Friday, September 6, 2019
What the Writer Thought of the Event Essay Example for Free
What the Writer Thought of the Event Essay What the event symbolized for America was explicitly stated in the editorial  Woodstock was the kind of success that could be achieved when there is benevolence among people. Everyone saw a disaster out of Woodstock in the beginning. People predicted it would end out a havoc. Even hip radio stations warned people against it. It was easy for the Americans to think that such a large gathering of people in such a place would end up to no good, especially when it’s the youth that is involved. However, as the event turned out to be a success, America realized that it is not impossible for people to come together and be in a state of harmony at the same time. More importantly, Woodstock became a realization for America that the power of benevolence could do such amazing things, and could rise above such adversities as shortage in water, toilets, bad trips, and even thunderstorms. Aside from these, Woodstock symbolized for the rest of America that their youth is not going down the drain. Instead, their youth is worthy of respect and emulation, because amidst the prejudice against their capabilities and their culture, is their power to rise above the adversity and to display such a culture of good will among perfect strangers. For the parents of America at that time, Woodstock was a â€Å"wakeup call’ that their children did something worthy of their approval , and that this is what is important amidst the drugs and the display of nudity. The bottomline is that Woodstock, for America, had become as symbol of both the power of the youth and the power of benevolence, and the beauty that comes when these two powers work together. For the writer, not only was Woodstock Music and Art Fair an â€Å"Aquarian Exposition of music and peace . It was much more. It ranked among one of the most important sociological and political events of the decade. Not only was it the largest happening that ever was in history at the time, it was also a public announcement of the culture of America’s youth in the sixties. It was a manifestation of their â€Å"strength, appeal, and power†(TIME, 1969). Along the article, the writer pointed out how massive the gathering was, even estimating that had the roads not been blocked, there would have been a million people between the age of 16-30 at Woodstock. And though the writer acknowledged the presence of the largest gathering of rock idols as a bait for the crowd to come, he pointed out a more analytical reason for the gathering. According to him, Woodstock was a kind of â€Å"pilgrimage†where the youths sought to discover that there were hundreds of thousand of people who shared their culture, in other words, that they are not isolated, as they have previously thought they were (TIME, 1969). The writer was also quick to acknowledge the fact that the old generation of Americans initially saw the event as a â€Å"squalid freakout,†but had experienced a change of tune, which included even the New York Times . Along with this, however, the writer ran a paragraph that told about both the â€Å"deplorable†and commendable things about the event that could be the reason for such a two-sided perception of the event. The bad side of Woodstock that the writer perceived included deaths and illnesses from drugs, as well as the deplorable case of sanitation, accommodation, garbage, and rains throughout the event. However, the writer exalted in the fact that â€Å"there were no rapes, no assaults, no robberies and, as far as anyone can recall, not one single fight†(TIME, 1969). In the length of the rest of the article, the writer presented several analysis of the meaning of Woodstock. Among these was that Woodstock was a manifestation of the youth’s valuation of self over society, and aside from the youth’s total separation from the norms of the past generation, was also a manifestation that the adults could not control them anymore. However, along with these was the youth’s perception that they are changing the society for the good and that they did not need someone to lead them since they already have each other . In the end, the writer was able to send a message of questioning to his readers. A question of â€Å"to what purpose†could the outpouring and extremely powerful emotions of the youth could be harnessed politically. His advice was made implicitly by quoting what a sociologist had to say about the event . Towards the end, the writer’s advice turned out into a warning about the possible negative impacts of the event, instead of a dawning of enlightenment .
