Impact Of Education System On Social Class Opportunity Sociology Essay

Impact Of Education System On Social Class Opportunity Sociology Essay What is social mobility? Drawing on different perspectives, assess the impact of the education system on opportunities and life chances on the basis of social class. What implications does this have for the work of helping agencies? Social mobility simply describes how people move along the social ladder. For this to happen there must necessarily be some form of social class in place. Social class occurs everywhere, even in the poorest communities. Take a typical village in Ghana for example, you will find that probably the village palm wine tapper or renowned farmer may be at the top of the social ladder; by village standards, they are the rich guys; these in addition could also serve as money lenders or movers and shakers. In the middle of the social ladder in the said village you might find the middle class who constitutes probably the majority of villagers with average incomes making just about enough from their farming or other vocations to make ends meet. Of course, at the bottom of this ladder will be the lower classes that have no jobs or qualifications and are at the mercy of the rich palm wine tapper. Social mobility describes how the classes move from their level of class upwards or downwards. This movement could involve the acquisition of new skills or education in the bid to get better jobs and hence get more income. Sometimes movement is caused by for example winning the lottery, an inheritance from parents or relatives or any procedure either deliberate or accidental which moves a person from one class to another. Social mobility or intergenerational mobilityas economists prefer to call it measures the degree to which peoples social status changes between generations. It is seen by many as a measure of the equality of life opportunities, reflecting the extent to which parents influence the success of their children in later life or, on the flipside, the extent to which individuals can make it by virtue of their own talents, motivation and luck. (Blanden J et al 2005) The Sociology guide has described Social mobility as a vital part of social stratification and an inseparable part of social stratification system because the nature, form, range and degree of social mobility depending on the very nature of the stratification system. Stratification system means the process of placing individuals in different layers or strata. (http://www.sociologyguide.com) In a social mobility paper Stephen Aldridge describes social mobility as a movement or opportunities for movement between different social groups and the advantages that go with this in terms of income, security of employment, opportunities for advancement etc. (Aldridge, 2001) There are types of social mobility. Intra-generation is when there has been a change in a persons social position. A typical example will be clerical assistant who works his/her way up in an organisation. However, if a persons social position changes over a generation it is called inter-generation mobility. An example is Margaret Thatcher and many others. She became prime minister as a grocers daughter. There appears to be significant intergenerational mobility in the United States, although perhaps less than is sometimes believed. Origins significantly affect destinations. Specifically, adult sons and daughters are more likely to look like their parents in terms of occupation or income than one would predict on the basis of chance. Still, there is considerable mobility. Indeed, even when occupations or income categories are broadly defined, a majority of adult offspring occupy a different occupational or income category than their parents.(Daniel P et al 1997) Horizontal mobility is another type of social mobility where a person changes their job-related position but does not change social class. An example is where a clerical assistant moves from Wellingborough to London and becomes an administrative officer. Vertical mobility on the hand takes the stage where people change their job-related position and change their social class as well. An example of vertical mobility will be for example a street cleaner becoming a solicitor or an army officer becoming a cleaner. They have fundamentally changed their socio-economic position. There are types of vertical social mobility. If someone moves down the social ladder it becomes downward mobility. When they move up on the social ladder it becomes upward mobility. For example if an Army officer is promoted in rank it becomes an upward mobility. The magazine Business Week in 2007 wrote an article about how mobile phones in Africa are creating high standards of living and boosting upward mobility. Only a few years ago, places like Muruguru didnt even register in the plans of handset makers and service providers. What would a Kenyan farmer want with a mobile phone? Plenty, as it turns out. To the astonishment of the industry, people living on a few dollars a day have proven avid phone users, and in many parts of the world cellular airtime has become a de facto currency. The reason is simple: A mobile phone can dramatically improve living standards by saving wasted trips, providing information about crop prices, summoning medical help, and even serving as a conduit to banking services. (Business Week, 2007) Another recent example of downward mobility is in this article in the telegraph. Though she is married to a builder, the 27-year-old housewife has rickety wooden planks for walls and covers her roof with plastic sheeting to keep out the rain in Harares Hatcliffe suburb far from the neighbourhood where she used to live. Right now I dont have a housing lot, but we are paying money to local co-operatives (to save for a down payment) so we may get lots to build houses, Chama said. And she is far from alone. According to official estimates, around two million Zimbabweans in this country of 12.2 million need accommodation. (Reagan Mashavave, 2009) Another type of social mobility is structural mobility which involves vertical mobility but its movement is brought about by a major disorder. It can also be brought on by changes in society that brings improvement to a large number of people. Typical examples will be industrialisation, expansion of education and computerisation. These changes have all brought improvement to people in the UK and around the world. People have through it acquired higher social status and found higher paid jobs than their parents. There is also individual mobility which involves people being hindered from taking opportunities because of where they were live, their colour, gender, religion, their educational background, job, wellbeing and many others. The impact of the education system on opportunities and life chances on the basis of social class is enormous and hasnt changed much since education began. It is still difficult for working class children to access grammar and good comprehensive schools as the middle class and upper class have populated areas where these schools are placed. Childrens social class is still the most significant factor in determining their exam success in state schools, the Governments head of teacher training acknowledges today. In an interview with The Independent, Graham Holley, the chief executive of the Training and Development Agency, said: The performance of a school and a child in it is highly linked to social class. If you turn the clock back on pupils in school today 15 years and predict their outcomes from where they were born, you can do it. (Garner, 2008) Working class families are tied to the low paid jobs and often live in areas where schools are failing. Jobs are hard to find in these areas and its inhabitants are usually heavily dependant on benefits. Their lives are occupied with how to manage everyday living and not on reading to their children and giving them music and language lessons. The poorest children still have little chance of becoming lawyers, doctors, senior civil servants and financiers, a report published by the Liberal Democrats today shows. The Social Mobility Commission, set up by the party, said billions of pounds spent on improving social mobility over the past decade has helped middle-class rather than working-class children. Last year only 35% of pupils eligible for free school meals obtained five or more A* to C GCSE grades, compared with 63% of pupils from wealthier backgrounds.