Media Diary and the Concept of War on Youth - Essay Example

?a. The importance of associations in society allows one to have a positive reaction to a given situation. Associations that are available are able to build a sense of creation from another given area, specifically because of the ability to provide resources and links associated with a given organization. These links help to spread information, create motivation and to assist with needs that are in a given area. As the information of associations continues to link and build networks, it also creates sustenance in society. The networks which are built through associations can continue to influence and build a specific trend that is in society. The trends accumulate and spread to individuals who then show different groups the same trend. This leads to a sense of popularity with a given association and the relationship that it holds to a main organization, allowing the central area to continue to grow because of the associations that have been used for networking and development. b. The concept of networking and growing with trends and ideals is one which is specific to professional associations that are working for civic engagement in American democracy. Different associations will have a specific agenda related to political leaders, rights, bills and other changes needed in society. The associations are able to take a specific issue and advertise this to society. As this is done, individuals are able to decide for or against the leader, policy or other issue from the association. This allows the democratic decisions and trends to take shape and to push specific issues into the center of politics. More important, different types of associations are able to create different trends and associations. Many of the associations will have a hierarchical structure based on the importance of the political engagement needed. These will be pushed to create a specific trend in society and to alter the way in which many respond to the given issue. This creates a sense of civic orientation within society and structures democratic issues and the level of responses and trends which are seen among groups of individuals (Schofer, Gourinchas, 806). c. The organizational concerns which occur over time happen because of the patterns and changes within society. Authors note that the changes which become of concern are based on both the internal and external environment. In the internal environment, there is a concern because of the employee dynamics and the diversity which is a part of the work force. Different cultural influences, personal preferences and understanding of the organization changes the dynamics of the working area and what occurs within the organization. For most, this leads to the need to create an organizational environment which can match the needs of individuals and groups. More important, there is the need to create a sense of changes to ensure that there is organizational growth and which meets the challenges for competition and within the marketplace. The changes in organizational concerns are furthered by the societal trends which occur and which influence the patterns in buying habits. A business is primarily focused on providing products and services to customers. However, there are dynamics which change the success of this main goal. This includes alterations in societal demands, trends and behaviors, political alterations, belief systems by groups, advertisements and competition. There are also influences within the economy which changes the popularity of a corporation. The trends which are in society then influence the patterns of a businesses success and their ability to move forward with specific alterations that are able to build into the needs of societal trends (Coplien, 43). d. The impact which is given from professional organizations and civic engagement is based on the way in which each influences the other. Professional organizations develop with a specific purpose or need to influence society in a given manner. This is done by providing information and by showing the benefits or downfalls of a specific issue or product. Civic engagement is then able to respond to the specific information which is given either in a positive or negative manner. This creates a change within the organization with a relationship that comes from the response of society. As the civic engagement is able to focus on rejection or acceptance of what will occur with the given organization, professionals are able to alter what is available. The result is the ability for trends to influence an organization and for the organization to influence what society believes or sees about a specific piece of information. 2. At this point, I am unsure about my career choice and professional goals. There is a focus that I have on gaining information, understanding what is available and analyzing what the current trends are in society. I believe that I also have the need to understand how I can fit into different activities or areas in society while ensuring that I move into an area that fits my personality, capabilities and overall desires as a professional in society. By remaining open at this point for a career choice, there will be more possibilities in the future to excel and to move into an area that fits with where I am at within a given point in time. The one focus which I do have with my career choice is based on being in an organization that is influential and which is able to impact society in a positive manner. My belief is that any career that I engage myself in should give something back to the community and to help to influence things in a way that changes and influences things. I believe that this can come from an organization or business or can come from looking at grassroots movements that are needed at the moment. When looking at different businesses, I make sure that I understand the social responsibility which they hold and create an analysis of what they are giving back to the community. For instance, if there is an activist movement that is focused on