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The concept of youth could be seen as difficult to define, as it covers such a diverse area, Pierre Bourdieu (1978)(In Jones 2010) suggested that ” youth is just a word” and that it “has been an evolving concept” which has developed over the century’s into a social construction. Youth could also be defined by some, especially in western societies as the” life stages between childhood and adulthood” and becoming independent from dependent (Kehily 2007). Some favour biological markers, in which youth is the period between puberty and parenthood, while others define youth in terms of cultural markers “a distinct social status with specific roles, rituals, and relationships” (USAID/CMM 2005). Definitions of youth by age vary drastically across different institutions; the UN has defined youth as person from 15 to 24 years of age, whereas the National Youth Policy of Nepal defines youth as persons from 16 to 40 years of age. Therefore in understanding the difficulties in defining youth, it is important to look at the many different ways , as to why age from the earliest of ages, industrialisation, cultures and the biological concept, to identify some of the key issues as to why the concept of youth is so difficult to define as it has such a diverse range of ideas and notions.

The term youth is defined by sociologists as a transition between ‘childhood and adulthood’ (Roche et al 2004) the alternative is the term ‘adolescence’ which is often:

‘Used within psychology to describe the common biological, psychological, emotional and sexual maturation phases associated with the onset of puberty and the teenage years’

From this notion it appears that some perceive youth as a “sociological category rather than a biological one” (Frith 2005, in kehily 2007) in that youth is a social construct rather than a biological and psychological concept as G Hall (1904) (In Kehily 2007p.57) noted that the biological side changes can have an effect on different people at different times in their life’s through “hormonal and psychological changes” from which they are not in control over and can have effect over their “feeling and behaviour”. However the sociologist Margret Mead1972 disregarded Halls concept that adolescence was brought on by biological changes which hall suggests occurs during puberty, from her own study concluded that this period in a young person’s life was the effect of “sexual repression in society and of society’s handling of young people” (kehily 2007). However as these study’s by Hall and Mead were carried out in a specific area of Samoa, this study maybe relevant to this area but it cannot be generalised to the rest of the world.

Social anthropologists on the other hand try and understand the concept of youth from a cultural perspective for instance rather than seeing it from biological view, they study their behaviour, cultural beliefs, family lives, social, political organisations and their relationships with each other (kehily 2007, p.47) although it must be noted that most cultural studies are “based upon non-western and traditional societies” (keily 2007). Van Gennep 1960 (in kehily 2007 p.62) studies the rites of passage, and states there are three stages: the leaving behind of the familiar, living away from the community and thirdly reintegration, he backs this up with the study of Nelson Mandela’s ignition of becoming a man, Gennep 1960 re-enforces this idea with the ritual of circumcism as some countries carry out rituals in order to publicly show “the transition from one stage of a life to another” (kehily 2007, p.63). although rites of passage can be observed in western countries it can be interpreted in different ways, for instance, celebrating a birthday, leaving school, going on to university and getting married can be seen as an initiation process into either the passage to youth or the transition into adulthood as Gennep notes “rites of passage were similar in structure and function wherever they occurred in the world”.

Aries (1962) (In kassem et al 2010) suggested that the concept of youth did not exist in the middle ages and that it has been socially constructed over the centuries, as Aries states, ‘ in medieval society the idea of childhood did not exist’, and that from the age of 7 a child would be classed as an adult, as Heywood (2001 p.11) noted that the transition into adulthood took place when a child no longer needed their mother and could survive without them, which was somewhere between the ages of 5 and 7, he states ‘they were launched into the great community of men’, although some would argue with this concept, as kassem et al (2010) suggests that Aries work is only ‘based upon the ideas of childhood and not children themselves’. Pollock (1983) (In kassem et al 2010) also criticises Aries and suggests that from studying ‘first hand accounts’ from diaries and autobiographies that this was not the case and that families in the 1500’s did acknowledge childhood as kassem (2010) notes that Pollock “quotes numerous examples of grief at infant death, from mothers and fathers” and that Aries work in only based upon ‘secondary sources’ rather than ‘actual accounts’. Although some researches would agree with Aries that the term childhood has only arisen from the 1700’s due to it being “something which has been constructed’ (kassem et al 2010,p.3) from the growth of the middle class and the Industrial Revolution (Stone 1977 in kassem et al 2010) as this conctrucuralism could be seen as to arise after the era of industrialisation, for instance from the early age of around 6 years old children were working , which was reported by the Royal Commission on the Employment of children (1843) that children began work at around the age of 6 (Heywood 2001,p.130). By the late eighteenth century it was emerging that children needed a childhood as it was noted by Hendrick (in Heywood 2001 p.142) that it was emerging that the young was in need of a childhood and that we needed to start taking note of this, as Hendrick noted that children were now being seen as “innocent, ignorant, dependent, and vulnerable”.

However some may only define youth, especially by age as they can be seen to have a vested interest for their own personal gain, their motivations may be different as the media for instance may have an interest to inform, whereas connection service see youth at the age of aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦ as they have an interest in improving the lives of youth by ways of empowering them into looking for work or improving their educational needs to enable them to work, wheras the high street stores such as newlook, topshop/topman aim their establishments at youth as for private gain in making money from them.

In conclusion as to why youth is so difficult to define, as it is quite diverse and complex and there are numerous reasoning behind the concept of youth from nature v nurture to cultural and sociological explanations it also varies globally as their values and beliefs differ from others therefor as jones notes (2010) ‘when youth is taken to mean age, then it really is just a word’. Therefore the concept of youth will always be difficult to define as there is no neutral definition and we all define the concept of youth in many different ways.

Word count:References

Social and Human Sciences

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/youth/

the concept of youth

http://www.allenandunwin.com/publicsociology/files/ch6RETHINK.pdf

Heywood, C. (2001) A history of childhood, Cambridge: polity press.

Kehily M.J. (2007) Understanding Youth: Perspectives, Identities and Practices. Milton Keynes:Open University Press.

Roche, J, et al. (2004) youth in society, 2nd ed, London: sage publications.

Kessem, D, et al (2010) Key issues in childhood and youth studies. Oxon: Routledge.

Jones, G. (2009) Key concepts: youth. Cambridge: polity press.

With his conflict theories and an ardent critique of the social order, C. Wright Mills promotes the concept of the sociological imagination throughout his work. Wright Mills felt that sociologist intellectuals had a lot to offer the world and that these intellectuals were not doing enough to bring about social change. He returned again and again to the subject of power and as Aronowitz points out, power was a central category which permeates Mills’ social thought, especially the mechanisms used by the elites in economy and social institutions (Aronowitz 2003). ‘… the structural clue to the power elite today lies in the political order, that clue is the decline of politics as genuine and public debate of alternative decisions’ (Mills 1956, 274). There has never been a better time to examine the central themes of C. Wright Mills work or, indeed, his theories on the ‘power elite’. This is a time in Irish politics, but especially a time in the Irish economy, when the theories of Wright Mills can be brought to bear in an arena that is indicative of the ‘power elite’ he described in his book. This essay will address the theories of C. W. Wright Mills using the current Irish political and economic state of the country as contemporary examples, as well as some reference to global contemporary issues. In his books ‘White Collar’ (1951) and ‘The Power Elite’ (Mills 1956), he identifies three elites in American society, Economic, Military and Political. Although his theories were mainly focused on American society, his pessimism might be allayed if he were alive today to see the way his theories have played out in the global contemporary social world. Throughout Mills’ writings, he makes his work accessible as he does not use complicated academic language, believing that sociology had a major part to play in life, therefore, it needed to be understood by those outside sociological circles. He also believes that we should learn from our history and use it to make a better life as what happens in the world affects us all. ‘Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both’ (C. W. Mills 1959, 3).

Mills key ideas were that people were living lives controlled by social circumstance and by social forces not of their own making. In his book ‘The Sociological Imagination’ he outlines this concept as ‘the personal troubles of milieu’ and ‘the public issues of social structure’ (C. W. Mills 1959, 10). The personal ‘troubles’ of people are a private matter and are controlled and shaped by the individual whilst being located in the local environment of the individual. The personal issue is of the individuals own making. The public ‘issues’ are those matters that go beyond these local environs and become less controllable by the individual with the interconnectedness of institutions and structures in society. Public issues are not of the individuals own making. As an example of these issues and troubles, one only needs to look at the debate and discourse over the last two years in relation to the economic situation the nation of Ireland. Due to the policies adopted by the ruling party over the last ten years in Ireland, the interdependence of government fiscal policy and the banking system have all but destroyed the economy. The individual only has control over his own personal finances; however, the impact of decisions made by the institutions of government and banks has impacted on the individuals finances. The crisis is a global one which is connected to the national crises, which in turn, is connected to the local crisis. Mills sums this point up extremely well when he states that

When people cherish some set of values and do not feel any threat to them, they experience well-being. When they cherish values but do feel them to be threatened, they experience a crisis – either as a personal trouble or as a public issue. And if all their values seem involved, they feel the total threat of panic (C. W. Mills 1959, 11).

Sharing his outlook with that of Max Weber on the subject of bureaucracy and rationalisation, Mills uses Weber to argue for a more politically and morally engaged society.

In his book White Collar (1951), Mills argues that organised labour was depoliticised and too passive with white collar workers becoming more automated. With the growth of the division of labour, the number of routine jobs for the middle class white collar workers increased with a lot more workers answering to a reducing management structure. White collar work was just as dull and repetitive as blue collar work, where as blue collar workers have their unions; the white collar workers were becoming unorganised and dependent on the substantial bureaucracies and the higher levels of management for their existence. So, ‘instead of the new middle classes serving as carriers of a revitalised agenda of social reform, Mills thought that they would become a depoliticized mass controlled by bureaucratic elites and a profit-driven consumer culture’ (Seidman 2008, 95). The growth of the affluent, or at least comfortable, middle class was to bring with it a stability and easing of class conflict, however, for Mills this brought with it a loss of autonomy, ‘a society of happy robots unaware that they are tumbling into a social hell’ (Seidman 2008, 95). As Mills himself writes,

Estranged from community and society in a context of distrust and manipulation; alienated from work and, on the personality market, from self; expropriated of individual rationality, and politically apathetic – these are the new little people, the unwilling vanguard of modern society. These are some of the circumstances for the acceptance of which their hopeful training has quite unprepared them (C. W. Mills, White Collar. The American Middle Classes 1951, xviii-xix).

One only has to look at the rise of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ era in Ireland for a perfect example of this theory. When things were good in the country the people just went with the flow, getting caught up in the new money, higher earnings, more leisure time and better lifestyles than their parents had before them. They carried on automatically voting the same party back into power, each time losing another piece of their autonomy. The people’s choice was concentrated on the trappings that came with the increased earnings and they did not question, then, complete shock when the economy collapses and the people do not know what to do. They do not know who to blame and when they eventually start to blame the government, they forget that it was them who put them into power either by voting or even worse, by not voting at all. Unlike previous generations where people worked up to white collar work, it became the norm to get a white collar job here in Ireland and the blue collar workers had to be drafted in from other parts of Europe. An interesting fact to arise from all of this is that for the first time in the history of the state, Irish parents are better off than their offspring. Throughout the history of our state, the children having been in receipt of good educations and getting higher paid jobs than their parents had so subsequently, were always in a better financial position during the leaner times and times of recession. Now, it is the children that are worse off while the parents have the means for a slightly more comfortable life. The workers were being sold the idea of a consumerist society that in turn sold the illusion of freedom and choice, by the rise of mass society and the ever increasing power of a corporate society. These ideas were sold by the elites who control the companies and institutions, what Mills refers to as ‘The Power Elite’.

Mills saw the emergence of three types of elites in society and these were the economic elite, the military elite and the political elite. He was writing post World War II and the military had become the nation’s security blanket, but he saw the elites as being interchangeable. Those in power, had power not only in military positions, but also in the corporate world and in the political world. Those who had gained power in the military throughout the war and those who had gained power from the economy of the war were now those who took to the political arena. Those who had power kept it among themselves and controlled the now depoliticised masses.

Political decentralization gave way to consolidation in the twentieth century. The growth of big business greatly stimulated the concentration of wealth; technological advances, colonial expansion, World War I, and the Great Depression promoted the enlargement of the federal government. Additionally two successive wars and the evolution of a military-industrial complex helped to transform the military into a major social force in the United States. By the post war years, the concentration of economic wealth in corporate hands, of political power in the nation government, and of military power in the federal military establishment had evolved to a point where whoever occupied the top positions in these three institutions exercised enormous power (Seidman 2008, 95-96).

Mills argues that the elites, between them, dominate and control vast bureaucratic organisations in modern society. Contemporary examples of such elites and corporations are people like Rupert Murdoch, born in Australia holding US citizenship since 1985, owner of forty per cent of global media giant News Corporation, a company with interests in brands such as Fox News, Twentieth Television, Sky Television, Star television (China), myspace.com, Harper Collins publishers, a range of tabloid and broad sheet newspapers; or Silvio Berlusconi, an Italian media mogul who is, at this point in time, the Italian Prime Minister and owner of the Italian Fininvest media empire – which controls in excess of 50 companies, who also has other financial interests in the insurance and banking sectors as well as construction, food production and a department store (Devereux 2007, 103-104) and Bill Gates, founder of The Microsoft Corporation, which is controls a vast amount of personal computers and computer programmes in most homes and offices globally. These people control what people see or hear in the media, a very powerful and controlling means of communication today. With such power they can exercise their will against others and because they are part of the elite, are not challenged by the existing aristocratic class. Whilst they operate and keep the power among themselves, this leads to a decline of politics as genuine public debate of alternative ideas.

The power elite is composed of men whose positions enable them to transcend the ordinary environments of ordinary men and women; they are in positions to make decisions having major consequences…..they are in command of the major hierarchies and organizations of modern society. They rule the big corporations, they run the machinery of state and claim it prerogatives. They occupy the strategic command posts of the social structure, in which are now centred the effective means of the power and the wealth and the celebrity which they enjoy (C. W. Mills 1956, 3-4)

One only has to look at the Oireachtas (Irish National Parliament) to see a fine example of the ruling power elite in the way in which a large proportion of the sitting T. D.’s (Teachta Dala- elected representatives) are members of families who have being elected for generations. To start at the top with the Taoiseach, Mr Brian Cowen, his father before him served as a sitting TD, other family names that are in this Irish political power elites are, Hanaffin, Coughlan, Lenihan, Cosgrave, Childers, to name but a few.

Mills saw the social backgrounds of these elites, coming from higher income professional classes, native born Americans, urban and from the East of the U.S., mainly protestant and mostly college graduates, as a key factor of unity among the elite. They attend the same schools, Ivy League universities, go to the same exclusive clubs, belong to the same establishments and organisations, and are also linked through marriage. Mills sees the unity of the elite was shown by ‘the interchangeability of top roles rests upon the parallel development of the top jobs in each of the big three domains’ (C. W. Mills 1956, 288). For Mills these power elite are the top of other powers within society and are dangerous not only by the decisions they make but those they do not make. He also refers to other levels of power, a middle level and a bottom level of power in society. The bottom level are the masses who are unorganized, powerless, ill informed, apathetic and being controlled from above. Mills regarded this as the root of a lot of the problems in society. The middle level of power did not represent the masses or have any effect on the power of the elite, nor did they question elite policies and through this did not offer any alternatives.

The top of modern American society is increasingly unified and often seems wilfully co-ordinated: at the top there has emerged elite of power. The middle levels are a drifting set of stalemated balancing forces: the middle does not link the bottom with the top. The bottom of this society is fragmented and even as a passive fact, increasingly powerless at the bottom there is emerging a mass society (C. W. Mills 1956, 324).

