate sex in their own personal lives as relatable to sex in these videos or images. This can play a significant part in how this child will grow to view sex as an act, their own sexuality, and the stigmas they associate with different genders. A child who has viewed pornography, maturing into an adult who engages in his or her own sexual experience will no doubt have a different view of the act than an individual who did not view such material in childhood.

Women who view pornography as adults tend to have a distaste for what they are seeing and for the porn industry in general. For most women, sexuality is considered a private matter, especially in terms of their own sexual encounters. Women prove to be more emotional about sex rather than men who are geared to view it in a more physical sense. Women tend to believe that pornography is degrading to themselves and to their gender as a whole, showing the objectification of women as mere objects for men’s sexual gratification. Ann Gary (1978) notes that “pornography leads to behavior and attitudes showing disrespect for women, and pornography itself shows disrespect for women” (p. 232). Although some women may find pornography sexually stimulating in the bedroom, the overall stigma associated with pornography by the female gender seems to be vastly negative.

Lastly, one must view how men tend to view pornography. As males tend to commit sexually deviant crimes in a far more frequent manner than women, it can be said that viewing pornography may be a factor in looking at this statistic. Men tend to see sex as an enjoyable physical release before viewing it as an emotional connection, which may attest for the way women are portrayed in most pornography as merely the attractive tool to be used in order for the man to achieve sexual gratification.

Pornography and the Sexual Deviant

Having looked at the ways that pornography tends to affect different groups on individuals, one can look further into the research that has been done to prove a link between pornography and the sexual deviant.

Researched Michael Goldstein (1975) notes several cases of sexual deviant criminals

citing the desire to commit such acts after viewing them in a pornographic film. He writes,

“Motorcycle films containing violence and ‘gang bangs’ frequently nourished erotic dominant fantasy. As one rapist put it, ‘I’d think of some of the girls I had raped, and some of the girls that got raped in the movies during my sexual encounters. I’d place myself in the villain’s place instead of the hero’s, so I’d have a rough, hardened image” (p. 102).

The tendency of these types of men to engage in sexually deviant or criminal behavior after watching these types of films shows some relationship between the two, and the prominence of research on this correlation does much to back up the claim of relationship. Researchers Addison, Koss, and Malamuth (2000), found that “exposure to nonviolent and violent pornography results in increases in both attitudes supporting sexual aggression and in actual sexual aggression” (p. 44). Further, found that men who watch porn were more likely to view women as promiscuous and therefore available to them regardless of their own will. Dolf Zillman (1989) notes, “Men behave as if they were entitles to sexual access with women who readily granted it to other men, and those who feel entitled can view their actions as a misdeed rather than a criminal offense against a woman” (p. 100).

Sociological Theories and Deviance

Pornography and sexual deviance in a sociological context can be considered related as the actions and behaviors that may ensue after viewing pornography violate the culturally accepted norms of sexuality and can lead to going against formally enacted-rules of the government in terms of sexually deviant criminal activity. Of all the three major theoretical perspectives in sociology, that which seems to most closely relate to the issue of pornography as a factor in sexual deviance is that of symbolic interactionism.

Symbolic interactionism places emphasis on smaller scale social interaction, which in this case can be compared to the porn industry and its customers and viewers. Herbert Blumer (1969), who coined the term “symbolic interactionism” noted that “humans act toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things” (p. 45 ). In this case, this can be attributed to viewers of pornographic materials seeing the violent and deviant actions performed upon women in porn, taking these actions from the media they witness, and enacting this type of behavior in their own lives.

Sociologist Darryl Hall (2009) notes that the symbolic interactionism view of sexual deviance (which can relate to the issue of porn and sexual deviance) is as follows: “Symbolic interactionists suggest that the need of men to validate their sexual prowess or reaffirm their masculinity is an important factor in their seeking out pornography or prostitutes” (p. 2). Such a notion can explain the rising level of sexually deviant crime in society, and can in turn associate this with the viewing of pornography as a man’s need for sexual validation and masculinity.

Conclusion

As seen, the rise of pornography to a near norm in society has heightened the search to link the viewing of this material to sexual deviant behavior in society. Although a direct link is not conclusive, it is clear that the research in terms of this question is growing too slowly but surely supports some link between the two.

“Most theories of grieving derive from the work’s of Sigmund Freud and Eric Lindemann’s understanding of mourning and include two assumptions: A / Grieving is time limited. The process should be completed or resolved after a year or two. B / The main task of grieving is to achieve ‘decathexis’ (one should detach oneself from emotional ties to the deceased so as to be able to form new relationships.).”

Horacek, (1991).

