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Affirmative action policies are designed to counter the effects of discrimination. At best, affirmative action is ineffective and at worst distortionary. Moreover, discrimination in South Africa is largely a thing of the past. As such, affirmative action policies in South Africa ought to be abandoned.

Affirmative action policies in South Africa are meant to correct wrongs of the past by promoting equal opportunities for those that were oppressed by the Apartheid system; the Blacks; Africans Indians and Coloureds. The policy focus on policies and strategies needed to redress past racial imbalances in the workplace, education, gender equality

Employment Equity Act (EEA) implemented in 1998 aims at developing a non-discriminatory and socially equitable labour market. Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) was implemented in 2003 and the purpose of the act is to economically empower all black people, including people with disabilities and people living in the rural areas. BEE entails empowering black people through

“aˆ¦ ownership and control of businesses and assets, Human Resource Development and indirect empowerment b means of preferential procurement, enterprise development, profit and contract sharing by black enterprises, local content requirement, etc” Burger and Jafta (2006: 7).

This means other racial groups are still discriminated as it BEE based on race rather than economic standards. It also promotes Black capitalism as it gives Black-middle class advantage, the underprivileged Blacks are made worse off in the process; widening the inequality gap. According to Kovacevic (2007:6) about 60% of empowerment deals went to the companies of only Black businessmen in 2003. In view of that wealthy Blacks are enriched at the cost of those living in poverty. The BEE has been vastly questioned as it does not benefit majority of the Blacks, but just a few elite.

Education equality

Apartheid education system was designed such that blacks were only trained for low-skilled jobs. Affirmative action requires changing of admission preferences such that everyone has the right to basic and tertiary education.

Berverly (1997: 532) found that some South African universities are facing challenges that need ongoing attention and commitment to affirmative action. This is not surprising given that every institution wants to maintain or upgrade its ranking. Majority of blacks complete their matric in public schools where there is poor education system relative to private schools. For higher academic institutions to keep up with international standards, they will be more willing to admit students from private schools than public schools; being white students. Education is the key to employment and better standard of living. Denying one access to better education because of their race or for being poor simply adds more weight to their economic struggles. People with poor education are often unable to secure sufficient resources to ensure a good education for their children. The children are then, in turn, unable to provide their own offspring with an education that will allow social and economic advancement; intergenerational immobility. Racial inequalities in education contribute highly to racial inequalities in employment opportunities and achievements.

Employment and recruitment equality

There was a significant increase in the white-black employment gap between 1995 and 2000. From 1995 to 1997 the probability for blacks of being employed increased substantially for those with matric or tertiary qualification, whereas whites experienced high formal employment irrespective of their academic qualification (Burger and Jafta, 2006: 21). However the transformation changed between 1997 and 2004 when chances of being employed for the whites became determined by education attainment. Employment rates for whites without matric declined while the probability of blacks being employed declined.

Between 1994 and 2001 there was an increase from 2% to 33% of enterprises that observed emigration of skilled labour. White workers have struggled to find jobs in South Africa as a result opted to migrate to other countries because of the redistribution policy. This steered outflow of skilled labour (Kovacevic, 2007). In addition a lot of whites are forced to retire earlier in the public sector, while they encounter difficulties in getting jobs in the private sector (Adam, 1997: 232).

Thompson and Woolard (2002:9) found a substantial increase of 58.1% growth rate of African managers between 1995 and 2001 whereas percentage of White managers declined by 39% in public service management. The percentage of Coloured managers has remained stagnant while that of Indians has increase by a little but significant rate during the period. Given the race distribution of the country, the change for the whites is not that major.

Gender equality

During the apartheid era women were excluded from most types of formal employment except clerical and secretarial work, black women occupied positions as domestic workers and tea-ladies in office buildings. Women were denied access to education (especially black women) and were economically and politically disadvantaged (Kongolo and Naido, 2004). The government has intended to empower women through gender policy framework. This favours women therefore men are being discriminated, however, Mphai (1989: 6) insists that female discrimination in the country is still persistent as females enjoy fewer employment benefits than their male counterparts.

Mathur-Helm (2005: 63) maintains that affirmative action has only allowed women entry into the formal sector but not into senior positions in corporate jobs. This may be because of negative stereotype belief that women are meant to follow and not to lead. Compared to their male counterparts, women do not show leadership potential or skills that men portray, they are also thought to be less objective, less aggressive, less ambitious, less confident, less capable of contributing to organizational goals and less capable at learning technical and mechanical skills. However, women position in politics has improved compared to the private and public sectors as 30% of parliamentarians are women. Thompson and Woolard (2002: 20) found approximately 53% of non-managerial staff in the public services to be women in 2001 compared to 49.4% in 1995. This transformation is not significant enough as it does not match racial transformation performance. What needs to be done as to empower women while at the same time not discriminating against men, the government should invest more in female gender based jobs and encourage female participation in postgraduate studies through schoolarships.

Wage gap

A number of studies have shown whites to be higher income earners than other race groups. Burger and Jafta (2006: 2) found that the White population group still earns more than any other population group in the country. Whites had wage earnings of almost twice as much as the second highest earning group (Indians), with Coloureds and Blacks earning considerably less, on average. This might be because whites not only meet minimum requirements but they are also more qualified for the positions they occupy; which is hardly the case with other racial groups, or maybe because Blacks are not qualified for the positions they hold; they have been favoured.

Conclusion

Some argue that Affirmative action is another form of apartheid and not only does it reduce reduces employment it also retards economic growth. Affirmative action policies should be drawn such that no one is favoured since it is not possible to favour someone without discriminating against another. Africans are benefiting more than other ethnics than were also oppressed by apartheid hence discrimination. Adam (1997: 244) suggest that the policy should be revised such that it is based on the criteria of class and concentrate on disadvantaged people rather than criteria of race as the current definition of affirmative policy in South Africa is broadening inequality gap among classes of the same race. Lee (2010) however cautions that there is not much differentiation between race-based and class-based policies as they are more complements than substitutes. Class considerations can be integrated into selection procedures within the designated race group to reinforce the process of redress.

Adam also adds that the criterion for ‘potential’ should be taken more seriously as it appears that people that are benefitting from affirmative action are those with political connections. This in turn leads to nepotism as the well-off provide their children with labour market advantages hindering the success of the poor and economically disadvantaged.

According to Kovacevic (2007) the BEE programme has failed to properly address issues of poverty and employment not to mention fostering economic growth. It is therefore best to revise affirmative action policy from race base to socio-economic base rather than abandon it to tackle the problems of poverty and employment as to empower the underprivileged. Conferring preferential status on poor, rural, or inner-city persons would draw attention to differences between rich and poor, urban and rural, or suburban and inner-city, but such measures are upheld due to the benefits to bridging these gaps. It is best for the South African government to deal with the scars of apartheid differently than impose another form of apartheid. Class- or need-based affirmative action is permanent and more costly in terms of public funding, vulnerable to the same problems of disparity in aptitude of beneficiaries, and unviable in high-level occupations, management and ownership (Lee 2010: 31).

Affirmative action also devalues accomplishments of members of the designated group who could have advanced without preferential treatment; their achievements are questioned whether they have been attained out of hard work or out of “sympathy”. Affirmative action also stigmatizes beneficiaries as a group, creates dependence on the government, and alienates members of non-designated groups. These issues pose the heaviest challenges to affirmative action formulation and implementation (Lee, 2010). Denying capable candidates opportunities and persistently inhibiting the human development. But the problem is those that were oppressed under apartheid government; Blacks are the ones socio-economically disadvantaged. Given its costs and benefits, the question of whether affirmative action policies should be abandoned in South Africa is inconclusive or debatable as the policy is meant to correct the wrongs of the past. Maybe had there not be any racial discrimination before independence, socio-economic problems would be handled differently. Racial discrimination still persists in the country; it is just not as bad as it was during apartheid. Removing affirmative action might worsen discrimination as the reasons why discrimination occurred in the first place are still there. Should academic and professional institutions find no reason to discriminate thus stop believing that one group that is more productive or smarter than the other; then only then should affirmative action policies be abandoned.

The world is facing many problems that are demolishing its unity, forcing the process of making a better world harder to achieve. One of the most devastating problems yet to be solved is the women’s rights against discrimination. Discrimination, according to Cambridge University’s dictionary is the act of treating a person or particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, because of their skin colour, religion, sex. Discrimination against women is a type of gender discrimination. According to the Australian Office of Anti-Discrimination Commissioner (OADC) gender discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favourably than another person because of his or her gender (Justice, 2009). Women’s discrimination is a series problem, it is just not a discrimination against a minority (with all do respect to all minorities). “It is impossible to realize our goals while discriminating against half the human race” Kofi Annan [1] . Annan described discriminating against women discriminating against half of the human race which rely on how important the role of women in the progressing of the human race. The problem of discrimination against women was officially addressed to the world through the first couple of years of the establishing of the United Nations (UN). “Women inscribed their identity as holders of rights in the founding documents of the UN-the UN Charter (1945) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)… the Convention of Civil Rights to Women (1948) and the Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952)” (Jain & Sen, 2005, pp. 12-13). Many countries and nations have issued legislations against discrimination, and specifically against gender or sex discrimination. One of the most notified acts against discrimination is the “Sex Discrimination Act 1975” by the British Parliament. Many countries and nations have acts against discriminating women; however, women are still being discriminated before the law (Franciscans). Discriminating against women is not just discriminating against a person it is discriminating against families as well; who would want the mother, the sister or the wife to be discriminated at work, at school or at club under no reason but solely because of the gender. The purpose of this essay is to examine the act of discrimination against women and demonstrate on how women suffer in the social life, the political arena and the workplace, and the education. Moreover this essay will adjudge the previous solutions to overcome the problem of discriminating women due to their gender held previously decades ago by countries or nations, and why they did not reap what they have sown. Ultimately, it will propose a solution on how to surmount the problem of discriminating women, because women should not be discriminated due to the prejudice against their gender. Women play the part of half the human race if they were less competent or reliable than men and do not deserve equality God would not let them share every role with men.

Women’s discrimination is much far from being a local issue in a certain part of the world. Women suffer from discrimination, violence and sexual harassment because women most of the times are thought to be less competent than men because of their physical structure. Women are not only discriminated in the developing countries because of the lack of “sophistication”, women are also being discriminated in the developed countries. “Discrimination against women in the UK is “deeply ingrained”, a government report concludes” as cited in (Barriers still in women’s way, 2005). The UK, one of the most important and developed countries that plays a major role in the world issues, has a discrimination problem against women which is described by a governmental report to be “deeply ingrained” or firmly held that it is not likely to be changed. Thus it is a problem that needs more that attention to be solved. According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Data shows that discriminatory practices against women exists and dominates in almost all parts of the world (2008). Therefore, we do not need each developed country telling a one that is not that the developed country is free from discrimination or it is in very small ratio that discrimination hardly can be found. Statistically according to figure 1 [2] , the ratio between the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the developing countries does not gap critically; life expectancy is more in MENA than in the developing countries while it decreases in the other areas. The world needs all countries and nations help because it is not a one nation problem it is a problem that we all command.

Figure

Women social life is covered by many kinds of discrimination. Women in social life suffer from many daily-life appellations, especially in the Middle-East other than the West. In the Middle-East women are classified by their relationship status other than by her contribution to the community. While searching for life partner men get “repelled” from divorced women. In the process of searching, most of the men search for virgin girls whether those men have previous relation or not. Divorced women are treated different than married women. Whereas single-mothers most of the time do not marry after their first marriage because men do not want extra burden or responsibility. On the other hand single-fathers easily can get married most of the time as there is no social norm against them to re-marry. Single mothers do not refuse to marry, however, they are refuted by the men how are seeking marriage. “Divorce is more costly for women than men. The most common impact of divorce on women is the financial insecurity it creates, increasing the possibility of poverty for them and their children. Data show that after divorce, women experience a 73 percent loss in their former standard of living and men experience a 42 percent rise” (Headlee & Elfin, 1996, p. p.52). Not only divorce leave women socially “downgraded” it also leaves her in economical insecurity, and if a women is supporting a child the disaster will be doubled. According to Clarke-Stewart & Brentano, divorced women make only five new friends in the first year of divorce due to the emotional damage of divorce (2006, p. 70). Women are more likely to have blighted social life than men after divorce. Nevertheless, society does not welcome divorcees leaving women in a dark corner of the society.

