Sociology of Health

Question: Discuss about a Report for Sociology of Health. Answer: As stated by "World Health Organization" Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." In other words, health can be defined as the extent of efficacy regarding metabolism and functionality of living organism. There are various determinants of health such as social status, income, social environment, physical environment, working condition, genetics, culture, gender, and education. In order to get cured of an unhealthy condition, the health practitioners recommend medicine. According to the medical model, medicine is a technical tool to fix broken bodies. The medical practices have helped to understand the power of biomedical dissertation of health and illness, and also these practices have helped to fix the concepts socially. In this report the sociological aspect of health and illness will be discussed, and the extent of social control exercised by the medical profession will also be illustrated. The proper definition of health has advanced with time. The early concept of health-focused mainly on the theme related to the body's ability to work and the health was thought to a normal state of one's body whose function may get interrupted anytime by disease. In the year 1980 during the health promotion movement, WHO revised the definition of the term health. It was stated that it is a concept to reflect the extent of realization about the desires and satisfaction of needs by an individual. The mental, emotional, intellectual and social health is terms which are referred to the capability of a person to cope up with stress, maintain relationships, and achieve skills. All these form resources for a liberal and resiliency are living. In medical sociology there is a term used to denote sickness and also the right and compulsions of an unhealthy individual are known as sick role. The sick role is decisively depending on the reciprocities of a robustly capitalist accomplishment society which notifies normative prospects in the sector of health and illness. The sick role theory was conceptualized by Talcott Parsons in the year 1951. According to this researcher, the "sick role" was observed as a state of deviance where the individual will have an absence of the usual standards in terms of the social behavior. According to the "sick role theory," every individual is considered and expected to be productive participants in the society. However, in situations where an individual is sick, his or her absence or incapability to carry out her work will be considered as deviance and it will also be approved by the society. In order to sanction the deviance of a person, the certification from a medical expert is necessary since such a process legitimates the illness of the concerned person. There are two rights and two responsibilities of an ill person. First of all, a person has the right for which that person cannot be blamed for his or her sickness and secondly the right to provide any leeway for someone else as normal obligations. The two responsibilities of a patient involve prioritizing the fact of getting well and seeking for a proper clinical treatment for his or her health condition. Such rights and responsibilities are therefore temporary and only applicable for an individual when he or she is sick. The Sick role theory offers an insight into an experience that has an impact on every individual of the community at one point or the other in their life. The sick role theory aims at treating an individual and thereby relieving that patient from his or her social duties and responsibilities. Talcott Parsons was a sociologist who examined the relationship between a doctor and a patient. He analyzed the response of the society and its smooth functioning to the issues of deviance. According to him the roles and responsibilities of a doctor and his patient is represented as an ideal model. He stated that the role of an ill person includes four normal expectations. First of they might need to give up certain normal activities, secondly, they are considered to be one who needs care. Thirdly, the desire to get well as soon as possible and lastly, seeking clinical advice from the doctor by maintaining a healthy relationship are the roles of a patient. In terms of the roles of a doctor the role is quite complementary to the role of the patient. As the patients need to cooperate with the medical professionals, the role of the doctors is to provide their knowledge and skills in order to serve their patient and also act in regards to the welfare of the community rather than working for their own interest. One significant feature that is expected from a medical practitioner is that he or she should not be emotionally attached to his or her patient rather he or she should be objective about his work and should be completely guided by the set of rules of the medical practices. An important determinant of the nature of doctor patient relationship is the clinical practices of the doctor. In the present days it has been observed that due to the elevation in the general practice number along with the involvement of the nurses, counselors, health visitors, etc. in the primary care have introduced complications and challenges in achieving a go od inter-professional communication to maintain the quality of care. The term social control has come from the concept of sociological adaptation put forwarded by the Darwin. There have been several theories given on social control. With the advent and growth in the field of the medicine, it is considered that there is a specific medical treatment for all types of illness whether it is a physical or mental illness. Therefore, a person who fails to put himself or herself in the hands of a right medical professional is considered to be guilty. Report states the medical or the paramedical professionals are more immune to corruption than the judicial professionals. One of the biggest determinants of health is society. History reveals the fact that Drapetomania is a mental disorder that has originated from plantation of slaves in the U.S. This proofs that social environment plays an important role in health of a community. Early days people were alert on criticizing traditional medical outlook was as being value-laden and highlighted the social control exerted by health professionals through the practice of medicine. Only during the 1980s, biomedical