enhancement of a given sector of society, then it is worthwhile because it can assist society by changing some of the negative elements in a given community. The focus on being a service to the community through my career is followed by other professional goals which I know won’t apply to my needs. I believe that one who is able to give back successfully can’t remain in a position of only being a worker and maintaining daily operations. For instance, if I worked as a secretary in a non - profit, I would only be responding to needs in society, instead of impacting how individuals and society thinks. My main focus in being of service is based on my capabilities of building into a leadership role and motivating and influencing others that are around me. I believe that doing this will help me to go further into my personal capabilities while helping me to believe that I am making a difference within a given organization or community. My possibilities are then based on going into a leadership position to influence change. 3. A group which is associated with my ideas about career choice would be The Free Child Project. This is a group which provides information about activist groups for youth and children as well as what is needed for the future. The project is based on finding ways to advocate, inform and celebrate social change with youth, specifically because of the voice which is often not heard among children and youth. The concept of this group has grown into engagement, promotion and training of children and youth about the current events which are occurring. This is connected to informing the community about the needs of children and youth by understanding the role of politics and participation which is needed in the community (Freechild Project, 1). The association that is created includes programs based on connecting to other youth organizations and showing the developments which are occurring around the world for youth activism. This is combined with training youth and children so there is an understanding of how they can become active and work toward progressive changes in society. The ideal is to provide tools and resources so youth can become active within their own community and show specific areas of engagement which are most important to those that are in the given area. Student Voices in Schools, Common Action, job coaching, and community initiatives such as recycling programs are some of the programs that are available. In the future, I may join this group. I noticed that the need to have connections to the community and youth is important and also believe that this is one of the best ways to make a difference and be of service to a community. However, I would first need to offer some expertise or become linked to other youth programs in the community which I decide to be a part of. There would also have to be a deeper focus of my objectives and desires for making a difference, rather than focusing on innovation. Instead, there would need to be a better understanding of the political and social issues which need to be changed at a given time that youth could work toward in making a difference. With this in mind, I believe that I could join and make a difference in a given community, specifically because this program works on creating a future. 4. The first article which shows how the Free Child Project has benefited the community is through a survey of international youth involvement. The survey explores the different areas internationally where youth have been involved in, including community based organizations, fundraising, government and advocacy groups. The article shows that youth are campaigning, lobbying and becoming directly linked to the government to make changes for the future. There is also a link which shows that the mission of each organizations is based on youth who desire to make a change through community involvement first, which is directly impacting the regional and national associations with politics and various movements in society (Fletcher, 1). The second article points to the concept of War on Youth. This is based on the current community conditions of youth, including the approaches to the classroom, streets and home, all which incorporate violence among children and youth. The approach which is mentioned is based on taking political activism first to change policies about the violence and discrimination that is among children in society. This is followed by creating a change with social justice and democracy first, specifically which can begin to influence the alterations that need to be made in society at large (War on Youth, 1). The third article is based on the initiative of Firestarter. This is a youth empowerment program that is working toward uniting the youth into activism and into changing the community issues and policies that are currently in society. The objectives of this program is based on building awareness among youth, solving problems within communities, spreading idealism and building community activism among the youth. The guide is followed by taking a desire in creating change through political and community initiatives by changing the way in which communities function according to the idealism of youth (Fletcher, 1). Works Cited Coplien, James. “Organizational Patterns Beyond Technology to People.” Enterprise Information Systems (1), 2006. Fletcher, Adam. “Youth Involvement.” The Free Child Project, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.freechild.org/SIYI/index.htm. Fletcher, Adam. “Firestarter Participant Handbook.” The Freechild Project Retrieved from: http://www.freechild.org/Firestarter/contents/FS6000.htm. Freechild Project. About Us. 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.freechild.org/aboutus.htm. Schofer, Evan, Marion Fourcade Gourinchas. “The Structural Contexts of Civic Engagement: Voluntary Association Membership in Comparative Perspective.” American Sociological Review 66 (6), 2001. War on Youth. “War on Youth.” Free Child Project. Retrieved from: http://www.freechild.org/waronyoungpeople.htm. Read More