There are two complex processes taking place within this topic that we call Grief. Firstly there is the emotional side (grief) and can take on many obvious and subtle forms. Secondly there is the process or grieving stage as it is more commonly indentified. It is within this second stage that the bereaved is called upon and to allow them selves’ to make a raft of choices and decisions such as the funeral arrangements or when at some point do they allow themselves to decide what to keep as mementos and what not to. Often these sides can become entwined into one and the bereaved may end up in a state of confusion and stagnant response. This may lead to a third state in which the bereaved becomes dysfunctional within their grief processing and literally becomes stuck in whatever position or state they are in and cannot allow themselves release from that state and to move forward.

Grief does not exist within the world of death only. Grief may come from many physical and psychological changes that are totally unrelated to death. Loss of a limb; incapacitation of body use as a result of an accident; loss of a boyfriend or girlfriend; loss of a marriage; bankruptcy; loss of a personal business. I could list more but the point is to say that grief covers an extremely wide and complex area of understanding and acceptance.

For the purposes of this essay, I will concentrate upon the subject of death and how does one handle the situations of that death. I will cover various models as they relate to a child (0 – 11) and to that of an adolescent. Then, we will look at those of an older person and also take into account the elderly. How do the various models of grief and the process of grieving change with age? Are there stages of recovery or is the recovery a process that may never be finally finished? Either way, grief and grieving is a personal experience and will vary among ages, culture and background. It would become too involved for the purpose of this topic to introduce culture and background, so I will therefore keep this essay to the more general form of models of grief and their relationship to those of age.

Does a child have the capacity to experience grief and to mourn as do adults? Bowlby (1963), and Fusman (1964), see’s a child as capable of suffering major bereavement particularly with a close family member and probably with other close significant losses as well. In that reference, there were no given age ranges so I will take the point of a child being of 0 – 11 yrs of age. Lindemann’s seminal study in 1944 on the Symptomatology and Management of acute grief is similar to Freud’s understanding. But how does that apply to a child?

Whilst Bowlby recognised a similarity to Freud’s point of view, he also recognised that a young child is capable of suffering major bereavement as mentioned. But these responses can come from many influences. Obviously, they are different to those of an adult but none the less they (adults) do have an influence upon the child’s perception and response to their ability to handle grief and grieving. It is suggested that a child will copy to the best of their ability, the grieving patterns of their remaining significant parent or even that of an older sibling (Bowlby, 1980; Kubler-Ross, 1983; Schumacher, 1984).

Other factors can also have an influence on the child’s response such as the nature and intensity of their attachment to the deceased; their developmental level; the capacity to understand what has happened (the conceptualisation of death and what explanations are given to them); and the nature and circumstances of the death. It is reasonable to

assume that a child can experience a bereavement response, probably in an attenuated form – death of a grandparent, parent, uncle, teacher, playmate, family pet or even the loss

of a favourite toy. Ambivalence and dependence are core themes of a child’s relationship with family members and a child’s grief may be influenced by this aspect of their attachment to the deceased.

Children’s conception of death closely parallel Piaget’s (1952) successive levels of cognitive development (Berlinsky & Biller, 1982). For example, during the sensorimotor period (birth – 2yrs), the child’s concept of death is non-existent or incomplete (Kane, 1979). Most workers agree that the younger child’s response, particularly to the death of a parent, is likely to be indistinguishable from that of separation response. For a child of 2 or younger, they do not have the concepts of time, finality or of death itself but they may show, if for instance their mother dies, typical phases of denial, protest, despair, and eventually detachment (Kastenbaum, 1967; Berlinsky & Biller, 1982).

During Piaget’s pre – occupational period (2 – 6yrs), a child’s cognitive development is dominated by magical thinking and egocentrism. Consequentially at this stage, they believe that death can be either avoided or reversed (Melear, 1973; Anthony, 1971; Stillion & Wass, 1979). Furman (1963) believes that from 2 – 2 ? years onwards a child is able to conceptualise death to some degree and to mourn. Melear found that children within this age group viewed the dead as having feelings existing in a life – like state. Because of their

thinking, the child may feel responsible for causing the death and consequently feel shame and guilt.

Progressively, through the period of concrete operations (6 – 7yrs through to 11 or 12 years), children begin to understand the reality of death but do not realise that death is universal and that those around them, including their loved ones, will die some day (Berlinskey & Biller, 1982). Anthony, (1971) suggested that children conceptualise death in concrete terms and view death as distant from themselves.

Gradually, from ages 9 or 10, children acquire a more mature understanding of death; that death is irreversible in nature and that they themselves will eventually experience it (Anthony, 1971; Melear, 1973; Stillion & Wass, 1979). A child will experience the developmental nature of death associations which progress from no understanding toward an abstract and realistic understanding of the concept of death (McCown, 1988).