models physiological aspects were focused. According to Marxism, the medical profession on examination reveals the use of power and prestige by involving the use of medical terminology to exclude the subordinates. Although the field of medicalization has been a blessing to the society, there are many scholars who criticize this for causing disregard and overarching of the social attires. The present physicians acts authoritatively and control the patients health matters. But in the current generatio n the patients economy has changed thus once who were the passive victims of clinical trials, now occupy active place in participating in making clinical decisions. The aim of a medical professional should be provide best of the medical treatment to their patients by applying their clinical skills and best of their knowledge. Poor medical care is similarly dysfunctional for civilization, as public those who are ill countenance greater complexity in becoming healthy and individual who are well are more probable to fall ill. According to Parsons theory on sick role, sickness is a state which can be exploited but patient themselves sometimes allow them to get exploited. For example the medical practitioners, health insurance companies, etc. bring about the exploitation. The field of medicine has been has been a boon to the society. Within the few years the society has experienced diversity in the clinical field and new therapies, tools and medicines has been invented to treat diseases that had no answer in the past. In the present generation, the doctors provide best medical treatments to the patients in partnership with the medical agencies. The inequality that existed previously is no more in terms of profession or social status which was evident in the history of British welfare state. The circumstances have changed, and the medical profession has proved to be successful for various accomplishments. In the past all the economics was regarded as political economy and the economists accepted the parameters within which markets work were determined by history and politics. The "political economy" of one's health refers to an organisms body of examination and a viewpoint on health policy that seeks to appreciate the circumstances which form populace health and service growth within the broader macro economic and political framework. The economic growth leads to development and elevation of the resources for health and vice-versa. The existing health care financing system, a community accustomed to instant access to experts and skill, and our communal eagerness for technical novelty as the major evaluate of development for the health system may guide to inertia and chunk change. Health can be defined as the extent of efficacy in terms of metabolism and functionality of living organism. There are various determinants of health such as social status, income, social environment, physical environment, working condition, genetics, culture, gender, and education. The medical practices have helped to understand the power of biomedical dissertation of health and illness, and also these practices have helped to fix the concepts socially. The "sick role theory" was conceptualized by Talcott Parsons in the year 1951. According to this researcher, the "sick role" was observed as a state of deviance where the individual will have an absence of the usual standards in terms of the social behavior. Both the doctor and the patient have certain roles and responsibilities to achieve success in terms of health. The field of medicine has been having been a boon to the society. Within the few years, the society has experienced diversity in the clinical field and new therapies, to ols and medicines have been invented to treat diseases that had no answer in the past. Thus it can be concluded that the progress in medicine, for both individual and community health, has forever depended significantly on information from and concerning individuals. References: Ayres, T.C. and Bond, J.W., 2012. A chemical analysis examining the pharmacology of novel psychoactive substances freely available over the internet and their impact on public (ill) health. Legal highs or illegal highs?.BMJ open,2(4), p.e000977. Berk, M., Berk, L., Dodd, S., Fitzgerald, P.B., de Castella, A.R., Filia, S., Filia, K., Brnabic, A.J., Kelin, K., Montgomery, W. and Kulkarni, J., 2013. The sick role, illness cognitions and outcomes in bipolar disorder.Journal of affective disorders,146(1), pp.146-149. Bland, M., 2015.An introduction to medical statistics. Oxford University Press (UK). Burnham, J.C., 2014. Why sociologists abandoned the sick role concept.History of the Human Sciences,27(1), pp.70-87. Chrisp, T.A.C., Tabberer, S. and Thomas, B.D., 2013. Bounded autonomy in deciding to seek medical help: Carer role, the sick role and the case of dementia.Journal of health psychology,18(2), pp.272-281. Cockerham, W.C., 2014.Medical sociology. John Wiley Sons, Ltd. Cossar, J.H., 2015. Travellers health: A medical perspective.Health and the International Tourist (Routledge Revivals), p.23. Fairhead, J. and Leach, M., 2012.Vaccine Anxieties:" Global Science, Child Health and Society". Taylor Francis. Gabe, J. and Monaghan, L., 2013.Key concepts in medical sociology. Sage. Jones, H., 2014.Health and Society in Twentieth Century Britain. Routledge. Lee, K.S. and Sung, K.M., 2015. Effects of an Individualized Cardiac Rehabilitation Education Program on Knowledge about Coronary Artery Disease, Compliance of Sick Role, and Vascular Health Status in Patients of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing,18(2), pp.135-144. Mikà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Meyer, N. and Obling, A.R., 2012. The negotiation of the sick role: general practitioners classification of patients with medically unexplained symptoms.Sociology of health illness,34(7), pp.1025-1038. Walker, S.R. and Rosser, R.M. eds., 2012.Quality of life assessment: key issues in the 1990s. Springer Science Business Media. World Health Organization, 2013.Global tuberculosis report 2013. World Health Organization. World Health Organization, 2013.Oral health surveys: basic methods. World Health Organization. Wu, D., Wang, Y., Lam, K.F. and Hesketh, T., 2014. Health system reforms, violence against doctors and job satisfaction in the medical profession: a cross-sectional survey in Zhejiang Province, Eastern China.BMJ open,4(12), p.e006431.