This last quotation has a ring of truth to it in today’s Ireland with the banking crisis, but even more so with the crises the Irish economy. Whilst the global financial crisis was triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in America in 2008, it also triggered a crisis in the Irish banking system, but the Irish crisis was aided and assisted by the collapse of the property sector. As Fintan O’ Toole points out in his book Ship of Fools (2010), the levels of corruptness and cronyism in Irish politics contributed to the crash of the Irish economy and the collapse of the Irish banking system (O’Toole 2009). O’Toole sees two big problems; Ireland acquired a hyper-capitalist economy on the back of a corrupt, dysfunctional political system. The interesting point, which relates to Mills writings is that O’Toole’s most recent book, Enough is Enough (2010), refers to the elite making all the decisions about the running of the country, but with nothing but disdain and contempt of the middle and lower classes in Ireland. Mills writes

We cannot assume today that men must in the last resort be governed by their own consent. Among the means of power that now prevail is the power to manage and to manipulate the consent of men. That we do not know the limits of such power – and that we hope it does have limits – does not remove the fact that much power today is successfully employed without the sanction of the reason or the conscience of the obedient (C. W. Mills, The Sociological Imagination 1959, 41).

In today’s time of crisis, with entire nations on the verge of collapse, Charles Wright Mills would be exonerated and celebrated for his sociological work and his sociological discourse . He was extremely pessimistic with the outlook for society and we must ask the question, if his pessimism was well founded?

For Mills, the sociologist must ask of themselves what the structure of this particular society is as a whole. He also questioned just where the society stands in human history and what varieties of men and women prevailed in the society or the period. He wished sociologists to be aware of social structures, as he believed they were in a position to be able to understand the links between these social structures and peoples lived experiences. This, he believed, was using ones’ sociological imagination and sociology’s role was to ‘translate personal troubles into public issues (C. W. Mills, The Sociological Imagination 1959, 5).

That Religion has both a positive and negative effect on human behaviour is widely accepted (Batson, Scoenrade and Ventis, 1993; Paloutzian and Park, 2005; Zinnbauer and Pargament, 2005). Psychology has an important role in understanding the basis of belief, experience and behaviour, (Emmons and Paloutzian, 2003), which suggests that how it is taught and how power is apportioned should be carefully considered particularly if, as suggested, religions are authoritative spiritual traditions. Despite clear importance and contradictory effect on human behaviour religion remained a fringe research area for the first seventy five years of the 21st Century and furthermore it was nonexistent in the research activity of Psychology between 1930 and 1960 (Emmons and Paloutzian, 2003; Gorsuch, 1988). A suggestion for the non evolution of the study of religion suggests that the emerging new science wanted to distance itself from its philosophical fathers and their occasional radical theories about religion, in all its forms were not necessarily compatible with the modernist scientific paradigm that was emerging (Gorsuch, 1988; Hood, Hill and Spika, 2009). In addition Emmons and Paloutzian, (2003) commented on their tendency to avoid taboo subjects.

Despite the fact that religion was ignored by psychologists, society’s changing attitude towards religion has been cited as having occurred concurrently with two historical events. Durkheim date claimed that both the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution which also marked the rise of democracy and personal freedom, instigated the breaking down of the social classes which governed religion thus leading to the new society questioning of blind faith, (cited in Pals, 1996). The hippie era which emerged in the 1960’s opened up new possibilities to a rebellious youth that initiated a societal turn to ‘new age’ thoughts. Roberts (2004) suggested this to be a secularisation in the evolution of religion, since the pre-industrial age had been a period when religion was regulated by governing bodies, whilst the industrial era featured a religious comparison with other organisation and finally the post industrial era marked identification as spiritual rather than religious. The post industrial age also marked the establishment of religion as a personalise system of meaning which suggests this was the beginning of a transformation of religiousness; however, the scientific establishment had not transformed its views of religion and spirituality. McPhillips (2002) considers this return to spirituality in the form of ‘new age’ and religion as a reaction by society to secularisation and a societal search for re-enchantment which has been lost through individualism. However spirituality is still being viewed from the western perspective and does not explain the transformation of what is practiced. Furthermore it also assumes that eastern religions which are newly practiced in the west retain the same original meaning and are expressed and practiced the same as by the original practitioners. When the study of religion did re-merge in the 1960’s with a new group of researchers their prime interest was prejudiced behaviour rather than religious behaviour it marked the rise of the measurement paradigm which became the main method of study of religion.

Problems do exist with the study of religions and spirituality. Gorsuch, (1988) suggested research in religion is at high risk of personal distortion. The lack of development demonstrates that the study of Religion has been socially managed, which indicates that politics are a factor, implying that the study remains in the realm of imperialism despite the general consciousness moving on as suggested by Durkheim (date cited in Pals, 1996). The effect of a personal agenda is again indicated through the resistance to the addition of spirituality within the title of APA division 36 psychology of religion (div 36). Its rejection is not based on empirical evidence but rather a claim that spirituality is fashionable (APA div 36, 2005) and has not amassed the same large body of evidence that its religious counterpart has done and therefore did not duly desire any credit. However, the western concept of religion marginalises spirituality, which includes much older eastern religions but again without empirical evidence (Dubuisson, 2003). The fashionable term ‘new age’, which is often the banner under which spirituality is defined has in response to this emerging negative view, moved away from the use of ‘new age’ according to Lewis, (1992) who further suggests that no new label should be found. A move away from the ‘new age’ concept however could have both positive and negative effects on the study since it will allow the integration into spirituality of suitable forms of belief and experience however without the label they are difficult to locate .

Interestingly Humanist psychology Div 32 puts a far greater emphasis on spirituality and bifurcates it from the supernatural, which it claims is the domain of religion (Elkin, 2001). Another key factor which needs to be considered when studying religion is a participant’s susceptibility to answer questions according to societal expectations or norms that is not only in relation to practices but also regarding personal experiences, (Batson, Scoenrade and Ventis, 1993). The study of religion became mainstream within psychology by the 1980’s which was marked by a plethora of books being published however spirituality didn’t emerge in mainstream research or in the title of any published books until the year 2005. Furthermore, Lewis (1992) suggests the overall consciousness of the general public has altered and this change has escaped the attention of psychologists who find it easier to conduct inventories within defined groups rather than addressing the general alteration of spiritual commonsense ideas. This general change in the consciousness has led to a crossover of the distinction of what is practiced such as following a traditional religion and practicing yoga. Without taking this change into account inventories are flawed. However what one person defines and argues to be rational could be another person’s irrationality, (Gorsuch, 1988) which is particularly important when considering these scales since the subjectivity of rationality is particularly true due to the complex nature of religion and spirituality. Furthermore as cited in Gorsuch, (1988) Colins (1986) suggests that a neutral objectivity of religion is difficult particularly since neutrality for some religions is regarded as being anti-religious. A further issue is that experience is also subjective and ill defined, (Hood, Hill and Spika, 2009). For some individuals it is considered to be ‘out there’ and tangible whilst for others experience includes what actually occurs within the mind, (Reber and Reber, 2001). Gadamer defines being experienced as radically undogmatic “The man knows that all foresight is limited and all plans uncertain. In him is realised the true value of experience.” Further experience is defined as, “openness to new experience” and symbolic of a search for new knowledge lack of expectation of having attained ultimate knowledge. (Gadamer, Weinsheimer and Marshall, 1989 p351)

In the past twenty five years the study of Religion has flourished (Emmons and Paloutzian, 2003) and is often added as a defining variable in much empirical research, (Gorsuch, 1988). This is true particularly in relations to mental and physical wellbeing as Emmons and Paloutzian, (2003) suggest the applied areas of clinical, counselling and health have taken the lead in the study of links with religion which has instigated a move forward in the understanding of the importance of religious and spiritual behaviour in relation to physical and mental health. However the study of religion in relation to social psychology is relatively new (Emmons and Paloutzian, 2003) since little is known about why or how people are religious or spiritual or about the criteria by which their choices are made and as a result the understanding of experience has not improved per se.

The experimental approach assumes that social situations are always objective and concepts such as Religion, and religiousness are ‘out-there’ waiting to be measured with religion as the umbrella term. Spirituality, which is considered more as an individual quest, is marginalised and considered to be associated in some unknown way to religion but it is far too subjective to be studied scientifically. Critical social psychologists however, suggest social constructs are always subjective even when a person is mindlessly acting according to stereotypical societal norms and heuristics, furthermore it is their claim that social norms have been purposefully created and are evolving throughout history (Stainton-Rodgers, 2003). Formalised religion requires group cohesion and cannot exist without society (Pals, 1996), and it was Freud (1927) who suggested that the individual is the enemy of society since society flourishes when individuals suppress their personal wishes which further indicates why spirituality is marginalised within traditional religions. The individual pursuit of religion is further criticised by the suggestion that the quest for spirituality outside the framework of religion is motivated by narcissism, (Hood, Hill and Spika, 2009) however, the humanist approach considers the innate core of religion to be the spiritual experience which is dressed up in the language and symbols of a culture or belief system (Elkins, 2001). Experimental researchers further claims that personality, attitudes and identities are stable and discourse is a true reflection of them. Even though a database search reveals more than 1000 papers relating to religion, it is rarely the focal point of the studies and often only one item measurement is used, (Gorsuch, 1988) which doesn’t take religion seriously and rarely features in a review of the literature thereby suggesting even more un-quantifed research is available.

Using ,the method of questionnaires the measurement paradigm created 125 inventories, (Hill and Hood, 1999) to define and classify religious aspects and activities with a view to understanding religion and spirituality more fully, however much confusion still remains and the number of different inventories furthers this confusion. Rather than consolidating existing research, researchers have devised new inventories instead of adapting old ones which suggests that each paper is based on a different definition of religion, (Emmons and Paloutzian, 2003) therefore due to a lack of consensus there is an excessive amount of data available but virtually no theories have been formulated. Hill, (2005) suggests that no new scales should be created until greater clarity is understood. This range of scales has increased an understanding of conventional western religious behaviour, however an understanding of spirituality and experience can only have decreased since it is more subjective in nature and when taking into account it more ancient origins. Zinnbauer and Pargament, (2005) observe that spirituality encompasses not only religiousness but also many other concepts of spirituality both formal and informal. What can be established from this lack of consensus is that an ultimate consensus is necessary or at least as Emmons and Paloutzian, (2003) suggests a minimum consensus however parameters maybe easier to establish. Further criticism that inventories have received is due to their narrow understanding of what religions experience entails, that they do not recognise unconventional practise which have been categorised as ‘new age’ despite many such as Buddhism and Hinduism including yoga having much more ancient origins, not taking into account cultural differences or supernatural experiences which questionnaires cannot adequately measure. Belzen and Hood, (2006) have suggested a move away from the measurement paradigm. A new framework has been proposed ‘the multilevel interdisciplinary paradigm’ which incorporates all levels of research from all domains, and promotes the acceptance of all data and for non reductive assumptions to be made, (Emmons and Paloutzian, 2003).

The theory behind this research stems from critical social psychology which considers concepts such as Religion, Gender and Sexuality as socially situated, which Faucault, (1971) suggested has been constructed by society through the use of regulations and technologies of the self which are used to self regulate. Durkheim (cited in Pals, 1996) in relation to society, called it mechanical Solidarity. This discursive approach was used by Edley and Whetherell, (1997) who explored the socially situated construction of masculinity. Through analysis a repertoire emerged of the ‘new man’ however a reference point remained of traditional values also in the discourse suggesting them to be the master and slave while constructing their identity. James (cited in Stainton-Rodgers, 2003) suggested the self to be made up of the ‘I’ ‘self as knower’ and the ‘Me’ ‘self as known’ however another construct of the self, the ‘inter-subjective self’ (Stainton-Rodgers, 2003) doesn’t divide the self quite as simply as James, but incorporates what Mead (1927) called the reflective self. It considers the self to be subject to inter-subjectivity, made from the following elements; reflectivity (reflective on their own behaviours), connectedness (interrelated to others and society), intentionality (purposeful and strategic), being-in-the-world (constantly influenced socially and contextually) or as James suggested a dynamic ‘flow of consciousness’ that is constantly being changed moment by moment.

This dynamic self was explored in the transcripts of Diana Princess of Wales interview by Abel and Stokoe, (2001) who found she constructed an inner ‘true self’ and outer ‘royal self’ which were reconciled as ‘an ambassador for the people’ however she constructed two selves in very different ways suggesting that the experimental inventory method of questionnaires cannot fully capture the nature of identity. Not only has the identity of self been deconstructed by critical psychologists but also the concepts used for membership categorisation such as religion, sexuality and gender, masculinity and feminism. Many suggest that the study of Religion and Spirituality is incompatible with the scientific method (Bateson, Schonrade and Ventis, 1993) however both incorporate the study of identity which critical psychologists also suggest is incompatible with the experimental method (Stainton-Rodgers, 2003) a first step however is to employ that which has been lacking to date, namely a universal understanding of both religion and spirituality by either definition or set parameters.

A discursive discussion of the definition and distinctions between religion and spirituality originated when, Starbuck (1899), defined spirituality as an instinct, whereas James (1902) considered religion in relation to pragmatics and defined religion and spirituality as institutional and personal religion respectively. Maslow (1976) the Humanist introduced similar descriptions, those being organised religion and personal spirituality however his approach suggested an innate human need rather than free will of behaviour. Maslow further considered spirituality to be naturalistic rather than super natural which is in contrast to the psychology of religion that regards spirituality as being focused on the un-measurable supernatural. A major feature of traditional religion is the following of teachings and a moral code however different forms of spirituality also have an intrinsic learning system (Lewis, 1992). Hall, (1904) considered religion more as a moral code and the facilitation of education of the young. Cognitive developmental research has suggested that children in keeping with Piaget’s stage theory have a concrete understanding of religion but not until the teenage years and more importantly, if ever, do humans develop an abstract symbolic understanding of religion, (Gorsuch, 1988) though there is very little research. In 1912 Leuba found 48 different definitions of religion (cited in Batson, Schoenrade and Ventis, 1993) with the diversity of religion and spirituality therefore it is not surprising that no single definition is in existence. Zinnbauer and Pargament, (2005) reviewed several definitions and call the situation a ‘flux over meaning’.

In debate over the construction of spirituality Pargament’s defines spirituality as ‘Sacred’ (1999a 1999b) with Emmons and Crumpler, (1999) differentiating sacralisation as both an internal and external sanctification the internal being the transformation of persons to become holy and pure and external sanctification as that of places, people and objects with the emphasis still being placed on god and religion. McPhillips, (2002) considers the sacred to have been created due to a need for enchantment however it is still based on western practices. Furthermore, this taps into the gender debate since religion predominates with sacred masculinity of God, Jesus, Mohamed, Buddha, for example whereas spirituality incorporates that of a feminine energy, sacred goddess, or a divine mother. Lee (2000) who considered spirituality in relation to feminism cited Ferguson, (1995) who claimed women are alienated by a masculine dominated religion which however suggests that all religions and spirituality are engendered. However as Lee (2000) suggests when spirituality is considered within the feminine domain there is a susceptibility of merely reiterating the gender division rather than creating a rebalance. Spirituality however generally refers to both genders, Hinduism has both gods and goddesses and Buddhism refers to the un-gendered Buddha within. Stifoss-Hanssen, (1999) considered focusing spirituality on sacred to be more subjective than necessary and related more to an individual’s personal definition of their religion rather than a general explanation implying that what is deemed sacred to one person, is not necessarily sacred to another. Stifoss-Hansen, (1999) claimed that Pargament, (1999) uses general terms intentionally to eliminate forms of spirituality which entirely exclude religion. Having disregarded the concept of sacred Stifoss-Hanssen (1999) argued spirituality as existential and related to meaning, placing spirituality as the more global term. Zinnbauer in, Zinnbauer and Pargament, (2005) agreed with the global difference however defined and differentiated “the search for the sacred” by religion being within a traditional framework. However Pargament in the same paper remained with religion but considers spirituality as the search for the sacred and religion as a search for the significance in ways to sacred.

