Social change is in the air and more people today are becoming politically active than have in the last forty years. As our environment begins to feel the effects of a hundred years worth of industrialization and trillions of tons of greenhouse gasses, people are beginning to speak out against the current situation and are demanding change. The collective action of hundreds of people are being to see true results as individuals, companies, and even nations are being to change the way they think and act. People have began to think of the effects their actions will have on the environment, so people have began to recycle more, automobile companies have began producing more efficient vehicles, and nations have began placing sanctions and restrictions on practices that are going to have harmful consequences on the environment. This social movement is one that started small with little backing sixty years ago, but after enough persistence people have begun to listen and the movement has grow to one of worldly proportions and many nations around the world have joined in the effort to preserve our world in its current state for has many years as possible. Along with this environmental movement there has been another movement growing in recent years that has been steadily gaining strength in the late 1950s. A sexual revolution has been sweeping America, with the theme of sexual freedom taking a strong root. This sexual liberation movement has led to education to children who prior had been deprived of the truth, being showed an abstinence only path. When I speak of sexual freedom, I not only am speaking of a cultural relaxation on the idea of having sex, but having sex with the partner of whoever’s choosing. The gay and lesbian community has seen great leaps forward in being accepted, more so than any other time before in America. While this aspect of the sexual liberation movement is still in the beginning stages, gays and lesbians are being to hold political office passions and are being seen as equals in the eyes of many. These movements are only a few of many social movements taking place in America and compared to the rest of the world, America is place of stability and stainless. Other nations are currently in the mist of civil wars, which are the most extreme social movements that can take place. These nations are the ones who will see the most change of the next ten, twenty, and fifty years. Their cultural may change in unexpectable amount and might have to resemblance of any former culture. In this way it is important to understand the social change in a necessary factor to human society as it constantly pushes forward the idea of what is normal and what is acceptable.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Population, The Environment, and Social Change
Indian Census: Population About 1.2 Billion
By AP / MUNEEZA NAQVI Thursday, Mar. 31, 2011
(NEW DELHI) — India is now home to 17 percent of all people in the world as its population climbed to 1.21 billion in 2011, though growth actually slowed for the first time in 90 years, census officials said Thursday.
The South Asian nation still saw a double digit jump in people, adding 181 million in the past 10 years, said C. Chandramouli, the census commissioner. The 17.6 percent increase was down from 21.5 in the 2001 count.
The last time India showed slowing in population growth was in the 1921 census. (See if the world is ready for 7 billion people.)
United Nations projections still show that India could overtake China and its 1.34 billion people as the world's most populous nation by 2030, though Chandramouli said a more rigorous analysis of data would be needed before India made its own projections.
The numbers released Thursday were preliminary and official figures and analysis weren't expected to be released until next year.
The census, India's 15th such exercise since 1872, was a mammoth effort spread out over one year. It involved 2.7 million census-takers who surveyed some 300 million households, noting for the first time whether people live in basic huts or concrete structures, have electricity and access to toilets and if they have spent any time in schools.
The questions will help administrators develop policies and set budgets for a nation where 800 million people live in poverty.
Almost all residents, regardless of nationality, are included in the count, even those imprisoned like Pakistani Ajmal Kasab, who is on death row for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Millions of homeless were also counted.
The initial numbers show a decline in the number of children under the age of 6, down 5 million since 2001 to 158.8 million. They also indicate a continuing preference for male children over females in a country where female infanticide is still common and the government has banned doctors from revealing the sex of unborn children. (See the myths of the only child.)
A gender breakdown among children showed fewer girls than boys are being born or surviving, with 914 girls for every 1,000 boys under the age of 6, compared to 927 for every 1,000 in the last census.
"This is a matter of grave concern," Chandramouli said.
Indians continue to favor sons over daughters mostly because of the enormous expenses involved in marrying them. Even the poorest families are often likely to go into debt arranging marriages and paying elaborate dowries to their daughter's new family. Hindu custom also dictates that only sons can light funeral pyres.