(Shepherd J, 2009) Disadvantaged children have little chance of watching educational programmes on television nor do they have the chance of reading the broad sheets. They are simply not patronised in their households. Libraries are rarely used and mobile libraries are not highly participated in working class areas. Areas in London for instance have seen various housing developments but they are not in the reach of the low paid. Overcrowding has many implications for the already struggling families as there is often no where to do homework. After school clubs charge for their services leaving low paid families out in the cold. Therefore chances of disadvantaged children reaching high levels of achievement in school are slightly dim. Young people in manual social classes remain under-represented in higher education in Great Britain. Despite increasing from a participation rate of 11 per cent in 1991/92 to 19 per cent in 2001/02, participation remains well below that of the non-manual social classes. Participation rates for the non-manual social classes increased from 35 per cent to 50 per cent over the same period. (http://www.statistics.gov.uk) The consequences of the manual or low class remaining under-represented in higher education is unthinkable as children from these background will experience either downwardly mobile or not move on the social ladder at all as a result of them not entering higher education. Todays job market is very competitive and even those with good qualifications are finding it difficult to hold onto their jobs. It means that most all white collar jobs will be held by the middle class and upper class families. All the independent evidence shows overall standards to be rising. But the bad news is that when it comes to the link between educational achievement and social class, Britain is at the bottom of the league for industrialised countries. Today, three-quarters of young people born into the top social class get five or more good GCSEs, but the figure for those born at the bottom is less than one-third. We have one of the highest university entry rates in the developed world, but also one of the highest drop-out rates at 16.(Independent, 8 September 2003) Anthony Giddens writes in Sociology and Social Mobility that education is not necessarily a means to an end. Education would have to work with other factors to foster social mobility. Education shouldnt be seen as a panacea for all societys problems. It has a significant role to play, but we cant hold schools and Universities solely responsible for promoting social mobility. Its important not to think of the education system as if it works in a vacuum factors like changes in employment and the economy, and the social determinants of childrens educational attainment, are critical in determining patterns of mobility.(Giddens, 2007) However, education definitely has opportunities for people to progress along the social ladder by providing relevant new skills, information, courses and therefore creating opportunities in life for them. A few years back a hair dresser did not need know too much about what she/he did as a hair dresser but in today environment he/she would have to know all the science there is to cutting, dressing and managing the business. Technology and other factors have raised the standard of work so high that without continuous professional development opportunities are not stretch far. In this new labour market, the value of college degrees overall is greater than ever before. Between 1984 and 2000, employment in jobs requiring a college degree grew by 20 million in the US, accounting for two-thirds of total job growth. Over the same period, wages for college graduates increased. In contrast, high school graduates in America who did not continue with education saw their wages fall below middle class levels for the first time. As a consequence, the opportunities for Americans with terminal high school diplomas are less than a generation ago.(Social Mobility Foundation, 2008) Although a small percentage of poor families are accessing higher education there is evidence that the UK government for instance is working frantically to improve the chances of the less privileged through innovations like Every Child Matters. This innovation is to give every child the chance of accessing education and other services in the community to give them better outcomes in life. Hence the establishment of Surestart Centres which is a one stop service for early education, childcare, health and family support. This Government has invested heavily in policies designed to give all children the chance to succeed. There have already been significant improvements in educational achievement, and reductions in teenage pregnancy, re-offending and children living in low income households. Todays children and young people experience wider opportunities and benefit from rising prosperity, better health and education than those in previous generations. (http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/about/background/backgroun)10) The implications on the work of helping agencies are many. Helping agencies like Childrens Centres pick up the brunt of any inequalities that lay in society. We bid or vie for large sums of money to run various courses and projects that underpin social mobility. In the bid of helping families read we have set up borrow a chattersack in our childrens centre. This is to encourage parents who might otherwise not access libraries or buy books for their children. The books and toys are expensive but we charge a very minimal fee for them. Often people bring to us various problems like divorce, debt and housing issues which we do our best to refer to other agencies for further assistance. We hold classes with Citizen Advice Bureau to advise people on budgets and other financial incapability. Many of our clients are lone parents or young families struggling on low incomes. They are often in debt and or have little financial knowledge. They often live on large council estates where aspirations are not that great. The recent recession has hit these areas hard and some people are experiencing downwardly mobility. This comes with various demands like counselling, retraining and financial loss. Equality of opportunity is a sine qua non for any modern society and, in Britain, is a principle supported by all mainstream political opinion. Despite this, household income remains the biggest single predictor of a childs future success, and a recent report by the Sutton Trust found that, all too frequently, young people from financially disadvantaged backgrounds end up in a cul de sac of opportunity. (Social Mobility Foundation, 2008) Below is an example of some the types of work some helping agencies do. They use government funds to bridge the gap between rich and poor by organising trips to parks, educational establishment to boost confidence and increase knowledge. Nearly 175,000 bright children on free school meals will be given a chance at the age of 11 to visit a university as part of a drive to lift the aspirations of working-class people and increase stalled social