Batson, Schoenrade and Ventis, (1993) proposed different definitions for function and substance. This split in the definition of function and substance implies that by defining and distinguishing between religion and spirituality an ideological dilemma exists between its use and content. Further examples of possible ideological dilemmas appear in Zinnbauer and Pargament, (2005) which they refer to as the rise of opposite and polarisation. The rise of spirituality (Hill et al, 2000; Zinnbauer and Pargament, 2005) religion is being described as “substantive, static, institutional, objective, belief-based and bad” and opposed to spirituality which is conceived as “functional, dynamic, personal, subjective, experience-based and good”. However this viewpoint maintains the imperialist, westernised concept of religion and spirituality as spirituality didn’t necessarily rise, rather the scientific study of religion finally recognised spiritualities’ prior construction. Dubussion (2003) claims religion is a western invented concept, which influences the way religion is defined by constructing western religions as ‘true’ and thus marginalising eastern religions which do not conform to the western ideal. Wulff (1997) suggested that what had occurred was a change of reference to religion from a verb to a noun. Religion has been defined by Reber and Reber, (2001) an institutionalised system of belief or traditional pattern of ritual and ceremony and is considered to have been devised due to the innate need to understand the human condition. This definition draws on the suggestion that religion is a belief based doctrine and implies any doctrine not only traditional western religious but any form of doctrine should be considered a religion, so a distinction between western Religion and Eastern spirituality is not suitable since many forms of spirituality also contain doctrines. Reber and Reber’s, (2001) definition further conceives religion as a function of a meaning system which places religion as a function of essentialism (Paloutzian and Park, 2005). Stifoss-Hanssen, (1999), however considers spirituality a function of a meaning system. Robert (2004) claimed the emerging American return to religion and the emergence of the ‘new age’ is based on a new search for ‘personal meaning’ rather than a general, implied and instructed societal meaning system which suggests that not all cultures are at the same evolutionary point with regard to understanding religion and spirituality. James (1902) highlighted the importance of context to meaning and suggested that experience rather than institution should be studied since institutions are a product of experience whereby suggesting a spiritual focus on substance rather than function. Furthermore Zinnbauer and Pargament, (2005) revised the possible distinction to religion as being reduced to its static function and spirituality as dynamic. However a search for meaning (function) does not indicate that the use of religion gives meaning (substance) or what is eventually accomplished by experience is meaning. It may simply be that meaning is the idea that draws some participants in (function) and their experience (Substance) is something else or vice versa depending on the individual. Furthermore there is no evidence that the sole function of religion or spirituality is for the purpose of meaning or that as the Humanists assume, there is a need for meaning.

Following on from the meaning system, Lewis (1992) suggests spirituality as a social and individual transformation however the transformation of both society and the individual may not solely have a spiritual basis since one may be affected by the other. Furthermore no one single model of transcendent reality can be chosen to define spirituality, (Reich, 2000) although transcendent reality can be defined as one concept which explains the experience of spirituality. In the UK the research on eastern spirituality is conducted by (BPS subsection) transpersonal psychology which draws on the humanistic aspects of the debate. Both transformation and transcendence focuses on the individual, which is another factor that often emerges in debate which could be considered as just one aspect of spirituality. Transpersonal psychology does however also incorporate the self help and mind, body and spirit concept which incorporates a ‘how to’ concept which can still be considered a doctrine that would draw aspects of it closer to religion as opposed to spirituality. Furthermore religious experience could be suggested to also incorporate personal transformation (Lewis, 1992) this adds to the argument that both religion and spirituality have a learning focus.

Other concepts emerge however within the debate ‘connectedness’ (Emmons et al, 2003; Hill and Pargament, 2005; Paloutzian and Park, 2005; Pargament, 1999a; Reich, 2000; Stifoss-Hanssen,1999) is a major concept used to construct spirituality (Keisling et al, 2006; Knight, 2002; Lee, 2000; 2007; Lee and Marshall, 2002; Person, 2002) although what is connected is not so clear cut. Reich, (2000) suggested the connection to be to others, nature and a higher being whereas Lee (2000) found that participants in feminist spirituality constructed connectedness as to the feminine goddess however by connecting to the feminine it doesn’t discriminate the possibility of other connectedness or claim that this form of spirituality was for everybody. There is also some use of ‘oneness’ which is constructed as ‘collective’ of many different forms. Lee and Marshall (2002) further propose links between spiritual ‘oneness’ and popular cultures such as ‘the rave scene’ of the 80’s and ‘DIY culture’ whereby lack of need for personal gain is constructed as ‘spiritual enough’ however many other popular activities can be linked such as ‘the sporting zone’ (Douillard, 2001) gifts such as music, writing and art which are often considered to occur with a connection to something else are often called ‘a muse’.

The concept of religious instinct, that Paloutzian and Park, (2005) constructed as a compulsion, Lee and Marshall, (2002) suggest is the spiritual construction of instinct as a different kind of knowing which uses the ‘vehicular body’ not just the mind and further as a way of connecting the body and mind and an initiation of transcendence and accessing ’embodied knowledge’ and connection to a universal energy (Lee and Marshall, 2002). Hinduism is a particularly good example of this construction together with its incorporation of yoga, as well as meditation within spirituality. Elkin, (2001) also claimed one of the characteristics of spirituality is a ‘mysterious energy’, Reich, (2000) called it a higher being and points out that in religion the higher being is god. Dubussion (2003) suggested everything religious to be defined as ‘cosmographic formations’ which suggests connections through cosmic alignment.

Traditional and non-traditional Religions are much better concepts in order to distinguish traditional western religion from spiritual religion such as, ‘new age’ and eastern religions and spirituality could be defined as experience whether religious, non religious or spiritual. Emerging factors of religion and spirituality rather than a definition are as follows; finding or receiving meaning, religious institution and spiritual self, belief system, doctrine, teaching system and moral code, experience is more closely aligned with being spiritual, and behaviours being distinguished as religious or spiritual. Emerging interpretative repertoires specific to spirituality are as follows; transcendence, transformation, connectedness, instinct, embodied knowledge, higher energy or being rather than specifically a god.

There is a dearth of research into spirituality, which is holding back its acceptance as being equal to Religion in research. The discursive debate of interpretative repertoires does not however explain their usage and construction. Engler, (2005) claimed constructionist commentary in the form of discursive discussion of spirituality is weak but plentiful but adds little to the understanding and constructionist research in the form of discursive analysis is strong but in short supply. What is required is strong constructionist work, which considers how spirituality is constructed, however to ignore Religion when considering spirituality is not beneficial. A discursive analysis of the experiences of spirituality is required considering how people construct their spiritual identity and the identity of spirituality.

This study has considered the constructive qualities of religion and spirituality, which have emerged from the literature and has found key themes of gender, power and being or doing. Religion is strongly influenced by following a doctrine and by doing religion putting faith in a powerful higher being whereas spirituality is described more by being spiritual and connected and the power coming from within however contradictions in research into mind body and spirit literature also suggests a doing rather than being activity which perhaps is what is confusing the meaning of what spirituality entails. This research will explore what is the nature of spirituality and factors affecting it through discursive analysis of semi-structured interviews with those practicing a particular form of non-institutionalised, non-organised earth based spiritual activities.

Research questions/aims:

Exploring the meaning of spirituality, and the possible relation to gender and power and how participants construct their identity as a spiritual being.

Contrasting peoples experiences of spirituality with psychological research into religious experience and ‘body, mind and spirit’.

Bring a new perspective to the study of spiritual experience and exploring possible difference between being and doing spirituality.

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

“The UK government’s social exclusion agenda is broad: Involving work to combat the wider causes of exclusion alongside policies more focused on tackling poverty” this is what the UK National Report on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2008-2010 says on the government agenda to deal with social exclusion and poverty its evident in this statement the UK government seas social exclusion alone will not eliminate poverty without policies that directly focused on persistent poverty. In this paper I will argue the links between “social exclusion” focused concepts, “persistent poverty” and “inequality”. My arguments will focus on a) the origins of the social exclusion concept, b) how the concept of social exclusion is defined in the UK context, c) the state of child poverty in Britain, the state of increasing inequality for children in Britain and finally d) the linkages of the social exclusion concepts has on persistent poverty and increasing inequality for children in Britain.

Looking at the history and emergence of the concept of social exclusion its evident that most scholars and researchers agree this concept originated from the to industrialized countries (notably France in the 1970) “exclusion sociale” meaning “social exclusion” in English was obvious, in the French government policies, where specific groups of the society were excluded by the state (Rene Lenoir 1974) from receiving social protection/social insurance on policies and conditions. To qualify for state social protection/insurance one had to either find a paying job or married to a person holding a paying job. Since the 1980 the concept of social exclusion has been widely adopted in the European Union and Britain.

Social exclusion in the UK context has been defined as “the short-hand term for what can happen when people or areas have a combination of problems, such as unemployment, discrimination, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, high crime and family breakdown. These problems are linked and mutually reinforcing. Social exclusion is an extreme consequence of what happens when people do not get a fair deal throughout their lives and find themselves in difficult situations. This pattern of disadvantage can be transmitted from one generation to the next” by the Social Exclusion Task Force (SETF) in the cabinet office, which plays the role of directing a common and coordinated strategy to fight and overcome social exclusion in government departments.

To examine some of the definitions and what it means in the academic and researchers’ circles social exclusion has been defined:

Hilary Silver: Who concentrates on the European social and political ideology looks at the social exclusion concept in three paradigms and connects each paradigm to categories of causes and affects.

The solidarity paradigm founded in the French ideology of social solidarity: Solidarity deems the disassociation of one from the society and visa versa, implying the shared interests within which a healthy society is built.

The specialization paradigm is component of the liberal individualism philosophy; a society is comprised of individuals with different abilities and objectives assembled around the allotment of labour and trade. When individuals or groups in these allotments are obstructed by the likes of discrimination or over-regulation then exclusion takes place.

And the monopoly paradigm where collective individuals, groups or specific regulation that exclude a specific individuals to exercise/participate/make use a privilege enjoyed by monopoly groups.

Ruth Levitas: identifies three different discourses of Social Exclusion, First approach is a redistributive Discourse (RED) which derives from critical social policy, and which sees social exclusion as a consequences of poverty, the indicator for social exclusion in RED is low income. She adds Social integration Discourse (SID) is participation in paid work, therefore young people of working age should participate in labor market. Unemployment or economic inactivity indicates social exclusion. The third approach is a moral underclass discourse (MUD), which social exclusion is used as a substitute not for poverty or non employment, but for the underclass .This discourse presents the socially excluded as the morally distinct from the rest of the society and does not address inequality.

According to (Arjen De Haan 1999) “social exclusion is a primary framework for analysis and not – In his my opinion – a new term for specific marginalised groups.” In his second issue he argues “In an Anglo-Saxon tradition, social exclusion means a rather different thing. One of the main theoretical differences appears to me to be the fact that ‘poverty’ is seen as an issue which is separate from ‘social exclusion”

According to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee Child Poverty in the UK Second Report of Session 2003-04 Volume one there are 3.6 million Children living in poverty in the UK, where UK is ranked bottom in the 2007 UNICEF report on child wellbeing out of 21 OECD countries.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s latest report New Policy Institute Monitoring poverty and social exclusion 2009 in the United Kingdom published in December 2009 shows:

The number of children in low-income households where at least one adult works is, at 2.1m, the highest it has ever been. Half a million higher than in 2003/04, it is this increase that has stalled progress towards the Government’s child poverty targets – prior to the recession.

The number of children in low-income households has also risen in the last three years. As a proportion, it now stands at around 30% (AHC). All of this recent rise has been among children in working households and it is this that has undermined progress towards the target to end child poverty. Even the more modest target as set out in the Child Poverty Duty will not be reached without the problems of in-work poverty being addressed.

Around 1.8 million children live in workless households. Two-thirds of them are in lone parent households.

Save the children UK latest report for measuring poverty reveals that:

Children and families in the UK are living in severe poverty. 1.7 million Children across the UK live in severe poverty – around 13% of all UK children.

As we approach the deadline for the interim goal of halving child poverty by 2010, we find that the level of severe child poverty is actually increasing.

I believe that this is a clear evidence of the existence of poverty and child poverty in Britain, The UK government has formulated a child poverty currently awaiting royal assent, this bill will put in law the government’s pledge to eradicate child poverty by 2020, this bill according to the department of children, schools and families will tackle children living in:

Relative low income (whether the incomes of the poorest families are keeping pace with the growth of incomes in the economy as a whole) – target is less than 10%

Combined low income and material deprivation (a wider measure of people’s living standards) – target is less than 5%

Absolute low income (whether the poorest families are seeing their income rise in real terms) – target is less than 5%

Persistent poverty (length of time in poverty) – target is to be set in regulations by 2015.

From this the underlying causes of poverty can be attributed to low income, material deprivation.

Reports from the NPI, Save the Children and TUC indicate the likelihood of the 2020 child poverty eradication target being missed due to the recession, yet this bill which is at its last stage fails to acknowledge that this might be missed and no contingent strategies or framework has been mapped out in the event the country faces similar recessions or goes back to the same. Persistent poverty can not be eradicated unless more severe actions, strategies and policies are put in place. While the government tackles poverty, persistent poverty is on the rise.

Peter Townsend argued that poverty should not be understood in terms of subsistence, but in terms of people’s ability to participate in the customary life of society:” individuals, families and groups can be said to be in poverty when their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities”(Townsend,1979,p32)

Inequality in Britain is said to in the same level as child poverty (TUC 2008); inequality has relative connection to persistent poverty and as this affect more in children and those leaving in poverty. The poor (in poverty and persistent poverty) and the excluded (discriminated and unemployed) are more likely not to have access to their democratic rights and human rights and thus falling into the “inequality” category of the society. By tackling poverty (persistent and non) and social exclusion, certain short term progress towards inequality can be achieved. The social exclusion concept that focuses on those excluded does address some of the underlying causes of inequality and poverty in general; Social exclusion is a multi-dimensional process as I have explained above. It’s crucial to look at social exclusion as a process and a framework and not as an outcome. For example discrimination beliefs and practices that affect the labour, trade markets, children, member of the society and the wellbeing of the society as whole can be said to be:

Social exclusion (discrimination) and can be over with awareness campaings by responsible institutions, bridging the gaps between communities and government putting in place policies to put a stop to this.

A cause of persistent poverty, a child in a home of parents that has been discriminated against, will continue to grow in a home that in the low-income category and if this is not changed will grow up to be in the same state of his parents.

Increased Inequality as the child will not be in an equal state with other children in the society, as it has been revealed in studies carried out in low-income homes and unemployed parents that children in these homes are the least prepared for school and are more likely to suffer from physiological inequality, the below table compares the performances of children in the different categories of income in the united kingdom and shows those who are in the lower part of the income grid do not perform as well as children from adequate income homes.