Politically, women suffer from a great impact from discrimination. Women have been discriminated in the political arena, as the society gives the women politicians less creditability than men due to some ideas stuck in the minds that women are more likely to be secretaries other than being the boss. The media has a huge impact on such negative ideas, giving the women always as the soft secretary that has a model body shape and a voice that rhymes with music. According to Abdel-Wahab’s film, he sketched a wife being a CEO in a governmental institution, while the employees of that institution do not believe that a woman can hold such a sophisticated position (1966). In that film the female CEO proves to her husband and to her employees at the end of the film that she is as competent as any male CEO that has ever held this position. This is the kind of media that needed to be seen today, not the ones that weaken the image of women and strengthens the stereotyping of them in politics and in workplace. According to Constance B. Morella a US Republican Congresswoman, who represents the Seventh District in Maryland, ”in politics (once elected) there is equity in terms of salary, but not in terms of leadership. Women are excluded from many issue areas and commissions where they might serve” as cited in (Headlee & Elfin, 1996). In the US congress the government cannot give smaller salary to women, “of course” or it would be contradicting its own policies out in the public, nonetheless, they do not give women the right of leadership as they might provide help to their country, the US- her country- deny the women’s help in leadership. Unlike men, women pursue politics for the sake of issues and morals not for career advancement. The rejection of women being in the political arena gave them the opportunity to be more active volunteers than men, which gave them more than enough experience to successfully enter the political arena (Headlee & Elfin, 1996, p. 26). Men do not have an extra brain that makes them excel in politics and likely women do not, hence, they are equal and should have equal political opportunities. Women went to work thus, affecting the men’s jobs and the economy mainly because of money. Women worked because they did not have husbands as unmarried or divorced, or they had husbands who were in low-pay jobs. In 1994, 59 percent of married women were working for pay which increased by 19 percent from 1970 (Headlee & Elfin, 1996, p. 3). As of discrimination in the work place, statistically, “pregnant women suffer widespread discrimination at work, figures show, with almost one in 14 mums-to-be denied opportunities for promotion and one in 50 demoted” (Pregnant Women; Discrimination at work, 2006). Pregnant women takes the largest piece in the pie chart according to discrimination, some of the pregnant women do not even get paid for maternity leave, while, some of them do not get promoted and some get demoted.

The problem of gender differences in salary raises a lot of concerns as to its factors, processes and measurement among social scientists and policy makers all over the world.

Gender-based inequality is a phenomenon that affects the majority of the world’s cultures, religions, nations and income groups [5]. When scientists speak of the gender gap these days, they are usually referring to systematic differences in the outcomes that men and women achieve in the labor market. These differences are seen in the percentages of men and women in the labor force, the types of occupations they choose, and their relative incomes or hourly wages [4].

There have been significant increases in the labor supply of women in the last decades both in developed and developing countries. For instance, in the United States female participation in the paid labor force changed drastically in the course of the 20th century: in 1880 only 17% of all American women at working ages participated in the labor market, by 2000 this number had risen to more than 60% [3]. Nevertheless, the Global Gender Gap Index 2007 showing that no country in the world has yet reached equality between women and men – the highest ranking country has closed a little over 80% of its gender gap while the lowest ranking country has closed only a little over 45% of its gender gap.

Factors that describe the gender pay gap

Among various factors that describe the gender pay gap the most important ones are historical, cultural and economic.

Describing historical factors of the gender pay gap, we have to mention that after industrialization women became “secondary workers” in the labor market; they entered the labor market in smaller numbers and for shorter periods than did men. Moreover, occupations and industries were highly segregated by sex, partly because employers developed explicit policies to segregate the workplace and bar married women from employment [4]. Hence the wage structure changes over time but the historical evolution of well-defined systems of jobs and firms has created relatively stable segmentation by occupation.

As for cultural factors, they are closely connected to the historical events. The development of modern family patterns during the past decades has been accompanied by substantial changes in social norms, values and gender relations all over the world. In most of modern societies women with higher returns to human capital and fewer children, increase their investments in education and their attachment to the market.

The economic factors are also very important. Because women are very likely to interrupt their career for children bearing period, and employers avoiding workers with high quit rates (for economic reasons), therefore, women comparing to men are less likely to receive stable well-paid jobs.

Micro-level processes that cause the gender pay gap

As wage differences among workers can be explained by processes that match individuals to jobs, we should research how individual women and men are sorted into different positions and thereby obtain different levels of reward. Margaret Mooney Marini and Pi-Ling Fan have conducted a research “The gender gap in earnings at career entry” in which the micro-level mechanisms of the gender wage gap were investigated. Those are gender differences in job-related skills and credentials, adult family roles, work and family aspirations, the availability and use of information and influence via social networks; gender discrimination in hiring and job placement by employers.

The results of the research showed that explanatory mechanisms focusing on the characteristics of workers explained only 30 % of the gender difference in wages. But the gender differences in aspirations and in job-related skills and credentials were the most important in accounting for the gender pay gap. The allocation of women and men to different jobs by employers, and informal processes of social contact and social interaction via networks play an important role in wage determination at career entry. Moreover, gender differences in family structure had no significant direct effect when the effect of worker qualifications and aspirations were considered [6].

How to measure the gender gap

One of the instruments to measure the gender gap is the Global Gender Gap Index introduced by the World Economic Forum. This index is a framework for capturing the magnitude of gender disparities. It aims to be a tool for benchA­marking and tracking global gender-based inequalities on economic, political, education- and health-based criteria [5]. The structure of this index is in the Appendix.

In this paper we are interested only in the economic participation and opportunity analyzed by the Index. This area is captured through three concepts: the participaA­tion gap, the remuneration gap and the advancement gap. The participation gap is captured through the difference in labor force participation rates. The remuneration gap is captured through a hard data indicator (ratio of estimated female-to-male earned income) and a qualitative variable calculated through the World Economic Forum’s ExecuA­tive Opinion Survey (wage equality wages for similar work). Finally, the gap between the advancement of women and men is captured through two hard data statistics (the ratio of women to men among legislators, senior officials and managers, and the ratio of women to men among technical and professional workers).

Conclusion

The gender gap is a difference in outcomes that men and women achieve in the labor market. Because labor market rewards derive from labor market positions, it is important to understand why women receive less rewarding positions and what the mechanism of the gender pay gap is.

There are historical, cultural and economic factors that influence gender pay gap. Historically occupations are segregated by sex, but women return to human capital more often than in the past and decrease their quit rates during childbearing period. Among micro-level processes that cause gender pay gap, the most important are gender differences in aspirations, job-related skills and definite social networks inclusion.

In order to measure gender gap scientists use the Global Gender Gap Index which examines the gap between men and women in four fundamental categories: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, health and survival.

Appendix. Structure of the Global Gender Gap Index

What is the meaning of disaster and how it has changed over historical time?

One of the most difficult concepts to define is disaster. A several attempts have been made by social scientist through history to define this complicated concept but all of these attempts faced the problem of either it is too broad or too narrow. However, it is very important to define and identify the meaning of disaster. The reason behind its importance is to give us a clear understanding of the concept in order to easily product and prepare for its outcome. It will be the aim of this paper to define and analyse the meaning of disaster. Also, it will present several examples of several types of disaster in different period of time. Moreover, it will show how the definition of disaster changed throughout the history. Another, this essay will discuss the impact of disaster on people and the economy. Finally, it will briefly argue the social norms resulting from disaster.

The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters CRED, defines disaster as a “situation or event which overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request to a national or international level for external assistance; an unforeseen and often sudden event that causes great damage, destruction and human suffering.”[1] At the same point, another definition of disaster was defined by United Nation the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. The organization defined the phenomenon as follows; “A disaster takes place when the following three conditions occur at the same time: When people live in hazardous places like, for example, close to an active volcano, on unstable slopes where landslides are likely to happen, or close to rivers which could flood. When a hazardous phenomenon occurs, be it natural or human-made. When the phenomenon also causes a lot of damage, especially where no preventive measures have been taken.”[2]

Moreover, the Oxford English Dictionary defines disaster as it is “A sudden accident or a natural catastrophe that causes great damage or loss of life; also, an event or fact leading to ruin or failure.”[3]Moreover, the German Red Cross defines disaster as an “extraordinary situation in which the everyday lives of people are suddenly interrupted and thus protection, nutrition, clothing, housing, medical and social aid or other vital necessities are requested.”[4] All of the previous definitions agree on one fact that disaster cause shock and stress for its victims and on the other hand, disasters always associated with destroying economy, property and significant amount of lives. Thus, it is very important to understand the definition of disaster.

After presenting several definitions of the concept of disaster I will present some examples of disaster which will help us in distinguishing and knowing the concept more clearly. Further, it is very important to know the difference amongst any personal tragedy, an emergency and a real disaster. With regard to that, a fire in a house which can be caused by accident even if no one injured still it is considered to be a personal tragedy to some people when in fact it is not. As an instance, Hurricanes, earthquakes, Floods, volcano and Tornadoes are considered to be disasters which made by nature. On the other hand, the man-made disasters can be classified under Crimes, Arsons, War and Terrorism. However, since the 20th century most of the disaster that occurred was a man-made disasters even when the nature play a big role in spreading hazard and threatening people lives, still to some of us disasters which made by a man is what matter and what take all the blame.

The cause of disaster can be divided in to three types such as, man-made and nature made disasters. At the same point, in ancient times any natural disasters occur in people society they consider it as a God-made disaster or some kind of miracles. As an example, in ancient times, especially in the days of Moses, may peace be upon him, they faced years of wrath and years of cams and drought due to lack of Nile water and the inaccessibility of the sky rain than usual. Further, when Moses walked with his people towards the Gulf of Suez and followed by Pharaoh to eliminate them then God revealed to Moses thus; “Then We revealed to Musa: Strike the sea with your staff. So it had cloven asunder, and each part was like a huge mound. (63)”[5] Meaning, the understanding of people about the concept of disaster has changed through time. In the 18th century, the technology and the high standard level of education we have now did not exist back then; also, people were more attached to church and god more than people do now.

Taking into account, the church’s role in influencing many people in terms of placing religious believes in them and linking the occurrence of disasters to God-making; also, when disaster happened to them the church believe God made it as a result of people sins. While, now a days people are more distant from God so instead they blame man or government as an alternative from blaming God. Simply, to some people it is easier to blame a man and governments than blaming nature or God. As an example, no good can come from blaming nature or God but blaming man is much easier.

After examining the causes of disaster and the several types of it, I will present several outcomes that result from this phenomenon and how these outcomes changed over the history and recent days. Disasters have a significant impact not only on people but also on the country with all of its contents. For example, natural disaster such as Hurricanes can ruin people and country property as well as the economy. Furthermore, by ruining the economy of the state that is also means the future of this country is ruined at the same time. According to WBDRM, the World Bank’s Disaster Risk Management, “developing countries suffer the greatest costs when a disaster hits – more than 95 percent of all deaths caused by disasters occur in developing countries; and losses due to natural disasters are 20 times greater in developing countries than in industrialized countries.”[6] As an example, Japan and the atomic bomb that hits Hiroshima in the 6th of August 1945. This bomb was a tragedy in human lives. However, Japan lost more than the 140,000 of people that died when the bomb located in Hiroshima, Japan also had a long term effect from that incident. Plus the high number of death, the Japanese society have severely affected in a very disturbing way.

With defining disaster we have to consider and think of the social norm that comes with it. Before analysing the social norms we have to know the meaning of it. Social Norms can be defined as “the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours.”[7] Moreover, a descriptive norm is a type of social norms and it can be “refers to people’s perceptions of what is commonly done in specific situations.”[8] A specific situation means that when a disaster appeared in people lives what matter is their reaction to the crisis.