"Whatever measures that have been put in over the last 40 years has not had any impact on child sex ratio and therefore that requires a complete review," India's Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said.
The overall sex-ratio showed a marginal improvement, with 940 women counted for every 1,000 men compared to 933 in the last census.
The census also showed that the literacy rate went up to 74 percent nationwide for people aged 7 and older, from about 65 percent in the last count.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2062360,00.html#ixzz1IWYNreG1
This video is titled "The Greenhouse Effect"
The following are links for further research:
http://www.sociosite.net/topics/activism.php
- This website titled "Activism, Collective Action, and Social Movements" and it is a list of a number of major social movements in the making around the world. It is a great link for those looking to get more involved and participate a collective behavior social movement that can have a positive impact on the culture and society.http://www.cgdev.org/section/initiatives/_archive/populationanddevelopment
- This is a link to a website called "Center from Global Development" and it has information on the population dynamics of different nations around the world. It has links to other news stories and blogs about the development of multiple nations, as well as other social issues taking place.Cesar Chavez was speaking out about about social change, saying "Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is outs."
The chapter Population, The Environment, and Social Change is an important one because of the the effects that each of these three factors has on a society. Not only that but these factors are also interconnected within themselves. Population density effects the environment and how quickly we use its resources and if people see changes within the environmental behavior than social change is bound to follow. This is true today for the Green movement after people began to see the effects that industrialization has had on our environment over the last hundred years. This is why I used the video titled "The Greenhouse Effect" as it steams from this movement and also shows the effects that our industrious population has had on our environment.
As we modernize and mobilize we are in turn urbanizing and this is the reason for the picture of the urban setting above. Cities like this are become more and more frequent and small towns begin to grown and people migrate towards the cities in hopes of economic prosperity and a better life. The reason for this recent urbanization has come from the influx of population growth as exemplified by the article "Indian Census: Population About 1.2 Billion." This population growth has lead to a change in the way societies have to operate to be sustainable. People behaviors are also being to change as this is why I add the two link for further research. While the first link is to a website that headlines social movements happening throughout the world, the second shows how nations throughout the world are developing and from there one can infer the way people in that society might behave. Lastly, I used the quote from Cesar Chavez for obvious reasons since a major theme within the chapter was social movements and the ways society can gain from them.
G C N D E M O G R A P H Y F I V R R S B G R E O B I H G F I Z C A C K E E N O D G T E N I W B V K F L H D T T F B O C B K T G E S T F C T O V A T K O V S I I B O F A Y N U A U F K T Q G R R A W T A L O F V D B H S Z I C X N M Y L O L A L M E T E T J J O Y I S T M P J M P Y Z M W N X T O J W T U J L O D O X E S N I O Y U S X A Q D C I S V A F D Y O O S N V K G P T A N S W L E E F B A D I M R R E B B T A Y T A P M K E E H O T F K A E M T E P I D E O E Y G N U F A L O U U D E F Q Q M A D N V Z I T L Z F T G F H O N A M A Y Y T I G G E J I U R E B M P M T I D K M S X B V W D N P B A F C U K M S T G N I M R A W L A B O L G Q M T N W T C G K J Z P N R B E U R H L Z N A X B H W Z Y L K U U R K B H V R E I C F T F Q Y W I X N G U G K O U Q M Y W B S H J I X C O L L E C T I V E B E H A V I O R V I
CENSUS - a count of the entire population of a country COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR - behavior that occurs when the usual conventions are
suspended and people collectively establish new norms of
behavior in response to an emerging situation DEMOGRAPHY - the scientific study of population GLOBALIZATION - increased economic, political, and social interconnectedness
and interdependence among societies in the world GLOBAL WARMING - the systematic increase in worldwide surface temperature GREENHOUSE EFFECT - a rise in the earth's surface temperature caused by heat
trapped by excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere MODERNIZATION - a process of social and cultural change that is initiated by
industrialization and followed by increased social
differentiation and division of labor REFORM MOVEMENTS - social movements that seek change through legal or other
mainstream political means, by working within existing
institutions SOCIAL MOVEMENTS - a group that acts with some continuity and organization
to promote or resist social change in society URBANIZATION - the process by which a community acquires the characteristics of
city life
Sexuality
In a Friends episode titled "The One with Free Porn," Chandler and Joey discover to their delight a free pornography TV channel, which they leave on and watch endlessly for fear it will go away. Later, a startled Chandler reports to Joey, "I was just at the bank, and there was this really hot teller, and she didn't ask me to go do it in the vault." Joey describes a similar cold shoulder from the pizza-delivery woman. "You know what?" Chandler concludes. "We have to turn off the porn."