Within the years of adolescence, the persons’ understanding of death and what has happened; closely approximates that of an adult and their grief may take on similar forms. But because they are in that realm halfway between childhood and adulthood, their responses may fit neither mould. If they cry, they may be accused of being ‘babyish’. Equally, if they don’t, they may seem cold and uninvolved. With so many conflicting areas and so many stressful situations of this age group, they may neither express their emotions directly nor verbalise them. They may instead, act out within their personal environment, indicating their need for care, their anger, their guilt and their longing.

Although privy to increased knowledge about death through instant communication and increasing exposure to death, adolescents do not have the social or emotional maturity

to fully incorporate and process those experiences into a coherent world view (Rowling, 2002). Adolescents tend to be more extreme in their risk – taking and it seems to be the closer to the edge that they go, the greater the thrill of cheating death. Living life to the fullest inherently has some risks. Consciously or otherwise, they may pursue this ambiguity more than others, due to their cognitive development and the need for excitement (Spear, 2000).

Emotional reactions to a loss can be devastating to the adolescent, whether the loss is the perceived detachment from parents, actual losses that are literal deaths such as the suicide of a friend; or metaphorical deaths such as the breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Meshot & Leitner (1993), have observed that the extent of grief is often much stronger in teenagers than in adults. There is evidence that adolescents are constantly grappling with life and death contrasts as a normal part of their development (Noppe & Noppe, 1991). These years help to construct a personal stamp with their understanding of death as they are engaging in both life affirmation and death acknowledgement. They are questioning and assuming different belief systems regarding death and the “after – life” prior to settling onto a more permanent value system as well as incorporating the very reality of personal mortality into their evolving sense of identity.

Adolescent grief experience is profoundly personal in nature. Although they grieve more intensely than adults (Christ et al. 2002; Oltjenbruns, 1996), their grief may be expressed in short outbursts, or there may be concentrated efforts to control emotions.

They can often believe that their experiences are completely unique unto themselves (Elkind, 1967). The adolescent grief pattern may follow a life – long developmental trajectory. That is, the loss may be continued to be felt throughout their life span as they graduate from college, their work, marriage and so on. This can be accentuated as they grow older than the parent, sibling or friend who has died (Silverman, 2000).

Adolescents are more sophisticated than children in their understanding and response to death, but neither is their mourning adult like. The overall nature of the adolescent’s response is intimately tied to their developmental issues. The consideration of one’s own death, as part of the treads of the totality of the life cycle, cannot be a comfortable notion for an adolescent to accept. Creating a unified sense of identity must be reconciled with this consideration. Adolescents encounter this dilemma in the context of a system of values, philosophy of life and particular spiritual or religious beliefs. Sterling and Van Horn (1989) found that adolescent’s who were at the peak of their struggle with identity formation, had the highest levels of death anxiety. With regard to personal characteristics or the adolescent, self – esteem was found to be important in adolescents’ response to loss. Balk (1990) and Hogan and Greenfield (1991) found that adolescents with lowered self – concept scores showed more problems with their grief.

More adolescent males than females die suddenly and violently, via accidents, homicides and suicides (Corr et al., 2003). However, no one knows if, as a consequence, teenage males grieve more than females over the loss of their same sex best friend.

Parallels between the socialization of males into hiding emotions, being independent and displaying aggressive behaviour when upset are reflected in adolescent males’ grief reactions (Adams, 2001). Bereaved adolescent girls may express more adjustment difficulties (Servaty & Hayslip, 2001), but this may be consistent with the latitude afforded women to talk of their feelings. Reaching out to others seems to be easier for females than males (Noppe et al., 2003).

As mentioned earlier and in closing of this section, the myriad of adolescent tasks serve as a framework for how the adolescent is affected by grief and their response to loss is intimately tied to their developmental issues. Adolescents do not grieve in the same way as do adults and their grief processes may be more intermittent, intense and overwhelming.

We began this essay with the generally accepted theory of mourning from the work done by Freud and Lindemann as cited by Horacek (1991). Whilst Freud did not officially modify his theory, he did modify it in a letter written to Swiss psychiatrist Ludwig Binswanger in 1929. In this letter he reflected on the death of his daughter in 1920 from influenza and the death of his grandson in 1923. He stated that “although we know that after such a loss the acute stage of mourning will subside, we also know we shall remain inconsolable and will never find a substitute”. Freud realised that some losses can never be fully resolved and that grieving can continue indefinitely for such potentially high – grief deaths such as the loss of a child or a grandchild.

Gorer (1965), described eight styles of grieving that fall into three categories based on the length of the grieving process. The first category includes grieving styles that demonstrating little or no mourning, such as the denial of mourning, the absence of mourning, anticipatory grieving and hiding grief. The second category is time limited mourning, which includes a period of intense grief followed by a return to the pre grief status. His third category is unlimited mourning, a continuing grief that does not radically interfere radically with everyday living; mummification, in which the mourner makes a room or a whole house as a shrine for the deceased; and despair, a never ending, deeply painful process.