I personally believe that our perspective and understanding to the concept of disaster has changed through the history and that because everything has changed. Things like people attitude, education level, governments greed and Media. As an example, let us consider the events of 9/11 on the US; it was immediately attached to the work of terror and blames it on man. However, the US reaction was completely irrelevant when they invaded Iraq and that when all of the political analysis agreed that the main reason behind the US government action was the oil. Another example of that, Hitler obsession with oil and his decision to attack the Soviet Union was due to several factors. One of which was economics. There were plenty of oil fields and that is when Hitler saw the resources as sacred in order to make his empire “invulnerable”[9]. That was one of many examples showing the man greediness and where it can lead.

What is more, proving that people attitude towards the concept of disaster have changed; after the bombing on Hiroshima in Japan, the Japanese took all of their rage and anger and used it to developed there country. And just within 7 years Japan healed and moved on and now it considers being the second country in the world with the strong economy. Simply, the history repeats its self and we have to learn the mistakes from the history and learn from them instead of repeating them.

To conclude, it is not easy to define and understand disasters and it outcomes, however, with all the attempts to define this dangerous phenomenon all of the previous definitions agreed on only shock, hazards and loses of lives can result from disaster. Further, disasters either God-made, man-made or nature-made all of them have the same outcomes in terms of losing significant amount of damage on the society and it citizens. With regard to that, people are more pessimistic than before and with more negative attitude towards crisis; as well as their reaction towards it. Japan incident is an important example, which we have to learn from it and people have to move on instead of holding grudge against each other’s and use that anger to build a better society because humans vulnerability with disaster is what considered to be an emergency.

[1] http://www.cred.be/sites/default/files/ADSR_2008.pdf. Accessed: 2nd of Dec/2009.

[2] http://www.unisdr.org/eng/public_aware/world_camp/2004/booklet-eng/Pagina5ing.pdf. Access: 4th of Dec/2009.

[3] http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/disaster?view=uk. Accessed: 4th of Dec/2009.

[4]Quarantelli, E.L. What is a disaster: perspectives on the question. Routledge: London. (1998). P 14.

[5] The holy Quran. Surat: Ash-Shu’ara 26, Aya (63).

[6]http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTURBANDEVELOPMENT/EXTDISMGMT/0,,menuPK:341021~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:341015,00.html. Accessed: 2nd of Dec/2009.

[7] http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/social_norms.htm. Accessed: 4th of Dec/2009.

[8] http://www.econ.jhu.edu/People/Young/PalgraveSocialNormsJuly07JHU.pdf. Accessed: 4th of Dec/2009.

[9] Daniel Yergin, The Prize. P 334.

Disability is a very personal experience with many pathways. Factors such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, and sexuality all play a factor in a person’s experience with disability in the United States. These factors play a role in deciding the needs of the individual and what care they need. The following will show how the different socio-demographic factors play a role in different pathways towards disability. Disability is defined as having limited mobility in either the upper or lower body (Binstock and George 2011).

Disability pathways can vary by age in what stage of the life course the person is in. While not always the case, younger people tend to have less of a risk of becoming disabled than older people (Binstock and George 2011). Disability itself is a difficult term to identify because of the use of the word is not universal as the book points out. The statistic given is that 64% of adults over the age of 65 have some problem with mobility (Binstock and George 2011). This is important to note for age because it shows what age is generally accepted to be the start of some form of disability. Life expectancy has also risen over the past decades as healthcare continues to make improvements. These are important to note because as the population ages, than more people would seem to need assistance as they grow older. One reason discussed for an increase in longevity is lifestyle changes in daily tasks have been made easier for the older population. The text also notes that more seniors are living in places where they can get assistance (Binstock and George 2011). These developments are important when discussing disability pathways because healthcare is always changing and finding new and better ways to care for the disabled population.

Disability pathways can also vary by the person’s sex. According to statistics, Women tend to need assistance with a disability earlier in life than men do while women have a longer life expectancy then men (Binstock and George 2011). These differences present a different outcome than age would as a socio-demographic factor because women might need assistance longer than men in cases like this. This is important to note because sometimes men are the primary caregiver in this situation and if they become disabled also then more assistance would be needed. This can also be true if women are the primary caregiver to men. These examples show how couples would handle differences in sex in aging. Single women and single men would have different pathways to disability than couples would and different ways of dealing with their disabilities. Single people would likely have no choice than to seek outside help for their disability and find ways to help pay for their required help. Single people also tend to have less income over their lifetime and single women tend to make even less creating inequality in access to assistance for a disability. These are important differences to note because couples would seem to have more security than single people in regards to sex because of the income differences.

Another way disability pathways can vary is by race/ethnicity because of inequality faced by the minority population. The data show that, on average, racial/ethnic populations have a lower socioeconomic status (Binstock and George 2011). This can create problems with access to the better assistance, discussed earlier with living arrangements and daily task management. This can also lead to a problem with accessing needed healthcare which can lead to more problems with becoming disabled. The text writes that there is no one reason as to why racial and ethnic minorities have these inequalities by “The law of small effects” (Binstock and George 2011). They further note that more study is needed in the way of “environment” of the people during the life course (Binstock and George 2011). It is also documented that racial and ethnic minorities experience racism and discrimination in their lives and this does have an effect on their overall health (Binstock and George 2011). Race/ethnic pathways differ than age or sex because socioeconomic status plays a larger role in regards to these statues. These are important to note because the study of minorities and pathways to disability are often times harder for the individuals.

Another socio-demographic factor that affects disability pathways is sexuality. Similar to race/ethnicity, discrimination faced by LGBT minority groups would likely lead to shorter life expectancy. Sexuality as a socio-demographic factor would be different from sex or age pathways because of the discrimination factor and because this minority communities do not have the same legal protections as the heterosexual community does. The LGBT population might also have other areas of inequality in relation to pathways to disability such as access to needed medical services and support. These are important to note as more people have come to identify as LGBT in recent years more specialized care is needed for the population.

These demographic and life course concepts show how disability pathways vary and why they are important to study. These concepts show that, while better in recent years, there is a long way to go in terms of equality for minority populations. Minority groups seem to be at the heart of this problem and that shows how individual pathways may differ because of status. Discrimination also plays a role in all levels of the different pathways as it tends to shorten life expectancy.

Question #2

The theories introduced by the various authors in the class are activity theory, disengagement, age integration, and the life course. All of these have useful elements in the discussion of the book “Aging Our Way.” In Loe’s book, the Age integration theory is shown in lessons one and six on connecting with peers. Also lesson ten and thirteen all suggest a life course theory while the rest of the book seems to support Activity theory. The book would seem to show the evidence for the particular theories.

Most of the theories discussed have some evidence shown in Loe’s book, while disengagement theory did not have much support. Disengagement theory is defined by the gaining population disengaging from other people as they grow older (Achenbaum and Bengtson 1994). I think that, while useful, disengagement among the elderly population is not as prevalent as it was when the theory was first introduced. People now have a longer life expectancy and since retirement and I think that the disengagement theory does not take this into account. Disengagement theory as a whole is still relevant to some extent, just not in the context of Loe’s book where the focus of the book is on the various activities done and how the people engage more in their final years.

An example of age integration theory is shown in lesson one in Loe’s book. The couple in this chapter had to integrate with people of all age groups to continue with what they wanted to do. This chapter was about the couple, after retiring, keeping their same routine as much as they could which meant having to branch out and find other people their age to keep going (Loe 2011). This meant that activities would range from sports to music and service that would mean people from all ages would be involved with the activity. Lesson six is about connecting with peers. This chapter follows the age integration theory because it shows people interacting with different age cohorts. In Johanna’s scrabble group the chapter writes about the different socio economic statuses of the members which would suggest age interaction is going on in this group (Loe 2011).

The life course theory comes into play in chapters ten and thirteen. These chapters write about the importance of family and the acceptance of death. Chapter ten is about how family is important and how of accepting non-traditional types of families is important. This chapter makes a point to talk about friends of the people in the study. These people are defined as new family members because of their closeness with the elderly and that they become better friends (Loe 2011). This is important to note in the life course as a transition to old age where roles are redefined after retirement or a medical issue. Chapter thirteen is about death and how they are preparing for it. This shows evidence for the life course theory and how people deal with it. This is important to note because not all people do this and it seemed to be very important for the people mentioned in this chapter.

Finally, the remaining chapters show support for the activity theory of aging. All of these chapters show how the people would engage more leisurely or more supportive activity than they might have in their working lives. Chapter 7 on resorting to “tomfoolery” shows how the people used humor in many ways during their daily lives. Most of this was to engage in social activities as the people in the chapter lived alone for the most part. Chapter 8 on care for others also shows how the activity theory is useful because it shows how caring for others helps all people involved. These examples are important in activity theory because they show people willing to go outside the norm and take different steps than other theories like disengagement would suggest.

I think that the activity theory of aging is more strongly supported by Loe’s book. More of the lessons in the book were about people engaging in activity in their normal routine and finding new ways of socializing. Specifically, lesson thirteen where the chapter is about the importance of touch to the people. This chapter shows the importance of physical contact such as hugs. This chapter was important to show how the activity theory can mesh with physical actions such as a hug.

Chapter eight and chapter nine are about reaching out to family and caring for others also show evidence for activity theory. This is done by re engaging people who may have grown apart in the way of family or by caring for others. Both of these acts involve a high level of activity to achieve the goals. Chapter eight discusses how the elderly can care for other elderly and what benefits this action has. The activity is shown to be very beneficial for the people because they have to check up on their neighbors and their family members. This activity is shown to be beneficial because the activity is needed and wanted in most cases. Chapter nine writes about spending time together with family and the benefits this has. Benefits such as engaging family members that may be new or have been separate for many years.

These chapters in Loe’s book show support for the activity theory of aging because they show that people who are more socially engaged with friends and family have a better time with the aging process. These chapters, I think, are specifically important because they show specific ways people engage in activity with others.

A lady was crying in the arbitrator room because her husband severely beat him yesterday, the face of the lady was swollen and her hands were injured. It was the case of Domestic violence.

Dignity of women should be respected by every individual of the society, because the Women are the equal partner of the society. According to Beijing conference on women Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls said (1995) “The dignity of women is prerequisite to any recognition on the part of the State. Without a clear understanding of the meaning of human dignity, discrimination will never be avoided.” But unfortunately such respect and honor could not be maintained and which resulted in an uncompromised issues such as domestic violence. It can be defined as:

“A continuum of behavior ranging from verbal abuse, physical and sexual assault to rape even homicide.” (Department of Health DOH 2000)

Domestic violence is the most serious problems that affect the health and wellbeing of the women. It ranges from single injury to life long disabilities. As Marjorie McAtee (2010) mentioned that: “Domestic violence can have a number of long-term effects on the women who are often its victims. These effects can extend far beyond immediate injury.”

It was shocked me when my friend told the story which said lady presented in front of him. The lady told that:

“I got married at the age of 21 and delivered the first baby girl within the periods of

12 months. On the completion of the second year of my marriage my husband showing irresponsible attitudes towards providing finance and participating in social activities. He starts to abuse language and threaten me; day by day his attitude become worse and he disallowed me to go out even to my parent house. I’m so sacred to him. One night he came very late and he was drunk, when I ask the reasons to late and drunk, he come to me and slaps me and start biting me with his belt, it’s now became his habit to beat , torture and abuse me, many time our neighbors came and intervene us. I’m so worried about my baby because I can not give her proper time. I also feel myself unhealthy as physically and mentally.”

Analysis:

Domestic violence is an extended phenomenon. One analysis on the basis of statistics can help us to understand the widespread of this issue. According to Aurat Founadtion press statement: (Feb. 2010).

“A total of 8548 incidents of violence against women were reported in the four

Provinces of Pakistan and in capital territory Islamabad during year 2009.”

It is not only the nationally spread phenomena but it cross the boundaries and now become the global issue As the Sushma Panday mentioned in her book of Psycho-social aspect of domestic violence:

“According to UNCIEF study report (2000) 20-50 percent of women population of world is victims of domestic violence.”