mobility in Britain. Young people in the top 20% of ability based on test results, and who are eligible for free school meals, are about half as likely to go to university as those who are not eligible for free meals. They will now be offered two chances to visit universities. (Wintour, 2007) We organise sporting activities that will encourage the less privileged to put their feet in door of expensive sporting activities. We work with other agencies to bring information and understanding to parents who in effect calve their childrens place on the social ladder. A new report by the British think-tank Demos has hit the headlines, with its claim that Parents are the principal architects of a fairer society. Based on research from the Millennium Cohort Study, the report argues that how children are parented has a more significant impact upon their future life chances than just about anything else, including poverty and the social class into which they are born. (Bristow J, 2009) Helping agencies are faced with many demands for services they can and cannot provide. At our centre for instance there is the demand for certain services like computer classes, some sort of back to work training, cooking classes but we havent got the facilities and the man power to run such courses. We are therefore forced to send clients to other childrens centres in that losing their business. If we do manage to run any of the courses that put pressure on our facilities then we have to limit the numbers which in turn causes us to run the courses several times to fit everyone in. There is also a steady demand for information on sensitive family matters like finance. Education seems to be one the important factors manipulating social mobility. In todays society, education is becoming increasingly important as it used to ascertain the jobs people will end up in. Education is also used to determine peoples social class position. The recent government for instance has introduced many initiatives. Free child care for two year olds was trialed for sometime and is going to be offered to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Back to work incentive of  £500 and the investment into early years, FE schools and workplace training are all initiatives which research has suggested that has not boosted social mobility. In 1999 Tony Blair told the Labour Conference: If we are in politics for one thing, it is to make sure that all children are given the best chance in life. A decade on, the Government has had to admit that billions of pounds of investment in nurseries and schools and on training has failed to bridge the class divide, and that social mobility in Britain has stalled. (Bennett and Bahra 2007) As mentioned before there are many factors contributing to this fact. One such fact is the advantage that middle class families have over poorer families when it comes to education.

The Role of Adult Basic and Literacy Education Essays -- Adult Educati

The Role of Adult Basic and Literacy Education With the passage of the 1988 Family Support Act (FSA), adult basic and literacy education was linked to welfare reform. Based on experimentation with welfare reform during the previous decade, the FSA created the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program (JOBS). JOBS, which requires states to make educational services available to welfare recipients, was created in response to the general consensus that welfare recipients are not well prepared to enter the work force (Cohen et al. 1994). One of its major underlying assumptions is "that a strong foundation of literacy and basic skills is critical to the successful transition to employment and self-sufficiency for AFDC parents-especially young parents" (National Institute for Literacy 1994, p. 2). The educational and skill levels of welfare recipients as a group are lower than that of the general adult population. For example, compared to 27 percent of the general adult population, nearly 50 percent of welfare recipients do not have a high school diploma (NIFL 1994). Also, 30 percent of welfare recipients have basic skills below those of the minimum skill level of all women in the lowest occupational skill areas (Cohen et al. 1994). Thus, to the architects of the FSA, a logical avenue for assisting welfare recipients in achieving economic self-sufficiency was to provide those who needed it adult basic and literacy education services through JOBS. The need for this assistance has subsequently been supported: an estimated two-thirds of JOBS enrollees require basic skills enhancement before they are able to enter the work force (ibid.). The other third are placed in employment more immediately, either in the private secto... ...elfare as We Know It?" Summary Briefing Paper. Washington, DC: NIFL, June 1994. (ED 372 279) Pauly, E.; Long, D. A.; and Martinson, K. Linking Welfare and Education: A Study of New Programs in Five States. New York, NY: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, May 1992. (ED 346 266) Pauly, E., and Martinson, K. "Adult Education-A New Stimulus from Welfare Reform." Adult Learning 5, no. 2 (November-December 1993): 15-16. Reder, S., and Wikelund, K. R. Steps to Success: Literacy Development in a Welfare-to-Work Program. Portland, OR: Literacy, Language & Communication Program, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, November 1994. Wikelund, K. R. Motivations for Learning: Voices of Women Welfare Reform Participants. NCAL Technical Report TR93-10. Philadelphia: National Center on Adult Literacy, University of Pennsylvania, October 1993. (ED 364 748).

Blogs are Here to Stay Essay -- Blog Blogs Blogging Weblog Web Log

Blogs: Fad or Here To Stay? The question is, are blogs here to stay or are they just a fad? To answer this question, one must understand what a blog is exactly. There are many definitions for a blog. One source defines blog simply as â€Å"an online Journal (Glossary of Terms).† That is one of the less complex definitions. Another source wrote â€Å"Contraction from the term Web Log. This is an online diary or journal which is published and shared with others on the web by an individual, who is known as a ‘blogger’. Blogging has now become a very popular publishing method on the web as the software does not require any technical knowledge to use and this has the potential to move into the corporate world soon (Alba).† Basically anyone who wants to can create a blog. Bloggers can write about almost anything in their blog, but they usually are about personal life. They also write about world issues, their feelings on a topic, and now even various corporations use t hem to advertise their companies. Although a lot of people use blogs, some these days, are anti-bloggers. These people refuse to set up a blog for their own personal life because they feel it is corny. They find it too computer nerdy and think it is another thing for dorks to get addicted to. They are very wrong because many people of all ages and types create blogs online. I myself don’t have my own blog set up, but am not out to make fun of those who do. Besides the simple blog that most users set up to share their personal thoughts and experiences, companies now put them on their websites to create more revenue. There are actually seminars out there that help business owners create a blog and reasons why they should have one. ... ...tay and that is a fact. Those who hate blogs will have to get used to it. Works Cited Alba, Rosetta. Webmentor Glossary. April 25, 2005. Blogging is Here to Stay, According to WordBiz.com Survey. March 28, 2004. April 25, 2005. Coggins, Sheila. Who Reads Blogs? April 25, 2005. Glossary of Terms. April 24, 2005. Moffatt, Brian. Why Do We Blog? November 30, 2004. April 24, 2005. ROI Of Business Blogging. WordBiz Report. April 24, 2005.