Chandler may be on to something. Call it the porn factor. Whereas pornography was once furtively glimpsed at dimly lighted newsstands or seedy adult theaters, today it is everywhere. It pours in over the Internet, sometimes uninvited, sometimes via eagerly forwarded links (Paris Hilton, anyone?). It titillates 24/7 on steamy adult cable channels and on-demand services (the pay-per-view reality show Can You Be a Porn Star? made its debut this month). It has infiltrated mainstream cable with HBO's forthcoming documentary series Pornucopia: Going Down in the Valley. And in ways that have only begun to be measured, it is coloring relationships, both long-and short-term, reshaping expectations about sex and body image and, most worrisome of all, threatening to alter how young people learn about sex.
In recent years, a number of psychologists and sociologists have joined the chorus of religious and political opponents in warning about the impact of pervasive pornography. They argue that porn is transforming sexuality and relationships--for the worse. Experts say men who frequently view porn may develop unrealistic expectations of women's appearance and behavior, have difficulty forming and sustaining relationships and feeling sexually satisfied. Fueled by a combination of access, anonymity and affordability, online porn has catapulted overall pornography consumption--bringing in new viewers, encouraging more use from existing fans and escalating consumers from soft-core to harder-core material. Cyberporn is even giving rise to a new form of sexual compulsiveness. According to Alvin Cooper, who conducts seminars on cybersex addiction, 15% of online-porn habitues develop sexual behavior that disrupts their lives. "The Internet is the crack cocaine of sexual addiction," says Jennifer Schneider, co-author of Cybersex Exposed: Simple Fantasy or Obsession?
Yet most users say sex online is nothing more than good (if not quite clean) fun. According to a 2001 online survey of 7,037 adults, two-thirds of those who visit websites with sexual content say their Internet activities haven't affected their level of sexual activity with their partners, though three-quarters report masturbating while online. The vast majority of respondents--85% to 90%--according to Cooper, who heads the San Jose Marital and Sexuality Center, which conducted the study, are what he calls "recreational users," people who view pornography as a curiosity or diversion.
The question is, Can even recreational use be unhealthy? A 2003 online study by Texas Christian University found that the more pornography men watch, the more likely they are to describe women in sexualized terms and categorize women in traditional gender roles. Mark Schwartz, director of the Masters and Johnson clinic in St. Louis, Mo., says porn not only causes men to objectify women--seeing them as an assemblage of breasts, legs and buttocks--but also leads to a dependency on visual imagery for arousal. "Men become like computers, unable to be stimulated by the human beings beside them," he says. "The image of a lonely, isolated man masturbating to his computer is the Willy Loman metaphor of our decade."
Other psychologists are more tolerant. Most men use pornography in secret, and as long as it doesn't affect their relationships, some say that's O.K. "If a client is enjoying a healthy use of pornography without his wife's knowledge, I would counsel him not to tell her," says psychiatrist Scott Haltzman, who studies men and relationships. Yet many therapists say such behavior creates a breach of trust. Spouses often view porn as a betrayal or even as adultery. The typical reaction when a woman discovers her husband's habit is shock and "How dare he?" According to therapist Lonnie Barbach, based in Mill Valley, Calif., many such women "feel like they're not good enough. Otherwise, why would their mates be seeking this?"