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Oppositional Defiant Disorder No! This two-letter word isnt as small and irrelevant as you may like to think. Frequently saying no, especially for a child or adolescent, could be a sign of ODD or Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Of course, saying no is normal when expressing a negative view or a dissenting opinion, but if your child is often defiant, it may be cause for concern. How often is often? Melanie Haiken of Health Day has an interesting answer/analogy. She said, For most children, episodes of oppositional behavior are like the raisins in the oatmeal cookie-undeniably present, but not the main event. For a child with ODD, there are so many raisins that its hard to see the cookie. This implies that saying no or exhibiting defiance for a child with ODD happens so often that the true personality of the child is masked. This isnt normal or the standard in a child of a certain age or developmental level. If the defiance is a sign of ODD, your child is at a disadvantage. Untreated, the condition can get worse, contributing to their difficulty in interacting with people in any setting. The Normal Defiant Child Not every defiant child has ODD. According to the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, All children are oppositional from time to time, particularly when tired, hungry, stressed or upset. They may argue, talk back, disobey, and defy parents, teachers, and other adults. Oppositional behavior is often a normal part of development for two to three year olds and early adolescents. The criteria used by professionals to indicate ODD are also typical for any child having a bad day, or going through a phase when they become independent or develop a keener sense of individuality. The difference is in the frequency and intensity of the behavior. Frequent and openly obstinate and argumentative behavior can be a sign of ODD. These behaviors need attention if they happen often, if the manifestations are severe, or if the behavior violates social norms or the rights and safety of other people. The ODD Child A child with ODD manifests a pattern of irritable, angry, and argumentative behavior. They will refuse to follow rules, argue with people in authority, and be resentful of their siblings or peers. They will also deliberately annoy others or make them angry. The condition is defined by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as an ongoing pattern of uncooperative, defiant, and hostile behavior toward authority figures that seriously interferes with the youngsters day to day functioning. Generally, the symptoms are exhibited in places where the child is most comfortable, such as at home. Some children may also exhibit their defiant behavior at school, so it is advisable that you stay in the loop by communicating with teachers. To find out whether the defiant behavior that your child exhibits is a symptom of ODD, get your child evaluated by a therapist. Some noteworthy symptoms are: Arguing excessively with adults Frequent temper tantrums Active defiance Refusing to comply with requests or follow rules Deliberately attempting to annoy or upset people Blaming others for misbehavior and mistakes Being touchy or easily annoyed by others Seeking revenge If your child is defiant, working with a therapist is recommended, because defiance isnt only a feature of ODD-it can also be a symptom of other emotional conditions, such as depression and bipolar disorder. If your child has ODD, they can also be vulnerable to developing ADHD or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, as well as other learning difficulties. Beating ODD Before It Ruins Your Childs Chances ODD has a pretty high occurrence among children and adolescents, but its causes have not been clearly established, and helping your child manage it could be difficult. This is a good reason to seek help from a capable therapist contracted with Carolina Counseling Services in Pittsboro, NC. Uncontrolled ODD not only makes your child vulnerable to many other emotional conditions and relationship-disrupting and life-disturbing behaviors, but can also lead to conduct disorder over time and ruin their chances for a quality life beyond childhood. With early treatment, the outlook for ODD is good. Mild ODD often improves as the child grows older. Your life as a family may also be turned upside down by your child with ODD, who may be argumentative and difficult to discipline. Your usual parenting style may not work on a defiant child. A therapist can empower you as a parent to encourage your child to be more agreeable, cooperative, and obedient. Rather than engage in unproductive and exhausting power struggles, seek help from an experienced therapist independently contracted with Carolina Counseling Services in Pittsboro, NC. Call now to make the first appointment!