Adults view death through the lens of wisdom gained through the myriad of life experiences associated with expanded interactions with different people, work settings and family relationships. Whilst studies on parental and sibling grieving challenge the assumption that grieving is time bounded and that decathexis can and should be accomplished. In his interviews of some 155 families, Knapp (1986, 1987), found six significant similarities in the way in which families responded to the deaths of their children. The sixth was what he called shadow grief, a lingering, emotional dullness of affect that continues indefinitely, indicating that grief such as this is never totally resolved. He called shadow grief a form of chronic grief that moderately inhibits normal activity, yet it is an abnormal form of mourning that it was quite normal, perhaps even routine. In support of this finding, Lund (1989) stated that there is considerable evidence that some aspects of bereavement and subsequent readjustments may continue throughout a person’s life and it

might be appropriate to question the use of conceptualizing grief as a process which culminates in resolution, because there may never be a full resolution. Though death separates the mourner from the deceased, a relationship with the deceased continues. It is largely agreed that particularly with adults and the more elderly, the bereaved should regain everyday functioning within a two to three year period, but, also, that grief may never come to an end and can still be considered normal.

Fulton (1978), produced a model that began to reflect the complicated reality of the grieving process. He put forward that in a high grief situation, three sets of reactions can be delineated:

1. Initial reactions. These can include numbness, shock and disbelief. These reactions

could last for days, weeks or even months.

2. Grief tasks. These reactions may include such tasks as dealing with anger, guilt, emptiness, depression, ambivalent relationships and life reviewing. Working through these tasks can take months or years and in some cases can continue indefinitely.

3. Adjusting to the loss and continuing grieving.

In addition, this model recognises that the three sets of reactions overlap and can recur and that the mourner could deal with one specific grief task such as resolving excess

guilt and then face another grief task months later. Most important, this model recognises that the basic loss does not disappear like a wound that heals in time, but rather that the

loss continues like an amputation or dismemberment. Likening grieving to amputation denotes the mourner must continually adapt and adjust to the loss. Although the griever can reach a new everyday functioning status, the loss and its concomitant reactions, for example shadow grief, continue indefinitely.

In final conclusion, both the grief and grieving process is complicated and has many variable aspects to how one deals with the bereavement. Probably the most obvious is that the ability to handle bereavement lies in the cognitive developmental stage of the bereaved. This is probably more pronounced within the child and adolescent stages of life due to the aspects already discussed earlier. It is also of note that the elderly are more likely to experience multiple losses, such as the deaths of a spouse, friends, or relatives or the loss of roles, health, or income, over relatively short periods of time. At the same time, many older grievers are quite resilient and exhibit strong and effective coping abilities (Lund, 1989). An aspect of grief that was only briefly touched upon, was that of anticipatory grief. Such would occur during the period of extended terminal illness. Whether this type of grief assists the survivor or not, has not been really established. In some cases it can lead also to confusion and subsequently, to a dysfunctional grief. In dealing with and assisting the bereaved caregivers need to be aware of the need to adjust their understanding of the grieving process relative to the age, gender and the situation with which the bereaved is finding them – selves. Grieving is a complex emotional and active process and there are no simple answers nor are there simple repairs.

Does the gender of the interviewer effect the response rate, interview and the results obtained?

Many researchers have investigated the effect that interviewers’ gender has on research, this paper seeks to examine if there is an effect and how relevant that effect is. It will draw on academic papers, business examples and a case study.

Hyman et al (1954) were one of the first to examine the effect gender-of-the interviewer has on the interview process; they found respondents replied differently to male and female researchers. Since then there has been an abundance of research in the field, much of the research is based on and argues that gender-of-interviewer effects are evident on, topics related specifically to feminism, politics and other sensitive issues. This paper will analyse the research and apply it to a case study. With the main aim to determine if the gender-of-interview affects all interview areas or whether it is topic specific.

It is important to understand what is meant by interviewer effects; interviewer errors are expected to occur differently in every interview whereas interviewer effects refers to a specific interviewer characteristic i.e. gender (Dijkstra 1983). Interviewer effects look at how interviewer variance can bias the results of research.

The case study being looked at took place in Oldham, it was a consultancy project investigating participation rates of food waste recycling, with the main objective to increase participation rates. The methodology used was semi-structured interviews and drop off questionnaires. The interviewers were made up of two women and three men. Researchers went out in pairs, for safety reasons, the researchers went out in four pairings, three pairs made up by a women and male interviewer and the final pairing was comprised of two male researchers. Due to time constraints and the nature of the work this case study was unable to talk to residents about their impression of interviewer-gender-effects. However all interviewers were interviewed extensively by the author of this paper, to grasp their view of the effect gender had. The main topics covered were response rates, lengths of interviews and results obtained.

Does the gender-of-interviewer affect response rate?

