Social Issues - Article Example

Sосiаl Issues (Insert Name of the Student) (Insert Name of the Student) (Insert Name of the Instructor) (Insert Name of the Course) Sосiаl Issues Introduction The term community is defined differently by various scholars. Some researchers view community as a process and not a place that involves cultural behaviour and social structure. Individuals thereby seek to have an interaction between these two as they mingle with each other. Others scholars define the term community as common things either tangible such as common pastureland for tribal communities or intangible things such as common beliefs, values and norms shared in common among a people. Berman Sheldon defined community as a group of people with a common purpose, share and support each other in decision making and growth, and respect the individual differences (Wood & Judikis, 2002). Mason (2000) argues that community can be defined either from an ordinary or a morality point of view. In the ordinary point of view, community is a group of people whose members share common values, interests, practices and beliefs and accept each other as members. From the moral point of view, community is a group of people who are concerned about each other and therefore cannot exploit each other. Putting all these definitions into perspective, the term community can thus be referred to as a group of people who share common values, beliefs, interests, and purpose. They acknowledge each other’s differences and mutually uphold the well-being of the whole group. As much as a community shares the same values there still emerges gaps between people living in the same community. It is affected by the forces of globalisation which threaten to introduce divergent views from their own. It has also environmental concerns affecting their livelihoods and social equitability issues. This paper will thus explore the impact of globalisation, the environmental concerns and social equity concerns on the community. It will also discuss how community leadership is responding to these concerns. Effect of globalisation on the community Globalisation is opening up the world and consequently threatening the fabrics of the community that many are familiar with. Globalisation brings forth foreign ideas, beliefs and practices which disturb the norms of a particular society. Some people have welcomed the effects of globalisation while others resent it. Gray (2002) asserts that environmental, economic and social processes act on a global level as opposed to a localised level and as such are bound to transform the relationships of humans in a community. Cumming asserts that effects of globalisation on a community set-off slowly rather than rapid and are characterised by change in purchasing preferences, fashion and trends, and trade shifts. Unlike in the past when socio-economic changes affected local communities, globalisation has heightened the vulnerability of communities almost in a similar way as witnessed by the recent global economic crises of 2008 (Wilson, 2012). According to Wilson (2012) there are two opposing theories of the effects of globalisation on the community. One theory views the positive effects of globalisation while the other recognises the negative effects of globalisation. First, globalisation reduces a community’s isolation in terms of environmental, social and economic perspective. He argues that communities that would otherwise suffer from the effects of local crisis such as drought can now benefit from food aid from the wider global community due to globalisation. Furthermore, it empowers marginalised groups. Children are exposed to better forms of education. They can not only get education from their community but from abroad as well. Women on the other hand are able to get socio-economic might and can take control of their lives. As was witnessed by the Arab spring, globalisation also brings about democracy and empowers the political decision making of otherwise closed down communities. Secondly, globalisation leads to a loss in community integration (Gray, 2002). There is loss of trust at the community level as people start to look for social solutions in the global arena. Rather than empower communities economically, globalisation opens up local communities to threats of international trade. Foreign companies set up in local communities and siphon off their profits back home than help locals. According to Noel (2008) globalisation has brought neo-liberalism. The state has lessened its influence on the market and on socio-economic utilities such as hospitals which otherwise support and strengthen community resilience to global effects. Neo-liberalism has brought forth a wrong belief that markets will be able to provide solutions at a community level but instead they are more focused on profits than social capital. Response to globalisation concerns Hambleton (2011) asserts that globalisation has enabled change from local government to local governance. This means that there is a shift from formal institutions making decisions for the people to involving the people in decision making especially on policies affecting them. Globalisation has in many instances impacted negatively on the environment as people become exposed to climate changes aggravated by technological inventions. In Freiburg Germany however, there community led a successful campaign against nuclear power use in the city. The campaign mobilised the local farmers, businessmen, activists and students. The residents are now moving to greener measures of environmental conservation. They are adapting bike riding as opposed to driving cars and more solar powered houses. The city is now experiencing an inflow of visitors who are curious to see the model being used (Hambleton 2011). In Cagli Italy students are being trained on how to handle globalisation. The students are sent to Cagli, which is a small village where there is little English spoken. They are encouraged