Sometimes pornography tears couples apart. At the 2003 meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, two-thirds of the 350 divorce lawyers who attended said the Internet played a significant role in divorces in the past year, with excessive interest in online porn contributing to more than half of such cases. "This is clearly related to the Internet," says Richard Barry, president of the association. "Pornography had an almost nonexistent role in divorce just seven or eight years ago."
Still, couples therapists sometimes suggest pornography as a way to refresh relationships or spark desire. Increasingly, women are game. Sociologist Michael Kimmel has found that each year more of his female college students approve of porn, which may reflect women's increased sexual empowerment. Nonetheless, he says, "their attitude is surprising to those of us who think it an impoverished view of liberation to construct your sex life the way men do." The key, therapists say, is for mutual consumption to be seductive to both partners and for material to be "erotic" rather than "pornographic." Most describe the difference this way: porn is objectifying and derogatory while erotica depicts mutually satisfying sex between equal partners. Others say it's a matter of taste.
Trouble is, often the taste is not shared. Jessica (not her real name), 28, a product manager in New York City, tolerates her boyfriend's pornography habit, but his admiration for bodies like that of porn queen Jenna Jameson has made her insecure, so she plans to get breast implants. "My boyfriend told me lots of his friends' girlfriends have done it," she says. "He said to me, 'Imagine what an awesome body you'll have!' I can't blame him for his preferences." But Jessica isn't sure that surgery will improve their sex life. "He tends to be selfish sexually," she says. "I think pornography has a lot to do with it. For him, porn is easy."
Jessica's experience is pretty typical, says Aline Zoldbrod, a sex therapist in Lexington, Mass. She says men's use of porn for undemanding relief often distracts them from the task of trying to please their real-life partners.
Porn doesn't just give men bad ideas; it can give kids the wrong idea at a formative age. Whereas children used to supplement sex education by tearing through National Geographic in search of naked aboriginals and leafing through the occasional Penthouse they stumbled across in the garage, today many are confronted by pornographic images on a daily basis. In a 2001 poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 70% of 15-to 17-year-olds said they had accidentally come across pornography online. Older teens may be aware of the effects of such images: 59% of 15-to-24-year-olds told the pollsters they believe seeing porn on the Internet encourages young people to have sex before they are ready; 49% said it promotes bad attitudes toward women and encourages viewers to think unprotected sex is O.K. "Pornography is affecting people at an increasingly young age," says sociologist Diana Russell, who has written several books on the subject. "And unfortunately for many kids growing up today, pornography is the only sex education they'll get."
Because children learn sexual cues early, boys may train themselves to respond only to images shaped by porn stars, while girls may learn that submission and Brazilian bikini waxes are the keys to pleasing men. Recent studies show a correlation between increased aggressiveness in boys and exposure to pornography, and a link between childhood use of porn and sexually abusive behavior in adulthood. "It's not easy to shock me," says Judith Coche, a therapist in Philadelphia who has been in practice for 25 years. "But one 11-year-old girl's parents discovered their daughter creating her own pornographic website because it's 'cool' among her friends." As such incidents multiply, more Americans--parents especially--may come to Chandler's conclusion: We have to turn off the porn.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,993158-3,00.html#ixzz1IVXBTb6T
The video is called Sex Trafficking in Cambodia
The following are resources for further research:
http://www.now.org/issues/lgbi/stats.html
- This website has some interesting information about homophobia with many statistics about gay and lesbian culture. Homophobia is an unfortunate aspect of many cultures often steaming from a societies ignorance and uncomfortableness with the gay and lesbian culture.
http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/taku77/refer/sexnorm.htm
- This website has some general information about sex norms and where America stands compared to the rest of the world. It is interesting because it shows how different nations view different sexual acts. Somethings that are perfectly acceptable in one nation might be a serious taboo in another. Woody Allen Once said, "Love is the answer, but while you are waiting for the answer sex raises some pretty good questions." I thought this was great because it is so universal. Everyone, despite what society or sexual orientation is looking for love. This drive for love, or even sex, can drive someone's sexuality and often makes up someones sexual orientation and identity.