I will conclude that although the concept of social exclusion concentrates on those excluded it does address the issues that lead to general poverty and inequality but has not been designed to directly tackle the issues of persistent poverty and inequality in the contemporary British society and in particular the children. Persistent poverty and increased inequality are the results of the issues that the social exclusion concept and policies could not overcome.

Medicalization is term for the erroneous tendency by society-often perpetuated by health professionals to view effects of socioeconomic disadvantage as purely medical issues. It is the process by which human conditions and problems come to be defined and treated as medical conditions and problems, and thus come under the authority of doctors and other health professionals to study, diagnose, prevent or treat. The process of medicalization can be driven by new evidence or theories about conditions, or by developments in social attitudes or economic considerations, or by the development of new purported treatments. Medicalization is often claimed to bring benefits, but also costs, which may not always be clear. Medicalization is studied in terms of the role and power of professions, patients and corporations, and also for its implications for ordinary people whose self-identity and life-decisions may depend on the prevailing concepts of health and illness. Once a condition is classed as medical, a medical tends to be used rather than a social model. Medicalization may also be termed pathologization (from pathology), or in some cases disease mongering.

The term medicalization entered academic and medical publications in the 1970s, for example in the works of figures such as Peter Conrad and Thomas Szasz. They argued that the expansion of medical authority into domains of everyday existence was promoted by doctors and was a force of social control that was to be rejected in the name of liberation. This critique was embodied in now-classic works such as Conrad’s “The discovery of hyperkinesis: notes on medicalization of deviance,” published in 1973 (hyperkinesis was the term then used to describe what we might now call ADHD).

Medicalization explains a situation which had been previously explained in a moral, religious or social terms now become defined as the subject of medical and scientific knowledge.

Many years ago for example some children were deemed and regarded as problematic, misbehaving and unruly. Some adults were shy and men who were balding just wore hats to hide it. And that was that. Nevertheless, nowadays all these descriptions could and possibly would be attributed to a type of illness or disease and be given a diagnosis or medicine to treat it in some cases. Medicalization explains this. Likewise, “medicalization has been applied to a whole variety of problems that have come to be defined as medial, ranging from childbirth and the menopause through to alcoholism and homosexuality (Gabe et al. 2006: 59). Furthermore, the term explains the process in where particular characteristics of every day life become medically explained, thus come under the authority of doctors and other health professionals to study, diagnose, prevent and or treat the problem.

Originally, the concept of medicalisation was strongly associated with medical dominance, involving the extension of medicine’s jurisdiction over erstwhile ‘normal’ life events and experiences. More recently, however, this view of a docile lay populace, in thrall to expansionist medicine, has been challenged. Thus, as we enter a post-modern era, with increased concerns over risk and a decline in the trust of expert authority, many sociologists argue that the modern day ‘consumer’ of healthcare plays an active role in bringing about or resisting medicalisation. Such participation, however, can be problematic as healthcare consumers become increasingly aware of the risks and uncertainty surrounding many medical choices. The emergence of the modern day consumer not only raises questions about the notion of medicalisation as a uni-dimensional concept, but also requires consideration of the specific social contexts in which medicalisation occurs. In this paper, we describe how the concept of medicalisation is presented in the literature, outlining different accounts of agency that shape the process. We suggest that some earlier accounts of medicalisation over-emphasized the medical profession’s imperialistic tendencies and often underplayed the benefits of medicine. With consideration of the social context in which medicalisation, or its converse, arises, we argue that medicalisation is a much more complex, ambiguous, and contested process than the ‘medicalisation thesis’ of the 1970s implied. In particular, as we enter a post-modern era, conceptualizing medicalisation as a uni-dimensional, uniform process or as the result of medical dominance alone is clearly insufficient. Indeed, if, as Conrad and Schneider (1992) suggested, medicalisation was linked to the rise of rationalism and science (ie to modernity), and if we are experiencing the passing of modernity, we might expect to see a decrease in medicalisation.

The idea of medicalization is perhaps “related only indirectly to social constructionanism, in that it does not question the basis of medical knowledge as such, but challenges its application”. Nettleton continues and states that is “draws attention to the fact that medicine operates as a powerful institution of social control” (Nettleton 2006: 25). It does this by claiming expertise in areas in life which previously were not regarded as medical problems or matters. This includes such life stages such as ageing, childbirth, alcohol consumption and childhood behaviour moreover, the “availability of new pharmacological treatments and genetic testing intensifies these processesaˆ¦ thus it constructs, or redefines, aspects of normal life as medical problems”. (Conrad and Schneider 1990 as cited in Nettleton 2006: 25).

Medicalization can occur on three different and particular levels according to Conrad and Schneider (1980). The first was explained as “conceptually when a medical vocabulary is used to define a problem”. In some instances, doctors do not have to be involved and an example if this is AA.

The second was the institutional level, “institutionally, when organizations adopt a medical approach to treating a problem in which they specialise” and the third was “at the level of doctor – patient interaction when a problem is defined as a medical and medical treatment occurs” (as cited in Gabe et al 2004:59). These examples all involve doctors and their treatments directly, not including alcoholism which has other figures to help people such as the AA.

The third level was the “interactional level” and this was where the problem, social problem, becomes defined as medical and medicalization occurs as part of a doctor-patient interaction.

Medicalization shows the shifting ideas about health and illness. Health and illness does not only include such things as influenza or the cold, but deviant behaviours. Deviant behaviours which were once merely described as criminal, immoral or naughty before have now been labelled with medical meanings. Conrad and Schneider “five-staged sequential process” of medicalizing deviant behaviour.

Stage one involves the behaviour itself as being deviant. ‘Chronic drunkenness’ was regarded merely as “highly undesirable”, before it was medically labelled as ‘chronic drunkenness’. The second stage “occurs when the medical conception of a deviant behaviour is announced in a professional medical journey” according to Conrad and Schneider.

A prominent thinker in the idea of medicalization was Ivan Illich, who studied it profusely and was very influential, in fact being one of the earliest philosophers to use the term “medicalization”. Illich’s appraisal of professional medicine and particularly his use of the term medicalization lead him to become very influential within the discipline and is quoted to have said that “Modern medicine is a negation of health. It isn’t organized to serve human health, but only itself, as an institution. It makes more people sick than it heals.”

Illich attributed medicalization “to the increasing professionalization and bureaucratization of medical institutions associated with industrialization” (Gabe et al 2004: 61). He supposed that due to the development of modern medicine, it created a reliance on medicine and doctors thus taking away peoples ability to look after themselves and “engage in self care”.

In his book “Limits to medicine: Medical nemesis” (1975) Illich disputed that the medical profession in point of fact harms people in a process known as ‘iatrogenesis’. This can be elucidated as when there is an increase in illness and social problems as a direct result of medical intervention. Illich saw this occurring on three levels.

The first was the clinical iatrogenesis. These involved serious side-effects which were are often worse than the original condition. The negative effects of the clinical intervention outweighed the positive and it also conveyed the dangers of modern medicine. There were negative side effects of medicine and drugs, which included poisoning people. In addition, infections which could be caught in the hospital such as MRSA and errors caused my medical negligence.

The second level was the social iatrogenesis whereby the general public is made submissive and reliant on the medical profession to help them cope with their life in society. Furthermore all suffering is hospitalised and medicine undermines health indirectly because of its impact on social organisation of society. In the process people cease to give birth, for example, be sick or die at home

And the third level is cultural iatrogenesis, which can also be referred to as the structural. This is where life processes such as aging and dying become “medicalized” which in the process creates a society which is not able to deal with natural life process thus becoming a culture of dependence. Moreover, people are dispossessed of their ability to cope with pain or bereavement for example as people rely on medicine and professionals. (Illick 1975)

Sociologists such as Ehrenreich and English had argued that women’s bodies were being medicalized. Menstruation and pregnancy had come to be seen as medical problems requiring interventions such as hysterectomies. Nettleton furthered this notion and discussed this in relation to childbirth. The Medicalization of childbirth is as a result of professional dominance. She stated that “the control of pregnancy and childbirth has been taken over by a predominantly male medical profession”.

Medicine can thus be regarded as patriarchal and exercising an undue social control over women’s lives. From conception to the birth of the baby, the women are closely monitored thus medical monitoring and intervention in pregnancy & childbirth are now routine processes. Childbirth is classified as a ‘medical problem’ therefore “it becomes conceptualized in terms of clinical safety, and women are encouraged to have their babies in hospitals”. This consequently results in women being dependent on medical care.

Nevertheless recent studies and evidence have shown that it may actually be safer to have babies at home because “there would have been less susceptible to infection and technocological interference” (Oakley 1884, as cited in Nettleton 2006: 26)

“Medicalization combines phenomenological and Marxist approaches of health and illnessaˆ¦ in that it considers definitions of illness to be products of social interactions or negotiations which are inherently unequal” (Nettleton 2006: 26). Marxism discussed medicalization and linked it with oppression, arguing that medicine can disguise the underlying causes of disease which include poverty and social inequality. In the process they see health as an individual problem, rather than a society’s problem.

Medicalization is studied in terms of the role and power of professions, patients and corporations, and also for its implications for ordinary people whose self-identity and life-decisions may depend on the prevailing concepts of health and illness. Once a condition is classed as medical, a medical model of disability tends to be used rather than a social model. “It constructs, or redefines, aspects of normal life as medical problems” (Nettleton 2006: 26).

Medicalization has been referred to as “the processes by which social phenomena come to be perceived and treated as illnesses”. It is the process in by issues and experiences that have previously been accounted for in religious, moral, or social contexts then become defined as the subject of scientific medical knowledge.

The idea itself questions the belief that physical conditions themselves constitute an illness. It argues that the classification and identification of diseases is socially constructed and. It has been suggested that medicine is seen as being instilled with subjective assumptions of the society in which it developed. Moreover, it argues that the classification and identification of diseases is socially constructed and, along with the rest of science, is far from achieving the ideals of objectivity and neutrality. The medical thesis “has much to recommendaˆ¦including the creation of new understanding of the social processes involved in the development and response to medical diagnosis and treatment”

To understand the level of social power that the medical community exercises through medicalization, Conrad explains that physicians have medicalized social deviance. They accomplish this by claiming the medical basis of matters such as hyperactivity, madness, alcoholism and compulsive gambling [Conrad, p 107]. By medicalizing social matters, medical professionals have the power to legitimize negative social behavior, such as the case of suspected killers in judicial courts who claim temporary insanity and are, therefore, exonerated on medical basis [Conrad, p 111]. In extending this concept, the Endocrine Society may have medicalized social deviance in men who reduce their work motivation or become characteristically unpleasant because they are experiencing andropause. In effect, despondency in older men might become an indicator of male menopause rather than a possible indicator of social deviance.

Physicians also play a direct and significant role in the medicalization of social experiences. In analyzing the doctor-patient interaction of medicalization, Kaw argues that medical professionals have medicalized racial features by encouraging cosmetic surgery among Asian American women, for example, in order to avoid the stereotypical physical features of “small” and “slanty” eyes that are often associated with passivity, dullness and lack of sociability [Kaw, p 75]. Kaw asserts that plastic surgeons use medical terms to “problematize the shape of their eyes so as to define it as a medical condition [Kaw, p 81].” Their use of technical terms and expressions should be questioned, especially since the power of such language influences Asian American women to pursue cosmetic surgery, when it is not necessary [Kaw, p 82]. Analogously, the Endocrine Society medicalized testosterone deficiency by defining it as Andropause; this helped perpetuate the notion, among older individuals, that if they lack sexual drive or sense depression and fatigue, they should seek medical attention because they are experiencing an acute medical condition rather than a stage in the physiological cycle.

The role played by the health care structures in medicalizing conditions is enhanced by that of the pharmaceutical industry. In order to achieve implementation of a drug in the market, the medicalization of a problem is critical [Conrad, p 111]. Once a medical definition for male menopause was established, the pharmaceutical company further medicalized the problem by launching strong advertisement campaigns aimed at older men and physicians alike, so as to popularize the drug among the general public and medical community [Groopman, 2002]. In a Time magazine advertisement, the industry appealed to the emotions of older men by linking “low sex drive” to the decline of testosterone levels rather than to a life process [Groopman 2002].” In this manner, the pharmaceutical industries’ profit based ideology facilitates the medicalization of testosterone deficiency by popularizing conditions that may be exceedingly common among health product consumers.

Medicalization also changes patients’ ideologies of biomedicine and leads them to believe that biomedicine must not only offer cure for illnesses, but also offer life enhancements. Similar to the way that impotence and hair loss was medicalized by promoting drugs like Viagra to enhance sexual performance, and solutions like Rogaine for hair re-growth, male menopause has been medicalized because it causes low “sex drive” among other general symptoms [Groopman, 2002]. As a consequence, older men will opt to not only seek but demand life enhancements achievable through medicine disregarding the fact that such treatments can be detrimental to health. In fact, Groopman states that known side effect of testosterone therapy include abnormal enlargement of the breasts, testicular shrinkage, congestive heart failure and enlargement of the prostate gland [Groopman, 2002]. Medicalizing a problem can be harmful and deadly, yet medical professionals perpetuate this dangerous behavior by medicalizing conditions that patients may seek to treat for their personal “wellbeing”

It is important to realize that medicalization is not merely the result of “medical imperialism” but rather the interactive process that involves society and the health community; [Conrad, p 115]. It includes patients and doctors alike. Nonetheless, awareness of the mechanisms by which the medical community affects society is important because medicine pertains to all health consumers. Male menopause only serves as one of the many examples of life experiences that have become medicalized by the healthcare community.

Concluding this essay, the concept of medicalization started with the medical dominance which involved the increase of medicine’s influence and labelling over things regarded as ‘normal’ life events and experiences. However in recent time, this view of a submissive lay populace, in thrall to expansionist medicine, has been challenged. As a consequence, as we enter a post-modern era, with increased concerns over risk and a decline in the trust of expert authority, many sociologists argue “that the modern day ‘consumer’ of healthcare plays an active role in bringing about or resisting medicalization”. Furthermore “Such participationaˆ¦can be problematic as healthcare consumers become increasingly aware of the risks and uncertainty surrounding many medical choices”. Moreover “the emergence of the modern day consumer not only raises questions about the notion of medicalisation as a uni-dimensional concept, but also requires consideration of the specific social contexts in which medicalisation occurs” (Ballard and Elston 2005). In addition they suggest that as we enter a post-modern era, conceptualizing medicalisation as a uni-dimensional or as the result of medical dominance primarily is insufficient.

I will begin this essay with introducing some sociologists’ view on nationalism. Ronald Rogowski (1985 cited in Billig, 1995:43) viewed ‘nationalism as “the striving” by members of nations “for territorial autonomy, unity and independence”‘. Anthony Giddens mentioned nationalism as a ‘phenomenon which is primarily psychological’ (1985, p.116; see also Giddens, 1987, p.178 cited in Billig, 1995:44). According to his view, nationalism happens when normal life is disturbed (Billig, 1995:44). He thought that ‘nationalist feeling “are not so much a part of regular day-to-day social life” (1985, p.215 cited in Billig, 1995:44), but “tend to be fairly remote from most of the activities of day-to-day social life”‘; he thought that ‘ordinary life is affected by nationalist sentiments only “in fairly unusual and often relatively transitory conditions”‘ (p.218 cited in Billig, 1995:44). According to the writing of Michael Ignatieff, nationalism was being described as ‘dangerous, emotional and the property of others’ (Billig, 1995:46).