to interact with the community and find credible news stories that can relate on a global scale. The students are first introduced to the culture of the place and the Italian language and then they are sent on field work. They are supposed to handle the problem solving alone as they interact with the community with little help from the instructors. This increases their confidence, integrity and sociability of the leaders. The campaign has been successful in developing community leaders who are socially open and more adaptive to other cultures since globalisation is here to stay. Variations of the model have been replicated in other countries to as a response to globalisation (Caputo & Crandall, 2012). Environmental concerns in community groups The environmental concerns in community groups can be best addressed by looking at various specific community groups. The increase in population growth in urban areas around the world as a result of industrialised cities is now pushing people to peri-urban areas. This is creating pressure on the natural environment as people exploit it in an effort to create more space. In Chennai India, the local community is bearing the brunt of rapid urban growth that has been marked by an increased demand on land for development. The land however lacks official designated solid waste disposal sites. The local government in Chennai has therefore resulted to disposing-off solid wastes in places such as marshlands. Locals also deposit such wastes in the lake or by the road side. This is putting irreversible immense pressure on the natural environment (Dahiya 2003). Some communities north of Chennai still depend on natural resources and depositing of solid wastes in the water catchment areas is a threat to their health. Concern is not only on the water bodies but also on depositing of wastes in vast idle land within the community for failure of the local government to have efficient waste management procedures. The locals are resulting to burning the wastes in open air to reduce the waste pile and in effect are polluting the environment. In Tanzania, the government has undertaken to conserve the environment around Uluguru Mountains through land acquisitions from the locals. The local indigenous community is however not pleased by the initiative. Some people refused to the new allocated land and remained while others moved to nearby lands. This has increased pressure on the natural eco-system especially through deforestation. The community cuts down trees for firewood, poles for building houses and clearance of forest land to create agricultural land. Since tenants occupying the land through leases are not allowed to grow permanent crops, they have resulted to planting crops that mature fast though by clearing forests. There is also concern that the government is permitting other people to cut commercial timber on the same forests that they are evicting locals (Kusiluka, Kongela, Kusiluka, Karimuribo, Kusiluka, 2011). Response to environmental concerns The environmental degradation witnessed in Chennai India has not only put pressure on the environment but locals are now putting even more pressure on the leaders that they elected to find solutions to the piling wastes. This has prompted the leaders to find locally based solution in conjunction with the community. The residents have formed local civil groups that provide waste collection services. The community has bought tri-cycles which are fitted with large waste bins and identified local men who cycle round the neighbourhood door to door collecting household wastes on a daily basis. The households in return contribute a fee to these civil groups which goes towards maintenance of the tri-cycles and wages for the riders. The civil groups have moved a step further to educate the households on the waste composition. Wastes are hereby separated into recyclable and non-recyclable materials at the source. The recyclable materials are then taken to established composite sites built by the civil groups such as the Shri Shankara Nagar (Dahiya, 2003). The composited wastes are then used as manure in agriculture. Though the civil groups have been successful in collecting the wastes and composting, the municipal led local council has failed to adapt and replicate the efforts. In Tanzania, the local community is engaging in environmental conservational efforts through the guidance of non-governmental organisations such as care International (Kusiluka et al., 2011). For example, residents of Mgambazi a village in the area had embarked on a tree nursery planting initiative. To stop soil erosion, the residents are planting banana trees. There is also a community based driven initiative to desist from environmental degradation in an effort to please the government so that they are not evicted from the land. In Nepal, the government has given forestry conservation rights to the local community. The government still holds the right of ownership of the forests to minimise cases of individual transfers but community groups have the right to use, access and manage them. The community leaders are therefore tasked with the responsibility of mobilising local resources such as human capital for the conservation efforts. The community have found non-timber revenue generating activities such as herbal medicines, cloth fibres and resin. The revenue is then used for community development. According to a study on Nepal community forest, the loss in forest cover was about 1.06% annually which is quite a small percentage even in global standards. 