Jumat, 17 Agustus 2012

CULTURAL LAG



CULTURAL LAG


The role played by material inventions, that is, by technology, in social change probably received most emphasis in the work of William F. Ogburn. It was Ogburn, also, who was chiefly responsible for the idea that the rate of invention within society is a function of the size of the existing culture base. He saw the rate of material invention as increasing with the passage of time.Ogburn believed that material and non-material cultures change in different ways. Change in material culture is believed to have a marked directional or progressive character. This is because there are agreed-upon standards of efficiency that are used to evaluate material inventions. To use air-planes, as an example, we keep working to develop planes that will fly, higher and faster, and carry more payloads on a lower unit cost. Because airplanes can be measured against these standards, inventions in this area appear rapidly and predictably. In the area of non-material culture, on the other hand there often are no such generally accepted standards. Whether one prefers a Hussain, a Picasso, or a Gainsborough, for example, is a matter of taste, and styles of painting fluctuate unevenly. Similarly, in institutions such as government and the economic system there are competing forms of styles, Governments may be dictatorships, oligarchies, republics or democracies.


Economic system includes communist, socialist, feudal, and capitalist ones. As far as can be told, there is no regular progression from one form of government or economic system to another. The obvious directional character of change in material culture is lacking in many areas of non-material culture. In addition to the difference in the directional character of change, Ogburn and others believe that material culture tends to change faster than non-material culture. Certainly one of the imperative aspects of modern American life is the tremendous development of technology. Within this century, life has been transformed by invention of the radio, TV, automobiles, airplanes, rockets, transistors, and computers and so on. While this has been happening in material culture, change in government, economic system, family life, education, and religion seems to have been much slower. This difference in rates of cultural change led Ogburn to formulate the concept of culture lag. Material inventions, he believed bring changes that require adjustments in various areas of non-material culture.Invention of the automobile, for instance, freed young people from direct parental observation, made it possible for them to work at distances from their homes, and, among other things, facilitated crime by making escape easier. Half a century earlier, families still were structured as they were in the era of the family farm when young people were under continuous observation and worked right on the homestead.


Culture lag is defined as the time between the appearance of a new material invention and the making of appropriate adjustments in corresponding area of non-material culture. This time is often long. It was over fifty years, for example, after the typewriter was invented before it was used systematically in offices. Even today, we may have a family system better adapted to a farm economy than to an urban industrial one, and nuclear weapons exist in a diplomatic atmosphere attuned to the nineteenth century. As the discussion implies, the concept of culture lag is associated with the definition of social problems. Scholars envision some balance or adjustment existing between material and non-material cultures. That balance is upset by the appearance of raw material objects. The resulting imbalance is defined as a social problem until non-material culture changes in adjustment to the new technology.





SOCIALIZATION


SOCIALIZATION

Socialization is predominately an unconscious process by which a newborn child learns the values, beliefs, rules and regulations of society or internalizes the culture in which it is born. Socialization, in fact, includes learning of three important processes: (1) cognitive; (2) affective, and (3) evaluative. In other words, socialization includes the knowledge of how things are caused and the establishment of emotional links with the rest of the members of the society. Socialization, therefore, equips an individual in such a way that he can perform his duties in his society. Who are the agents of socialization? The agents of socialization vary from society to society. However, in most of the cases, it is the family which is a major socializing agent, that is, the nearest kinsmen are the first and the most important agents of socialization. The other groups which are socializing units in a society vary according to the complexity. Thus, in modern complex society, the important socializing agents are educational institutions, while in primitive societies, clans and lineages play a more important role. Socialization is a slow process.


There is no fixed time regarding the beginning and the end of this process. However, some sociologists formulated different stages of socialization. These are (1) oral stage, (2) anal stage (3) oedipal stage, and (4) adolescence. In all these stages, especially in the first three, the main socializing agent is the family. The first stage is that of a new-born child when he is not involved in the family as a whole but only with his mother. He does not recognize anyone except his mother. The time at which the second stage begins is generally after first year and ends when the infant is around three. At this stage, the child separates the role of his mother and his own. Also during this time force is used on the child, that is, he is made to learn a few basic things. The third stage extends from about fourth year to 12th to 13th year, that is, till puberty. During this time, the child becomes a member of the family as a whole and identifies himself with the social role ascribed to him. The fourth stage begins at puberty when a child wants freedom from parental control. He has to choose a job and a partner for himself. He also learns about incest taboo.


NORMS


SOCIAL NORMS
Social norms grow out of social value and both serve to differentiate human social behavior from that of other species. The significance of learning in behavior varies from species to species and is closely linked to processes of communication. Only human beings are capable of elaborate symbolic communication and of structuring their behavior in terms of abstract preferences that we have called values. Norms are the means through which values are expressed in behavior.