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Why Do We Believe In Angels :: essays research papers
In various retail stores today, you will find many angel knickknacks. Angles are truly believed in by today's society. The retail ranges from books to clothing to toys. Most recently, over 200 books about angels are in book stores, and several million copies have been sold worldwide (Dumas 59). Why do people buy this merchandise if it can not be proven that angels are real? Believing in angels is like believing in God. If you don't believe in God, just look around at the things around you and conclude how everything was created (Angel Wings).      Do angels really exist? Everyone wants to know about everything around us. If the person on the street is holding a sign saying 'will work for food'; was really an angel in disguise. Or the women that arrived just in time to save a runaway car full of three small children. Was she really an angel? In the bible in Hebrews 13:2 it says 'Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.'; There are over 300 references in the bible about angels. For example, in the new testament angels announced the birth of Christ, in Luke 2:8 angels told shepards where to find the infant Jesus, also in Luke an angel went to a tomb of Christ to announce his resurrection (Auburn University 1).      Billy Graham wrote a very good perspective of angels in his book Angels: God's Secret Agents. He stated:      Lucas 2      ' I am convinced that these heavenly beings exist and that they provide           unseen aid in our behalf. I do not believe in angles because someone has           told me about a dramatic visitation from an angel, impressive as such           testimonies may be. I do not believe in angles because UFO's are                astonishingly angels-like in some of their reported appearances. I do not           believe in angels because some ESP experts are making the realm of the           spirit world seem even more plausible. I do not believe in angels because           of the sudden worldwide emphasis on the reality of Satan and demons. I           do not believe in angles because I have never seen one- because I haven't.           I believe in angels because the Bible says there are angels; and I believe the           Bible to be the true Word of God (Hilbb 2) .';      In an essay by Linda Ray, she stated her belief about angels. She wrote that she believes in angels because God's word, the Holy Bible, tells her they are real, giving many accounts of the activity in the lives of people on earth.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Stocking the Online Community :: Internet Web Cyberspace Essays
Stocking the Online Community I must have a net worth of one million dollars by the time I'm forty. Sounds like a plan to me. Retirement, living the good life. My plan would be to go to school full?time, quit the job, and move into the country. (Not necessarily in that order) The Ad's I see have to be working for someone. The internet and stock trading were meant for each other. More and more people are getting on the band wagon so get on early. "But these hot High?tech stocks and you can't miss," followed by, "The next five winning I.P.O.'s free, just log onto www...." Sure there is some risk involved but people are making a ton of money and I want my share. Show me where to buy. I have some cash put aside I can risk it, I'm young. I can go online find a couple reputable communities, put out the feelers and take the plunge. The help will be free, I'll just give them my email address and they can send me junk mail. It's not hard to delete it. I will have to do some research to find someone to purchase stocks thro ugh that does not charge too much. In addition, I'll need a source for researching which stocks to buy. One or two emergent stocks, buy and sell at the right time and I'm on my way to early retirement. The operation I buy the stocks from will need to have a low price for trades and a low starting balance. It must be quick and easy to trade stocks and I will need quick confirmation to know how much money I've made. Not through the web but in a magazine article I found a rating of six online trading companies they are Scottrade, E?Trade, Suretrade, Smith Barney, Charles Schwab and DLJ Direct. The two most important things to me are the cost of a trade and the amount and quality of access to research. Scottrade has the lowest trade price of $5.95 and Smith Barney with the highest at $24.95. The research is especially good with Smith Barney and Charles Schwab slightly below in quality is Suretrade. Another thing I learned is that most of these companies require a minimum balance to start, E?Trade wants $1000 while Smith Barney starts with $2000. While Suretrade requires no minimum and Scottrade requires only $200. Stocking the Online Community :: Internet Web Cyberspace Essays Stocking the Online Community I must have a net worth of one million dollars by the time I'm forty. Sounds like a plan to me. Retirement, living the good life. My plan would be to go to school full?time, quit the job, and move into the country. (Not necessarily in that order) The Ad's I see have to be working for someone. The internet and stock trading were meant for each other. More and more people are getting on the band wagon so get on early. "But these hot High?tech stocks and you can't miss," followed by, "The next five winning I.P.O.'s free, just log onto www...." Sure there is some risk involved but people are making a ton of money and I want my share. Show me where to buy. I have some cash put aside I can risk it, I'm young. I can go online find a couple reputable communities, put out the feelers and take the plunge. The help will be free, I'll just give them my email address and they can send me junk mail. It's not hard to delete it. I will have to do some research to find someone to purchase