Alternative Media, Youth and Civil Society

BIOGRAPHY OF Dr. Govind Ji Pandey Filmmaker, college professor, social activist Dr. Govind Ji Pandey was born in Varanasi in 1972. Studied at BHU, Varansi and received his doctoral Degree in Journalism from MG Kashi Vidya Peeth, Varanasi. Acted in many films and worked for promotion of Bhojpuri Films in Purvanchal. Dr Pandey taught students of Masters Course at MGKVP before he moved to Delhi as Lecturer (Electronic Media), in MBICEM, a college affiliated to GGSIP University. Here he taught BJ(MC) students for six years. During his stay in Delhi he supervised various small research projects of students.He taught Video and Radio Journalism,Production, and supervised around five hundred audio and audio-visual production of students. Some of the films supervised by him got prize in prestigious film festivals like Jeevika, Vatavaran, Misce-en-scene etc. Dr. Pandey is author of a book ‘Television Journalism and Programme Formats’. At present he is working as a Reader (Mass Com munication) at BB Ambedkar University, Lucknow. He is teaching PG students and guiding research scholars for their Ph. D thesis at BBA University. Alternative Media, Youth and Civil Society Dr. Govind Ji Pandey Associate Professor, Dept. f Mass Comm & Journalism Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Univrsity, Lucknow Email- [email  protected] com Mob. 0919198915357The pen is mightier than the sword, and the alternative media may become mightier than the mainstream media. This is not a mere conjecture the process has already begun. The alternative media has emerged as a key player in promoting the cause of marginalized section of the society, an alternative voice of people and reflecting reality. The neglect of underprivileged and browbeaten by mainstream media, suppression and manipulation of information by government and media industry has posed a evere threat to the right to freedom of speech and expression of the members of global civil society. In the backdrop of the great danger posed by the media and political-economical nexus, a new development has given hope to millions around the world, of reuniting and creating an alternative source of information which is free by all means. The past few decades have shown us the path of creating a multi polar world and the advent of new media will create a world with multiple sources of voices.The information will come from those who are not only consumers of it, but producing it as well. The recent technological developments have reduced the cost of production dramatically. The speed of internet has increased with the development in the data transmission technology. This development has provided in the form of new media, a very strong tool of communication to challenge the monopoly of traditional mainstream media. The alternative media particularly Internet and Community Radio have changed the way we were consuming the media products.Now the consumer is no more a passive receiver of the media content but involved in the pr ocess of collection, selection and dissemination of information. There is a large number of people who believe that media can be used as a tool for social change. The large number of people involved in developing and disseminating information can be a great source of information for hundred and thousands of people all across the world. The information flow can not be stopped by the governments and now it has taken a global shape. Things happening at far of places now started affecting local governments.The recent case of Iran where the Iranian Government stopped the flow of information by putting many journalists behind bars and blocking television and slowing down internet speed could not restrict the flow of information. People used their mobile phones and cameras and put videos and audio of the various acts of Government for viewing and it became instant hit. A global opinion was formed and it affected the Iranian Government as well. It shows the strength of the alternative sourc es of information in shaping the modern world. The present study is an attempt to analyze the time people devote in creating media content.The continuous up gradation of information which has changed the social and economical condition of the consumers, in particular the youth studying in various universities in India.. The objectives of research are : 1)To understand the time youth devote for creating and consuming the media content; 2)to analyze the various tools used for content creation and reception by students; 3)to compare preference given to the medium for the content creation and consumption; 4)to analyze nature and type of content created by the students: 5)to observe social change in student community.The research study aims at highlighting the characteristics of alternative media, civil society, with the help of theoretical discussions and finally the relevance of concepts related with alternative media, civil society and youth have been analyzed through the following re search hypotheses: RH 1) Internet is the most preferred medium among youth. RH2)University students are actively participating in the social campaigns promoted through various social network sites. RH3)The most preferred tool for content generation is mobile phone. RH4)New media has changed information creation and consumption behavior of students.Methodology: For the analysis of above mentioned objectives and hypotheses a sample of 300 PG students of various departments of three universities from Lucknow, UP, India, were selected and their opinion on the various issues were taken. For this purpose an interview schedule was constructed. The students were selected through non-probability sampling method and equal representation was given to male and female students. Civil Society: Jurgen Habermas’ founded the notion of ‘public sphere,’ in which he discussed about a model of rational communication and rational critical debate.While explaining this kind of public sp here he said that, ‘private people come together as a public and they engage the state on various matters of public interest with reasoned argument. ’ As Habermas stressed, the public sphere has been in a permanent state of transformation as underlying social and economical conditions have changed. Though we have many views about civil society but we were not able to provide a single definition of civil society which is unanimously supported by all the scholars. The most recent one given by Mary Kaldor in his essay written in the book Global Civil Society 2007/08 talks about civil society, as the edium through which social contracts or bargain are negotiated between the individual and the centers of political and economic authority. Civil society is a process of management of society that is bottom- up rather than top down, and involves the struggle for emancipatory goals. Till 1989, the definition of civil society was territorially bounded. The concept of civil society was prevalent in some parts of Europe and America. The developments that have started around the world in early part of seventy and continued through eighties and nineties strengthen the democratic movement in Asia, Africa and other parts of the world.It is very clearly stated that to have a vibrant civil society you need established dem ocratic rights of electing public representatives, an independent judiciary and