Gender can affect the response rate; Smith (1972) suggests that women are less likely to invite men interviewers into their home explaining that it is due to the perceived ‘danger’, this argues Smith can be an issue for male interviewers conducting research. When looking at the Oldham Case study this was evident, the response rate for the mixed paring had a higher response rate to the male only pairing. The mixed pairings had a response rate average of ? and the male only pairing had a response rate average of ?. This is backed up by Dommeyer (2008) whose study examined how using a photo in the cover letter of a drop off questionnaire effects responses. Female interviewers prove to obtain a higher response rate. His research found that rivalling the gender was only productive if they were female. Bean and Medewitz (1988) had similar results when sending out cover letters with a female signature; a higher response rate was produced than when a male signature was used 35% and 26% response rate respectively. Moreover, Catonia et al (1996) experiments found that on a phone interview when respondents were given the opportunity to request a gender 82%, of women and 72% of male respondents did request with the majority selecting a female, suggesting that respondents prefer female interviewers. When interviewed, ‘Keith’ from the Oldham case study expressed: “Sandra seemed to get a higher response rate then I did, we quickly realised this and Sandra became the interviewer and I the scriber”. Johnson and Delamater (1976) discuss, whilst looking at response rates in sex surveys, the effect gender has on respondents agreeing to be interviewed. They argue that the gender of the interviewer can have a substantial effect on response levels; attributing it to the type of survey suggesting that if they are embarrassed about the topic being discussed they may be less likely to opt to participate, especially with someone from the opposite gender. In the Oldham case study this can be compared to respondents who do not participate in recycling and are therefore are less likely to agree to be interviewed, however the gender of the interviewer is unlikely to make a difference there. Benny et al (1956) notes that male interviewers gain fewer responses to female interviewers and most of these are from female respondents.

Rourke and Lakner (1989) discuss the gender bias that exists within the data collection…..

How does gender affect the results obtained?

Huddy et al (1997) looked at the effect that the gender-of-interviewer had in two surveys, where male and female interviewers were randomly assigned to interview male and female respondents. With the first survey; gender of interviewer had more of an effect on less educated and younger respondents. However these results were not replicated in the second survey. Yang and Yu (2008) argues that well educated people are not affected by gender as much because they are more use to inter-gender relations. Huddy et al (1997) also attribute it to the fact that people that are more educated are more confident in the company of the other gender. WHAT IS EDUCATION IN OLDHAM?

Many researchers have suggested that the gender of the interviewer only has an effect on certain topics. Huddy et al (1997) suggests that the gender-of-interviewer is more predominant when; politics and views on feminism are discussed. Bellou and Del Boca (1980) found stronger gender-of-interviewer effects among women respondents on questions about the existence of gender inequality whereas men tend to be more affected when questions about women movements arose. Flores-Macias and Lawson (2006) claim that in the past research has shown effect on social and political issues when interviewed by different gender. Using a survey on households in Mexico the research tries to add to the field, they found gender effects were confined to ‘sensitive’ questions, they concluded gender-interviewer effects are limited to gender topics. TOPIC OF RECYCLING

In contrast Kane and Macauley (1983) note the opposite; Women were most effected by questions on women’s movements for example collective action and women shared interest, while men were more effected by the interviewers gender when answering work-related gender equalities. Gender bias was highest with questions related to controversial politics and women’s movements. Kane and Macaulay (1993) research looks at the effects of interviewer gender on responses in particular on gender-related survey questions. They look at if gender effects are present and how it differs from male and female. Huddy et al (1997) argue respondents are susceptible to gender-of-interviewer effects across a broad spectrum of gender-linked items.

Groves and Fultz (1983) found that economic indicators receive more optimistic responses when interviewed by a male interviewer rather than a female interviewer. Landis et al (1973) reported that when women were interviewed by male interviewers they gave more feminist responses on women’s roles.

Kane and Macaulay (1993) summarise stating after analysing gender-attitude it is clear that interviewer-gender bias is present, it tends to include respondents giving a critical response to female interviewers than to male. On standard debate topics men are more likely to be effected by the gender of the interviewer and are less likely on less familiar topics. Women’s responses vary dramatically in their responses to male and female interviewers on various issues. They did not see a vast difference in interviewer gender effects for example respondents to male respondents. It is therefore questionable on it social power effects conversational power in the interview process. Both male and female respondents are at times affected by interviewer gender.

In contrast Herod (1993), who is a geographer, believes that the gender-of-interviewer can effect responses on any topic discussed. He argues that gender relations are an important aspect that can shape the interview process, gender can shape the type of data collected especially when carrying out interviews. Backing this up is McDowell (1992) who explains how interviews raise the issue of gender, Schaenberger (1992) agrees “gender makes a difference” (p.217). In the Oldham case study gender….. look at results!