There are different real life examples that support the idea of banal nationalism: According to the Day Survey, journalists and politicians usually adopt the phrase ‘the nation’ (Achard, 1993 cited in Billig, 1995:116). It leads the readers to assume a story is happened in the homeland, unless the contrary is introduced in the topic or first paragraph of the story (Billig, 1995:116). For the weather section of the British press, Billig mentions that ‘the notion of “the weather” implies a national deixis, which is routinely repeatedaˆ¦the reports tend to be similar and contain a map of Britain, which is not actually labeled as Britain: the shape of the national geography is presumed to be recognizable’ (Billig, 1995:116-117). Also, the maps showing the weather in Europe and the north Atlantic in Telegraph, Guardian, Independent and The Times always put the British Isles in a central location (Billig, 1995:117). Billig also discovered that there was much more national news than international news being mentioned in the British press (Billig, 1995:117). Fowler claimed this phenomenon as ‘the “homocentrism” of the press, which is “a preoccupation with countries, societies and individuals perceived to be like oneself” (1991, p.16 cited in Billig, 1995:118). By reading the British Press on a day-to-day basis people are being mindlessly reminded that Britain meant to be the centre of world’s nations to them which things happening locally within the Britain are important to them. The people’s sense of belonging to Britain may be unconsciously enhanced through this daily practice of reading the British press. This example in line with the concept of banal nationalism which reveals that national identity is nothing natural but is socially constructed and maintained through daily activities such as reading a newspaper.

In addition to the example of the British press, there was a research carried out on the Turkish Press that supports the idea of banal nationalism: thirteen out of thirty-eight Turkish newspapers used the Turkish flag or slogans such as ‘Turkey for the Turk’, ‘The new newspaper of new Turkey’ or the map of Turkey as their logos which directly or indirectly remind the Turkish people of their national identity (Yumul & A-zkirimli, 2000:789). The ‘unimaginative repetitive’ act of the Turkish newspapers which act as a ‘continuous, albeit barely conscious, reminders of the nationhood’; they are equal to the ‘unwave flag which unmindfully reminding the Turkish of their national identity and homeland’ (Yumul & A-zkirimli, 2000:790). Seventy-six per cent of the Turkish newspapers divided the local news and the foreign news; ‘domestic news items are classified under subject headings and do not carry a specific caption like “Home News”‘ (Yumul & A-zkirimli, 2000:790). The Turkish Newspapers usually use an unlabelled map of Turkey to report the weather which ‘reinforce and naturalize at the level of the unconscious the geographical shape of the homeland which the reader has encountered countless times in the course of his lifetime’ (Yumul & A-zkirimli, 2000:790). We can also notice the banal nationalism through the sport news on the Turkish press. For instance, ‘Fanatik, after reporting the victory of the 14-16 age-group team of Galatasaray over the Dutch Ajax quotes the managers of Galatasaray: “Let them learn from us, instead of us taking them as examples”‘ (Yumul & A-zkirimli, 2000:800). This example of the Turkish press demonstrates that banal nationalism is taking place in different nations. The slogans, imbalance amount of local news and foreign news, style of weather reports, and content of the sport news of the Turkish press creates a sense of ‘us’ and ‘them’ between our nation- Turkey and others- the foreign nations. The readers will be unconsciously reminded about their national identity- Turkish. This example once again reveals socially constructed characteristic of the national identity.

Example that supports banal nationalism can also be found among the Scottish Newspapers: Daily Record a Scottish tabloid, which its masthead was stated as ‘Your Papers-Made in Scotland’; and also ‘Scotland’s Champion’, which ‘ensemble unambiguously fixes the centre of its social and spatial deictric’ and ‘evokes the Record as “the” defender of the Scottish nation’ (Law, 2001:306). There are far more examples that supporting the idea of banal nationalism in our daily life. For instance, the content and style of TV proagrammes, content of TV news reports, the words used by the politicians, and the name of road signs, etc.

Nation reveals ‘the sense of a “we” travelling together through time, acting collectively in our own space, with a common fate’ (Anderson, 1983 cited in Wetherell & Potter, 1992:141). The people of a nation contain ‘an idea of “national character”, a set of personality traits and attitudes which people share in common, distinct from others, such as the Australians and British, and it constructs a framework of rituals, icons, anthems and flags’ (Wetherell & Potter, 1992:141). The national identity is then a person’s sense or feeling of belonging to a nation. Banal nationalism contributes to the understanding of the national identity in many ways. For instance, it challenges the social identity theory: social identity theory suggests that ‘conflict can occur where the ingroup has absolutely nothing to gain from competing with the outgroup’; Tajfel believes that having identification with a group will increase self-esteem; and so ‘national identity helps us to find meaning in our lives’ (Houghton, 2009:171-172). Billig doesn’t agree with this theory because he thinks that ‘it fails to grasp how the social category of national identity is actually constituted, and why it persists; basic to Billig’s argument is that such identities are not cognitive schemata, but rather patterns of practice and habit built into the material and social environment; We do not just adopt such social categories because they fill certain psychological needs, we adapt to a social environment that renders these categories “real” and imperative’ (cf. Eagleton 1991: 40 cited in Hearn, 2007:660-661). Banal nationalism demonstrates that a person who adopts a national identity is through consistent learning and seeing perhaps mindlessly and routinely that build his or her sense of belonging to a particular nation but not like what has been claimed by the social identity theory that a person adopts a particular national identity is because of the innate need psychologically.

Another contribution of banal nationalism is that it challenges the concept of things about nationalism and national identity are far away from what ordinary people can reach or experience in a steady established Western nation. Instead, it reveals that many ordinary people are experiencing nationalism in their everyday life but just in another form from what they expected.

In addition, the theory challenges ‘the supposed dichotomy between “our” civilised societies and “their” violent ones’ (Skey, 2009:334). Local people within a nation usually deny they are nationalist or nationalism but point these things to the people in other nations because they usually see nationalism as something negative, dynamic, emotional which I mentioned in the previous part of the essay. However, the theory of banal nationalism reveals that nationalism is actually crucial for them to form and reform their national identities nowadays.

Banal nationalism also draws our attention to ‘the ongoing production of a hegemonic discourse whose power comes from being seen as natural, taken-for-granted, common sense’ (Sutherland, 2005: 196 cited in Skey, 2009:334); which in line with what Jan Penrose has claimed: ‘our acceptance of nations as natural divisions of the global territory and population is essential to the maintenance of the existing geopolitical order’ (Penrose, 1994: 161-81 cited in Skey, 2009:334). The concept of banal nationalism once again reminds us that the divisions of the world’s nations are not happened naturally and neither the adoption of our national identities.

However, on the other hand, there are different critiques to the idea of banal nationalism which may undermine the value of this theory: Mirca Madianou (2005) claimed that ‘take account of media theory which has long argued that audiences cannot simply be seen as either coherent or “empty vessels” that uncritically absorb the media messages that they encounter’ (cf Abercrombie and Longhurst, 1998; Gillespie, 2005 cited in Skey, 2009:336). It challenges that people who receive the messages from the newspapers, TV programmes, TV news, etc are not homogenous in terms of mind-set or perception toward different ideas. Different people will interpret and react differently when they receive the messages from the banal signifiers. For instance, people from different social class and political background will think differently. The concept of banal nationalism ignores the complexity of the audiences within a nation.

There is also a critique that claiming Billig has commit to ‘problems of assuming a settled and largely benign socio-political landscape even in what Billig has labelled as “established, democratic nations”‘(1995:93 cited in Skey, 2009:337). Jackie Abell et al. challenge ‘”the idea that any modern states are stable in the sense of being unchallenged over time, or lacking in internal tensions or external challenges is highly questionable” and as such should be critically evaluated in terms of its ideological function’ (Abell et al., 2006: 208 cited in Skey, 2009:337). The political and social situation of a nation could be far unstable and worse than Billig has expected even in a developed nation.

To conclude, the argument of this essay demonstrated the importance and contribution of the theory of banal nationalism for understanding national identity in both the social and political aspects. However, in my opinion, its value might have been declining and continue to decline in the future. Apart from the reasons of the above critiques and limitation, to certain extent it is also because of the improvement of technologies and process of globalization. ‘The relationship between the media and the nation is being made ever more complex through the widespread use of the internet (Eriksen, 2007 cited in Skey, 2009:336), satellite broadcasting (Madianou, 2005 cited in Skey, 2009:336), mobile phones etc’; It means that people in a nation have more choices to receive various information from other part of the world but not just from the national-operated media. Besides, globalization will also enhance the mobility, fluidity, and movement of people. These factors may increase the complexity of audiences in a nation since there are more different groups of people in terms of ethnicity, culture, gender, etc gather in different nations. These different groups of people may interpret and react differently from the banal signifiers and perceive themselves as having different national identities from the others.

Is there something called the Indian Middle Class? How does this manifest in everyday India ? Illustrate this from Mother Pious Lady Reference?

Indian middle class; is it a group or a phenomenon? Who are the people who form the Indian middle class, what are their culture? The Indian middle class has grown from a minority in pre-independence era to a vast majority taking the grip of the whole nation and playing a major role in driving it towards development. The book ‘ Mother Pious Lady’ by Mr Santosh Desai portrays the Indian middle class in vivid detail. The following writing takes the headings of the book and tries to explain Indian middle class with illustration from the book. I have tried covering the topics which I was able to connect to.

Economic reform has provided the Indian middle class the most needed the liberation in terms of living life to the most. There has been a constant shift in the cultural sign and symbols adapted through ages. Disappearance of girl’s pig tail, freedom of mobility through scooterette, providing the elders their own space of living, telecommunication evolution, explosion in the passenger car segment , changing clothing pattern are few of the visible patterns in society. Girl’s pony tail were a symbol of desired feminine reserved nature which has seen a change both in length and its handling. The shortening of hair gives a girl a sense of personal control displayed metaphorically. The scooty revolution has helped the female to expand her boundaries without being dependent on any family member providing her a sense of independence. Even the car owned has seen a shift towards adapting more compact cars. The recent shift from petrol to electric and LPG based cars not only signifies the change in attitude towards efficiency but also the urge to keep up technologically. Dhoni has been one the true middle class iconic figures which has altered the way Indian see a small town boy. The ‘can do’ attitude along with the lack of fear of failure and unmindfulness of hierarchy has been the reason behind success of Dhoni. Any Indian middle class can draw inspiration from him in the way towards dealing with pressure and performing without fear of failure. The increase in disposable income has led to the change in attitude towards life, attitude towards savings. The Indian middle class is not afraid to take risks in life to get a bigger return. He is in constant search of avenues of making money. An age where money has its own language, and the person in possession of money is in possession of power. It has become the source of energy which drives the entire economy, of which Indian middle class has played the most important role.

Arranged marriage in a typical middle class families is still not openly accepted, reasons may be preference for same caste bride which may not be guaranteed in love marriage. It may also be due to unfamiliarity or not being comfortable to other caste customs being brought and practiced in one family. Arrange marriage is not seen as marriage of two individuals but two families as well. The idea of prospective bride and groom to know each other before marriage is not given preference as the custom of these individuals having the luxury of spending time together is quite rare in any joint family. Also, the societal pressure is also a big factor which forces one to look into same caste bride or groom. The priority of selection bride or groom also is quite typical in middle class family and exchange of dowry which comes as unsaid package plays a major role in this decision. The education qualification in higher of engineer or doctor may fetch enough dowry to groom family to cover almost all the family members lifetime expenditure. Its agreed that many a times this money only changes hand in case the same family has a girl to be married away. All these factors doesn’t provide the luxury to place the freedom to choose the bride in the hand of the prospective groom himself. The power to choose the family needs to be closely guarded and the sense of freedom even need to be made to felt to the groom. Also, the custom of preparing and matching kundli of prospective bride and groom to formally accept marriage proposal also affects the decision. The decision to go against the family’s belief of marrying someone who technically doesn’t match on paper may lead to social seclusion. ‘The present has become poor indicator of the future’ indicates that current reputation, societal status, family acceptance takes preference over the prospective future of those two individuals living together happily. The middle path of arranged love marriage seems to provide the best possible solution in the current middle class society. It comes with best of both the worlds. Even though, this may not be happening at an encouraging level provides enough encouragement to other families to try to adapt for the benefit of those two individuals in question. Other reason for further acceptance of this phenomenon is the trend of growing number of nuclear families. The tradition of newly wed bride to stay with the family is becoming less frequent, leading to providing both the individuals to start their life with their own rules. The importance given to the caste is also decreasing due to importance given to education qualification and economic status in the society.

The essence of middle class can be truly experienced while travelling across country via any means be it train, bus, jugaad or be it airplane. Out of all these means Train definitely displays the middle class in true sense. Indian Railways carries millions of Indians mostly middle class people through length and breadth of this huge nation on a daily basis. A typical middle class passenger takes a train journey not just as travel but as ritual. He is worried about the co-passenger’s destination more than his own. The train coupe forms a perfect blend of many cultures and their practices. It is clearly visible during the meal time. Any Gujarati family travels in a group of min 4-5 members with a plethora of food varieties in their stock. The ritual of cutting and preparing salad, preparing for the meal by arranging the plates and laying out the pre made food contents. The daily routine of having daily meal is still maintained irrespective of the place they may be.

After Gold, probably Stainless steel is the metal which places itself highly in the life of typical Indian middle class family. The metal is a reliable carrier of memories. It stands for pride, trust and assurance. Stainless steel makes its presence very eminent in daily life of middle class family through vessels, utensils. It is the true representation of aspirations of middle class family, to be able to shine even after being put to test on a daily basis. It serves to utility to max. But due to recent advent of polymer technology and post liberalization era, Stainless steel is being slowly being replaced by more cheaper and easily replaceable elements like plastics, aluminium. This trend not only displays the changing attitude of the middle class towards daily life approach. There has been a constant shift from need for longevity, durability to alternatives which would serve the utility at best price. This change is evident of the fact of the fast changing life, non belief in long standing commitment. Ease of manufacturing, handling, disposal, multi utility and economy of use

Need for Communication places itself on a very high scale for any Indian, specially a middle class family. The urge to stay connected through any possible means forms a strong bond among geographically spread and settled of the community. Even Post card saw its evolution in the form of launch of competition postcards, travel postcards etc, which formed an important part of a typical middle class family. Post card, in pre telecommunication era, was the perfect carrier of messages which contained message not for individuals but for the whole family from another family as such. Post card was like the facebook wall for the whole family. After the advent to telecommunication era, the ease of message transmission was shifted to audio content from textual content. But the current shift to electronic mail or e-mail has detached the flavour of writing letter to near and dear ones. Its well acknowledged that it has made life simpler, but the shift from paper letter to e-mail has shifted the letter only as intention.

Middle class is best known for its ability to excel at the time of scarcity. The backbone of this feat comes from the culture of staying in joint families. Joint family is a true representation of Marxist institute where the fruits of toil of the family is equally shared among the members. The belief in sharing everyone materialistic property among the members gives it a strong sense of binding. Every member works for the family not for his self individual. But, there has been a constant erosion in the concept of living through sharing. This is clearly evident in the rising conflict in land claiming issues in joint families. The constant shift from joint to nuclear families, constant movement of families from rural areas to urban areas, rising living costs and at the base of all the changing attitude of middle class towards living through sharing has led to this crude change.

Summer break was usually associated with long break from school, summer holidays and trip to either native place or to a holiday destination with the family. It was a time to spend quality time with our near and dear ones. It was a time to take up some hobby at leisure be it reading comics, take up painting or music classes. But the true essence of the break was that it provided an opportunity to connect to our real self, to our places and culture of origin. It was a time to experience the new, refuel with fresh change of much needed air. There has been a constant shift in the attitude of middle class towards the summer break as well. The shift from leisure spending to time to more serious way on engagement has been created due to constant peer pressure and to prove oneself distinct from the lot. The mushrooming of summer camps for children for sports, music and arts classes is not due to self interest of children as such but also to satisfy the aspiration of typical middle class parents to see their children develop a multi faceted personality.