separation of legislative from executive. Media’s Role in a Civil Society The control of media by large business houses who are governed by the state bureaucracies and commercial motives has created an environment where the power has come under one head which is a dangerous sign for a democratic country like India.The UNESCO report on various aspects of communication and society provided eight following functions of mass media; i)dissemination of information ii)socialization iii)motivation iv)promoting debate and discussion on public issues v)education vi)cultura l promotion vii)entertainment and viii)integration. The objective of these functions were to provide complete information to the public so that they can form opinion and participate in the democratic process i. e. debate and discussion which ultimately guarantees their freedom of speech and expression.There is an immense danger to the freedom of speech and expression in the form of control and manipulation of information by state and private media industry. The control of mainstream media has come from various quarters and in variable forms. The fourth pillar of democracy has been hijacked by the various governmental and non-governmental organizations. Main stream media is no more the voice of people and is in a total disconnect of the real India. The mainstream media is serving the interests of minuscule minority and totally neglecting the real issues.If we analyze the issues that have been the centre of debate and discussion on various television channels and in print media we wil l hardly see an issue that is affecting the masses or talking about the marginalized section of the society. The mainstream media is obsessed with the glamour and politics, real developmental issues are vanished from the scene. What is Alternative Media? Michael Albert (2004) attempts to define alternative media in his manifesto, ‘what makes alternative media alternative’? As he writes ‘ An alternative media institution does not maximize profits, does not primarily sell audience to advertisers for revenues, is structured to subvert society’s defining hierarchical social relationships, and is structurally profoundly different from and as independent of other major social institution, particularly corporations, as it can be many segments of civil society are politically motivated communities promoting numerous causes and holding various versions of democracy.John Ehrenberg (1999) â€Å" A democratic sphere of public action that limits the thrust of state pow er. Alternative media enable and encourage empowerment and leanring outcomes may take place in either formal or informal education settings. UNESCO report on alternative media says: ‘ These are the kinds of consciously political and social demands by groups for whom alternative communication is but another facet of their need to contest hegemonic structures and forms to create an new social and cultural reality for themselves. (UNESCO, 1993,p. 16) Advent and Type of Alternative Media The monopoly of information control and ownership by the government, political and economic elites given them a lot of power to manipulate information.The newspapers and television channels have been driven by the commercial motives and the news about the poor and the marginalized were shifted to the inner pages. The global civil society felt a need of having alternative media which can connect with the rural, is committed to the poor and the oppressed and report the truth. The alternative media w as present during the media boom but did not take proper shape. Just after the internet revolution now, it came in to prominence. Some of the alternative media that have created and posted great challenge to mainstream media are following: 1)Interne Newspaper 2)Blogs 3)Social Networking websites )Mobile phones and Pager services 5)Independent documentary/Video filmmakers 6)Community Radio 7)Visual Radio 8)Ham operators 9)Small Newspapers and Magazines 10)Newsletters, brochures, handbills, pamphlets, posters, etc The development of alternative media gave ordinary citizens power to publish articles, upload videos and display photographs. It gave birth to a new kind of journalism which is public journalism. In this type of journalism public is producer, editor, reporter and consumers of the content. It has reduced the gate keeping authority of the traditional media. Role of Alternative Media 1)An alternative voice of people:It has a great role to play in shaping up a global civil socie ty and free world. With the advent of internet and use of advance technology in mobile telephone industry the local issues have all the potential to become global that to within a very little time. The recent experience of the governments of China and Iran attempting to control the internet has led to a strong underground movement. The authorities blocked the flow of information by putting journalists in jail and tried to stifle the flow of information but the internet gave people the much needed voice and forum which is hard to contain by the governments. )A forum for marginalized section of the society: The main stream media is catering to the need of affluent in the society. The marginalized section of society is hardly finding place in the main stream media. The voice and problems of the socially weaker class is unreported and unrepresented. Here alternative media can play an important role in highlighting the problems of poor and marginalized communities. The small community ne wspapers, community radio, television broadcast blogs, posters etc. can help the people overcome neglect by mainstream media to highlight the atrocities, faults in bureaucratic and other institutional setup.Marie Trigona, in his book â€Å"Argentina's Community Media Fights for Access and Legal Reform†, she explores Argentine groups that have emerged to produce alternative and independent media for television, radio and video in an effort to counter lack of access to marginalized communities in mass media. 3)Global public sphere: The world is shrinking and the nation state boundaries have disappeared in the contemporary societies. Any issue that is related with a particular country might become global within no time, curtsy new media. This is not merely a hypothesis but global reality.One of the biggest examples is â€Å"Batti Band Campaign†, such was the impact of this campaign that through out the world people came out in support of it and now it is a global phenomen on. And this is not the only example of this type there are many examples where global opinion was generated in support of many campaigns and world governments were forced to accept global opinion. This is how new technologies have reinvigorated a sense of transnational public sphere and strengthened global civil organizations movements and provided platform for sub cultural groups and common man. )Free expression and social activism: Alternative media is playing an important role in social learning process by providing easily accessible content to common man. In many developing and developed countries it is working as agents of social change. Denis Mc Quails in his democratic media participant theory suggests that media content should not be controlled by the Government Institutions and political organizations. Members of Civil Society should have their own media and it must promote the interest of common