Norms generally are the rules and regulations that groups live by. Or perhaps because the words, rules and regulations, call to mind some kind of formal listing, we might refer to norms as the standards of behavior of a group. For while some of the appropriate standards of behavior in most societies are written down, many of them are not that formal. Many are learned, informally, in interaction with other people and are passed "that way from generation to generation.

The term "norms" covers an exceedingly wide range of behaviour. So that the whole range of that behaviour may be included. Sociologists have offered the following definition. Social norms are rules developed by a group of people that specify how people must, should, may, should not, and must not behave in various situations.

Some norms are defined by individual and societies as crucial to the society. For example, all members of the group are required to wear clothing and to bury their dead. Such "musts" are often labeled "mores", a term coined by the American sociologist William Graham Sumner.


Many social norms are concerned with "should "; that is, there is some pressure on the individual to conform but there is some leeway permitted also. The 'should behaviors' are what Sumner called "folk-ways"; that is, conventional ways of doing things that are not defined as crucial to the survival of either the individual or the society. The 'should behaviors' in our own society include the prescriptions that people's clothes should be clean, and that death should be recognized with public funerals. A complete list of the should behaviors in a complex society would be virtually without end.


The word "May" in the definition of norms indicates that, in most groups, there is a wide range of behaviors in which the individual is given considerable choice. To continue the illustration, in Western countries girls may select to wear dresses or halters and jeans. Diets may be done through trainers at the gym or through the benefit of Medifast coupons, some people may even prefer diets advertised on tv. Funerals may be held with or without flowers, with the casket open or closed, with or without religious participation, and so on. We have confined our examples to just three areas, but students should be able to construct their own examples from all areas of life.


The remainder of the definition, including the 'should-not' and the 'must-not' behaviours, probably does not require lengthy illustration because such examples are implicit in what has already been said. One should not belch in public, dump garbage in the street, run stop signs, or tell lies. One must not kill another person or have sexual intercourse with one's sister or brother.


Social norms cover almost every conceivable situation, and they vary from standards where almost complete conformity is demanded to those where there is great freedom of choice. Norms also vary in the kinds of sanctions that are attached to violation of the norms. Since norms derive from values, and since complex societies have multiple and conflicting value systems, it follows that norms frequently are in conflict also.


Taking the illustration of American sex norms, two proscriptive norms prohibit premarital intercourse and extramarital intercourse. But many boys also have been taught that sex is good and that they should seek to "score" with girls whenever possible. Somewhat similarly, girls have been taught that promiscuous intercourse before marriage is bad; but they have also been taught that sex is acceptable within true love relationships. Members of both sexes, then, find themselves faced with conflicting demands for participation in sex and for abstinence from it. They also discover that there are sanctions associated with either course of action.


Normative conflict is also deeply involved in social change. As statistical norms come to differ too blatantly from existing prescriptive norms, new prescriptive norms give sanction to formerly prohibited behaviour and even extend it. Recent changes in the sex norms of teenage and young adult groups provide examples. The change is more apparent in communal living groups where sometimes there is an explicit ideology of sexual freedom and the assumption that sexual activities will be shared with all members of the group. In less dramatic fashion, the change is evident among couples who simply begin to live together without the formality of a marriage ceremony.
http://www.sociologyguide.com/basic-concepts/Social-Norms.php

Kamis, 16 Agustus 2012

GENDER EQUALITY AND SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT


REACTION PAPER
GLOBAL EDUCATION FOR GENDER EQUALITY AND SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT : MAKING THE CONNECTIONS
By : Aurora Javate de Dios