stocks thro ugh that does not charge too much. In addition, I'll need a source for researching which stocks to buy. One or two emergent stocks, buy and sell at the right time and I'm on my way to early retirement. The operation I buy the stocks from will need to have a low price for trades and a low starting balance. It must be quick and easy to trade stocks and I will need quick confirmation to know how much money I've made. Not through the web but in a magazine article I found a rating of six online trading companies they are Scottrade, E?Trade, Suretrade, Smith Barney, Charles Schwab and DLJ Direct. The two most important things to me are the cost of a trade and the amount and quality of access to research. Scottrade has the lowest trade price of $5.95 and Smith Barney with the highest at $24.95. The research is especially good with Smith Barney and Charles Schwab slightly below in quality is Suretrade. Another thing I learned is that most of these companies require a minimum balance to start, E?Trade wants $1000 while Smith Barney starts with $2000. While Suretrade requires no minimum and Scottrade requires only $200.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Dynamic Change and Collaborative Learning Environments :: Education, Leadership and Organizational Theory
Dynamic Change and Collaborative Learning Environments The continuous transformation in educational organization requires investigation of how the organization can be equipped to collaboratively handle constant changes and still improve. Leadership and organizational theory provide the support into looking at how an organization functions and how change happens within that organization. Educational organizations are always trying to catch up; hence, a system of improvement is necessary for teachers to have direct access to in-house experts to learn. (W. W. Burke, 2008) identifies an educational environment as an â€Å"open system†because it depends on a constant connection with the environment. The literature offers many distinctions about the â€Å"what†of change, such as planned or unplanned; however, there is a lack of information about the â€Å"why†and â€Å"how†of implementing change. Burke (2008) refers to the â€Å"what†part of change as content and the â€Å"how†as the process. As stated by Burke (2008), â€Å"†¦management consulting tends to focus on the content- on what needs to be changed. The process of how to bring about the change is either ignored or left to others, especially the client, to implement†(p. 165). Dufour and Eaker (1998), report that trying to change beliefs and habits will be complex and difficult to achieve. They state, â€Å"†¦if a change initiative is to be sustained, the elements of that change must be embedded with in the culture of the school†(p. 133). As stated by Fullan (2008), â€Å"Systems can learn on a continuous basis. The synergistic result of the previous five secrets in action is tantamount to a system that learns from itself†(p 14). Performance and outcomes will always change so the system will have to learn from itself in order to move forward with changes for continual success. In addition, Bandura (1997) supports the idea of a system learning from itself when he s ays that people can and do control their own motivation and thought process using observation and self-assessment to change their behaviors and attain goals. Peer observation is one way the system (the school) can learn from itself. The Professional Learning Community as a whole is the stakeholder. Administrators, teachers, staff, and students all hold a piece to the success of a community of learners that look to increase their knowledge capacity by learning from each other.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Legislation, Policies and Procedures Relating Essay
In this assignment I will be writing about how legislation, policies and procedures relating to health and safety in a social care setting. I will also be describing how the health and safety legislation, policies and procedures will promote safety of the individuals. Civil Contingencies Act 2004 How legislation, policies and procedures relating to health, safety and security influence a social care setting. The civil contingencies act relates to the response of public services in a major emergency. This act would come into use if the situation was so serious that public services become incapable to carry out their function without the power of the law behind them. This act gives guidance on:- Prevention Anticipation assessment Response Recovery Preparation It gives guidance on these things before, during and after a major threat to public welfare. The law demands for emergency services to work with one another, in order for this to happen a plan is in place already, which gives a framework that, could be used if an emergency arises, so that each service is aware of what their roles will be. The emergencies could include:- A terrorist attack Industrial accidents Extreme weather conditions Severe flooding Pollution incidents A pandemic such as swine flu. If not followed it could lead to Death Injuries Health problems Unsafe places for people to stay in How health and safety legislation, policies and procedures promote the safety of individuals in a social care setting. This legislation promotes health and safety and if followed through properly, it could prevent any hazards from taking place which could cause harm to individuals, as an action plan will be put into force, which all staff will be aware of. Due to the fact that there will be a plan ready, staff and residents will feel less scared as staff will be organised and will be aware of what they need to do. Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) 2002 How legislation, policies and procedures relating to health, safety and security influence a social care setting. COSHH requires preventing or reducing workers exposure to hazardous substances. This could be done by:- Finding out what the health hazards are Ensure procedures are followed Ensure health surveillance is carried out if employees are exposed to harmful substances in their work, to identify early signs of disease. Providing information, instructions and training for employees and others Providing control measures to reduce harm to health This legislation is in the policy to promote keeping employers and employees working in a safe environment. It also promotes the safety In hospitals for each individual as it ensures that all staff are supervised, and trained, as in the policy it states â€Å"Staff must be trained in order to ensure that they know how to keep themselves safe from any type of harm†. If the legislation is not followed properly than it can cause many problems such as Employees could be in danger and would not be aware of it No risk assessment or plan has taken place; therefore staff won’t be prepared for anything. Harmful substances can be exposed How health and safety legislation, policies and procedures promote the safety of individuals in a social care setting. This legislation promotes health and safety of both residents and staff as: Staff would be aware, if anything was to happen for example if someone got into contact with a hazardous substance they would know what drug to give to prevent any further complications. Hospitals would be a much safer environment to work and stay in as there wouldn’t be hazardous substances lying around. Staff would be able to handle hazardous substances as they will know the correct way to handle them by following the correct procedures. Policies and procedures linked in with the storage and dispensing of medicines should be followed by care professionals in order to prevent care users from being exposed to hazardous substances. Health and Safety at Work Act How legislation, policies and procedures relating to health, safety and security influence a Social care setting. The Health and Safety at Work Act imposes a responsibility on the employer to ensure safety at work for all their employees, it promotes and encourage high standards of health and safety in places of work. It protects employees and the public from work activities. Employers must comply with the act, they must:- Provide a safe working environment Make sure a risk assessment is carried out Ensure materials used are properly stored, transported, handled and used Employers have to take reasonable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees at work. Failure to do so could result in:- A criminal prosecution in the Magistrates Court or a Crown Court. Injuries to residents and care professionals Residents falling which could lead to broken bones Failure to ensure safe working practises could also lead to:- an employee suing for personal injury An employer should assess the level of risk as against the cost of eliminating that risk in deciding whether they have taken reasonable steps as far as they are able. Regulation under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974:- Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 Data Protection Act 1998 Food Safety Act 1990 Fire Precautions (workplace) Regulations 1997 How health and safety legislation, policies and procedures promote the safety of individuals in a social care setting. This legislation promotes health and safety of both patients and staff as it ensures they are working in a safe environment, minimising the Hazards in the area and making sure that materials are handled properly. There are health and safety policies that must be followed by staff and patients. Accidents should be reported, so that records are kept, and if accidents continue to occur, then a pattern will show, and things should be put into place to sort the issue out. Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) How legislation, policies and procedures relating to health, safety and security influence a Social care setting. This regulation regulates the statutory obligation to report deaths, diseases, injuries and dangerous occurrences that take place in any work place such as hospitals. The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR), place a legal duty on: †¢employers †¢self-employed people †¢people in control of premises Reporting information like this enables how, where and why the risk took place. If this legislation is not followed it can cause: Deaths Spread of diseases Harm to staff and others around them
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Housing and environmental issues Essay
Community development officer: CDOs should have: †¢ the ability to communicate with a wide range of people †¢ the ability to manage a budget †¢ sensitivity in dealing with multi-cultural issues, such as religion †¢ networking skills and a good memory for names and faces †¢ the ability to work on their own initiative †¢ Commitment to social inclusion issues. CDOs may work for a local authority; he must also involve public decision in multi cultural communities housed by the associations. Public involvement in regeneration is widely held to be a good thing. There are very few who write about or comment on regeneration, however it is defined who do not claim that public involvement is an important if not essential component of effective and successful regeneration. And to a great extent this has been the position in the UK and elsewhere for well over a century. However, there are very few studies that have set out to measure and to analyse the impact of public involvement. In other words, few researchers have attempted to see what difference it makes in practice to involve the public and whether any such differences are positive, in the sense of being both anticipated and desired. There are, nevertheless, many studies that shed some light on the processes of public involvement and draw conclusions about its impact in specific