man.This can be achieved only when we have multiple sources of information an d communication where one can easily access and disseminate information. Recently in India, a controversy involving a union minister and a commissioner of a government body, started off from a social network site twitter, and within no time public opinion was formed. The public opinion was so strong that government accepted resignation of minister and the commissioner was forced to step-down. This shows the strength of the new media and the public opinion generated through it.Now no government can neglect opinion of civil society. Alternative Media and Youth No country can deny the importance of youth in nation building process. The involvement and participation of youth in decision making process not only strengthen the democratic process but also contributes to their personal development. In India, almost 55% population comes under this category who is also frequent users of new media technologies. The world’s youth population, Ages 15to 24, will become more and more concen trated in Africa and Asia.By 2050, the number of youth will have risen from just under a half billion in 1950 to 1. 2 billion. According to a recent study done by the Internet ; Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), there are 471 million mobile phone subscribers, out of which 127 million have their own Internet ready mobile device. But of these 127 million users who have mobile phones with Internet capability, only 12 million have used the Internet on their devices and the number of active mobile Internet users is just 2 million.But â€Å"industry experts† quoted on Business Standard claim that there are over 500 million mobile phone subscribers and due to the decline in prices of Internet-enabled handsets, there are about 10 million mobile phone Internet surfers, much more than the 2 million reported by the IAMAI. This shows the potential of this media and those who are using it are mainly youth in all parts of the world. Not only this, the change brought in by the technology has given youth many different tools for content generation.One of the most important tolls is mobile phone which is used for video, audio, still photo recording and putting them on internet using various social network sites like twitter, U tube, face book etc. The information reaches to millions of users across the globe and global opinion is generated on various issues of public interest. In Indian universities, youth devote a lot of time for content generation and dissemination. In the study conducted in three universities of India following conclusions were drawn: Table 1 Time devoted for internet surfing 0-1 hour1-2 hour2-3 hour3-4 hourMore than 4 hourMale1832602515 Female2654401515 Total44861004030 Surveys conducted in several countries in the world show that the internet addiction in on rise. In China the number of young Internet addicts had soared to 24 million by 2009, almost double the figure for 2005, It is very much evident from the data that youth particularly in the Indian university have been devoting a lot of time in content generation and dissemination on internet. Overall, 71 million users accessed Internet in year 2009, with 52 Million â€Å"active† users who accessed it atleast once in a month.If we look at global users on internet India is on 4th position but it may change very soon the moment it will reach to the rural population of the India. PositionCountryInternet Users Million 1USA220 2CHINA210 3JAPAN88. 1 4INDIA81 5BRAZIL53 ( Source: Internet ; Mobile Association of India(IAMAI) and IMRB. ) In India the growth of internet is mainly in urban centers and school ; college students itself contribute to more than 44% of all Internet usage that happens in India – Overall 72% of young people access Internet on regular basis. Table 2 Most popular tool for content generation Video cameraRecorderStill ameraMobile phone Male1068126 Female446136 Total141014262 Mobile is the most popular medium for content generation. Not only is that mobile a very popular mode of internet surfing among youth in India but the trend is more or less same across the globe. The Opera Mini, most widely downloaded mobile application has released the number of Mobile Internet usage.The report is quite significant in terms of mobile internet usage in the world. Following are the top 05 countries in Opera Mini Usage: 1. Russia 2. Indonesia 3. India 4. China 5. Ukraine ( Source: Internet ; Mobile Association of India(IAMAI) and IMRB. Table 3 Most preferred medium for news and entertainment TVRadioNewspaperInternetFilm Male2515207515 Female2636245410 Total51514412925 The information and communication behavior of the students have shown significant change in regard to the medium they use for news and entertainment. In a research study conducted by World Association of Newspapers (WNA) on Decoding Youth as News ; Information Consumers found that young people are spending less time with traditional media and more with new media. Same is t he conclusion drawn in the data mentioned in the table three. Young participants said that usage of new media (i. e. , computers, mobile phones, the internet, and MP3 players) is increasingly taking up time participants would have spent with traditional media, though this time is obviously restricted in countries where the digital divide remains a strong barrier. Despite this, many participants say they would like to spend more time with newspapers and other traditional sources of information. Contrary to stereotype, many young participants remained respectful of traditional information sources and few dismiss them as obsolete. † (Source: World Association of Newspapers)Table 4 University students are actively participating in campaigns promoted through social network websites YesNo Male9555 Female46104 Total141159 The data shown above clearly indicating that youth is engaged in social reformation with the help of alternative media. Social Networking Sites (SNS) are young peop le? s spaces – and engaging with young people here is meeting young people where they are at. The recent example of Batti Band Campaign that got momentum through the SNS is one of the many examples where young ones created awareness and it is now a well established campaign.There are many other cases in India which generated and garnered a lot of public response and support through social networking sites. Ruchika Girihotra, Jessica Lal, Nitish katara, etc. are some of the cases that are highlighted through these websites and ultimately proved to be a very strong campaign which generated a huge support for victim’s family and put pressure on the state authorities to act for justice. Table 5 Do you think alternative media has changed your information and entertainment behavior YesNo Male12624 Female13020 Total25644Youth information behavior is a complex process of interplays among various factors, such as young people’s cognitive status, identity formation and va lue negotiation, and social interaction within a context. Here the data indicates that youth in India has significantly changed their information and entertainment behavior. More than 85 % of the samples were of the opinion that they have witnessed significant change in their media content consumption. The new media has taken over from the traditional media which includes radio and television.On the basis of the analysis of data collected with the help of interview schedule the following conclusions can be drawn: 1)Youth in India is spending a lot of time using internet and other alternative means of communication. The main stream media will have a tough competition in the form of alternative media. 