I chose the chapter on sexuality because of much of a role it plays on society. Sexuality is connected within all societies and is interconnected with many social issues. I find it interesting how different societies feel about sex and how different the handle individual sexuality. Some nations within the Netherlands are extremely open when it comes to ones sexuality and some even openly exploit sex to tourists and see it as a business. South eastern India has a long history of freedom of sexuality and many temples were decorated and adorned with figured depicted different sexual positions. This is actually where the picture used above was from. The figurines are only a few of the many depicted upon the building engaged in sexual acts. This use of pornography continues today but instead of being decoration on temple buildings and painted on the walls of Greek and Roman bath houses, it has mainly moved toward the internet. The article titled "Behavior: the porn factor" discuses this at length showing both positive and negative factors to pornography being so accessible today. I liked the article because of its slight bias against porn. It shows the opposing side to the argument that porn can be seen as the ultimate expression of freedom and sexuality.
Unfortunately, there is a negative side to an open expression of sexuality. People can exploit the system and take advantage of peoples wants and desires. This is why I posted the video "Sex Trafficking in Cambodia." Greedy people take women hostage and exploit mans desire for sex by selling these women against there will. The research links are also tied in to this idea of people abusing others sexuality. Homophobia is often caused by someone ignorance and inabilities to except others happiness because it is different than their own and so they do not understand it. The second link shows that their is always a gray area to sexual right and wrong. What might be seen as a sexual taboo in one nation, might be perfectly acceptable in another. Finally the quote by Woody Allen is great because it can encompass so much. Love is a beautiful end to a long story, but sex makes up the chapters that fill the book.
Unfortunately, there is a negative side to an open expression of sexuality. People can exploit the system and take advantage of peoples wants and desires. This is why I posted the video "Sex Trafficking in Cambodia." Greedy people take women hostage and exploit mans desire for sex by selling these women against there will. The research links are also tied in to this idea of people abusing others sexuality. Homophobia is often caused by someone ignorance and inabilities to except others happiness because it is different than their own and so they do not understand it. The second link shows that their is always a gray area to sexual right and wrong. What might be seen as a sexual taboo in one nation, might be perfectly acceptable in another. Finally the quote by Woody Allen is great because it can encompass so much. Love is a beautiful end to a long story, but sex makes up the chapters that fill the book.
N X Q Y Z S B J P Q W C U E N Y S I O P S E M V Q P U H J T J C F Q U E E R T H E O R Y M C O W X Q S W Y P V I W V P J V L H V X E L L C J I G I T R R B S M R K T D G I O M O U N E N I I Q T O D P Y R B H X W N B N C J S D A U C S Z T C O I D L S U M O C V H Q Q O E I E L Q T E D C K H X L U Q U T M H O S N Z M S X D O E M D G X J K Y T O N H N K L U O K T I Q E A R I S C I N E G U E Q P U O D V R W S M N T S D I A A L X U Y U J L C D L Z Q T X K M X G O O L E M Y T O A O W U I W I H A F B I Y P D O L R P N M O A Y R Z U X B O D E H U X D M O T U Y E D T H V R K N P Q S X C L S C K X O Q P H T A T W A F T O Y R L L Y Q T E Z A L O E G S M R J E V T G C Z J B E R R U R G X S I Q Z S H E Z P H M I V L C P C X I N X R L X U D Y H F I O X E R A O I N W X N R R V A Z A W C X Z R L S Q C T R X N U C G T X Z D Z T A Q U R O D C O R T Q E O Q Z V Y O T F B M H A S L R Z P B P I O C X J V U N C R F P O J L N D E Y E Y X A O J E O C P F N R F J P R Y X I R S P C A F V R T Q W X B T L O G I C E Q W E I V F J F L E M B F X H A T H M Y E S S L S H G L D N O I T U L O V E R L A U X E S A F M M Q S U U M C G A P Z K N N E A B T V D R G S S O C M N R H D O T P S R F B E Y O M K W G K G Y P C Z J P H X J P R F J D X F M M V R P Z Z K F Y D H W L
COMING OUT - the process of defining oneself as gay or lesbian EUGENICS - a social movement in the early twentieth sentur that south to apple
scientific principles of genetic selection to "improve" the