cases. The conclusion of many of these studies is that public involvement did not work very well in practice: it was embarked upon too late; insufficient resources were provided to make it effective; the local environment was not very conducive; and key decisions continued to be taken by people not living in the areas affected. The importance of involving the public in attempts to improve and regenerate neighbourhoods has been recognised for many years. However, the consensus around the value and potential benefits of greater public involvement has probably never been stronger, not least because government has put it at the centre of its plans to modernise both the delivery of public services and the very processes of government. A simple theory of public participation The political imperatives driving forward the agenda of public participation are well established, but three stand out at present. First is the belief that participation is intrinsically good and worthwhile, and hence more participation is desirable. Second is the growing acknowledgement that many major policy issues do not appear to be capable of obvious resolution – they can be termed ‘wicked problems’ for this reason (Rittel and Weber, 1973). An obvious consequence of this recognition is to take a more open approach to their resolution, in other words to allow a wider range of partners into the arena of policy debate and hence to share the burden of resolution. Finally, there is a clear belief that greater participation is needed to stem if not reverse the apparent decline in social capital charted by Putnam (2001) and his followers (see DeFilipis, 2001). A slightly broader set of factors can be derived from the wider academic literature where at least four distinct explanations of or justification for greater public participation in government generally are apparent. Instrumentalist conceptions point to the fact that individuals are the best judges of their own interests and hence by participating in policy debates and political discussions they are best able to articulate and advance these interests. The job of government then lies in the aggregation of individual interests and the balancing of conflicting positions into a plausible public interest. Communitarian conceptions take a different approach and advocate a more collective or social approach among the participating public, such that a negotiated view of the public interest is provided to rather than by government. Of course government may then have to perform further rounds of aggregation or even facilitate further rounds of negotiation or consensus building, but the public plays a more prominent part in the social construction of their own idea of public interest. In this conception there is some degree of aggregation but government is still left to aggregate, adjudicate or reconcile the possibly conflicting views of different communities or even coalitions of communities. Educative approaches suggest that public participation helps in developing a more sophisticated understanding of the complexities of policy issues; of the ethical dilemmas and the need to make trade-offs for example between price and quality or between the achievement of short and long term priorities. Finally, expressive conceptions of participation emphasise the opportunity that political participation gives individuals to express their political identity. Through active campaigning, displaying posters, attending rallies, donating money or time, one is able to demonstrate to the world at large that fact that one is a feminist, a socialist, a conservative, a nationalist and so on. It is of course important also to bear in mind that political participation can involve much more than voting in periodic elections, or even campaigning in them. Attending meetings about issues of local or international concern and taking part in participatory events such as juries, consensus conferences or citizens juries are also important as is participation in ongoing campaigns or lobbies, again from local (save our school) to global (save our planet) issues. There is something of a paradox here, in that there is plentiful data available on formal political involvement in voting, but relatively little available on the more prosaic but nevertheless significant everyday acts of involvement, such as going to meetings or simply engaging socially and maybe politically with ones neighbours (Hoggett and Bishop, 1986). In recent years some regular and extensive surveys have begun to provide valuable data of this type, but it is still the case that many sophisticated models of community engagement, civic renewal and social capital, have been constructed on flimsy empirical foundations (Prime, Zimmeck & Zurawa, 2002). But to develop a simple model of participation we need to consider in some more detail questions along each of the three main dimensions implied in the expression: public participation in planning or policy making. Robert D. Putnam That Western society has changed dramatically since the middle of the 20th century. There is less agreement about what caused the changes, and whether they have been beneficial. One barometer of change in Western society is the level of ‘social capital’ (a concept popularised by Robert D. Putnam), which results from high levels of investment by citizens in their community. Putnam’s investigation of American society, Bowling Alone (2000), considers the full range of changes affecting America (and all western societies): declining participation in institutional Christianity; less involvement in sport and recreational clubs, politics, charitable causes, and volunteer work; and a radical re-shaping of the family though divorce, a lower birth rate, and a disinclination to marry at all. These trends, Putnam argues, result in diminished social capital. Putnam’s analysis of America holds for the three Anglophone members of George