2)Internet is the most popular medium among youth and mobile phones are the most preferred medium for content generation and uploading of data. 3)Social networking sites have become a very important platform for common man.The social issues raised with the help of the social networking s ites are getting good response from the netizens and global public opinion is very easily formed. 4)The global civil society has found a new and alternative platform for raising their voices. Alternative means of communication have become a very strong tool to form global opinion. Now the local governments are finding it difficult to stop the flow of information. 5)The world is now fast becoming multi polar and multiple sources of communication in the form of small and alternative media have given a strong platform to the marginalized communities and socially deprived class. )It is very much evident from this study that mobile phone is the most popular medium for content generation and dissemination of information among youth in India. They upload data to various social networking sites and actively participating in the social campaigns promoted through it.Reference: 1)Kaldor Mary, Global Civil Society, 2007/08 2)Tufte Thomas, Youth engaging with the World: Media, Communication and Social Change, The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media’s Yearbook 2009. 3)The Hindu, Role of Alternative Media Stressed, 2010. )TOI, Friday, June19, 2009, Editorial. 5)Trigona Marie’ Alternative media is alive and well all over Latin America. (Argentina), 2009. 6)Casey Bernadette and others, Key Concepts in Television Studies, Routledge, Newyork. 7)Rayner philip, Media Studies, Routledge, Newyork. 8)Branston Gill, The Media Students’ Book, Routledge, Newyork. 9)Waisanen Don J, A citizen’s guide to democracy inaction, Southern Communication Journal, Volume 74/Number 2/April-June 2009 10) world population data sheet 2009. 134 Million 11% Asia/ Pacific

The Practice of Clinical Psychology

University of Phoenix Material The Practice of Clinical Psychology Worksheet Answer the following questions. Your response to each question must be at least 150 words in length. 1. What are at least two legal issues associated with clinical psychology? Provide an example of a situation that could be legal but unethical. Explain your response. Confidentiality is one issue associated with clinical psychology. It intersects the legal and ethical jurisdictions in the realm of psychotherapy. These issues are in conflict when legal requirements contradict the APA’s Ethics Code (Plante, 2011).Confidentiality agreement exceptions between patient and therapist include danger that is immediate (suicide, homicide, or any type of abuse). When the Code of Ethics and the law cross the Code of Ethics should always be followed and any discrepancies should be explained to a court of law (Plante, 2011). There are, however, exceptions to the confidentiality rule: in specific situations, a patien t may opt out of confidentiality. This may be when a patient wants to involve their spouse, child, or even a friend in their therapy (Plante, 2011).Clinical psychologists must be careful by documenting exceptions in writing, to maintain integrity because of concerns with confidentiality. Forensic activities are another area where legal issues may affect a psychologist. It is important when psychologists are giving expert testimony that they make sure the assessment tools they choose to use were developed specifically for the purpose the psychologist is using it (Plante, 2011). This is an ethical issue with legal implications rather than a legal issue. 2. What are at least two ethical issues associated with clinical psychology?Provide an example of a situation that could be ethical but illegal. Explain your response. A major point of concern in any ethical discussion in psychology is competence. Appropriate training and instruction that concerns changes in a psychologist’s spe cialized field must be kept up to date (Plante, 2011). According to Plante (2011) 50% of the material learned during a psychologists graduate work becomes obsolete 10 to 12 years after they graduate. This means that clinical psychologists have to relearn half of their specialized field every ten years or so.Psychologists must practice in the field in which they have been trained. It is important that clinical psychologists are not being misleading or deceptive in advertising or public statements (Plante, 2011). A psychologist must never overstate their points of views or their qualifications. Psychologists must correct any misleading statements that have been made by another person on the psychologists behalf. This causes the psychologists to be very clear about their points of view and not overstate their credentials (Plante, 2011). 3. Define professional boundaries, boundary crossings, and boundary violations.What effects do boundaries have on the therapeutic relationship? Dual re lationships are at the heart of most professional boundary violations in the U. S. (Plante, 2011). A dual relationship is when the patient and psychologist develop a relationship outside the professional one. This could be as simple as the psychologist and patient going out for coffee or as extreme as the psychologist and patient engaging in a sexual relationship. Of course psychologists are disciplined when the violations happen, but are encouraged to avoid conflicts of interest and dual relationships with patients (Plante, 2011).Boundary crossings and violations happen when the psychologist engages in an extra psychotherapeutic relationship with the patient. There is a counter argument in this area and that is the psychotherapy must sometimes occur in the patients natural environment. This happens if the patient is severely disabled. To maintain a relationship that is professional and boundaries that are professional the relationship must be kept in a setting that is professional and in situations that is professional.There are some situations though that are unavoidable such as a psychologist who has a small town practice and knows everyone in town (Plante, 2011). 4. What are at least two cultural limitations associated with assessment and treatment? In your response, discuss the use or misuse of assessment instruments, therapy techniques, research results, or any other facet of clinical practice that could have potentially harmful, culture-specific implications. There are some behavioral problems that are culturally specific and require treatment approaches that are culturally specific (Plante, 2011).For example during the Victorian Era, conversion disorders were popular but are not today. I t is telling hta most psychological studies that have been conducted in the last 50 years have been on the Caucasian race from the upper and middle classes (Plante, 2011). This would mean that the results of these tests to minorities is questionable. Culturally specifi c treatment options are being looked at by psychologists, as legitimate alternatives to traditional individual 50 minute insight oriented psychotherapy.