After going through the story, different question has been raised in my mind such as why domestic violence happens? What are the forms of such violence? How it effects on the health of deprived lady as well as other women? And how it can be prevented or avoided? These questions help me to analysis the said story through various literatures.

There are different domains or kinds of domestic violence which the victim as well as the under discussion lady has been faced, the first kind of violence is physical abuse in which women are being physically abused by biting, hitting, pouncing, slapping or burning. Another one is emotional or psychological abuse in which women is being humiliated and threaded by spouse. Sexual abuse is a kind of violence in which women is being forced for unsafe or unwanted sex with the same spouse or with others. Femicide is form of violence in which women are killed due gender discrimination; honor killings are one of the examples of femicide. The role of health care provider to identify such form would be helpful to plan smooth treatment process to the women health. According to Wikipedia:

“All forms of domestic abuse have one purpose: to gain and maintain total control over the victim. Abusers use many tactics to exert power over their spouse or partner.”

Susan Scott Ricci and Terri Kyle (2008) citied in the book Maternity and Pediatric Nursing that:

“Nurses play a major role in assessing women who has suffered from some types of violenceaˆ¦a visit to a health care agency is an ideal time for women to be assessed for violence.”

Besides the forms of such violence there are several causes responsible for domestic violence and these causes answered that why domestic violence happened to the said lady as well as the entire victimized women. The individual who grow in an environment where violence is practice or taught is an essential cause of violence, because such individuals develops and grow his perception or thoughts accordingly. Poverty or low socio-economic status is a prominent cause of violence because when the wants and needs not fulfilled, that resulted in domestic violence. That similarly happens in the mentioned story. Addiction is equally responsible for the said violence, As the Bethany Winkel (2009) citied: “Almost 80% of domestic violence crimes have a connection to drugs. Therefore, a big part of the solution to domestic abuse is to address the underlying substance abuse.” Mental illness is also responsible for the domestic violence. The mentally unhealthy person unable to cope with situations and domestic violence resulted. Poor self esteem and power relation or male domination is also the cause of said violence, because in our society men treated as head or dominated part of family as compare to women. The role of health care provider to identify specific causes help to guide the victim to resolve the underlying factor of violence. As the Holly McDowall cited:

“While nurses can help to prevent further abuse by placing barriers between victims and the abuse, this is more complex than referrals to shelters.”

After being analysis of causes and forms of domestic violence its essay to understand the affects of such violence to health of the deprived lady as well as other victimized women. As Kristen Fraser citied in article of Domestic Violence and Women’s Physical Health:

“Campbell et al. (2002) argue, based on their findings that abused women have increased risk of gynecological, central nervous system and stress-related health problems.”

Primarily physical health of the women is severely affected from such violence. Bruises, cuts, burns, scars and fractures are some of the sign of the physical violence. Psychological and mental health is also being affected by such violence, depression; stress, anxiety; suicidal ideations and post traumatic syndrome are some of the unhealthy signs which victim as well as deprived lady has been experienced. When the violence is practiced in front of the children it may affect his /her psychological health as well as leads to building up their negative perceptions, similarly happen in mentioned story. When the victim is physically and psychologically is unhealthy can not enjoy the well beings of life and remain unsocialized from family and friends. When one individual is affected in the society from a domestic violence than the concept of violence society is emerged, because every individual is connected to their society as a member. Therefore domestic violence affected the health and wellbeing of the women as well as entire society.

In context of said story or deprived lady; her physical health, psychological and social activity is affected from the violence and on other hand her child is also affected as passive member of violence

After having the analysis of forms, causes and affects of domestic violence. It is very important to look forward the ways that how said violence can be prevented or avoid for the deprived lady as well as the all victims. “cycle of violence theory” which was introduce by researcher and feminist Lenore Walker in 1970 which help to understand such violence It include “Honey moon Phase, Tension building Phase, and Acting out Phase” putting the lady on that cycle we can analysis that problem has been started gradually that leads to severe one. We can avoid such tensions into tension building phase. Another suggestion and recommendation include that self awareness about rights of women, approached for legal rights and mutual consensus is also some of strategies to stop violence. The role of the nurse to in the said violence is very important as Mary Cipriano and Ruth Ludwick citied:

“The challenge is what nurses can do about it. Ask a woman if she is fearful of harm. Write a letter or speak to a legislator about domestic violence. Volunteer your skills at a shelter for victims of domestic violence. Open a discussion with a person from another culture about domestic violence.”

I conclude by saying that the by proper knowledge and understanding of forms, causes effects and preventive methods of domestic violence women can safe from hazardous effects of violence on health and wellbeing.

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Question 6: Discuss why is it difficult to define identity?

The best way to characterize identity may be to see it as “a multi-dimensional space in which a variety of writing blend and clash” (Sarup, 1996, p.25). Approaches to identity are multiple and from various fields such as sociology, psychology and psychoanalysis. This vast array of theories offer as many different attributes and definitions to identity which prevent the construction of a simple definition. I will argue that identity cannot be reduced to a simple and unified definition. This is most evident by understanding and analyzing the broad differences and interconnectedness between the major theories on identity, such as psychoanalysis, symbolic interactionism and performativity, which all have something to offer, each focusing more on the aspects that are relevant for their field of study.

The wish to define identity can be traced back to the Enlightenment philosophy in Europe, when humanism and the quest to find who we are and how we should behave as rational and free beings (Mansfield, 2000, p.15). Identity was then studied as a philosophical construct, and the theories, influenced by Descartes and his notion of duality of the human mind between an emotional self and a rational thoughts as constituting our identity, led to believe the subject as being ‘I think therefore I am’ (Sarup, 1996, p.46). This Cartesian approach considering the self as unified stayed the main view for many years. However we now live in a post-Cartesian world, and the development of fields such as psychoanalysis, sociology and social psychology led to a shift in the way to look at identity, by decentralizing the subject (Sarup, 1996, p.46) to take into account different evolution of society and the complexity of human beings.

With the development of psychoanalysis, initiated by the researches and theories of Sigmund Freud, the approach to the study of identity changed focus and meaning. Freud believed that most of our identity is based upon the result of the negotiation of actions and reactions between the individual and the external environment (Elliott, 2007, p.53), such as the family, culture and society. According to him, we are not born with an identity, but we construct one through the process of identification. This is especially true in the early ages of your life when you learn what is acceptable according to social criteria and what has to be prevented, which is then repressed according to Freud into the unconscious; the Oedipus complex is a good example of structuring the subject in terms of identification (Sarup, 1996, p.30). It is the result of these interactions which will define who we are. It is important then to notice that for Freud one’s identity construction is mostly unconscious and resides within oneself (Lawler, 2008, p.78); the focus is, as such, placed on the individual and his capacity to adapt and positively interact with the world.

Following psychoanalytic traditions, academics such as Eissler theorized the sense of identity as being based on memory elements which in turn depend on the capacity of the ego to consider these memories as its ‘own’, and be then able to either repress or integrate them successfully (De Levita, 1965, p.106). Stephanie Lawler, also on memory, argues that identity is not something fundamental and essential, but something produced through the narratives people use to explain and understand their lives (Lawler, 2008, p.17). As such they use their memories to interpret their lives, and at the same time these memories are already interpretations of a past experience: memories themselves are social products.

What psychoanalysis can bring to the study of identity is that it gives a way to consider the place of unconscious and non-rational elements of identity (Lawler, 2008, p.83) which are psychoanalytic elements that are necessary to understand the construction of identity but which are often denied by theorists exploring social dynamics impacts (Sarup, 1996, p.39). Furthermore, by placing the unconscious and ideas of repression at the centre of his model of identity, Freud shows that we can only know ourselves incompletely and with difficulty, rendering identity blurred and unfinished (Lawler, 2008, p.99). However, by concentrating so much on the self’s experience of identity, this approach might lack depth in understanding the impact of some social forces such as inequality, oppression and domination (Elliott, 2007, p.70).

Another approach that developed around that time but in the sociological field, is the theory known as symbolic interactionism. Largely influenced by Mead’s theory, it gives less importance to the individual than psychoanalysis and in contrary concentrates on the effects of interactions between the social reality and an individual. In fact, Mead believes that a subjective self is fashioned and shaped by the cooperative interaction with the world and others. It is indeed through the use of symbols – which meanings we learn and understand thanks to experiences, to languages, values and culture – and according to our surrounding environment that we are constructing our identities (Elliott, 2007, p.32). In other words, according to Mead, we make sense of ourselves only by the time we make sense of the world and others around us, by developing a sense of difference and recognition through symbols such as language. As such, it is necessary to distinguish between the “I”, representing the internal needs, feelings, whishes and the “me”, representing the socialized self, which appears in reaction to what we see around us (Carriera Da Silva, 2007, pp.51-59): it is the consciousness of ourselves we develop in reaction to developing a sense of others, a differentiation from them.

Something common with psychoanalysis is the importance of childhood in development of the sense of self, as Mead believes in the importance of the processes of ‘play’ and ‘game’ in becoming a healthy mind which can interact with others and society (Carriera Da Silva, 2007, pp.48-51). However Strauss, who on that aspect shares symbolic interactionists view, rejects the idea that the self is determined only through early childhood, and would then be static, and in contrary argues about a theory of adult identity change (Musolf, 2003, p. 167) showing that we are flexible beings, and are continuously socialized into new identities (Musolf, 2003, pp. 77, 170). Finally, Strauss’s theory incorporates the structural influences on social behaviors that he believes are neglected in the basic theory. Language is very important, with for example our names being the first act of self-introduction and as such functions as a social object by which others may initially typify us (Musolf, 2003, pp. 164-165).

However, symbolic interactionism has been accused of being too rationalistic, cognitive and conscious, and indeed seems to have little recognition of the relation between desire, wishes, fantasies and social control that is argued in psychoanalysis (Elliott, 2007, p.35).

Later on, approaches started to focus more on how identity functioned to try and explain what it is. This is the case of Anthony Goffman who, departing from symbolic interactionism, believes in the strategic performativity of the self in everyday life as constituting different identities for ourselves where the social sphere therefore represents a stage where we have to act an identity (Lawler, 2008, p104). Our self is reflected to the world as a facade, and the individual is “the creative and reflective agent who decides – and in doing so constitutes self identity – on how to carry out such roles as well as the staging of role performances” (Elliott, 2007, p. 38). We therefore have a set of identities for which we know how to perform and what expectations people have of them, and we are constantly constraint to be on display and perform, as well as adding roles to adapt to every situation (Musolf, 2003, p. 164).

Taking further Goffman’s performativity, Mills argues that the performing self appeared as a result of the structural transformation of society into a bureaucratic consumerist one, and that it leads to the disappearing of real bonds in society replaced by a ‘cash nexus’ as the only uniting element (Musolf, 2003, pp. 164, 172).

Goffman takes some distance from symbolic interactionism however as he focuses on interactions and as such gives no importance to the difference between the I and the me; this leads to questioning the presence of a real self existing outside such practices – the real identity of the ‘I’, hiding behind the personae and roles people assume, but he seems to leave undeveloped this aspect of the theory, concentrating on studying the facades we show and not the true identity we might have behind it (Hetherington, 1998, pp. 150-151). As such theorists like De Levita have interpreted that for Goffman, the roles we play do not hide anything comparable to what Jung would argue (1965, p.132). According to Jung, the persona regroups the totality of the roles which a certain individual fulfils and portrays to the world, a similar idea to Goffman’s performance but their ideas shift as for defining the place of identity in this schema. Indeed it is explicit for Jung that the persona only is a ‘shield’ for our true identity (De Levita, 1965, p.132) which is not so clear for Goffman. In contrary, he argues that the roles/performances are what make us persons; we are constantly acting, but what those roles add up to is our identity (Lawler, 2008, p.106). Take a lecturer for example; he will act differently while teaching in classes than how he is with his friends over lunch, and even differently than how he will act with his children in the evening. It doesn’t mean that he is someone else more true outside of these contexts, or that he is fraudulent about his identity, but that all these roles represent who he is.