Mother’s role is universally given the top priority in any human being relationship pyramid. Indian Mother plays an even more important role in any middle class family. Gender Role of mother is very prominent in a middle class family. She is the person responsible for binding the family, its health and even for counselling. She plays multiple roles in a family with varied responsibilities. She is the one who is more bothered about her sons exams. She portrays the true values of middle class through her aspirations for the family at the cost of sacrificing her own life.

The affinity of a typical middle class family with white cloth reflects its aspiration levels of getting noticed in the society. This portrays the notion of purity in the era of corruption. The analogue of usage of ultramarine on white cloth is clearly with thin film of elite culture which every middle class aspires to be a part of. Ultramarine actually doesn’t help in whitening the cloth but only provides a blue coat to cover up the real patches of yellow dirt resting on the cloth. It signifies the constant urge of Indian middle class to stand apart, its constant urge to excel through continuous trial. The recent adaption of dye based cloth dye from ultramarine depicts a change in time. The spike in demand of English medium school for middle class and associating children education with English displays the attitude towards thin film culture to hide their true image.

The obsession with order and discipline is a typical characteristic of Indian middle class. The sense of belonging is one of the implicit needs of the Indian middle class. Well creased and iron clothes are one of the symbols used to strengthen the need for order. It gives them the strength to fight against the chaos of nature. Straight Line represents their triumph of humanness.

In the pre-liberalization era when people were not suffering from ADD(attention deficit disorder), people had vivid means of entertainment ranging from coffee house debating, fishing, travelling or be it sitting idle with friends with corner tea shops and having friendly chat. Even the perception of viewing something in motion could be termed as entertainment. Here the house window played an important role in opening. It was the theatre of our imagination which would let your creativity do the talking. The recent expansion in the media domain has increased the options of entertainment but also reduced the interest in the outside real world. The role of window has changed from taking interest in real world to secluding oneself from the society.

The ritual of visiting our relatives and near and dear ones without pre-announcement and even without a purpose was a common habit among middle class families having geographically scattered members. Even the purpose of the visit was not important. But recently due changing relationship among people and with growing linearity among it, the visit is associated with a purpose. Even the acceptance of un announced visit are not welcomed. The reasons of the trend can be varying ranging from improving communication technology to shrinking of family size to engulfing oneself in their own word.

One place where the true middle class can be found congregating is the 4 pages of weekly matrimonial ads in daily newspapers. The ads are structured as per the caste requirement. The place becomes the marketing platform where packaging the individual in the form of few highlighted well seeked off words becomes the success criteria of finding any mate through those ads. A typical middle class arranged marriage doesn’t takes place between individuals but between the families and in turn their relatives. It doesn’t remains an event affecting 2 individuals but goes far beyond. The typical middle class phenomenon of intra caste marriage even at the cost of not finding suitable bride/groom can have unwelcomed effect. It not only affects those individuals but also the society. This menace can only be dealt with if the priority of suitability for partner selection is shifted from caste to their personal attitude matching.

Any vehicle which is typically associated with a middle class family has to be a scooter. A scooter is analogues to a mule; comparable in strength and obedience for load carriage. A vehicle providing mobility with multi utility and an aura of safety around it was the perfect companion of any Indian middle class family. Scooter portrays the middle class persona to perfection. The ability of carry person well above rated number and weight, the ability to transform from people carriage vehicle to goods carrier in both front compartment and side deck, never asking for maintenance and providing the security of spare wheel made it the most suitable vehicle on Indian roads for any middle class family.

Auto rickshaw has been an integral part of our lives which provides personalised travelling mode at near affordable price. Auto rickshaw was a vehicle which provided freedom from wait for public transport and provided door to door connectivity. The vehicle was a true image of the growing aspirations of the Indian middle class providing them the much needed differentiation in terms of image perception. The vehicle itself was positioned between the affordable but not comfortable mode of transportation , ie 2 wheelers and un-affordable 4 wheelers for a typical middle class. Of late due to improving public transportation in cities and increasing fares of auto transport, there has been a shift towards other modes but auto rickshaw is here to stay to its USP.

In the pre-liberalization era, buying of any household appliance was an occasion in itself. The long term association with the appliances bought made it even further a special occasion. The appliances ranged from TV, fridge, Tape recorder, scooter, cooker, sewing machine etc. The appliance almost became a part of the family itself with special handling care taken care by the head of the family. The TV remote was the power centre which needs to be wrapped in polythene and handled only under guided supervision. Of late with the advent of consumerism and even increasing appliances buying and replacement rate, the importance of any appliance has reduced drastically. The role of appliance has shifted from being centrally used by the family to personalized usage. The concept of personalized appliance for every member of the family be it mobile phones, music systems or even vehicles has reduced the emotional elements attached with the appliance. The behaviour has changed from repair mentality to exchange mentality. This has further reduced the need for caring for the appliance as the life cycle of the technology considered upto date has also reduced drastically with new models being churned out every few models with better and improved features.

The medical service was and is still considered luxury for many strata of our society. The affordability and notions attached with medical service and doctor are still alien in many parts of the society where the sole responsibility of the family health either lies in the hands of god or local medicine practitioners. But in other well off places doctors are almost next to god. The typical Indian middle class finds itself stuck between the affordability factor and belief factor. Of late a typical Indian middle class tries to over smart the well trained doctor through primary research on internet. To him the advice given by an unknown on internet appeals to him with greater truth factor than the advice given to him by doctor.

Radio was a very strong binding medium in pre TV era connecting people from across the geography, occupation etc. There has been a constant shift in the methodology of popularity calculation of songs. Not only radio but also TV has been affected by the consumerism. The method of popularity is not only based on artists performance but also on the no. of sms send during the event. The Indian middle class is an upfront participant in the era of consumerism. The power of voting for their favourite performer has engaged the middle class into ever longer participation and increased its loyalty for the event. A typical Indian middle class finds pleasure in seeing someone alike performing well and progressing in the event. Cinema is trying to woo the middle class by providing much demand exclusive comfort through various class in shows.

Typical Indian street food is a moving map of Indian culture whether you eat paani poori or idli dosa or Chinese. Its a place where hygiene is typically overlooked and is subsided by taste. Its a place for any typical calorie conscious individual to indulge and forget about extra calories. Its also a place where people across religion, caste and race are binded without issues.

Indians love their cinemas and Songs and heroes are an integral part of it. Of late, there has been a constant shift from emotion based poetic songs to meaningless songs which are getting more encouragement from the society. Society doesn’t have the quest for meaning through songs anymore, reasons may be varied. May be the middle class doesn’t come to cinema anymore as a issue solver but as a mere entertainer. Cinema provides them escape from daily life issues for a couple of hours. And that’s the reason, people look up to today’s heroes as mere epitome of excess.The need of the hour is to encourage the real heroes to bring change in the society. Middle class need to rise to true heroism, be it being entrepreneur; helping generate jobs, generate income for people, be it working for societal development.

Indian middle class is obsessed with power which really comes hard and short lived at times. The phenomenon is clearly evident in political hierarchy, power associated with official cars, its red sirens, the issue associated with security frisking. The reasons may be in the culture’s acceptance of power distance, the need to show power at hand to society to gain importance. PSUs were set with mind set of socialism, but apparently they are the power house of the Indian industries. This scenario has been constantly shifting due to increasing entry of MNCs in India who preach exactly the opposite with its flat office structure, its open door policy, its transparency, its priority to performance over age based seniority etc. Film, politics and corporate are biggest institutions providing transfer of legacy through free passage of the baton to their next generation. License raj period was a black era where one’s ability to survive directly depended on the bureaucratic contacts he/she had. The Indian middle class was a complete misfit in this zone. The scene is also changing fast due to increased concern over the company’s performance even at the cost of baton going to an outsider fit for the role. We need to watch for similar happenings in politics as well.

Indian middle class are the true carriers of ancient Indian culture in today’s Indian culture. This is represented clearly in the food and our existence around it. The food acts as the centre of our existence and stomach the seat of our soul. Food may be the barometer of our lives. The reasons could be due to immigration of varied cultures in India through ages, providing an enriching mix of food culture. One of unique form of food serving can be found in Thali. It forms a unique contrast with the western food culture of serving food in linear courses. The food itself is arranged all a time providing the connoisseur the option of selecting his course order accordingly. The reason why we enjoy Thali may be due to our finding pleasure in chaos. Another, interesting food form ie Pickle forms a central part of a typical middle class diet. Pickle tries to preserve its ingredient in interesting form. It acts like the culture distillate. The availability of thali food in restaurant and pickle available in jars in retail stores reflect the changes in society. The hectic and fast moving lifestyle in urban areas doesn’t provide an opportunity to families in either engaging in pickle preparation at home, neither do they find time to have meals at a time with the whole family at once. Even the food habits have seen constant change from Indian food to western food. The need to have the food on the move has seen shift in food and catering culture.

Indians have always felt fuzzy in declaring their love towards their loved ones and the concept of expressing oneself through words, day celebration etc was of alien in nature. With liberalization and adoption of western culture, there has a constant shift towards need for verbal and visual expression of love and care. The growth of cards culture in form of Archies, Hallmark etc., celebration of father’s day, mother’s day, and even valentines day has come under accepted and much needed norms. The major reasons may be increasing spatial, cultural and generation gap among the family members. The middle class in the run to keep up with the society has replaced bhai dooj with brother’s day, the daily expressed silent care with valentine’s day, the parental respect with father’s day. The reason could be the need to make every occasion big and reason to celebrate with public display. The love in some cases may also be weighed in terms of the value of the gift exchanged. The Indian middle class obsession with English is not a new phenomenon, whether in the form of English pet names, obsession with English medium schools, the urge to communicate in English. This market is very well served by the growing tutorial classes promising to teach English in 30 days. Even though the excessive obsession has led to corrosion of native Indian culture but it also has a silver lining along with it. The booming IT outsourcing industry has been successful majorly due to the proficiency achieved by Indian middle class to international acceptable standards which has led to opening of job horizons for many.

The Indian middle class believes in sharing and living, but sometimes at the cost of others inconvenience. This is clearly evident in the missing mobile etiquettes, throwing garbage in public places, listening TV at home at full volume. The lack of need to respect others space may be the outcome of the feeling of one with the society. This seem an issue of little relevance but with times there arises the need to educate people about respecting for others feeling and space essential for peaceful coexistence.

Few rituals find peculiar adaptation in typical Indian middle class society. The traffic system portrays a system of chaos working perfectly in harmony. Every driver has his own meaning of traffic rule, he drives focused only on his objective. The myopic objective getting ahead of others even at the cost of creating traffic jam later. Honking is used for power display with safety put to backseat. Indian traffic is a perfect smaller version of Indian middle class culture. Many cities operate with no traffic signal nor with traffic policemen, which display almost magically the understanding amongst motorist. Indians always find hard to follow rules carved by someone else but are always apt to form their own. The rules are there to be bent which is evident in the way drivers do when they jus hang the seat belt to escape fine only to release it at the first possible opportunity, two wheelers carry helmets in hand only to be worn when faced with a traffic policeman. The ‘chalta hai’ proves to be major deterrent to arrive at a lasting solution. The lack of desire for quality may be due to lack of desire for lasting solution. The major beneficiary is Indian politics where criminals are forgotten and re-elected, where scams are forgone with time. India has come a long way from 64 crore bofors scam to 1.76 lakh crore 2G telecom scam of which Indian middle class was a mere spectator. Indian middle seem to be good at forgiving and even better at forgetting. Even sports remains untouched when come to the scandals like cricket and recent common wealth games. The reason may be the attitude of disinterest of people towards apt punishment.

The need of the hour is to educate the mass about the importance and benefit of following traffic rules. The need of the hour is to make the Indian middle class realize the power they have in their hands to elect capable and apt people.

Liquor was always looked up as a menace in the Indian middle class and its association with ability to take the human out of oneself. The elite and extreme lower class always some occasion or reason associated with liquor consumption. But the middle class always took it as an unwinding tool, as a medium to hang out with. Our trip to Hill stations have always been associated with family, as a place to escape the heat and noise of the city. Indians always have been worshiping Sun, but also has always been looked with harshness of its nature which is quite opposite to western culture where they tend to welcome sun. Amitabh Bacchan is one those iconic figures who has lived through Indians for almost four decades now. He has lived almost all his characters too real life like. He has given every Indian the sense of his own existence through his reel characters. He has been the icon of credibility for most if the Indian middle class. He is the one who can be trusted by any brand either for publicity or damage control, ranging from Gujarat tourism to Cadbury worm controversy.

Introduction

Human relationships are complex in their nature. People coexist with each other in the world where conflict and differences in their lives occur and learning how to effectively manage those problems can have a great impact on the quality of the relationshipe. Conflicts gives people the opporunity to find the appropriate decisions and finding ways to find a solution to the problemswith minimal negative events. That is why, the issue of marital counseling is worth emphasizing (Cook, 29-67). In other words, marriage, is the unity of a man and a woman and unresolved conflict situations have an impact on marital satisfaction and longevity. It also directly impacts the quality of the relationship, but also on the overall satfisifcation of eac partner that is in the relationship. The aim of the present paper is to identify the notion of “marriage”, “conflict”, satisfaction”, “longevity”, and find out the relationship between these concepts. The urgency of the paper is determined by globalized way of human relationships that has changed human life which is observed through the role of marriage, the way of coping with difficulties and longevity on the whole.

Marriage and Conflict

The definition of marriage can change from person to person, that is why it’s vital to select a defitition that the majority of the population will agree on. The term marriage is “a mutual desire of a man and a woman to compose a family” (Lewis, 54).. The unity of people in a family causes new types of relationships in which the members of that family develop coping skills to interact with eachother. At this point is where it can lead to different in opnions and differences in the way conflict is handled, “Conflict happens. Every couple argues and stresses out” (Lewis, 63). In order to understand their role on longevity, it is important to give a definition to the term “conflict” and its impact on longevity.

There are various definitions of conflict, but they all emphasize the existence of contradictions, which take on the form of disagreement. This is the point in the relationship were positive outcomes can happen or negative interactions can set the relationship back.. Conflicts can be hidden or obvious, but their basis always lies in the lack of consent. Therefore, the conflict is defined as the absence of agreement between two or more parties – individuals or groups.

The lack of agreement is due to the presence of a variety of opinions, views, ideas, interests, and viewopints. It is important to remember when discussing conflict resolution that the couple be able to see both sides of the argument, no just from their viewpoint. This happens only when the existing contradictions and differences disrupt the interaction of people, and disrupt the advancement of goals for the couple. In this case, people simply are forced into a situation that they try to overcome their differences and enter into open conflict interaction.

If conflicts contribute to informed decision-making process and development of relationships, then they are called functional. The conflicts that impede effective communication and decision-making process are called dysfunctional. It is necessary to be able to analyze conflicts, understand their causes and possible consequences. When a couple struggles with finding a healthy way to communicate and find a ways of ending the conflict it can have greater consequences for future problems.

Conflict usually arises in the process of emotional convergence of spouses, especially when one or both of them violate personal boundaries of a partner without visible intention. This is one reason why it is important at the start of the relationship that both couples are aware of the boundaries and limitations of the other person. When these boundaries are not seen or when a person oversteps these boundaries conflict will arise. Then the conflict allows couples to increase the distance away from each other for a definite period.