1.    SUMMARY
            The paper examines and explores why gender equality must be seen as a final goal in and of itself and as a prerequisite for attaining sustainable human development goals and building global citizenship. Discriminatory practices in all areas including education, as well as traditional and harmful gender norms like violence against women limit, inhibit and eventually impede the full development and empowerment of women which is critical to the realization of these two goals.
            The escalation of economic globalization has driven a demand for instrumental education which can be clearly tied to the goals of production, productivity and employment. As a consequence, programs for the development of critical thinking, humanities and the social sciences that foster a deeper understanding of global issues social justice, sustainable development and human rights have been diminished.
            Given this situation the question for educators then is, how do we meaningfully utilize the enormous impact of globalization to develop and foster not only education to prepare students for jobs and employment but education that develops a deep understanding and solidarity for transcendent core values like justice, peace, equality and sustainable development.
            Another purpose of internationalizing education is to expand and broaden student’s understanding and appreciation of socio-economic political realities of other countries and cultures as they relate to their own national and local realities in the hopes that such exposure can bring about tolerance of difference and solidarity for the common good. Global learning is also defined as education “that puts learning in a global context that fosters critical and creative learning; self-awareness and open mindedness towards difference; understanding of global issues and power relationships and optimism and action for a better world”.
            Gender equality in educational access, participation and outcome is central to the promotion of democracy. A vibrant civic life in which citizens are engage in all aspects of society is critical to the flourishing of democratic institutions, and an important precondition for promoting social justice and human right. As Educational For All Global Monitoring Report 2011 : A Gender Review assert, education is a human right of everyone, including girls and women. Much more needs to be done in terms of educational reforms such as redefining quality of education to include : (1) transformative, gender-responsive educational processes and outcomes, (2) ensuring safety and protection of girls particularly in conflict areas, (3) higher investment in early childhood care and education is crucial for promoting sustained girl’s education, and (4) engendering school thru textbook revisions and teacher training, and providing space and support systems to encourage girl and young women to take on non-traditional subjects such as math and science.
            The Human Development Report of 1995 asserted that there are four elements in the concept of human development which includes productivity, equity, sustainable, and empowerment. The human development paradigm must be engendered and based on three principle : (1) equality of rights between women and men as a fundamental principle, (2) recognition that women are agent s and beneficiaries of change, and (3) the engendered development model, though aiming to widen choices for both women and men, should not predetermine how different cultures and different societies exercise these choices. For illustration, the specific example of Miriam College in the Philippines, is used to discuss both the possibilities, and challenges of gendered global learning strategies.

 II. REACTION PAPER
     I agree that the women have to struggle for gender equality by demanding rights and access to education which is a key step in their political participation and empowerment. Eventhough the role of women as equal as a man, the woman should responsible to her duty as wives, woman career, and mother. The reason above is the basic for developing the next generation in the future.
            In conclusion that global education must embrace the principle of social inclusion, gender quality, peace, human right, environment and diversity as ways to develop global citizenship. Global citizenship principles, values and behavior can be proactively promoted now. In promoting education to integrated a gender perspective that requires national curricula to :
a.       Unpack the historical and sociological meaning of national curricular norms;
b.      Recognize (if not deconstruct) the various male and female forms of knowledge and their representations in the curricula;
c.       Understand the different types of gendered performance within different school subject;
d.      Be sensitive to the changing gender relations brought about by globalization and its significance in terms of male and female relationship to knowledge.
            Quality and equality in education are inextricably linked (UNESCO 2004). Poor or marginalized children, who are more likely to have illiterate parents and less access to reading materials in the home, are more dependent on their teachers for their learning than are better-off children. As a result, poor instruction perpetuates inequities because it is more often the most marginalized children who become school leavers, either through failure or voluntary termination. Research has shown that girls seem to be more sensitive to school quality than boys and that the quality of teachers has a greater impact on the demand for girls’ education than for boys’ (Kane 2004).
There are four main dimensions of gender equality outlined in the framework : (a) equality of access, means that girls and boys are  offered equitable opportunities to gain admission to formal, non formal, or alternative approaches to basic education. Actual attendance, rather than enrollment, is a better indicator of whether access has been achieved (b) equality in the learning process, means that girls and boys receive equitable treatment and attention and have equal opportunities to learn. This means that girls and boys are exposed to the same curricula, although the coursework may be taught differently to accommodate the different learning styles of girls and boys. Equality in the learning process also means that all learners should be exposed to teaching methods and materials that are free of stereotypes and gender bias. In addition, it means that boys and girls should have the freedom to learn, explore, and develop skills in all academic and extracurricular offerings. (c) equality of educational outcomes means that girls and boys enjoy equal opportunities to achieve and outcomes are based on their individual talents and efforts. To ensure fair chances for achievement, the length of school careers, academic qualifications, and diplomas should not differ based on a person’s sex, and (d) equality of external results, occurs when the status of men and women, their access to goods and resources, and their ability to contribute to, participate in, and benefit from economic, social, cultural, and political activities are equal. This implies that career opportunities, the time needed to secure employment after leaving full-time education, and the earnings of men and women with similar qualifications and experience are equal. (Subrahmanian n.d.).

References :
USAID, Education From A Gender Equality Perspective, This report was developed for USAID’s Office of Women in Development by the EQUATE Project, Management Systems International (Prime Contractor).

BASED ON RANDALL COLLINS PARADIGM..