Today, with the increasing influence of the media as a social force, Goffman’s theory might be more adapted than ever as these media perpetuate performance demands. Indeed, as Altheide argues, our everyday life saturated by the media reshapes identity into “another piece of merchandise that we shill just as advertising promotes corporate products” with which we play as a toy (Altheide, 2000, pp. 13, 20).

Another way of thinking about identity comes from Giddens’ theory of reflexivity and social change. Today according to Giddens, people are more self-aware, and therefore can make strategic decision for their future and about who they are or want to be (Giddens, 1991, p.35). Identity is not passive and has to be reflexively made from a multitude of often competing choices, and the settings of uncertainty and multiple choices render the notions of trust, risk and ontological security central to the reflexive self. Indeed, as Giddens puts it, trust is “at the origin of the experience of a stable external world and a coherent sense of self-identity” (Giddens, 1991, p.51). His concept considers how in late modernity humans develop a psychological self and re-focus on their identity, to try and reflect on a sense of self, helped by the many experts, information and advices, largely psychological and sociological (Elliott, 2007, p.45), which are now available about how we should live our lives, such as self-help books or TV shows like Dr Phil which reminds of what Rose calls the ‘psy’ complex (Rose, 1999). Therefore our identity becomes what we believe or interpret ourselves to be and how we want to shape ourselves. His way of characterizing individuals as being almost “self-mastering” leads to many critics, considering his theory as too individualistic (Elliott, 2007, pp.48-49).

Giddens is critical of overly pessimistic accounts of the post-modern self as fragmented (Heaphy, 2007, p.94). Instead for Giddens, individuals actively participate in forging their self-identities and in doing so contribute to social life in a way that has global implications. Giddens’ analysis begins with the premise that all human beings possess an awareness of what they are doing and why they are doing so, and they monitor themselves in producing and reproducing social conventions (Heaphy, 2007, pp.95, 119). The problem with this approach is that Giddens fails to take into account power relations and the possible lack of choice or the different consequences of choices. As Lash indeed argues, “contradiction and contingency, he suggests, are far more characteristic of the contemporary self than Giddens’ theory of reflexivity will allow” and he therefore counsels to use Foucault’s insights on power and control where reflexivity’s shows limitation (in Heaphy, 2007, pp.112-113).

To have a greater account of power relation in the creation of identity, one should turn to Foucault and Foucauldian theorists. Foucault’s argument is that particular kinds of identity are ‘made up’ within relations of power/knowledge (Lawler, 2008, p.55). To put it simply, he argues that how we are is an effect of what we know ourselves to be, or in other words, we are addressed, and address ourselves as certain kind of person, and through this process we become that person. Lawler gives the example of the subjectivation of sexuality, showing that we don’t understand sexual preference as something we do but as something we are (2008, p.59). Subjectivation is therefore the idea of becoming subjects by gaining specific identities (Lawler, 2008, p.62). Foucauldian scholars follow his theory and have argued that society is governed through self-surveillance, initiated by social institutions, to encourage individuals to actively condition and shape themselves according to social norms (Heapy, 2007, pp.33-34). Another important element is the idea that we are not regulated by the media but regulating ourselves with it, using different means such as counseling or self help books, because of our strive to be a certain type of person in order to be normal, healthy, self-fulfilled (Lawler, 2008, p.63) which relates to theories previously discussed. According to Rose, the language of psychology provides an important way of constructing one’s identity, of identifying one’s deepest thoughts, wishes and conflicts (Rose, 1999).

However one of the critic against Foucault’s ideas relates to the lack of insight into why people make subjectivation investments in some forms of self-understands and not in others, or also how such understandings come to constitute the self (Lawler, 2008, p.76).

As we have seen through these renowned examples of how to frame identity, there are many approaches to the study of identity, which define or characterize it in different ways, blurring the possibility to give a simple unified definition. Identity is not a thing but a process in constant change of shape and meaning, and that is why it is difficult to grasp it. Because identity is a broad and nebulous concept, it is complex and multiple, and can mean different things depending on your purposes of research and approach. Some of these theories concentrate on how to see the individual from society’s perspective, while some others study the positions of these individuals within the society, but what seems common to most of them is the idea that identity plays a role of mediator (Sarup, 1996, p.28) between the external and the internal, between the self and others.

Reference list:

Altheide, D. (2000). Identity and the Definition of the Situation in a Mass-Mediated Context. Symbolic Interaction, vol. 23 , pp.1-27.

Carreira Da Silva, F. (2007). G. H. Mead: A critical introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press.

De Levita, D. (1965). The Concept of Identity. Paris and The Hague: Mouton & co.

Elliott, A. (2007). Concepts of the self. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and Self-identity. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Heaphy, B. (2007). Late Modernity and Social Change. London and New York: Routledge.

Hetherington, K. (1998). Expressions of Identity. London: Sage Publications.

Lawler, S. (2008). Identity: Social Perspectives. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Mansfield, N. (2000). Subjectivity: theories of self from Freud to Haraway, New York: New York University Press.

Musolf, G. R. (2003). Structure and Agency in everyday life. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Rose, N. (1999). ‘Obliged to be free’ in Governing the soul: the shaping of the private self, Second edition. London: Free Association Books.

Sarup, M. (1996). Identity, Culture and the Postmodern world. Athenes: University of Georgia Press.

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From Marriage to Live-inaˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦aˆ¦ What Next? Change is a rule of life. Any change brings with it some kind of controversy as it disturbs the existing order of life. In Marxian philosophy it is the interaction between thesis(existing order) and anti-thesis(new change) resulting into a new mechanism called as synthesis. When any economic change takes place, it brings with it social and moral changes too. Globalization is such a phenomenon of this century which has resulted into a chain reaction of social transformation in India with special reference to family and marriage system.

Globalization is a term used for a number of economic, social, technological and political changes on a world scale. These changes have impacted human relations in the Third World countries in general and India in particular in an unprecedented way. In the process of globalization, many family ties are lost forever. Globalization has stressed all relationships. In family life, the formerly dominant values of loyalty, duty, obedience, and self-sacrifice are slowly being displaced by the standards of personal fulfillment, companionship, sexual gratification for spouse, equalitarianism, and compatibility, at least among the upper classes in developing countries.

Man is essentially a social animal. Life for us is a long journey full of challenges and problems. We do not want to wade through it alone, but crave for company and loyalty of another individual who will provide a shoulder to lean on and share some of our responsibilities. Thus, the institution of marriage was created in which two adults of opposite sex formally tie the knot in a socially and legally accepted and enduring bond that is meant to last an entire lifetime.

However in the last few decades of globalization, this time-tested arrangement has come under threat. Unbelievable as it may sound, marriage has begun to lose its importance and sanctity. People today express openly,” Do we need to get married at all when we can have everything that marriage offers without formally tying the knot? The Secular education and scientific temperament of people which make them question everything and women have become independent socially and financially and see no problem in living alone. As a result, live-in relationships have become quite common.

The legalization of ‘live-in’ relationships in Maharashtra has raised a great controversy all over India. But then the question that arises here is, why is it that more and more people prefer to have a temporary live-in than to have the permanent baggage to a marriage? How come a society as conservative and as traditional as the Indian society has given place to an idea as modern as ‘live-in’? Marriage is considered to be the sacred bond between a man and a woman. So is the concept of ‘live-in’ immoral? When the government is ready to acknowledge the existence of live-in relationship in India and is making legal arrangements, why has it become a social issue? Marriage or a live-in relationship is a concern of two individuals and the role of society has to be the least in a democratic set up of India where we guarantee certain freedoms to individuals and one such freedom is to choose your life partner. Whether you choose a marriage or a live- in kind of arrangement, it should not lead to one as ethical and moral and the other as unethical and immoral. I think this is and should be more logical way of thinking.

Different views on Live-in Relationship

There are many individuals and couples who are in support of the legalization of live-in relationships in India today.

Famous film maker, Shyam Benegal “It a very good step as it will not only protect the rights of women who enter into a live-in relationship but will also be helpful to the children from such relations in getting their rights in future.

Marriage Counsellor Mangala Samant, “Nearly 20 per cent of IT professionals prefer to have a live-in relationship before getting married. Prolonged working, stressful lives and an inactive social life are some of the reasons for this trend.”

Famous Social Activist Shobhaa De has commented that the dynamics of marriages have changed mainly because women are now financially independent and therefore in a position to question the old chauvinist order created mainly by men. Thus Women who have now certain amount of bying power and dispensing power too, find some space to decide which type of relationship they wish to choose. They feel that they can also choose partnerships as per their convenience.

According to a Survey by The Journal of Marriage and the Family, live in’ relationships are weak commitments.

Social Geographer Soma Das says that people who opt for live-in relationships do so because they do not believe in marriage.

Live-In Relationship

The twentieth century recorded certain changes of far reaching importance in the family system specifically in India under the influence of globalization, westernization, industrialization, modernization and greater population mobility across the sub-continent. Ever since then the Indian family has progressively confronted and combated various kinds of problems and challenges. The Indian society has experienced over a period of a centaury great changes in social norms that appear to be far greater than the expectations of Indian sociologists and anthropologists. The reasons for these far reaching changes were

Disappearance of traditional joint family from the urban scene.

Increase in the life expectancy of women from 23 years in 1901-10 to 65 years (it is higher than that of men by three years) in 2009.

Rise in the proportion of female headed households, decrease in the average age of household heads.

Increase in the incidence of separation and divorce, greater tension and conflicts between wife and husband as an outcome of marriage.

Increased freedom of marital choice.

Greater involvement of females in decision making process.

Increase in the mean age at marriage of female from 13 years in 1901 to 18 years in 2001.

Rise in the level of female education.

These dynamics reveal the whole range of changes in the family system- its structure, functions, core values and regulative norms. This has resulted into a substitute for the deep routed family and marriage system called as a “Live-in Relationship” The legal definition of live in relationship is “an arrangement of living under which the couples which are unmarried live together to conduct a long-going relationship similarly as in marriage.”

In present time more and more couples choose not to marry, but they desire to have long-term relationships without marriage. Thus they live together without being married, just like spouses. This arrangement is termed as ‘Live-in Relationship’. Live-in relationships among urban, educated, upper-middle class young people began as a declaration of independence, as a way of keeping away from the ‘shackles’ of institutionalized marriages. In fact, it’s a willful rejection of the institution of marriage, and of the restrictions and inequalities it has come to stand for. Live-in relationships, pre-marital sex, divorces, words that were taboo just five years ago, define the changing face of relationships in India today. Live-in relationship is a very progressive concept that gives couples the time to find out if they are compatible.

Some statistics

A United Nations Population Fund study found that 60% of married Indian women were victims of rape, beating or sexual abuse at the hands of their husbands.

In 2005, the National Crime Records Bureau recorded 155,553 crimes against women. The real figure may be much more as a large number of cases that go unreported due to the fear of social stigma.

According to Kavita Jain, an expert, certified counselor and trainer on subject ‘Parenting’, 60% increase found in live-in relationships in India since 2004.

According to the census of India data, of all the households nuclear family constituted 70 percent and single member or more than one member households without spouse (or eroded families) comprised about 11 percent. The extended and joint family or households together claim merely 20 percent of all households. This is the overall picture about the entire country, whereas in the case of urban areas the proportion of nuclear family is somewhat higher still.

The available data from the National Family and Health Survey-1 of 1992-93 (henceforth NFHS) suggest that joint family does not make up more than five percent of all families in urban areas (Singh, 2004:137).

In Maharashtra, a state that has witnessed two out of every five marriages end in divorce, according to figures from 2005.

Reasons for increasing Live-in Relationships in India
Economic Factors

Tremendous growth of Indian call centers in the last few years resulting in considerable socio-economic and cultural developments in Indian society

No legal hassles, financial complications or complex negotiations for dividing assets and debts between the partners

The increased career options available to the Indian youth have helped them improve their personality, knowledge, become more mature and ready to take different challenges

Key changes brought by the BPO industry as increased financial independence of today’s youth. (on an average a call center employ earns anywhere between Rs 10,000-15,000 and lives with his family, it translates into a higher purchasing power.)