Conflicts in family are caused by inadequate and conflicting family-marriage expectations and perceptions. The most common myth is that one partner expects to see the other as an attachement of themselves, going everywhere together, not having any free time for oneself… This expectation may be contrary to the interests of a partner who wants to realize his or her personal aspirations and interests and that type of expectation would would damper the relationship and would restrict the freedom and opportunities for development and fulfillment of both partners.

Spouses need to understand whether they can accept each other as they are, take with respect to the views of partner and his or her traditions, which he or she brought from the parent family, without any attempt to alter partner’s behavior and attitude for other views and expectations of another partner. The majority of marital conflicts that occur frequently have hidden purpose, that is, the struggle for leadership.

Signs of the struggle for leadership in marriage are the following ones: 1. conflict arises out of nowhere, literally out of nothing; 2. conflicts occur frequently on the basis of different issues; 3. both spouses are older children in their families, – wife is the eldest child in her parental family, or her husband is younger. It is possible that in such types of families the leading position is occupies by parents of a couple; 4. conflicts occur with increasing frequency over definite period, and they are accompanied by accusations, or even insults, and the period of rest in the family is declining. There are no winners in these conflicts. Both spouses are characterized by low self-esteem.

Crises and conflicts are normal for the family as a developing system. Crises may be associated with certain life-cycle of the family, such as marriage and the need to separate from their parents, birth, adolescence of a child, the separation of children from their parents and the last – the death of a spouse. All people are sometimes in conflict. All people are arguing. This is necessary, because conflicts generate liability and resoluteness. This means that people are not indifferent to the problem and each other. If a conflict is recognized and understood, if the parties are prepared to resolve it, so that both sides have won, then such a conflict leads to the renewal of relationships and improves communication.

If conflicts are frequent and sharp, a family went through a period of crisis in the marriage. It is necessary to allocate crises stages of marriage (years, three years, seven years, “adolescent”), as well as crises, based on a stressful family circumstances (adultery, death of relatives, loss of a spouse, etc.). The crisis is a test of the family “for strength” of their relationships. Many problems can be avoided if to know how to resolve them. Fortunately, some steps are made in the present paper. Thus, many problems can be solved if sincerely want this and be prepared for them.

Conflicts in the family can create mental environment for the spouses, their children, parents, as the result of which they acquire a number of negative traits of personality (Pitt-Catsouphes et al. 2006). A conflict family is characterized by the establishment of negative experiences, lost faith in the possibility of the existence of friendly and affectionate relationships between people, accumulation of negative emotions that lead to psycho-trauma. Psycho-traumas are often manifested in the form of experiences, which, because of severity, duration or frequency strongly influence personality. It is necessary to distinguish such traumatic experiences as a state of total dissatisfaction with the family, “family anxiety”, neuro-psychic tension and condition of guilt.

The condition of a full family dissatisfaction arises because of conflict situations where there is a noticeable discrepancy between the expectations of the individual to the family and real life. It is expressed in boredom, colorless of life, the absence of joy and nostalgic memories of the time before marriage, complaints to the surrounding people concerning the difficulties of family life. Accumulating from conflict to conflict, this dissatisfaction is expressed in emotional explosions and hysterics. Family anxiety often appears after a major family conflict. Signs of anxiety are doubts, fears, and concerns, related primarily to the actions of other family members.

Mental stress is one of the major traumatic experiences. It arises because of 1. creating constant psychological pressure, a difficult or even hopeless situation for the spouse; 2. creating the obstacles for the manifestation of spouse’s major feelings and satisfaction of needs; 3. creating a situation of constant internal conflict in the spouse. Mental stress is manifested through irritability, bad mood, sleep disorders, rage. Condition of guilt depends on the personal characteristics of the spouse. The person feels a hindrance to others, guilty of any conflict, quarrels and failures, he/she tends to perceive the relationship of other family members as accused and blaming to himself/herself despite the fact that in reality they are not such.

Relationships in Marriage

The increased interest in family and marriage is due to a number of reasons. One third of all marriages is unviable. The issue of strengthening marriage and the improvement of marital structure of the population is of overriding public importance in connection with the problem of fertility. Addressing such issues is impossible without studying the mechanisms of family relationships. Socio-psychological climate in the family determines the stability of these relations, it has a decisive influence on the development of both children and adults. The psychological climate of the family is not something unchangeable, given once and for all. It was created by members of each family and their efforts depend on how it will be, a favorable or unfavorable. Every single person is a personality, unique and unrepeatable, with her worldview, which affects the establishment of mutually satisfactory relationships. Modern marriage is based on the compatibility of modern humans as individuals.

Satisfaction with marriage is the main parameter characterizing the conjugal relationship. Definition of “happy marriage” is the following one: both husband and wife share the view that they are found or reached the “golden mean” or special “universal balance” in individual needs, desires and expectations, balance sheet, which they consider a unique and probably irreplaceable. This feeling of the golden mean, is achieved by joint efforts, and it is created thanks to creativity and it is developed by a married couple in the process of moving, ever-changing interactions within the family. It has many sources: the values shared by both spouses, when the importance of marital relations is recognized, and their marriage they believe exactly as they wanted to create.

This balance incorporates experience of childhood and adolescence, and especially it is fueled by powerful unconscious transformations, hopes, fears and fantasies that each person brings to the marriage. The balance is based on the realities of present and past both within the family and social environments surrounding it. It is also created due to the ability to emotional maturation, the growth of individual consciousness, and the same ability to more deeply understand a partner and show empathy.

And it is always an ongoing creative process which is discussed in terms of psychological problems that should be solved in a marriage. The essence of this concept lies in the fact that it is the totality of these problems compose the basic problem of human interaction in the family; they need to be addressed in family couple throughout their lives, otherwise the marriage is counter-productive and is in danger of collapse. It is this basic context, including the power and flexibility of family union, created by two persons, distinguishes a marriage that satisfies both partners.

The special emphasis deserves the issue that shown the necessity to detach oneself emotionally from the family of childhood in order to be able to fully invest the strength and feeling in their marital union, but at the same time, overestimate the possible points of contact with both parents’ families. Moreover, the dependence of a husband on the parents is more important and more likely to lead to problems than the affection of his wife to her parents. Under the emotional department, the study considers the absence of an exaggerated sense of guilt, mistrust, anxiety, responsibility, resentment and anger from both spouses in relation to their mothers.

The degree of adaptation to the new family life of a wife largely depends on the degree of independence of a husband from his parents. Marital satisfaction can be achieved through implementation of several items: 1. Creation of a full and happy sexual relationship and their protection from intrusions from the liabilities associated with the implementation of household and other works. 2. Combining efforts, involving the frightening obligations in connection with the birth of the child, the ability to survive in a dramatic appearance of a baby in the family, and protecting individual rights and the proximity of the couple. 3. The ability to withstand and overcome the inevitable crises of life, maintain the power of family ties in the face of adverse circumstances. 4. Creating a safe space within the family in order to express and resolve differences, anger and conflict. 5. Use laughter and humor in clarifying the true state of affairs, and also avoid boredom and alienation. 6. Providing the conditions of care and comfort for a partner, as well as meeting the continuing need of a partner in getting emotional and other types of support. 7. Saving of the romantic, idealized notions of love when they met the sobering realities encountered on the path of life.

Unresolved Marital Conflicts and Longevity

Chapman (2007) writes that “Unresolved conflict in a marriage can also be a source of defensiveness. If we have not resolved our differences, we feel somewhat estranged from each other and are therefore more vulnerable to being defensive. Some couples who fail to resolve conflicts over a period of years draw the conclusion that they are not compatible and, in fact, are enemies” (Chapman, 157).

Health of people is directed connected to human activity and his or her relationships with the surrounding people. Consequently, marriage is the main factor that has a direct impact on human life and longevity. It can be explained by the fact that emotions of people cause different feelings such as happiness, grief, etc. These feelings force people to experience different situations during a long period that frequently cause stressful situation in the case of unresolved conflicts in marriage. Stress can provoke different diseases that obviously lowering the duration of human life.

Garner (2009) stresses that “to attain to a lengthened life, to enjoy ease and tranquility in life’s decline, and immunity from pain, debility, and other forms of suffering, are objects worthy of far more earnest attention than they usually receive. Since we have more accurately investigated the constitution of man, body and mind, the conditions of life, health, disease and death, the nature and relations of things around us, we are able to form more rational aims, and to pursue them with better hopes of success” (13-14).

Self-assessment of health is deteriorating in every person. However, this deterioration is more rapid in the marriages with dissatisfaction, particularly in old age. Marriage is the most important factor of social contact for human health. The years of tension spend in marriage may slowly undermine the health. Age also affects the activity of the immune system, leaving older people vulnerable to stress. Older people are more likely to have chronic health problems that stress can increase. In addition, older people may attach more importance to marriage, as they lose their other social connections.

Chapman (2007) adds that “After several months or years of unresolved conflicts, we begin to hear inner voices that say: “I know I married that wrong person”. “How could I have let myself get into such a mess?” “I can’t believe that my mate is so inconsistent”. The unresolved conflicts lead us to think that we are incompatible and that our spouses is not really on our side. The unresolved conflicts push us toward making broad generalizations about our spouse and our marriage” (Chapman, 158).

Prevention of Marital Conflict

Constructive of marital conflict resolution primarily depends on the ability of spouses to understand, forgive and concede. There is one of the conditions for ending the family conflict. It is not to seek victory. The victory as the result of a loved defeat can be hardly called an achievement. It is important to respect others despite the level of guilt. It is necessary that the spouse is able to honestly ask himself/herself what he/she is really cared about.

It is necessary to dwell separately on such a radical way to resolve marital conflict as divorce. According to psychologists, a process consisting of three stages precedes divorce: a) an emotional divorce, manifested in alienation, indifference of the spouses to each other, the loss of trust and love, and b) the physical separation that leads to separation, c) a legal divorce, which requires legal registration of divorce. Divorce brings freedom from animosity, hate, deceit and everything that prevented from being happy in marriage to the majority of people. A woman, with whom children are usually remained, is the most vulnerable to divorce. She is more than a man, subjected to the neuro-psychiatric disorders.

It is important to note that many recommendations for the normalization of the marital relationship and prevention of disputes from escalating into conflicts have been developed. Most of them are summarized as follows: 1. Respect yourself and others. Remember that he (she) is the closest to you. Try not to accumulate errors, wrongs and sins, but immediately respond to them. It will prevent the accumulation of negative emotions. 2. Do not criticize each other in the presence of others (children, friends, guests, etc.). 3. Do not exaggerate your own abilities and dignity; do not consider yourself always right in all. Trust your spouse more and minimize jealousy. Be careful, know how to listen and hear the spouse. Always take care of your physical attractiveness, work over your own weaknesses. Do not generalize even obvious shortcomings of the spouse; lead a conversation only about a specific behavior in specific situations. 4. Treat the hobbies of the spouse with interest and respect. In family life, it is sometimes better not to know the truth, than try to establish the truth. Try to find time to take a rest from each other at least sometimes. This will help removing the emotional and psychological heaviness of communication.

In other words, “When conflict happens and communication starts to break down, take a break from each other to cool off and think through the issues. There are some ways to resolve the conflict and how you can avoid battling about the same issues again. For example, I need to listen to you more and not read into what you’re saying. I’ll try to be more patient with you. I won’t say harsh or unkind words to you. Get back together and talk. Remember, your goal is to resolve the conflict. Take turns so that you both can speak and both actively listen. Share what you wrote while you were cooling down. You might need to “give” a little more to compromise, so humility and cooperation are important. Spend time in prayer together to end your discussion” (Lewis, 63).

It is necessary to keep in mind some key points that can be used in everyday communication that helps to avoid conflict situation in marriage and resolve different cases. Firstly, it is important to talk about everyday affairs every day. In this case, couples learn to trust each other and then they share their problems with each other that creates mutual understanding. Secondly, it is essential to find time for talking; it may be a family meal. Thirdly, it is important to be approachable. It is necessary to empathize and listen to each other.

The main suggestion for successful family communication is to be intentional. This means that couples should not avoid conversation with their children, give time and space for it. Communication is not only words; it may be expressed in tone, body language or some actions. Therefore, it is important to listen carefully and try to understand not only words but also feelings behind them. Sometimes, a conversation may be tough. It is better to think about it in advance, prepare possible questions or do something.

It is essential to invest in family communication, for instance, by writing a letter, sending a card, or making a phone call that will result in opening a friendly dialogue. It is better to build relationships during good times that will help at bad times. Besides, the knowledge of likes and dislikes of the closest relatives will contribute to successful everyday communication in the family.

Conclusion

The problem of conflict has always been more or less relevant to any society. Life proves that conflict does not apply to events that can be effectively managed on the basis of life experience and common sense. The issue of family conflicts is worth emphasizing because family is the oldest institution of human interaction, a unique phenomenon. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that several people intimately interact for a long time (tens of years), that is, for the greater part of human life. Disputes, conflicts and crises cannot arise in such a system of intensive interaction as family.

Divorce leads to the fact that the society receives an incomplete family, because of which the number of adolescents with divergent behavior is constantly increasing and leading to crime expansion. This creates additional difficulties for the society. Key role in family conflict relations belongs to marital conflict (Pitt-Catsouphes et al. 2006). They arise because of unmet needs of the spouses. Most conflict situations are the crisis periods in the development of the family. Family conflicts have traumatic consequences: a state of total dissatisfaction with the family, “family anxiety”, neuro-psychological tension and state of guilt. The experts have made recommendations on regulation of marital conflict in order to prevent conflict situation within the family and increase the importance of family in the future.

It is necessary to add that “Unresolved conflict does not mean that these couples never discuss conflicts. Periodically, they may have long and heated discussions about conflicts. The problem is they never reach a solution. After the heat has intensified to a certain point, they drop the conversation and withdraw from each other, leaving the conflict unresolved. Then when the spouse says something that is emotionally tied to this unresolved conflict, the person will have another defensive response” (Chapman, 158). In summing up, the obvious connection between conflict situations in marriage and human life, that is, longevity, is supported by different research studies. People living in the marriages with obvious dissatisfaction because of unresolved conflicts, demonstrate health problems that affects longevity of couples (Amato, 77).

Amazons of the animal world: the complex matrilineal social structure of spotted hyenas. The spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta? has evolved a matrilineal society in which the females are more dominant and aggressive than males within the clans. Female and male behaviors come together to form a complex societal structure that promotes variability and reproductive success. This species is an exceptional example of matrilineal hierarchy and social organization as opposed to the regular male-dominant societal structure present in the case of most mammals. Scientists continue to study the spotted hyena for its remarkably sophisticated social behavior, which may be comparable to that of some primates and possibly even human beings (Jenks et al., 1995; Drea et al., 2002; Engh et al., 2002; East et al., 2003).

The spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta, is a very intelligent animal that organizes itself into large clans of 50-80 members (Engh et al., 2002). While most mammals exhibit a male-dominant society where males fight for rank and the right to reproduce, the spotted hyena has developed a matrilineal society (Jenks et al., 1995). Females are more dominant and aggressive than males and pass on their rank to their offspring (Jenks et al., 1995; Engh et al., 2002). They are responsible for reproductive choice due to their dominant status (East et al., 2003). Males regularly travel to clans outside their natal society, despite the cost of access to food, for the chance of higher reproductive success (Engh et al., 2002). They also engage in specific favorable behaviors to entice females to choose to mate with them (East et al., 2003). All of these sophisticated behaviors have evolved to promote variability and overall success for the spotted hyena. Even more amazingly, the same social structure and behaviors of dominant-submissive interactions emerged within an isolated group of spotted hyenas raised in captivity (Jenks et al., 1995). The spotted hyena is definitely a very unique case of societal arrangement (Engh et al., 2002). With further study, the evolution of this remarkable case of sex-role reversal and complex hierarchy may soon be fully understood. It may provide further insight into similar social arrangements seen with other animals such as primates (Jenks et al., 1995). The study of spotted hyenas may even provide insight into more primitive stages of human societal structure, especially where there are matrilineal cultures.

Females are without question the more dominant gender within spotted hyena clans and they exercise this dominance when it comes to reproduction (Engh et al., 2002; East et al., 2003). They are on average larger, more aggressive, and more violent than males within the clan (Engh et al., 2002). Their special anatomy – an enlarged clitoris through which copulation occurs – gives them full control over sexual activities and partners (East et al., 2003). There is no chance for forced copulation simply because the male hyena needs the female’s full cooperation for proper coitus to occur (East et al., 2003). Theories for the evolution of this physical characteristic include (a) counter-evolution in the presence of high rates of forced copulation and (b) selection for overall more dominant and aggressive individuals resulting in masculinization (Drea et al., 2002). Since more dominant and aggressive females also attain a higher rank within the clan, they tend to be more successful in raising a larger number of young. A higher rank correlates to greater access to food and thus higher chances of survival for both mother and offspring (Engh et al., 2002).

Female spotted hyenas have multiple criteria for choosing mates. They prefer immigrant males to natal males, those born within the community – a possible measure for prevention of inbreeding (Engh et al., 2002). Even more amazingly, females generally prefer males of similar age, preventing sexual interactions with fathers or sons (East et al., 20023). Females also show preference for more submissive, less aggressive males (East et al., 2003). This selection for less aggressive males further emphasizes the sexual dimorphism, both in behavior and physical characteristics, present in this species. Females copulate with several males when in heat, possibly to dissuade males from infanticide (East et al., 2003). This behavior further increases variability – it is quite common to see single litters whose cubs can be traced to different fathers (Engh et al., 2002). It serves to confuse males and dissuade them from killing cubs that may or may not be their own – a complex behavior that shows foresight and intelligent thought (East et al., 2003). Female choice for less aggressive males and behavior to prevent infanticide may have evolved to counter the extremely high-risk pregnancies these animals go through due to their anatomy (Drea et al., 2002).

In a study conducted by Engh and colleagues (2002), the reproductive skew among male hyenas was investigated. One of the major discoveries was that immigrant males had an immense advantage over natal males. Over the 10-year period that one clan of hyenas was observed, it was found that immigrant males sired 97% of the cubs, while natal males only sired 3% (Engh et al., 2002). This explains the males’ behavior of leaving natal clans and immigrating elsewhere: the cost of rank and access to food are highly outweighed by the reproductive benefits in a non-natal clan (Engh et al., 2002). Within the group of immigrant males, it was found that rank did not have a statistically significant effect on a male’s reproductive success. In fact, males a few ranks below the highest ranking immigrant had the most success in terms of cubs sired (Engh et al., 2002). In general, tenure – the measure of how long an immigrant male had been in the clan – was found to be a better indicator of reproductive success. The immigrant males’ rates of producing cubs increased significantly the longer they remained in the clan, showing a strong correlation between tenure and reproductive success (Engh et al., 2002).

Male spotted hyenas are also observed to exhibit behaviors to make themselves more attractive to females. As found in a recent study by East and colleagues (2003), there was no reproductive advantage to harassing, shadowing, or defending females from other competition. In fact, males exhibiting these behaviors were often attacked or chased away by females and other clan members. Instead, males found significantly more reproductive success by fostering relationships with females over longer periods of time – a surprisingly complex behavior very close to that of humans (East et al., 2003). Having these friendly relationships also were seen to solidify the males’ places within the clan hierarchy – once again, a very complex sociological behavior, especially when seen outside the order of primates (East et al., 2003).

The sophisticated system of hierarchy was even recreated in captivity by a group of previously unranked hyenas collected at infancy (Jenks et al., 1995). Amazingly, these young hyenas grouped themselves in a matrilineal hierarchy, as observed over the course of two generations (Jenks et al., 1995). This structuring occurred despite the lack of maternal input for the first generation, showing that social organization is programmed into the spotted hyena’s behavioral patterns (Jenks et al., 1995). While the first generation had little to no maternal interaction to help rank them within the clan, they went on to influence their own offspring’s place in the clan hierarchy, just as observed in wild clans (Jenks et al., 1995). The only significant difference between the experimental clan and wild clans was the speed at which the cubs’ ranks stabilized within the community. Experimental group cubs solidified their place much faster than those in the wild, possibly due to smaller numbers and less movement within the clan (Jenks et al., 1995).

The spotted hyena is a remarkable animal. It shows extremely complex behavior that leads to sophisticated social structure – something that is rarely seen in mammals outside of primates (Jenks et al., 1995). In fact, the matrilineal group structure of hyena clans is very similar to that of Old World primates (Jenks et al., 1995). The sense of organization in this manner is so strong within the hyena’s evolved behavioral patterns that matrilineal structure is even seen to spontaneously emerge in isolated hyenas raised in captivity (Jenks et al., 1995). Complex sexual behaviors, such as the female’s choice of partner based on immigrant status, tenure, and age, seem to promote the creation of this social structure (Engh et al., 2002; East et al., 2003). Carefully nurtured relationships between same- and opposite-sex individuals show the multifaceted interactions between clan members that also contribute to the development of matrilineal organization (East et al., 2003). Female dominance is even supported by biological mechanisms and the altered anatomy of this species (Drea et al., 2002). With further study, the circumstances that led to the evolution of this unique system may soon be uncovered. This will provide insight not only into the spotted hyena’s sociological history, but also into that of Old World primates and possibly even that of human beings. It is an exciting prospect that will hopefully emerge within the years to come.

This paper analyzes the social issues surrounding homeless families and describes the extent of the problem within the U. S. community, while comparing the U.S. community to other communities in other parts of the global system. Causes listed in this paper include unemployment, mental illness, drug or alcohol abuse, and lack of affordable housing. Three theoretical models guide the analysis: social systems theory, functionalist theory and conflict theory. The data come from statistics of homeless families in the U.S. and global communities. These results deliver some evidence for current explanations for homeless transitions, and they propose probable avenues for additional research on the dynamics of homelessness.

Macro Community Analysis

Homelessness is a significant concern within the U. S. and global community. This situation arises when its individuals are poverty stricken and do not have regular access to affordable housing. In the U. S. in the early 1980s, families with young children became one of the fastest growing segments of the homeless population and now consist of 34% of the homeless population, which includes 23% children and 11% adults (Burt et al., 1999). The issues of homelessness have always been a problem around the world, even though it varies greatly, it has been considered to be one of the oldest social dilemmas in the world. Any day, no less than 800,000 individuals are homeless in the U.S., including about 200,000 homeless families. Most homeless families have incomes below 50% of the federal poverty level that makes it nearly impossible for them to find rental property within their means. To make matters worse, as many as 70% of homeless people struggle with serious health problems, mental and physical disabilities, and/or substance abuse problems (Burt, 2001). Countries have different ways of reporting homelessness, dissimilar measures with which to define homelessness. Some countries have no policy regarding this condition at all and for that reason are unable to report on the statistics.

Causes and Effects of Homelessness

As mentioned, homeless is also a global issue and not a problem specific to the U.S. It is

estimated to be around 3 million homeless individuals in 15 countries of the European Union.

Philip Alston, Chairperson of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights since

1991 states that “on any given night, three quarters of a million people in the United States are

homeless; in Toronto, Canada’s largest city, 6,500 people stayed in emergency shelters on a

typical night in late 1997, a two-thirds increase in just one year” (Unicef, 1998).

Furthermore, abuse and assault appear to be silent characteristics of homelessness. Studies have frequently found, in the histories of both individuals and families who are homeless, high rates of sexual and physical abuse in childhood, frequent foster care and other out of-home placements, and a variation of other family disruptions. Those that are always getting assaulted by their families might choose to run away and seek shelter in the streets than consent to a life of day-to-day abuse from beatings and molestation. The most significant reasons why people become homeless may be due to the inaccessibility of affordable housing for low income people. Studies show that people are likely to become homeless out of unavoidable situations. There are people who do work but they earn too little to pay for rent, electric, gas, and other housing utilities and expenses. If a person becomes unemployed, they will be unable to pay for anything at all.

Homeless Families Demographics

Although homelessness is a difficult number to measure, one way to analyze the extent of the problem is through demographics. According to The National Center on Family Homelessness (2008), the typical sheltered homeless family is comprised of a mother in her late twenties with two children.

Eighty-four percent of families experiencing homelessness are female-headed. This is due to number of factors:

Most single-parent families are female-headed (71%). Single-parent families are among the poorest in the nation and as such, are extremely vulnerable to homelessness

Several family shelters do not take men into their programs, causing families to separate when they become homeless

Families of color are overrepresented in the homeless population. Nationally:

Forty-three percent are African-American

Fifteen percent are Hispanic

Thirty-eight percent are White, non-Hispanic

Three percent are Native American

Families experiencing homelessness frequently have limited education:

Fifty-three percent of homeless mothers do not have a high school diploma

Twenty-nine percent of adults in homeless families are working

Forty-two percent of children in homeless families are under age six (The National Center on Family Homelessness, 2008).

The lack of reasonable housing has led to high rent payments for families that already struggle to pay their living expenses. These issues force many families to become homeless each day. A solution would be to lower the cost of housing, provide more support for those that are in need, and for the government to recognize that homelessness is a large scale problem.

Application of Theory
Social Systems Theory

Social inequality is shown all over the world stemming from situations of race, gender, and age. An individual’s social environment includes all situations a person comes into contact with on a day-to-day basis such as the individual’s home, job, and income level, and the social rules that govern them. Person-in-environment refers to interaction between an individual and the multiple systems surrounding that individual, and adaptation refers to one’s capability to change in order to adjust to new situations. In order to endure, an individual must be able to function effectively within their social environments (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2002).

The important factor behind the social selection model is that homelessness signifies the final point in a process characterized by the slow reduction of an individual’s social and economic resources. As an individual’s substance use escalates, the person’s financial reserves are exhausted as they sustain an increasingly expensive ”habit.” They either fall into rent debts that leads to eviction (Bessant et al., 2002), or family relationships break down leading to homelessness (Coumans & Spreen, 2003). Fountain and Howes found that 63% of their sample of homeless people in Britain named drug or alcohol use as a reason for first becoming homeless. The researchers decided that ”drug use is traditionally seen as one of the major routes into homelessness, and this was borne out by our survey” (Fountain & Howes, 2002, p. 10). This compares to the above U.S. percentages that have reported drug and alcohol abuse as one of the causes of homelessness.

Functionalist Theory

Homelessness can be explained by functionalism, a theory developed by Durkheim. Poverty is best understood from a mixed perspective involving conflict, by Karl Marx and functionalist, by Emile Durkheim. Since poverty certainly plays a role in a homelessness community, this theory certainly applies. In my opinion, functionalist theory explains that our country does actually help those in need but occasionally we can be unsuccessful. This theory continues to remind us to live practically and tells us that the social order does essentially work (Meyerhoff 2006).

Regrettably, at this time, scientific studies of family homelessness have been unable to instantaneously reflect all of these probable risk factors. Most of the research can be divided into those studies that present family homelessness as the product of separate faces or of community conditions, without examining both factors together (Shlay & Rossi, 1992).

Conflict Theory

Conflict theory, which is significant to the analysis of the homeless condition, is the belief that the means of mental capability and mental achievement plays a role in the determination of what interests will be articulated effectively. Conflict theory studies the macro level of our society, its structures and organizations. While functionalists dispute that society is held together norms, values, and a common morality, conflict theorists consider how society is held together by power and coercion for the advantage of those in power (Ritzer, 2000).

Though individuals and groups appreciating great wealth, prestige, and power have the resources needed to impose their values on others with fewer resources, Max Weber, a theorist viewed a range of class divisions in society as normal, inevitable, and acceptable, as do many contemporary conflict theorists (Curran & Renzetti, 2001). Weber’s theory separated the class of individuals into bourgeoisie and proletariat. Bourgeoisie are those capitalist who possess the means of production while the proletariat is deemed as the working class; they are the ones who sell their own labor power. These groupings show how people are classified according to their status in life. It basically defines the society’s state of inequality that is stabilized and reproduced through cultural ideology (Meyerhoff 2006).

Social Ill within Turley Homelessness

Poverty and inequality continues to afflict many residents in Turley, Oklahoma. The best theory that explains the social ill in Turley, Oklahoma, is conflict theory. One of the conflicts impacting Turley residents is the lack of transportation and close health care facilities. Without access to transportation, residents cannot get to work or to doctors or hospitals easily. Weber’s theory separated the class of individuals into bourgeoisie the “haves”, and the “have-nots” were called proletariat. It would be ideal if Marx’s idea of constructing a fundamentally “equal” society where there is no competition for wealth and power (Meyerhoff, 2006). It is known that several of Turley residents have less than other communities. One of the social ills within the Turley community is the many houses that are abandoned, boarded up, falling down or even burned-out by vandalism, which results in minimal to no housing for Turley residents. Also, from low income or unemployment, this may be caused by lack of transportation. This can result in individuals becoming depressed and utilizing drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism. Prolonged use of drugs or alcohol may result in a mental disorder. People who have complicated life issues related to mental illness and of drug or alcohol use are the most common people who tend to be homeless. There is a common perception that substance abuse and homelessness are linked, but there is considerable contention about the direction of the relationship (Kemp, Neale, & Robertson, 2006; Mallett, Rosenthal, & Keys, 2005; Neale, 2001; Snow & Anderson, 1993).

Many people in Turley, Oklahoma are homeless due to lack of affordable housing and lack of access to health care facilities, both of which makes life worse for residents with mental illness or substance abuse problems. Severe mental illnesses may be caused from substance abuse and affect people’s ability to carry out vital stages of everyday life, such as retaining a job, household management or even self-care. Mental illnesses may also prevent people from forming and maintaining stable relationships or cause them to misconstrue assistance from others’ and react in an angry manner. This often results in pushing away family, friends and caregivers who may be the force keeping that person from becoming homeless. Some studies indicate that substance abuse is a risk factor for homelessness, whereas others suggest that homelessness ”induces drug use” (Neale, 2001, p. 354).

Summary

In summary, when comparing the U. S. to other global communities, the causes of homelessness were similar, with poverty being the leading cause. To effectively address homelessness, communities need a clear understanding of the problem and realize that it could affect anyone at any given time. Homelessness continues to be an increasing problem and requires social action to overcome the injustice that those people suffer. A change can be made by building or offering affordable housing units to people with low or very minimal income, as well as shielding families from the abuse they may get exposed to and trying to help guide them in the right path. Finally, through helping communities with programs that assist addicted individuals to overcome their addiction as well as people with mental illness by providing affordable health care programs, the homeless have an opportunity to rise above their current situation.

As a Child Welfare Supervisor, I selected this particular social justice issue because several of the children that come into OKDHS custody will age out of the system without a permanent home or family, which results in most of them becoming homeless; this was learned in our Child Welfare Trainings. I wanted to learn more about this ongoing problem and feel it is very important that we help homeless people obtain a better life.