W. Bush’s ‘coalition of the willing,’ America, Britain and Australia, and may explain why hawkish, right-wing governments are the people’s choice at the start of the 21st century, despite an unprecedented liberality and inclusiveness throughout the second half of the 20th century. Putnam notes a range of factors responsible for civic disengagement: suburban sprawl; the popularity of television and electronic media; changed work patterns, including the large-scale entry of women into the workforce; and generational changes resulting in the ‘replacement of an unusually civic generation by several generations [Baby Boomers, Generations X and Y] †¦ that are less embedded in community life’ (p. 275). In the United States, where voting is optional, these developments dilute democracy, and societies with low participation rates tend to become distrustful. Untrusting citizens call for tougher; ‘law and order’ focused governments, resulting in the election of increasingly right-wing political parties. Social capital: 1. Definition The concept and theory of social capital dates back to the origins of social science; however, recent scholarship has focused on social capital as a subject of social organization and a potential source of value that can be harnessed and converted for strategic and gainful purposes. According to Robert David Putnam, the central premise of social capital is that social networks have value. Social capital refers to the collective value of all â€Å"social networks†and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other. Social capital refers to the institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society’s social interactions. Increasing evidence shows that social cohesion is critical for societies to prosper economically and for development to be sustainable. Social capital is not just the sum of the institutions that underpin a society; it is the glue that holds them together However, social capital may not always be beneficial. Horizontal networks of individual citizens and groups that enhance community productivity and cohesion are said to be positive social capital assets whereas self-serving exclusive gangs and hierarchical patronage systems that operate at cross purposes to communitarian interests can be thought of as negative social capital burdens on society. 2. History of the research on the concept Robert David Putnam, if not the first one to write on the issue, is considered as the major author on the concept of social capital. He is a U. S. political scientist and professor at Harvard University, and is well-known for his writings on civic engagement and civil society along with social capital. However, his work is concentrated on the United States only. His most famous (and controversial) work, Bowling Alone, argues that the United States has undergone an unprecedented collapse in civic, social, associational, and political life (social capital) since the 1960s, with serious negative consequences. Though he measured this decline in data of many varieties, his most striking point was that virtually every traditional civic, social, and fraternal organization had undergone a massive decline in membership. From his research, a working group has formed at Harvard University and is called Saguaro Seminar. Most definitions around the social capital concept, notably those used by the World Bank, come from Putnam’s work and this research. 3. Measuring social capital The Saguaro Seminar, in the continuation of Putnam’s work, has been elaborating various means to measure the level of social capital in different contexts. It says on its website that measurement of social capital is important for the three following reasons: (a) Measurement helps make the concept of social capital more tangible for people who find social capital difficult or abstract; (b) It increases our investment in social capital: in a performance-driven era, social capital will be relegated to second-tier status in the allocation of resources, unless organizations can show that their community-building efforts are showing results; and (c) Measurement helps funders and community organizations build more social capital. Everything that involves any human interaction can be asserted to create social capital, but the real question is does it build a significant amount of social capital, and if so, how much? Is a specific part of an organization’s effort worth continuing or should it be scrapped and revamped? Do mentoring programs, playgrounds, or sponsoring block parties lead more typically to greater social capital creation? Measuring social capital: Towards a theoretically informed measurement framework for researching social capital in family and community life. by Wendy Stone. Research paper no. 24, Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2001, 38p, ISBN 0 642 39486 5 To inform the Institute’s Families, Social Capital and Citizenship project, this paper contributes to the development of clear links between theorised and empirical understandings of social capital by: establishing a theoretically informed measurement framework for empirical investigation of social capital; and reviewing existing measures of social capital in light of this framework. The paper concludes with a statement of guiding principles for the measurement and empirical investigation of social capital in family and community life. Social Capital as Credit Social capital, or aggregate reputation, is a form of credit. Some formal transactions can be supported by social capital. Informal transactions are rarely underpinned by financial credit or legal agreement and instead rely entirely social capital. We all have our internal calculators keeping tacit track of who is doing wrong and who is doing right, the health of the relationships and adjusting our actuarial tables according to experience. While undertaking government activities environment problems