82% of the households surveyed responded that the forest quality conditions have improved in terms of regeneration and protection (Bahadur, 2011). Social equity issues Communities around the world are starting to get liberal. There is more demand of equal rights among men and women. Women are becoming empowered as more get enrolled into schools, the youth are demanding for more representation in public decision making and communities that were historically locked out from national governance are now fighting to be heard. Brenman and Sanchez (2012) describe social justice as the just management and distribution of public policies and the inclusion of all in public policy formation. According to Gilchrist and Taylor (2011) social equity can involves promotion of cooperation, equality, and empowerment and can only be achieved through community development. In India, there is a wide gender gap in the community literacy levels. The Indian government estimates that there were only 54.2 % of women who were literate in 2001 compared to 75.8% of men (Patel & Srivastava 2006). This kind of literacy gap presents a problem in bridging the gender gap as education is believed to be a key component of empowering women. In Scotland, a social issue of concern is equitable employment opportunity distribution for those with learning disabilities. Traditionally the people who have learning impairments have been marginalised when it comes to job offers as they take a lot of time to be taught a particular task. They need patience to build trust and develop their self-esteem which many employers are not willing to invest in (McGarrol & Hall, 2012). Response to social equity issues In India, there has been literacy campaigns carried out by local voluntary groups such as the Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS) to empower women. The BGVS started by large-scale mobilising of community groups through environmental campaigns so as to gain support from the local level. The objective was to get as many volunteers as possible for learning and teaching. They used literal fairs and campaigns, slogans, cultural films and caravans, face to face contacts, use of literal symbols used culturally in festivals and much more. Cultural poetry was used to pass on literacy information to the community which endeared to the women interests and educated youths volunteered their services for teaching and organising the campaigns. In some districts such as Nellore, the campaigns were successful by not just passing on literacy skills but also empowered the learners and provoked their participation in development issues. The women in this district formed small local parliaments where they would discuss issues affecting their livelihoods. A common problem was the selling of country liquor in the villages. The women started a campaign against this trade that became so popular through the support of other civil groups and political parties. This campaign prompted the government to ban sale of the liquor in 1993. The success of this campaign led the women to establish local micro-credit organisations that would provide them with loans to start income generating activities. In the district of Pudukottai, women were encouraged to start cycling. Cycling for women was a sort of taboo culturally and this initiative served to break the cultural barrier. The cycles increased the mobility of women and they would explore more of the country as opposed to the traditional stay-at-home mums. It boosted their self-esteem levels and the model was emulated in other states. Scotland has implemented a program to include the learning disability persons through Local Area Co-ordinators (LAC). These co-ordinators support about 50 such people. The small number is an effort to personalise the program. They support the individuals and their families in matters concerning health, employment, housing, and education. The wholesome approach helps to bridge the gap between the dependent and independent and fights the stigma attached with being dependent. For the established centres, the co-ordinators have managed to open up social and leisure activities for the disabled and some have found employment. According to short life working group on local area co-ordination (2002), there were eight LAC’s in five local authority areas in 2002, 59 LAC’s in 25 local authority areas in 2006 and 80 LAC’s in 22 local authority areas in 2011. Conclusion Communities being social inclusions are faced with diverse concerns as families. Globalisation has liberalised many communities and opened up those that had been secluded from the mainstream society. Though it may have introduced foreign attitudes, the overall effects have been beneficial. The community leaders have done an impressive job in conserving the environment as is the case in India, Chennai region. The leadership has also helped in empowering marginalised people such as women and those with learning disabilities in Scotland. References Bahadur, K.K.C. (2011). Linking physical, economic, and institutional constraints of land use change and forest conservation in the hills of Nepal. Forest Policy and Economics, 13, 603-613. 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Community, solidarity and belonging: Levels of community and their normative significance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. McGarrol, S., & Hall, E. (2012). Bridging the gap between employment and social care for people with learning disabilities: local afrea co-ordination and in between spaces of social inclusion. Geoforum, 43, 1276-1286. Noel, C. (2008). Neoliberalising nature: the logics of deregulation and reregulation. Environmental Planning A, 40 (1), 131-152. Patel, I., & Srivastava, K. (2006). Community mobilisation, gender equality and resource mobilisation in adult education. International Journal of Educational Development, 26, 153-165. Short life working group on local area co-ordination. (2002). Reccomendations to national implementation group of ‘the same as you?’ Retrieved May 6, 2013, from http://www.scld.org.uk/doc.pl?file=Recommendations%20to%20National%20Implementation%20Group.doc Wilson, G.A. (2012). Community resilience, globalisation and transitional pathways of decision making. Geoforum, 43 (6), 1218-1231. Wood, G.S., & Judikis, J.C. (2012). Conversation on community theory. Purdue: Purdue University Press. Read More