Herod (1993) “gender can shape the use of interviews as a research tool” (p.306). Even when all respondents are of the same gender, gender bias still shapes the interactions between interviewer and interviewee. Feminists’ support this statement gender is significant in society it is always going to effect gender relations in the research process (Keller 1985). Herod’s paper looks at work conducted across different disciplines on gender and its effect on interviewing.

Turner and Martin (1984) in the classic work discuss how the gender-of-interviewer and the respondent has significant effect, the different options (male interviewer, female respondent/ male interviewer male respondent etc) have different effects in influencing opinions and feelings.

Eagly and Carli (1981) showed a statistical relationship between the gender of the interviewer and outcome of the interviews showing both; respondents giving different answers to male and female researchers, but also researchers interpreting it differently. Thus this demonstrates that an interviewer’s gender can affect respondents’ answers. Looking at the Oldham case this can be demonstrated through interpretation of answers, when looking at how the answers were interpreted it is completely a subjective task, when a male was interrupting it, the results appeard whereas when a female was interrupting it is seemed………….

Even when it is the same gender there is an effect, Aries (1976) suggested that men tend to be more aggressive and ‘macho’ to a male interviewer. Herod (1993) explains whereas a male interviewer may display one type of behaviour with female researcher he may show a different one to a male therefore obtaining different results. Oldham case study…..

Piliavan and Martin (1978) found that in a group setting men and women acted differently, in the Oldham council case study, researchers went out in pairs often a man and women researcher, Aries (1976) explains that she observed women were less likely to interact than men in a mixed group. This could have affected female respondents’ answers when being interviewed by a male and female researcher in the Oldham case study.

Moreover Herod (1993) notes the difference in the way male and female genders interpret information, on an interview he refers to the type of language used. Carli (1991) claims that women and men use language differently. Lakoff (1975) argues that women have to be socialised to use language that is less assertive then men and women’s expressions are tentative. Herod (1993) puts forward that these stereotypes have implications when men and women interpret language. Sociolinguist, Deborah Tanen (1990) claims that men and women have different beliefs of how conversations are meant to work, as well as different views on the role of conversational interaction and building relationships (Wolfram & Schilling-Estes, 1998).

Herod (1993) explains that there is a danger in trying to generalise about gender relations in such broad categories. Arguing that they themselves did not look at race or class and how these shape gender. There is a need to look at how gender can mean different things in different context. Interviewing is about how interviewers generate meanings and understandings.

Are men or women more affected by gender-of-interviewer?

Whelcher (1987) and Ballou and Del Boca (1980) both argue that male respondents show more effect from gender-of-interviewer. Whelcher (1987) documents that men give more democratic responses to male interviewers as they try to give the response that they feel the male interviewer wants to hear. Ballou and Del Boca (1980) states how men give more democratic responses to female interviewers.

Landis et al (1973) explain that it is expected that during an interview relationships are formed between respondent and interviewer and thus the behaviour of the respondent is influenced by their perception of the circumstances. Warren (1988) argues that women are better at building a rapport when interviewing. Landis et al (1973) found from their results that the women interviewed gave a more “feminist” response to the male interviewer, noting that the statistics were significant. They summarise that the gender of the interviewer does have a marked effect on response to women.

Hyman et al (1954) found that gender of interviewer effected female respondents’ results when a male asked the question; 61% agreed with the statement, but when they were interviewed by women only 49% agreed. Hyman concluded women felt more obliged to give conventional opinions to a male interviewer. Benny et al (1956) note that both men and women act differently in the company of the other gender; acting more formally and expressing less. Benny et al (1956) and Hyman (1954) both argue that women in the presence of men talk more traditionally are more formal and tend to give the expected answer. Oldham Case study then this >It could be argued that as both these papers are dated, the findings may be less relevant.

Macaulay (1993) claim the more egalitarian answers are more persuasive among male respondents when interviewed by a women. Flores-Macias and Lawson (2006) found that men are more likely to be effected rather than women. Furthermore that the social context has an effect, culture for example in Mexico City men were more susceptible to gender bias backing this up. Approximately 30% of men interviewed by men felt women rights were urgent however 40% interviewed by women felt it an issue. They also found women were more progressive when interviewed by men.

Holbrook et al (2003) argue that effect from respondents believe they try to answer what interviewers want. Oldham Case study

Davis et al (2010) argue that interviewer effects can impact the data obtained. They looked at measuring and controlling interviewer effects. Effects can occur from interviewer related issues such as the way questions are read, probes are used, instructions to survey etc (OLDHAM CASE study difference between male and female). Davis et al (2010) discuss how gender is the most noticeable characteristic of an interview and therefore is most susceptible to having an effect.