should also be considered. As it has became a global issue we need to take care of everything. Globalisation and cultural identity It is fair to say that the impact of globalization in the cultural sphere has, most generally, been viewed in a pessimistic light. Typically, it has been associated with the destruction of cultural identities, victims of the accelerating encroachment of a homogenized, westernized, consumer culture. This view, the constituency for which extends from (some) academics to anti-globalization activists (Shepard and Hayduk 2002), tends to interpret globalization as a seamless extension of – indeed, as a euphemism for – western cultural imperialism. In this discussion which follows we approach this claim with a good deal of skepticism. we will not seek to deny the obvious power of globalized capitalism to distribute and promote its cultural goods in every corner. Nor will we take up the argument – now very commonly made by critics of the cultural imperialism thesis (Lull 2000; Thompson 1995; Tomlinson 1991) that a deeper cultural impact cannot be easily inferred from the presence of such goods. What we will try to argue is something more specific: that cultural identity, properly understood, is much more the product of globalization than its victim. Identity as Treasure To begin, let us sketch the implicit (for it is usually implicit) reasoning behind the assumption that globalization destroys identities. Once upon a time, before the era of globalization, there existed local, autonomous, distinct and well-defined, robust and culturally sustaining connections between geographical place and cultural experience. These connections constituted one’s – and one’s community’s – ‘cultural identity’. This identity was something people simply ‘had’ as an undisturbed existential possession, an inheritance, a benefit of traditional long dwelling, of continuity with the past. Identity, then, like language, was not just a description of cultural belonging; it was a sort of collective treasure of local communities. But it was also discovered to be something fragile that needed protecting and preserving that could be lost. Into this world of manifold, discrete, but to various degrees vulnerable, cultural identities there suddenly burst (apparently around the middle of the 1980s) the corrosive power of globalization. Globalization, so the story goes, has swept like a flood tide through the world’s diverse cultures, destroying stable localities, displacing peoples, bringing a market-driven, ‘branded’ homogenization of cultural experience, thus obliterating the differences between locality-defined cultures which had constituted our identities. Though globalization has been judged as involving a general process of loss of cultural diversity, some of course did better, some worse out of this process. Identity as Cultural Power Let us begin with identity, a concept which surely lies at the heart of our contemporary cultural imagination. It is not, in fact, difficult in the prolific literature of analysis of the concept to find positions which contest the story of identity as the victim of globalization. Identity and Institutional Modernity This brings the central claim that globalization actually proliferates rather than destroys identities. In this respect we depart somewhat from Castells’s position: in setting identity as a sort of autonomous cultural dynamic, surging up from the grassroots as an oppositional force to globalization, Castells really fails to see the rather compelling inner logic between the globalization process and the institutionalized construction of identities. This, in other way, lies in the nature of the institutions of modernity that globalization distributes. To put the matter simply: globalization is really the globalization of modernity, and modernity is the harbinger of identity. It is a common assumption that identity-formation is a universal feature of human experience. Castells seems implicitly to take this view when he writes: ‘Identity is people’s source of meaning and experience’ (1997: 6). But whilst it is true that the construction of meaning via cultural practices is a human universal, it does not follow that this invariably takes the form of identity construction as we currently understand it in the global-modern West. This form of ethnocentric assumption has been recently criticized both by anthropologists and media and cultural critics. Globalization and Modernity To appreciate this, it is necessary to take a more complex view of the globalization process than is often adopted – certainly in the polemical discourses of the anti-globalization movement, where globalization is essentially understood as the globalization of capitalism, achieved in its cultural aspect via a complicate western dominated media system. This more complex, multidimensional conceptualization, which views globalization as operating simultaneously and interrelated in the economic, technological-communicational, political and cultural spheres of human life, is in fact relatively un-contentious – at least in principle – within academic discourses. But the cultural implication, rather less easily swallowed by some, is that globalization involves not the simple enforced distribution of a particular western (say, liberal, secular, possessive-individualist, capitalist-consumerist) lifestyle, but a more complicated dissemination of the entire range of institutional features of cultural modernity. References Putnam, R (2001) Bowling Alone: the collapse and revival of American community, Touchstone, London Tomlinson, J (1999) Globalisation and culture, Policy Press, Cambridge Social capital: http://www. jrc. es/home/report/english/articles/vol85/ICT4E856. htm http://www. envplan. com/ http://www. infed. org/thinkers/putnam. htm http://www. naturaledgeproject. net/NAON_ch11. aspx
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