Minority Access to Higher Education and its Social Outcomes

Noga Admon
New York University

The mobilization of demands by minority groups for mobility opportunities through schooling can only contribute an extension of the prevailing pattern.” (Collins, 1971 p. 1016). Interestingly, internal stratification within the system casts doubts on the successes of community colleges and open admissions in narrowing social gaps. Neither was able to offer minorities with real equal opportunity in higher education, without explicitly or implicitly diverting them to lower-prestige, lower-strata credentials.
Today, high schools promise open access to college and generate high student aspirations regardless of academic performance, and as a result students do not see the relevance of high school performance to future success (since in a seemingly open admissions system they see little reward for high school success and little penalty for lack of high school success; Rosenbaum, 1998). They do not realize that in reality, high school grades hold the strongest effect on college success (Lavin and Hyllegard, 1996; Adelman, 1999) and that open admissions exist almost exclusively in community colleges and not in 4-year schools. Minority students, who perform less well than Whites in high school (Digest of Educational Statistics 2001, table 139), are being fed false hopes, and end up at a disadvantage as they graduate and suddenly realize that their high school records are not sufficient for the kind of higher education they had hoped for. In addition, inadequate student-to-counselor ratio, which can be seen in many inner-city schools, leaves many students with deficient information. First-generation college-goers in particular lack information about college, and are especially affected by high school counseling; ironically, an inadequate student-to-counselor ratio is more common in schools serving first-generation college-going students (McDonough, 1997). This affects
minorities in particular, as they have large rates of potential first-generation collegegoers.
During the 20th Century, as minority groups gained access to different levels of
education, the value of these levels has decreased. As education expands among lower status groups, it also expands among high-status groups, and so the gap remains. As a result, the returns for higher education were depressed. Higher education cost was increasing as a response to the increased demand, but salaries stood still, especially for those college graduates who were filling out previous “high school” jobs (20% of degree holders in 1990 were either unemployed or employed in “high school” jobs), and the rapid technological changes of our era make it also difficult for older graduates to find jobs (Tyler, Murnane and Levy, 1995).
Professions who let minorities in are still afraid they will suffer a prestige loss, similar to the one experienced by professions as they went through the process of feminization during the last century. We should stop looking at higher degrees as the simple solution to social inequality, since their success in reducing social gaps is contingent upon the market’s recognition of these degrees as valuable market currencies. Pushing the entire system upwards is not synonymous with reducing the social gaps between Whites and minorities. We should not be content with minority access to community colleges. Our goal should be equal opportunity, not equal participation.

RESPONSE
Based on the description in the above journal, can be said that the opinion from Noga Admon is similar with the opinion of Randall Collins about Some Comparative Principles of Educational Stratification. Three major points that Noga Admon says are (1) internal stratification within the system casts doubts on the successes of community colleges and open admissions in narrowing social gaps, (2) high schools promise open access to college and generate high student aspirations regardless of academic performance, and as a result students do not see the relevance of high school performance to future success, they do not realize that in reality, high school grades hold the strongest effect on college success. (3) As education expands among lower status groups, it also expands among high-status groups, and so the gap remains. As a result, the returns for higher education were depressed. Higher education cost was increasing as a response to the increased demand, but salaries stood still, especially for those college graduates who were filling out previous “high school” jobs, and the rapid technological changes of our era make it also difficult for older graduates to find jobs.
Randall Collins said that a great deal of research in the sociology of education has taken an existing structure and its content for granted and concentrated on describing the social processes that occur within it. And at the same time education may be explain as a weapon in the struggles for domination that make up the phenomenon of stratification, whether considered from the viewpoint of Marxist theory, Weberian Theory, or some mixture of the two.
Economic classes or organizational politicians are stronger if they also possess the unity that comes from common cultural resources. Three types of resources may be differentially distributed : strong ethnic, national, religious, or other cultural divisions can shape struggles for economic or political domination into pattern very different from those emerging along class lines. The most common modern interpretation of the role of education is that it meets the demand for technical skills. Most contemporary evidence, however, contradicts this interpretation.
The content of most modern education is not very practical : education attainment and grades are not much related at work performance, and most technical skill are learned on the job. Although work skill are more complex in some modern jobs than in most preindustrial job, in many modern jobs they are not. Similar pattern appear in an overview of society throughout history. And in the other side School have sometimes been established in cases where the fundamental components of practical skill could be learned by repetitious drill, such as in the acquisition of literacy and arithmethics skill. Usually such schooling has been unritualized and aimed at developing proficiency in the most efficient manner. This has been particularly true where dominant social classes have had a ritualized form of education and practical work has been relegated to unprivileged middle or lower class. Powerful groups have incorporated practical education into a ritualized system. In the United Stated, for example, a formal structure surrounds elementary education, which alone among all levels of modern education bears a clear relationship to economic productivity.


References :
Admon Noga, Minority Access to Higher Education and its Social Outcomes, New York University

Collins, Randal. Some Comparative Principles of Educational Stratification, University of California, Riverside