In the past women were considered better interviewers because they are seen as less threatening and therefore there has not been as much research on this topic. But since telephone interviews gender has become more of an issue as no longer can the respondent see “socioeconomic status, physical attractiveness, personal demeanour” (Huddy et al 1997, p.197). Huddy et al (1997) note that there is growing evidence that respondents are more likely to give a feminist view to a female interviewer as the respondent seeks to give the answer they think the interviewer wants to hear. OLDHAM CASE

Huddy et al (1997) had two goals from their study to test for the existence of gender-of-interviewer effects across a range of gender related questions. And to explore the characteristics of respondents most liable to gender-of-interviewer.

Huddy et al (1997) wanted to test to see if the existence of gender-of-interviewer effected a range of topics or just gender related questions to achieve this they used two surveys both containing questions that dealt with women’s issues and women’s movements. Their results showed respondents were more likely to give a feminist view to a female interviewer on 11/13 gender related topics. However the difference obtained by male and female interviewers was small and consistent and was only significant for a minority of questions. The topics that showed gender-of-interviewer effects differed from the two surveys in the first, carried out in 1991 the largest gender-of-interview effects occurred on questions relating to feminist identity whereas in the second, obtained in 1993 they were on topics on abortion and anti-sexual harassment legislation. In both surveys a female interviewer collected more feminist views then a man. They did find, however that gender bias occurred most on both surveys when topics on controversial politics were broached.

With Huddy et al (1997) second goal they discovered significant interaction between interviewer gender and education – less-well educated respondents were more influenced then well educated by the interviewers gender. Despite this the same results were not emulated in the second survey but they argue this could be because the gender bias was not as affluent either. To reinforce this Huddy et al (1997) assessed the statics of education and effect of gender on respondents with 12 and 17 years of education. They found that gender-of-interviewer effects were more prevalent with less educated respondents. Overall respondents with less formal education were more likely to be effected by the gender-of-interviewer and on gender related questions.

Huddy et al (1997) note that gender bias decreases with age and income was the only demographic characteristic that did not increase.

But how important is it, does it have a large enough effect to matter? Huddy et al (1997) found that small differences in their study. They conclude that it depends on the survey being administered. If it will effect then it is crucial that an equal number of men and women are randomly assigned to respondents.

Finally Huddy et al (1997) believe that from their results it can be seen that gender could effect any type of survey and use the beginning of their first survey to demonstrate this point; where gender bias is present and the topic of the survey has not been disclosed.

Huddy et al (1997) argue the view gender-of-interview effects questions is premature because; rarely have researcher controlled the individualism of interviews when examining gender-of-interviewer effects, few studies have measured the size of effects across a broad spectrum of questions to see if the effect is on feminist questions or all topics. Bellou and Del Boca (1980) did look into this in their 1980 study. Huddy et al (1997) continue explaining that effects are not standard even for questions on the same topic and few studies have tested the statistical significance across several variables with the same respondent.

Huddy et al (1997) suggest that not enough research on which gender is most prone to gender-interviewer-bias as there is a contrast in theories. Lueptow, Moser and Pendleton (1990) argue women are more likely to give feminist views to a female interviewer, which they proved through telephone interviews. In contrast Ballou and Del Boca (1980) contrasted stating male respondents are more vulnerable to female interviews and appear more feminine.

McDowell (1988) disagrees arguing that there is no gender split in research methods but rather a stereotyping in gender characteristics.

Little work has been done on the effect of the interviewers’ gender; as traditionally interviewing was a female occupation

Williams (1964) in his classic paper hypothesised that the greater the amount of social difference between interviewer and respondent the more likely of gender bias.

Demonstrates the importance of the gender of interviewer and that the subject can have an effect.

The study of gender and ethnicity has long been a controversial topic in the field of sociology. Sociologists believe that gender and ethnicity are both the outcome under socialization, rather than biologically constructed. This essay will examine gender and ethnicity as a social construction, rather than a biological ‘given’. The concepts of gender and ethnicity will firstly be defined, and then the distinction in explaining ethnicity and gender between biological and sociological perspective will follow. Finally, a judgment on why social construction is the best in explaining the appearance of gender and ethnicity will be given.

“aˆ¦biological term that defines an individual as male or female. It is determined by the possession of a vagina and ovaries (female) or testes and a penis (male). In addition, males possess and XY and females and XX chromosome.” (Holmes et. al. 2007)

It is divided based on one’s genitalia. In the overwhelming majority of cases, this is an easy distinction to make, and it can be found out through ultrasound scan before birth. Gender, however, is “a social term referring to the characteristics thought approximate for each sex at any given point in time in a particular culture” (Holmes et. al. 2007). It is what the society expects one as a man or a woman, of course, the degrees of expectation varies in different societies. In other words, gender is what individuals identify themselves as masculinity or femininity. Another concept that need to be clarifies is ethnicity and race. Ethnicity, or ethnic group, refers to “a large number of people who, as a result of their shared cultural traits and high level of mutual interaction, come to regard themselves, and to be regarded, as a cultural unity” (Robertson 282), whereas race is defined as “the categorization of humans into populations or groups on the basis of various sets of heritable characteristics.” The former is changeable but the latter one cannot.