The impact of consumerism on the financially independent youth is clearly visible. The general trend is to spend eating out, entertainment, buying branded consumer goods or electronics or even buying a car or house. (motto of ‘live life king-size’.)

Both the high income group and the lower income group are in a position to readily accept newer kinds of relationships. A girl from a poor family in need of shelter without much hesitation can consider no harm in living with a man of a slightly higher financial status without marrying him.

Frequent switchover of jobs

Increased opportunities for the economic emancipation of women via lucrative jobs in emerging services and information technology (IT) industry through globalization (in Maharashtra, where the female workforce mans the IT, outsourcing and services industries)

Social Factors

Divorce cases are on the rise as the present-day couples believe that it is better to end a relationship than carry on with the burden of a dead relationship for life and the couples do not hesitate to seek divorce at the slightest provocation

The long and odd working hours, and ‘too soon and too much’ of a responsibility, snacks at work impacts on the mental and health conditions of these people. Their working hours also give them hardly anytime to interact with their families or friends

Change in social equilibrium: The BPO sector employs thousands of women every year, providing new and convenient forms of work for women, which helps them take care of their family in better manner. The call centers also prefer women as they are perceived be more hard working, patient, loyal and with better interpersonal skills than men.

Though there are many families who perceive employment in a call center for women a ‘taboo’, this perception is slowly changing. Due to the international secure working atmosphere, higher salaries, gender-neutral (Zero-tolerance for sexual abuse), free pick-up and drop-off facility at home, BPO is viewed as ‘the’ choice for a majority number of women.This has helped them have more confidence, a positive attitude and outlook towards life and helped in the overall empowerment of women

delay in the age at marriage, higher rates of marital disruption and more egalitarian gender role attitudes among men and women

Today, career is everything for Indians. Marriage can wait, hence, they prefer live-ins “Career has become their focus point, and rather than getting married, they accept live-in relationships as a part of their lives,”

relationships are becoming more cross-cultural, they are also more contractual now, probably leading to more clear-cut expectations from each other

Subjective Factors

Avoiding responsibility as the prime reason.

Lack of commitment

Disrespect of social bonds

Lack of tolerance in relationships

Element of convenience.

Freedom

No need to surrender any rights or accept any obligations.

Test of emotional and physical compatibility

Freedom to the partners to walk out of the relationship as and when they want.

Live-in-relationships are not new in our society. The only difference is that now people have become open about it. Formally they were known as “Maitri Karars” in which people of two opposite sex would enter into a written agreement to be friends, live together and look after each other. Ancient Indian laws contained the concept of the Gandharva Vivah(consensual marriage) A change is visible in our society from arranged marriages to love marriages and now to ‘live-in-relationships’. All these were the same live in relationships but less explicitly expressed. When live-in relationships first came out into the open in India, it created an uproar, with accusations of it being against Indian morality and culture. As the decades have gone by, the number of couples opting for cohabitation, without the strings of marriage, has increased significantly. It is a trend that is more evident in the last decade. That the Indian government has recently recognised live-in relationships on par with marriage, in a new law on domestic violence proves that this is a growing social reality. With this frame of reference let us turn to marriage system in India.

Marriage

A marriage is taken as a life-long union for the couple, as it is a sacrament, rather than a contract between the couple to live in a social union so long as it is cordially feasible. Even in the event of frequent mental and physical torture, most Indian women persist in marriage, According to the 2001 census, India consists of 192.7 million households spread over 0.59 million villages and about 5,000 towns.

Reasons for the long lasting of Marriage System in India:

Remarriage of divorced or separated women is quite difficult.

Women have not been entirely averse to cohabitation as the socio-cultural norms have always attached a certain social stigma to divorce.

Substantial benefit marriage offers to the couple is emotional commitment and support.

The partners demand loyalty and bare all their secrets to each other and share their finances to buy assets for the family. There is no other relationship that can match the emotional support, social recognition and legal rights that a marriage provides.

Social and Legal recognition.(The society recognizes and respects the relationship).

Marriage is protected by the law and both the partners have their clearly defined rights and obligations.

Strict provisions to take care of children, upbringing in case of parental divorce.

Lot of money and effort to dissolve a marriage because it is a very formal and water-tight arrangement. One just cannot walk away lightly.

Children need security of home , raised by both parents for best results. Home is something to come back to, after a grueling day and for children to thrive.

For the sake of future generations it has to be preserved with all its sanctity.

People had both respect for and fear of social values and public opinion.

System of religious belief has provided enough sustenance to the institution of marriage and family

However, the relatively higher divorce rate in cities, connote that marriage is an institution in trouble, or else expectations are so high that people are no longer willing to put up with the kinds of dissatisfactions and empty shell marriages that the previous generations tolerated. High rate of remarriages clearly means that people are sacrificing their marriages because of unsatisfactory relationships. Our whole socialization is such that for any unsuccessful marriage which results in such violence or divorce, it is always the woman, who is held responsible. Cultural beliefs and traditions that discriminate against women may be officially discredited, but they continue to flourish at the grassroots levels. Family relations in India are governed by personal laws.

This social transformation thus underlines the need for a substitute for marriage in terms of a live-in relationship which has an edge over marriages like,

It gives the partners a chance to understand each other. The partners are free from any social obligations and can hence live without any guilt. They reduce the number of divorces and the mental torture families go through. It reduces domestic violence as the partner can leave anytime

Marriage does not offer personal freedom to partners as a live-in relationship does

You need not stick together if both partners are really incompatible. The trauma is much less than divorce because divorce itself is hurtful with false allegations and counter allegations making it a cruel battle of wits where no one wins.

Apart from these advantages there are Bottlenecks of Live-in Relationship in India.

The biggest drawback is the social stigma in Indian society. People have yet not accepted this form of relationship.

Custody and status of children

Because there is no social responsibility, the partner is free. He/she may make misuse of this fact and constantly change partners.

Can definitely hurt sentiments of many communities.

In a country like India, where love is not merely give and take, it is doubtful that living relationships can always succeed.

When the couple is married, they may not be able to give up the social and domestic responsibilities which they could casually bypass while in a living relationship.

A Live-in relationship is not as open in India. It may cause a sense of discomfort to people living around.

Most of the times, living relationships goes against the family. By the time the family accepts, the couple may loose interest in each other.

Individual choice has always been subservient to the communal sentiment or public opinion

In January 2008, the Supreme Court validated long-term live-in relationships as marriages. A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat with P Satasivan declared that children born out of such a relationship will no longer be called illegitimate. Legalizing ‘live-in’ relationships has generated a fierce debate across the society with a section hailing it as a pragmatic move while others fearing that it will destroy the sanctity of marriage. In a country like india this is one of the odd step taken, but still its a better one. After 61 years of independence, Indian women are increasingly realizing their rights and exercising personal choice. In a bold move, the Maharashtra state government recently proposed an amendment of Section 125 of the Criminal Penal Code to protect the pecuniary and other interests of the “other woman”, with a change in the definition of the “wife”. The legislation seeks to provide security to women who enter into cohabitation with a man out of choice or may have been hoodwinked into it. The bill now awaits the approval of the federal government and the president’s assent. Live-in relationships have been part of the Indian ethos for a long time though a legal sanction has always been lacking. Live-in relationships may have attained legal recognition, despite the controversies surrounding it but whether it has social acceptance is another issue altogether.

Conclusion

In a Parliamentary Democracy of ours, legalizing of such a relationship itself is advancement and perhaps it is time to re evaluate our notions of marriage and work with natural forces rather than against them. It is ridiculous to deprive adults around age thirty to remain virgin if they don’t get married. It’s against nature. Perhaps time is ripe to rethink the meaning of marriage; time to give two adults choice to look for compatibility before they exchange vows to remain forever with each other. All these concepts are too progressive for our present-day society and will take some time before finding universal acceptance. But the very fact that these phrases are being openly talked about confirms that the concepts have arrived. Commitment is an important aspect of any relation. Any relationship, whether a live-in or marriage should ensure that it causes no domestic violence, that leads to mental imbalance and psychological differences in children.

In terms of Karl Marx’s doctrine of thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis, the live in relationship is anti-thesis of the family system based on marriage as a thesis and a synthesis is awaited in terms of Universalization of this concept in a country like ours. Perhaps the synthesis would be the wide acceptance of the term DINK (Double Income No Kids).

When discussing the subject of retirement, the first issue that one comes across is that of defining what retirement is, and when it occurs. According to Denton and Spencer (2009), the Oxford English Dictionary defines retirement as follows: “To withdraw from office, or an official position; to give up one’s business or occupation in order to enjoy more leisure or freedom (especially after having made a competence or earned a pension)”. They continue to add that retirement can be voluntary or involuntary; gradual or sudden; temporary or permanent. Hence, there is no one clear definition which embodies all the possible situations.

In contrast, Banks and Smith (2006), argue that retirement is made up of the following characteristics; it is a sudden, rather than a gradual process, it is a permanent and voluntary choice, it equals to drawing a pension, and it is a decision made by the individual rather than cooperatively with household members. This is the concept of retirement that is adopted by most economists. In addition, retirement is a state of mind in the sense that the individual recognizes him/herself as being retired. The definition is hence a subjective one which may mean different things to different people and populations. In itself, it is a broad word which encompasses a number of different elements.

For many workers, retirement is seen as an opportunity of long awaited freedom from the responsibilities and stress of employment. It brings change and marks a transition into the later life stages. It is a time of recreation and travel, and an opportunity to develop new mental and physical routines. Planning and anticipating retirement play an essential part in the lives of many workers and their families. Recently, the new phenomenon of early retirement has become increasingly more popular (Rosenkoetter & Garris, 2001).

Shaw and Hill (2002) stated that a commonly used definition for retirement is “an age-related withdrawal from active working life”. However, one has to define what constitutes an “active working life”. Some researchers have chosen to allow their respondents to classify themselves as to whether they are retired or not. This approach, however, has the disadvantage that the definition of retirement will not be the same for everyone as some people who are working and receiving a previous job pension may consider themselves retired whilst others who have stopped working and are taking care of grandchildren, for instance, do not consider themselves as retired. Hence, different definitions of retirement result in different retirement patterns for men and women. The authors go on to argue that as there is no single best definition for retirement, the definition should be adapted according the question being asked, therefore multiple definitions would be helpful when dealing with specific differences in men and women’s decisions to leave the paid work force.

Origins and History of Retirement

In their respective works, Graebner (1980) and Costa (2000) provide a brief history on the evolution of retirement. Back in the 1850’s, 77% of men who were over 65 years were still working. Not working was viewed as inappropriate and hence people worked as long as they could. In pre-industrial America, most worked in agriculture, and in this area there was no retirement. When a man became too old to do strenuous work such as ploughing, his son would usually take over whilst he shifts to less demanding chores. Before the Civil War, the elderly were viewed as valued people, for a number of reasons such as their knowledge, hard-work, moral guidance they offered and the contribution in reforming the country. As they grew older, they were still respected and played important roles in the community and families. After the Civil War, though, this began to change. The nation shifted from being primarily rural to an increasingly urban society transformed by industrialization. Unlike agricultural workers, urban workers did not have the familial support to enable them to shift to less strenuous work as they aged. By the 1880’s, the American economy relied on manufacturing, and relationships between young and old workers started to become troublesome. The idea of retirement started to develop as a means to deal with these conflicts.