offspring of the human race HETEROSEXISM - the institutionalization of heterosexuality as the only socially
legitimate sexual orientation HOMOPHOBIA - the fear and hatred of homosexuals QUEER THEORY - a theoretical perspective that recognizes the social constructed
nature of sexual identity SEX TOURISM - practice wherebypeople travel to particular parts of the world
specifically to engage in commercial sexual activities SEXUAL IDENTITY - the definition of oneself that is formed around one's sexual
relationships SEXUAL ORIENTATION - the attraction that people feel for people of the same or
different sex SEXUAL POLITICS - the link feminists argue exists between sexuality and power and
between sexuality and race, class, and gender oppression SEXUAL REVOLUTION - a drastic relaxation in general standard of sexual behavior
Culture and the Media
Woodstock - The Message of History's Biggest Happening
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901295,00.html#ixzz1IF69gk9b
http://www.frihost.com/forums/vt-24429.html
- This website is titled "What Are The Taboos in your culture?" and is an open list of people from around the world who list different cultural taboos with their society. It is interesting because it shows that taboos are totally dependent upon the cultural and society. Some actions that are considered taboos in one countries are culturally excepted in others. Andre Malraux once said, "Culture is the sum of all the forms of art, of love, and of thought, which, in the course of centuries have enabled man to be less enslaved." What a powerful statement because culture is developed through free will and should be ever changing and never stagnant. When cultures begin to become stagnant it is usually met with a decline within the society.
Culture is such an interesting topic because it is so complex and varies from nation to nation. Even nations vary within their own regions. For example San Fransisco's culture is going to be much different than Nashville's and Nashville's culture is going to be different from New York City's. And yet despite the regional differences there are still qualities of culture that is encompassing and unequally American. This in not just true within America, but is true for the whole world, for every society on every continent. From major nations, to the smallest tribe, each has defining cultural characteristics which set it apart. Yet even though not every nation has the same kinds of media available, media plays a huge rule on a nations culture. Radio, television, movies, all of these have a huge influence on culture. Media has led to the globalization of cultures and why today many nations have a mix-match of different cultures.
This is actually part of the reason why I chose the article, "Woodstock, The Message of Histories Biggest Happening." This punk rock sound and counterculture movement caused monumental change in cultures throughout the world. This sound actually began in Britain and moved west toward the America's where is took root within the nation and shifted the culture towards times of change. As the United States culture began to prosper, it began to spread throughout the world and this is why I chose the picture. In a comedic way the picture shows the power of the globalization of America's culture. Things that are thought of as being distinctly American like Nike, Disney, and McDonalds, are popular throughout the world and have become a part of other nations culture. I chose the video because I wanted to show a side of 'culture shock.' A group of men went into Liberia and were blown away by the culture and how different it was from what they had experienced and known. The websites listed are much like the article, picture, and video as they are part of the centralized theme of culture and media's affect on it. One link showed the side of Nazi ethnocentric views and how they used media propaganda to perpetuate the idea that their culture was superior to all others. The other link shows how different aspects of culture can vary. Taboos are great because behaviors that are seen are unexceptionable are as defining as behaviors that are excepted. Finally, the quote by Andre Malraux summarizes this idea of culture and I used it because of the way he tied art, love and thought as being distinctive qualities of culture. I thought this was interesting because these are also the same aspects that the media perpetuates over and over.
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