Questions on Social Change - Assignment Example

Do you feel that global changes are making for stronger, happier, and more equal families and marriages"?  or are they undermining the traditional strength of marriages and families?  What are the losses and gains?  Global changes have affected marriage and family in negative and positive ways. The socio-economic empowerment of women that has come about as a result of a series of global changes including feminist movement, women’s education etc., has been questioning the male-dominated structure of conventional marriages and families and also been causing divorces on a larger scale (Mooney, Knox and Schacht, 154-155).

But all the same, these changes have given women a more equal position to men in families and marriage thereby democratizing families and marriages Mooney, Knox and Schacht, 154-155). The gain involved with these phenomena is that human rights of women are better protected, and the major loss is that children of divorced parents lack the care of one parent. Should all countries insist that all children be in school?  To what level?  What is the answer for families who insist they need their children to help with the work?

  Do a web search.   Are there any international groups which promote education and literacy in developing countries? All the countries should insist that all children be in school but the level varies according to the socio-economic conditions of the societies of those nations. For example, a developed country can show some flexibility in this regard by allowing children to choose home study or some other kind of informal education system because such a country might have wiped out social discrimination in the matter of education and also parental awareness about the importance of education will be higher.

But in a developing or underdeveloped country, stricter rules need to be there to enroll all children to school as either families might not have the financial resources to send the children to school or even they might view children as an income-earner for the family to overcome poverty. Such families must be subsidized by governments for their children’s schooling. There are many international groups which promote education and literacy in developing countries like, UNESCO, USAID etc. If war is so terrible, why do so many appear ready to fight over international and internal disagreements?

  What is the appeal of war to governments?  To individuals? Individuals motivated by many factors to enroll as a soldier to fight in wars. These include, patriotism, the perks given to soldiers, laws that compel to enroll, a flair for heroism, hatred or differences of opinion with the group who fights on the other side etc. As far as governments are concerned, the benefits of war include, apart from protecting the sovereignty of the nation against foreign attack, creation of more social cohesion inside a nation so that governments get more domestic support, “stimulat…(ion) of the economy”, finding of new resources by conquering geographically another nation, suppression of internal conflicts, creation of employment, and domestic industry’s vested interests (Mooney, Knox and Schacht, 561).

Discuss a human rights issue that you found interesting in the text or that you found doing your own research. I have come to know that 10% of the African American males are in jail in America and the incarceration rates of African Americans are far higher than that of Whites. I think this is primarily because the racial prejudice and the anger and frustration generated among African American males by social discrimination (Mooney, Knox and Schacht, 352). It has been observed that all the minorities including blacks in America are “disproportionately poor, receive inferior education and health care, and with continued discrimination in the work place, have difficulty improving their standard of living” (Mooney, Knox and Schacht, 352).

These are the factors that lead them to criminal acts on one hand and racial prejudice adds up to this by always looking at black people as criminals. Terrorism has been described as "the weapon of the weak."  In what ways is terrorism powerful?  In what ways is it weak or ineffectual? Terrorism surely is the ‘weapon of the weak’ because the fear it creates in the minds of the people will not lead to any solution to the real or imaginary issue as felt by the perpetrator. It is more possible that terrorism will lead to retaliation than correction.

But terrorism is powerful in the sense that it act as a shock treatment for making people aware of an issue, hitherto gone unnoticed or neglected. But terrorism very rarely target the real perpetrators behind the issue being addressed by it, and most often target innocent people. This is why it becomes always ineffectual. What large cities have you visited?  Did you find them appealing or intimidating, exciting or overwhelming?  What aspects of geography, architecture, transportation, and culture give these cities their particular character?

I have visited New York and Washington D.C. I have found them partially exciting and partially intimidating. I think the character of New York City is defined by its high population, busy streets, its cosmopolitan nature, its wonderful racial mix, and landmarks like Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. The night views of the city’s sky-scrappers are enthralling. The museums impart a cultural aura to New York. The Washington D.C. on the other hand, gives an impression of elegance and gravity with White House, the government offices and embassies, the Potomac river, the green expanses of parks, and its architectural wonders like the Washington National Cathedral, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the United States Capitol, and the Lincoln Memorial.

Washington D.C. thus gives the impression of a more sober city than New York but New York is more full of life that the former. Good health is one of the most basic of human needs.  Why has it been so difficult to provide the means for a healthy life to many of the world's people? It has been difficult to provide the means for a healthy life to many of the world's people because there is no equal distribution of resources, which would enable all to have access to good health care. Also, health care has become a money-making industry in private sector and hence the health care has turned into a costly affair.

This is why it is observed, “wealth, status, power and the profit motive influence illness and health care” (Mooney, Knox and Schacht, 34). The governments are often controlled by those who have the above-said attributes and hence they also fail to provide good health care to all. In developing and underdeveloped countries, the situation is worse because there the health care research, technologies and health awareness would be not so developed as in the developed world. Works Cited Mooney, Linda.A., Knox, David and Schacht, Caroline, “Understanding Social Problems”, New Delhi: Cengage Learning. Print.