As industrialization grew in the United States, business and government leaders realized that they need to develop a mechanism which would stimulate economic growth whilst assisting in the replacement of less efficient older workers with cheaper, younger ones. The preferred mechanism for this was the mandatory retirement of older workers. With the introduction of machines, one began to realize that older workers were neither fast nor strong enough to operate machinery and this slowed down production. By getting older workers out of the way, the workforce would be replaced with a younger, faster, and more efficient one. Attitudes toward elderly people became increasingly negative. By the early 1900’s factory owners restricted the hiring of older people and reinforced retirement policies which were mandatory in order to get rid of the ones already employed. Since many business owners were uncomfortable with the idea of getting rid of loyal older workers leaving them without any employment and income whatsoever, some of them offered pensions or helped to build company homes for the elderly. By the year 1920, mandatory retirement with a small pension became the preferred method for moving older workers aside. Hence, employers eliminated older workers but in the mean time felt secure that the retired worker would have enough money to survive. Without any doubt, some older workers resisted this plan. Social services were almost inexistent and retirement meant a lower standard of living. Yet, when confronted with so many retirement rules, workers found themselves forced out of their jobs so much so that by the year 1920, almost half of all white male workers over the age of 60 were no longer in the workforce. Still, older workers discovered that retiring and receiving some sort of, even if an insufficient, pension was better than being pushed aside without nothing at all.

The first federal retirement legislation became known as “The Railroad Retirement Act” of 1935, and was a testing ground for later development. The easiest way out of chronic unemployment in the country became the retirement of all older persons; the only problem was making sure that pensions are available.

Things changed once again during World War II when anyone who could went back to work. This put back the country into full employment once again. However, after the war, retirement was once again the mechanism which controlled costs and employment rates. Even though pensions became increasingly common, many retired workers remained unhappy about the idea of retirement so much so that an alarming number even refused to apply for social benefits. Hence, business and governments started to instil ideas to older workers with the idyllic thoughts of leisure, and the well-earned reward of free time at their age. This is when insurance companies started to make large profits out of life insurance policies and when sociologists formed the theories of aging. By the late 1960’s, the mythology of retirement was completely assimilated into American’s minds.

In the mid-1980’s, mandates changed pension rules so that widows were not left without any benefits. Also, social security benefits were increased and as a result, the percent of pensioners living in poverty significantly dropped. By the 1970’s and 1980’s, pensions were fixed to a retirement formula which depended on the length of service and final salary of the person. This meant that a worker would not know what pension he would receive until he actually retired. To avoid all this, business shifted from traditional defined pension plans to defined contribution plans where they promised that a contribution of a certain amount would be done towards each worker’s pension.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Retirement

According to Coni, Davison, and Webster (1992), during retirement income is likely to be reduced, however occupational pensions which are becoming more common offer greater monetary security. Those who have become overly dependent on trappings of their employment may realize that their status has changed and that they miss the company of the work-place. On the other hand, retirement should be looked upon as a time of opportunity, which after all, may last for more than 30 years. If the approach towards retirement is a happy and an enthusiastic one, then it is very likely that it will live up to expectations. When it comes to learning new material, older learners usually do better due to higher motivation levels, and increased self-knowledge. The authors go on to argue that everybody has to find their own way through old age and retirement, and if one, at his or her age, feel happy and comfortable doing something, then that thing is right for him or her. When it comes to relationships, retirement may be the only time that one can truly live together with their partner since they are no longer kept apart by employment and family, even though difficulties may arise in this regard as well. Regarding fitness, one should keep in mind that the fitter one is, the less likely it is to become ill and the more likely one would make a full and swift recovery. Since the elderly are affected with degenerative changes, attention should be paid to both physical and mental fitness. Muscles waste in a sedentary lifestyle but they have the ability to redevelop and this can be achieved by doing an activity which one enjoys and gives them pleasure. These include; walking the dog, ballroom dancing, and even cultivating a garden. Mental activities should be taken up to develop and maintain the mind by learning, re-learning, or improving a foreign language. Prevention of illness is a lifelong need, and good habits must be started early and maintained throughout. A common reason for eagerly anticipating retirement may be the wish to be freed from a strict routine inflicted by employment, which is understandable, but also inappropriate. Retirement should provide the opportunity of restructuring one’s routine. This can be done by establishing enough time for physical activity, some time for learning, time for family and time for one’s self. Having said all this, during retirement, one may be faced by unpleasant tasks, decisions, and situations. Therefore, fore-thinking potential problems such as loneliness, bereavement, becoming a carer, or becoming disabled, will always help to deal with such dilemmas.

Windmill (1992), states that retirement can mean a loss of status, a sense of no longer being a useful society member, losing one’s sense of purpose, and becoming part of the ‘receiving end’ of society. However, one should understand the importance of preparing for retirement so that mental, physical, and social changes do not come by as a shock. Retirement means planning finances, doing leisure activities, and considering health and housing needs.

Eliopoulos (1993) adds that retirement may be the first experience of the impact of ageing for many. It is facilitated by learning how to use, appreciate and gain satisfaction from leisure time, which is also a therapeutic outlet for life stresses. The author also mentions the stages of retirement developed by Robert Atchley in 1975, which, however, not all retirees go through: the remote phase where retirement is anticipated but preparation is seldom done; the near phase when preparation for leaving the job begins; the honeymoon phase which is the euphoric period that follows retirement; the disenchantment phase where depression may be experienced; the reorientation phase where realistic choices are considered; the stability phase when an understanding of a retirement roles is achieved and the termination phase when retirement role is lost due to illness or disability.

Studies suggest this life event may be a stressful even for those experiencing health or financial issues at the time of retirement; however, those who manage to plan out their retirement are less likely to experience financial burdens. For some, retirement may mean loss of income and identity, loss of status authority, loss of purpose in life and loss of peer contacts (Miller, 1995).

Retirement in Malta

Locally, workers nearing the retirement age may be eligible for a retirement pension. A person would be eligible to a Contributory Retirement Pension if he or she satisfies a number of conditions; the person has reached the retirement age, 61 for males, and 60 for females, the worker has been employed or self-employed for not less than 10 year prior to retirement; the worker has paid at least 156 contributions; and that on the day of retirement, the worker has satisfied the relevant contribution conditions (Ministry of Education, Employment and the Family, 2011).

The General Workers’ Union (2009) offers a course entitled “Preparazzjoni ghall-Irtirar” (Preparation for Retirement) and also houses a Pensioner’s Association whose major task is to “attend to special and particular needs of pensioners and retired workers”. It protects rights and interests, and safeguards pension levels and standard of living. Cultural, social, and educational activities are held annually and membership is open to all retired workers.

Planning for Retirement

According to Coni et al., (1992), we should all be planning our own retirement throughout our lives, and that even school-aged children should receive some form of instruction about the topic. This would enable younger people to have a better understanding of what ageing is and learn about some complexities of being old. Having hobbies and leisure pursuits at a young age may introduce them to activities that they enjoy. Hence, once retired, one would be able to revert to these activities.

Financial planning must also start early because in order for one to have a secure retirement capital, an adequate income must firstly be assured. Unfortunately, attention also needs to be paid towards the possibility of widowhood (especially in women), and that remarriage may be an additional complication.

Rosenkoetter & Garris (2001), state that in a study carried out in 1989, retirement planning was the second strongest predictor of satisfaction amongst male respondents, and in another study in 1997; it was found that retirement planning correlated with positive attitudes towards retirement. By participating in pre-retirement programs or courses, one can start assessing his or her attitudes and preparedness towards retiring. These courses would be most successful if they manage to address financial and health matters. Since retirement may prove a new meaning and value to one’s life, pre-retirement counseling assists individuals in their preparation. In an Australian study, it was noted that retirement may be a stressful and challenging event and that planning was directly correlated with successful adaptation.

The authors conclude that post-retirement perceptions of planning most of the time may not correspond with pre-retirement preparation. In their study, more emphasis was placed of financial planning and psychosocial adjustment to their life after employment. There was a significant increase in sedentary activities with may correlate with an increased risk of health problems found in this age group, hence retirees should be encouraged not only in social interactions, but in physical activity too. Differences were found in planning according to the person’s employment position, which relates to the need of developing post-retirement planning programs which are individualized to the type of worker.

In their study, Phua and McNall (2008) concluded that as men age, concern about securing their finances increases and that this issue remains at top priority among people approaching retirement. The authors say that studies show that retirees eventually adjust their spending patterns according to the dynamics of their financial situation. Expectations towards marriage and having children is another issues that affects pre-retirement planning and this includes a need to resolve the conflict between saving and increased demands on financial resources that a family can require.

According to Elder and Rudolph (1999), retirement satisfaction is based on both financial and non-financial variables. Results from their study indicated that attending preretirement courses and planning meetings were positively related to retirement satisfaction. Also, planning out activities correlated with an increased likelihood of retirement satisfaction.

Theories of Ageing

Throughout the years, scientists have been trying to develop theories of ageing in an attempt to answer questions such as “Why do we age?” and “How do we age?”. Early sociologic theories, in the 1960’s, focused on adjustments of older people towards loss of roles and reference groups. Theories which are based on these themes include the disengagement, activity, and continuity theories.

In 1961, Cumming and Henry published their first sociologic theory of ageing: the disengagement theory. According to this theory, a process of mutual disengagement takes place during aging where both the individual and the society in which he or she belong withdraw from each other (Redfern, 1996). This process is an inevitable one, and is governed by society’s needs which dominate individual needs. This theory further states that older people desire this withdrawal, and as the social contacts of a person diminish, disengagement becomes a circular process that further limits opportunities of interaction (Miller, 1995).

Another theory of ageing is the activity theory which is based on the belief that in order for one to age successfully, he or she must keep active. It was first stated by Havighurst and Albrecht in 1953 who said that social role participation is essential for positive adjustment to old age. In 1963, Havighurst and colleagues created the term “activity theory”. In 1972, then, it was Lemon and colleagues who formalized the theory which proposed that older people could only remain psychologically and socially fit if they remained active and that loss of roles in old age affect life satisfaction negatively. Above all, the quality of interaction is more important than the quantity of activity (Miller, 1995).

The continuity (or developmental) theory was put forward by Neugarten in 1968 because none of the other theories successfully explained ageing. According to this theory, a person’s coping strategies are in place long before he or she starts to age, however personality features are continuously dynamic and evolving. Therefore the best way to predict how a person will adjust to ageing is by examining how that same person has adjusted to situations throughout his or her life. This theory hence brings out the importance of the relationship between personality and successful ageing (Miller, 1995).

Some other proposed theories of ageing include; the subculture theory proposed by Rose (1962, 1965), which states that old people have their own norms, beliefs, habits, and expectations and hence have their own subculture, the age stratification theory by Riley in 1972, which explains the interdependencies between age as an element of social structure and ageing and cohorts as a social process. Other theories include the person-environment fit theory and the human needs theory (Miller, 1995).

One of the most significant achievements of modern society is the rise in human longevity. Since 1800, life expectancy at birth has gradually increased over the subsequent two centuries, from forty years to nearly eighty years (Bongaarts 2006). These remarkable changes in human biology have produced challenges for scientists, doctors, sociologists and policy-makers. Over the last century, the growing realization of the changing demography of ageing has provoked sociological and biological research to explain the effects of these changes on society. The aim of this essay is to discuss how different theories of ageing have tried to approach older people and their circumstances.

The study of ageing as social gerontology took root in the late 1940s, at a time of great social and demographic change. After World War 2, society in Europe and the United States of America (USA) had palpably changed, prompting sociological research into changes in ageing amongst other sociological phenomena (Vincent 1996). The modern political and economic environment viewed ageing, for the first time, as a ‘problem’ for society (Jones, 1993).

This view of ageing was at odds with the prevailing functionalist sociological theories of the time. Talcott Parsons was a key proponent of general functionalism, and viewed society from the ‘macro’ perspective of needing functioning parts in order to maintain its well-being. The analogy was with the body of an organism – just as the body has many specialized organs which are required for the body to function, society is also the sum of its parts: youth, family, education, labour force, professionals, religion, government etc. Society required these parts to be working together in order for society to function with equilibrium (Giddens 1993).

The biology of ageing had been actively researched since the days of Darwin and Mendel, yet the interaction between ageing and society remained unexplored. Indeed, the Social Science Research Council in the USA concluded in 1948 that the scientific community had paid little attention to the interaction between biology and society (Achenbaum and Bengston). The first psychosocial theories on ageing and society took shape, and were published a decade later.