Group Roles and Norms Essay

Explicit norms are rules that are clearly stated. Implicit norms are hard for people with difficulty with socially-based learning. Roles within groups are different tasks that different people perform and the specific accomplishments each is expected to attain (Baron, Branscombe & Byrne, 2009, p. 384). An example of an explicit role is a professor for a class. The students in the class play the explicit role in the course. The professor’s role is to guide and nurture their students. An implicit role that students have is that they are just as likely to have a great deal to offer to the class as a group if the professor can create a safe, accepting environment that encourages the free exchange of ideas. Norms are rules established by groups which define acceptable and unacceptable behaviors (Baron, Branscombe & Byrne, 2009, p. 387). Horne (2004) specifically focuses on the sanctions which enforce the rules. An explicit norm for the classroom is that the students come prepared to class, as the roles are clearly stated in the syllabus. An implicit norm is that students have to come to class prepared. Students attempt to enforce the implicit norm by letting the instructor know they are prepared for class. An explicit norm is the length of time for classes. The class can deviate from the implicit norm while adhering to the explicit norm that classes will meet the whole length of class time. Some of the initial consequences to deviating from the implicit norm which students are that they wish the professor will follow their body language to let class out early. This reinforces the explicit norm that they will come to class prepared, violating their implicit norm that they will not participate in class. The professor can uses a form of sanctioning called Jeopardy. Professors can have students clear their desk so that students cannot attempt to enforce the implicit norm that class will dismiss early. Rewards are provided by group assessments. Creating accountability, both to the group and to oneself by creating a grading system that balances group work, daily grades, and tests is the best way to ensure a fairly smooth and regular routine to the classroom. Students unwilling to meet these explicit norms will ideally move on quickly to other courses where the implicit norms are more likely to be met or choose to adjust their behavior. References Baron, R. A., Branscombe, N. R., & Byrne, D. (2009). Social psychology (12th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Horne, C. (2004). Collective benefits, Exchange interests, and norm enforcement. Social Forces, 82(3), 1037-1062.

Analysis Of John Donne s Poetry

John Donne is renowned in the world of poetry as the leading influence in metaphysical poetry. His works including sonnets, love poems, religious poems, sermons, and so forth are characterised by their strong, sensual style, which may be seen as contradictory to the stereotypes of Donne’s job; a churchman. Many of Donne’s poems contain metaphysical conceits and thoughtful reasoning to guide the readers into an in-depth understanding of the speaker’s emotional state. These conceits are elaborate,†¦ John Donne had many obstacles throughout his life that would define him as well as his poetry. The day he was born he faced one of these obstacles as he was born to a Roman Catholic family at a time when practicing Roman Catholicism was illegal. The religious conflict he faced tore him up inside. That was until, of course, he rejecting his mother and father’s religion, electing to convert to Anglicanism. As this transformation took place, there was also a revolution in the way Donne would write†¦ lies is that, in poetry, all facts and all beliefs cease to be true or false and become interesting possibilities†¦It may not, perhaps, be absolutely necessary that he believe it, but it is certainly necessary that his emotions be deeply involved, and this they can never be unless, as a man, he takes it more seriously than as a mere poetic convenience.† It is Donne’s sensibility and his personal experiences which are revealed with a vibrancy of language in his love and religious poetry that make him†¦ prominent literary figures of the early seventeenth century, John Donne has engendered widely differing views regarding the merits of his work. His reputation stands on two distinct accomplishments: the witty, sensual love poetry of his early career and the serious, devout religious writing of his later career as the Dean of St. Paul 's. Donne 's poetry was influential enough to be considered the basis of the metaphysical school of poetry, as characterized by later writers such as Richard Crashaw,†¦ John Donne’s ‘The Anniversary’ is all about the love that the narrator and his wife share together. The narrator assures his wife that although a year of marriage has passed, and everything has grown older, their love hasn’t. He says that when they both die, their bodies will decay, but their love won’t because their souls will reunite in heaven. He goes on to say that until they die, they are kings, secure in their love. It comes as no surprise that Donne has spoken of monarchs and death in his†¦ pain. A remedy to sadness. The ideal happy ending to all fairy tales. Love is the cause to the butterflies and jittery feeling inside when that special someone is near. In numerous scenarios, love is portrayed as a positive asset to life. However, in John Donne’s poemâ€Å"The Broken Heart,† love destructs and shatters a heart to an extent where restoration is incompetent. Throughout this doleful poem, Donne’s speaker uses an abundance of literary devices such as metaphors, personification, and imagery to†¦ Intro Donne expresses the need to remove the stigma around death and perceive it as inconsequential.Death is not brought up in everyday conversation and people often elude the thought of death when it does come up. Death is feared and dreaded by most people, but Donne veers away from this stigma. Death is personified in this poem and is talked down upon by Donne. He mocks death by comparing it to drugs and potions, which deal out the same fate, but drugs and potions are thought less of than death†¦ Defining and scrutinizing poetry is always difficult because of its poetic elements and chosen words. Through these elements, poems are usually difficult to comprehend. However, understanding poems can be entertaining and captivating because of the romantic structures and powerful emotions. One example is John Donne’s â€Å"Batter my heart, Three-Personed God.† This holy sonnet explores the emotions of the speaker as he talks to the three-personed God, which is the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. He†¦ Sixteenth century poet John Donne author of the Holy Sonnet Fourteen; ‘Batter my Heart’ is known as the founder of the Metaphysical Poets a term used to refer to 17th-century English writers whose work was characterized by the inventive use of conceits, and by a greater emphasis on the spoken rather than lyrical quality of their verse. Donne adopts Petrarchan sonnet form for the majority of this poem which aids the seamless fluidity of this sonnet. Donne’s Religious poetry demonstrates turning the†¦ John Keats is said to be seen as one of the most â€Å"canniest readers, interpreters, and questioners of the â€Å"modern† project in poetry, which sought to dwell in the desires and sufferings of the human heart.† His works such as Ode to Melancholy is a worthy example as to how Keats illustrates the relatable feeling of pain, and shines light on the common idea that it is to be hidden and masked with false happiness. In this work he tells us to embrace it, to take it by the hand and let it flow through†¦