We always presume that out gender is biologically given, but actually it is not. In any society, our gender identity is produced through a series of social practice, which is so called gender socialisation. When a baby is born, people will firstly identify it as a boy or girl. From that moment onwards, the baby lives in an already existed social environment with lots of labeling, categorizations, expectations and cultural preferences. Since parents have an internalized ideological framework that tells them what kind of behaviour is expected from males and females within the culture, their goal is to raise their children that meet the normative expectations associated with gender appropriate behaviour. George Herbert Mead, in his “Mind, Self and Society” (1934), has explained the socialisation process. He claimed that children start to develop as social beings through a process of imitation. The children imitate those generalised other, which represents a set of behavioural rules and guide-lines. Through the process of imitation, the embodiment of general cultural values and morals will be internalised in children’s mind. For example, a boy may decide not to wear female clothing in public because his internalised conception from generalised others tell him that other would be offended by his action.

Another theory that explains gender socialisation, namely social learning theory, place lots of importance on observation, reward as well as punishment (Westen et al. 2006). This theory emphasizes four main aspects of the socialisation process, they are imitation, identification, role learning and conditioning (Westen et al. 2006). Imitation here is the same as the idea of Mead mentioned above. Children start to become socialised through the observation and imitation of people around them. Boys and girls are able to identify with their father and mother respectively as parents are a ready source of imitation (Livesey & Lawson 2005). Girls tend to imitate their mother’s life such as cooking and cleaning without understanding the content. For boys, since in most cases the father is absent from home at work, they tend to adopt images of masculinity from other sources, such as television, comics or online games. Identification is another process that appears to evolve in a more natural way. Girls identify with their mother and boys with the father because they are of the same biological sex. This process is, however, the result of the process of gender identification encouraged by children’s parents, both consciously and unconsciously (Livesey & Lawson 2005). Parents, as role model, encourage gender identification through their words and actions. For example, mother may encourage girls to give a hand in the kitchen. Girls may be punished for behaving in ways that are not ladylike such as shouting and fighting. The third process of social learning is role learning. It is obvious that all roles in our society represent socially-created ideas about what is normal for men or women to behave. Parents, of course, have been affected by socialisation and, because of this, parents develop clear ideas about the right and wrong ways for their children to behave in relation to their gender (Livesey & Lawson 2005). They use their socialisation experiences as a guide to socialise their children. Conditioning is the fourth process within socialisation. It involves systems of rewards and punishments, and children quickly learn through experience which behavioural characteristics bring rewards and which attract punishments.

Ethnicity, similarly, is constructed through socialising process. It is something we all have but always overlook. It is a basis for the formation of status groups, that is, groups that re distinguished from each other by specific lifestyles. Some sociologists view ethnicity as a basis of resource competition, which in turns differing the life chances of different ethnic groups. It is claimed to be a phenomena under social construction because of the existence of social class inequality. Those in higher social status are often dominant groups whereas the others may become subordinate groups. The latter one is also called ethnic minorities which “have been assigned a subordinated position in society by dominant groups on the basis of socially-constructed markers of phenotype, origins or culture” (Holmes et. al. 2007 p.148). Usually, ethnicity is notably recognised when individuals are marked as minorities. Those dominant groups use their superior status to get most of the power and resources, and at the same time, suppress the ethnic minorities so that they can maintain their superior position. It is generally resulted in racism and discrimination. The Nazi Germany and Jews is a good example. Clearly ethnicity played a vital role in definition of nationhood as the Nazi Germany saw it. They regarded themselves as the ultimate superior race, whereas Jews was people at the bottom. Jews at that time is a typical ethnic minority which was subdued by Nazi Germany. Another example is the Cronulla Riots happened in Sydney in 2005. The riot is rooted in the violence between several Lebanese (ethnic minority) and Australian (dominant group), which, as a result, led to an approximately 5000 people demonstration against Lebanese in Cronulla Beach, expressing their resent towards Lebanese (Poynting 2006). We can see, from the Cronulla riots, that the Australian was organising a protest in order to maintaining hegemony in their nation. It is, therefore, concluded that the class inequality and resources competition has stressed the socially constructed nature of ethnicity.

To conclude, the essay has demonstrated the fact that ethnicity and gender are actually social construction in stead of biologically produced. The first part of this essay gives clear definitions of ethnicity and gender. It then followed by explaining the process of gender socialisation through imitation, gender identification, role learning and conditioning, which involves both the conscious teaching and unconscious learning of social values and norms. The last part illustrates the power, economic resources and status interests are factors attributing to the production of ethnicity. It is a matter of class inequality that forms the nature of ethnicity and therefore, results in racism and discrimination.