Social scientists Elaine Cummins and William Henry published the first important study of aging in 1961. They advanced what they called ‘the disengagement theory of aging’. This theory was based on data from the Kansas City Study of Adult Life, in which researchers from the University of Chicago followed several hundred adults from middle to old age. The authors concluded from this study that growing old was a process of ‘disengagement’, whereby the tendency of ageing adults was to withdraw from society and live out their ‘declining’ years with as little interference with others as was possible. Whilst these findings reflected the social practice of the day – such as the ‘granny flat’ or retirement home environment, the authors also proposed that this theory had advantages for the individual and society.

According to Cumming and Henry’s model, the major shift in interaction between the aged and the rest of society occurs when older people begin to realize their declining physical and cognitive functions and their mortality. They propose that this leads to removal, both consciously and subconsciously, from social networks. Simultaneously, society distances itself from the elderly, and the roles and responsibilities of these elderly members of society are passed along to the younger ones.

From a sociological perspective, it has been suggested that disengagement has theoretical benefits (reference?). For the elderly, disengagement facilitates gradual withdrawal from society, whilst preserving social equilibrium. Ageing removes the capacity for older people to function as parents, professionals or working members of society, and therefore it promotes self-reflection for the elderly who are freed from roles of responsibility within society (ref?). Ultimately, it prepares the elderly for a decline in health and death.

From the perspective of society, disengagement allows knowledge, responsibility, wealth and power to be transferred from the older generation to the young. The roles of the old and the young in society evolve, such that disengagement from roles of responsibility ensures that the younger population have jobs and roles into which to develop. It makes it possible for society to continue functioning after valuable older members die.

Clearly, disengagement theory must be viewed in the context of the era in which it was developed. Largely, the theory of Cummings and Henry reflected the practice of the day. Elderly people in industrialized nations in the 1960s were encouraged to live out their declining years without ‘interfering’ with progress and development. In rural settings, elderly people may still have contributed through the use of learned practical skills, although during a time of rapid technological advancement these skills were less valued than by earlier generations. This is a form of role discontinuity, whereby what is learned at one age may be useless or conflict with a subsequent period on one’s life.

This contrasts with contemporary views of ageing, whereby aged populations are more familiar with the technological advances of the second half of the last century. Retirement and disengagement in this context may not be to the benefit of society or the individual. Moreover, until recently few positive role models for elderly individuals existed. Those in the public eye and the media have tended to be youthful in appearance, hindering the socialization to old age. However, with the demographic growth and visibility of the elderly population has come more role models of active and healthy ageing.

In this setting, disengagement of individuals before they reached the stage of imminent mortality, whilst they are still able contribute to roles in society, may cause both social and financial isolation and lack of self-worth. Loss of role through loss of spouse, divorce or retirement can lead to an erosion of identity and self-esteem (Rosow 1985). This, coupled with the relentless improvement in healthcare for the elderly, suggests that disengagement theory may be a product of the post-World War 2 era rather than universally applicable.

These problems with the universal validity of disengagement theory were recognised within a few years. Activity theory can be viewed as a counterpoint to disengagement theory. Activity theory views old age as an extension of middle age, rather than a separate psychological and biological stage of life as proposed by disengagement theory. Activity theory actually pre-dates disengagement theory. In the 1950s Havighurst and Albrecht (1953 cited in Katz 1996) insisted ageing can be lively and creative experience. Any loss of roles, activities or relationships within old age, should be replaced by new roles or activities to ensure happiness, value consensus and well-being, and that this approach has benefits for the individual and society. The theory builds on the principle that the biological process of ageing can be modified by modern healthcare, and therefore the only differences between and old age and middle age are these modifiable biological processes, not societal wants and needs (schulz and rockwood).

The basis of the theory is that there is a positive relationship between activity and life satisfaction, and the greater the role loss the lower the sense of self-worth or satisfaction (Lemon 1972). Therefore, a person’s sense of self-worth is related to the roles held by that person i.e. retiring may not be so harmful if the person actively maintains other roles, such as familial roles, recreational roles, volunteer and community work. However, early research failed to substantiate a psychological benefit of continued engagement and activity. Lemon, Bengston and Peterson examined key elements of activity theory in a cross-sectional sample of future residents of a retirement community. In this study little connection was found between activity and satisfaction. However, this study suffers from similar criticisms as the Kansas City Study of Adult Life. The study group consisted of Caucasian, middle-class, married individuals interested in pursuing an active retirement. These issues reflect a common problem with sociological research into the theories of ageing – limited diversity of populations and the presence of confounding factors such as attitudes towards activity and engagement, limit the universal applicability of findings and determination of causality.

A further problem with both these theories is their ‘macro’ approach to the sociological phenomenon of ageing. Activity theory neglects the individual issues of inequality and heterogeneity between age groups. It is clear both activity theory and disengagement theory may be suited to certain individuals or groups on society, and may not be universally applicable. Whilst Phillipson (1998) sees these functionalist schools as important in shaping social theory, such functionalist theories may ‘impose’ a sense of causality on aging by implying that an aged person will either ‘disengage’ or will be ‘active’. Thus, it can be argued that these arbitrary social theories are a form of ‘academic imperialism’, whereby the activities of individual elderly people are dictated by macro-orientated theories rather than taking account of individual experiences or using inductive reasoning.

Continuity theory incorporates aspects of activity theory and disengagement theory within the functionalist framework. Continuity theory maintains the social-psychological that were developed from the Kansas City Studies. The basis of continuity theory is that individuals maintain a consistent pattern of behaviour as they age, by replacing lost roles of adulthood with similar ones, and by maintaining a constant attitude of adaptation towards the social environment. Life satisfaction is determined by the consistency between current activities or lifestyles with one’s lifetime experiences (Neugarten, Havinghurst, Tobin 1968). This consistency in behaviour implies that central personality characteristics and core values become more pronounced with age. That is, that people who have always been passive and withdrawn are unlikely to become active upon retirement, and vice versa.

Therefore, this theory does not advocate significant psychological change with age, unlike the other two ‘macro’ theories. It is a micro-level theory, encompassing individual experiences and adaptations. However, micro theories suffer from the limitation if not being generalisable, and therefore not being able to be empirically tested on a broader scale. Moreover, by focusing on the individual, micro-theories may overlook the role of social factors in modifying the ageing process (you need references for these points).

By contrast, the theory of political economy of old age is a macro-level theory that emerged as a reaction to functionalism, and focuses on social factors modifying ageing. The theory draws upon Marxist views of the capitalist nature of modern society and how old age was socially constructed to meet the needs of the modern economy (Estes 1979). This grew out of a wider move towards modernization in sociology, attempting to explain the changes in society as consequences of population ageing, industrialization and fertility decline. Therefore, socioeconomic and political factors, not individual factors, are the primary determinants of the experience of ageing. These include age and class, as well as gender, sexual orientation and race.

As Phillipson (1998) points out, in the UK huge forms of social expenditure were allocated to older people. Consequently, not only were older people viewed in medical terms but in resource terms by governments. This built upon the idea of ageing as a ‘burden’ to modern society, as Phillipson (1998: 17) states:

‘Older people came to be viewed as a burden on western economies, with demographic change… seen as creating intolerable pressures on public expenditure’.

The major focus of the political economy of ageing was an interpretation of the relationship between aging and the economic structure. In the USA, political economy theory was brought to prominence by the work of Estes (1979), and Estes, Swan and Gerard (1982). Similarly, in the UK, the work of Walker (1981), Townsend (1981) and Phillipson (1982) contributed to understanding age and ageing in modern British society. In the USA, Estes, Swan and Gerard (1982) state that the class structure is the major determinant of the socio-economic position of older people in society. Estes justifies this position by using a Marxist view of society to explain how a individual’s social worth is dependent on their productivity. All subsequent policy towards age and ageing can be explained from this premise. Negative attitudes towards older people, and their impoverished position, can be explained by their loss of social worth brought about by their loss of a productive role in modern society. Estes (1979) also claims that political economy theory highlights the role of the state in contemporary society. Since the state dictates the allocation of resources, this determines the allocation of retirement and pension schemes, and is therefore a further key determinant of social worth of elderly people.

Phillipson (1982) builds on this point of view, ad goes on to state that retirement is linked to the timing of economic reduction of wages and enforced withdrawal from work, and hence many older people in the UK in a financially insecure position. Therefore, the state can determine the social position and future of its elderly citizens, and indirectly shape prevailing social and cultural attitudes to the elderly. Indeed, any discussion about change in the welfare state leads to further legitimisation of the ‘burden’ stereotype of the elderly in society.

Echoing this point of view, Townsend (1981) states that society creates the social problems of old age through ‘structured dependency’ embedded in institutional ageism, through lack of material resources due to poverty, retirement policy, the negative consequences of residential care, and poor structure of community care. Townsend puts forward the idea that there is a ‘structural’ perspective of ‘rules and resources’ governing older people in modern society. Townsend claims that the approach is: ‘one whereby society is held to create the framework of institutions and rules within which the general problem of the elderly emerge or, indeed, “manufactured”. In the everyday management of the economy and the administration and development of social institutions the position of the elderly subtly changed and shaped’. (Townsend 1981: 9)

Similarly, Walker (1981) argues for a theory of ‘political economy of old age’ in order to understand the position of older people. In particular, Walker (1981: 77) builds on the idea that the structure of modern society propagates dependency among groups such as the elderly – a ‘social creation of dependency’. Phillipson (1982, 1986) writes in a similar vein, and considers how capitalism helps socially construct the social marginality of older people in key areas such as welfare. The key argument of these writers within the Marxist school of thought is inequalities in the distribution of resources should be understood in terms of the distribution of power within society, rather than in terms of variation between individuals.

In addition to the argument that social and governmental policy contributes to the socializing and marginalizing of old age, political economy theory criticizes the emphasis on community engagement and the consequent social devaluing of elderly people who cannot or choose not to engage in these activities. Activities such as participation in volunteer programmes and social work may be viewed as a way to meet public service gaps created by reduced public funding. Although the benefits of volunteering have been proposed by activity theory, from the point of view of political economy it is social and structural factors that influence the individuals decision to volunteer or participate. For example, elderly individuals who are also carers for their spouse or their grandchildren may not be able to take on additional social roles, and may leave the individual vulnerable to social criticism. Indeed, it has been noted that a paradigm of ageing that only values productivity and civic-engagement can stigmatise and disempower elders who cannot contribute to society because of illness, disability or limited time and resources (reference?).

The life-course perspective is not necessarily a theory, but a framework of ageing as a lifelong process. It attempts to explain how ageing is shaped by earlier events, including social structure and history along with interactions with family and culture. Individual development of personality and cognition interact with these other factors affecting life-course. Time is the key variable, since it influences relationships in three ways: life experiences influence relationships, family events and family transitions influence individuals and interactions, and events in a broader social historical context also influence social role and values. Social context interacts with individuals and influences them and their relationships.

This framework takes account of the diversity of roles and role changes across lifespan, since it views development as occurring at all stages and not just any one stage of life. It takes into account the gains and losses that occur through life-course, rather than viewing development as a linear process. Therefore, development is considered multidirectional, with stability or development in areas, and decline in others. For example, ageing may lead to impairment in short-term memory but not in creativity or social function. Therefore, this approach takes account of micro and macro levels of development and provides a framework to shape further sociological research into ageing.

In conclusion, sociological theories of ageing have evolved alongside changes in demography and economics since the early 20th century. The functionalist theories of activity and disengagement approached ageing in the context of the prevailing view of the time. Although based on empirical evidence – the observational studies from Kansas city – these studies were limited to middle-class Caucasion populations and yet were extrapolated to macro-level theories. As such, both these theories suffered criticisms for their lack of generalisability, and newer theories were developed as an immediate reaction.

In the context of economic troubles during the 1970s, the sociology of ageing began to be viewed in an economic perspective. The view of structural aspects of society interacting with healthy or unhealthy ageing has advanced sociological thought in this area, and laid the foundation for contemporary views of ageing. Current demographic issues such as the prevailing economic climate, declining fertility and improvements in healthcare have changed the sociological view of ageing. As such, these issues must be addressed as further research attempts to view life-course influences on ageing at both a macro- and micro-theoretical level.