The Battle of Waterloo Essay Example

The Battle of Waterloo Essay he The Battle of Waterloo Napoleon was just recently made emperor again in France in 1815. And his enemy’s had already formed an alliance against him. He only had one way to stay emperor and that was to fight his way through it. He had one main goal in his grand strategy to win the war and that was to isolate the allied and Prussian armies, and annihilate each one separately. This was a great strategy in theory because if he could destroy the coalition forces before they were reinforced then he might be able to drive the British back to the sea and knock the Prussian’s out of the war. This ended up leading to the strategy proper of the war because Napoleon knew that the British and Prussian armies were trying to meet up so he marched his army to a spot where he was in between them. Once his army was in the middle he ended up hitting the British on the west side and the Prussians on the east side. When Wellington saw how fast the French were moving he knew he had to act fast so he concentrated most of his troops at Quatre-Bras so that he could hold a tenuous position against the soldiers of Ney’s left wing. We will write a custom essay sample on The Battle of Waterloo specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Battle of Waterloo specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Battle of Waterloo specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The grand tactics come in when Napoleon wants Ney to take the crossroads of Quatre-Bras so that way he can go reinforce him if needed. This led to the battle against the British there, where the French were being held off pretty well. But while this was happening the French attacked the Prussians at Ligny and were able to defeat them which made holding Quatre-Bras for the British untenable. So the British retreated and marched north parallel to the Prussians retreat. These precursor battles affected the culminating campaign battle because a lot of men were lost and a portion of Napoleons’ army was off searching for the retreating Prussians at the time of Waterloo. There were many battlefield maneuvers that impacted the outcomes of the battles. One was when Wellington had ordered in reinforcements for Quatre-Bras. This was good because they were starting to lose the battle until the reinforcements got there and then they were able to push Ney’s forces back. The next maneuver was when the Prussians had been defeated they were able to retreat unnoticed from the French. The Prussians getting away without the French knowing was big because they were able to make it back to Wavres where there reinforcements were so that they could have a fresh new army to fight them with. This leads to another maneuver, which happened once Napoleon finally realized the Prussians had retreated. Napoleon decided to send a big chunk of his army after the Prussians even though his army would be around 2 days behind them. This was a bad move because then when the French army reached Waterloo he now had to face the British and the Prussians combined without part of his army to use. Another maneuver was when Napoleon tried to do a faint attack at Hogomouh but it doesn’t work and because of that he loses much more troops then needed; this lead to the eventual loss of the war. And the last battle maneuver was when Wellington had his army hide behind a ridge and therefore Ney believed they were retreating and sent his cavalry after them. Once his cavalry got over the ridge they were annihilated by the British infantry, which eventually led to them losing the battle. Napoleon as a general made some bad choices during these battles. One bad choice he made was not following the Prussians right away when they retreated. Because of this the Prussians were able to get back to their reinforcements and then were able to meet up with the British. Another bad choice Napoleon made was when he decided to wait 4 hours to battle because he wanted the ground to dry to help his cavalry and artillery. Because of this move he allowed the Prussians enough time to get to the battle and now he had to fight two armies instead of one. And the next bad decision Napoleon made was sending his cavalry on an assault on Mont Saint Jean because he took a big loss on cavalry from that. One of the key reasons why Napoleon and his French army were defeated was because of the attack at Hogomouh. He lost a lot more troops then he needed to which did not help him in the long run. The next reason why he was defeated is because of the imperial guard attack. In this attack he lost a lot of cavalry that could have helped out later in the war. And the final key reason Napoleons army lost was that he delayed one of the battles. Because he delayed attacking it gave the Prussians enough time to arrive and help out the British. Overall Napoleon made some key decisions that turned out to lead to his defeat. Sources Battle of Waterloo. Â  Wikipedia. Web. 08 Nov. 2011. The Battle of Waterloo: 18 June 1815. Â  Home Page. Trans. Marjorie Bloy. 5 Jan. 2011. Web. 08 Nov. 2011. BBC History British History in Depth: The Battle of Waterloo. Â  BBC Homepage. Web. 08 Nov. 2011.

Flashbulb Memories essays

Flashbulb Memories essays About one year ago I remember hearing about some very awful news. My grandmother had died suddenly. In my mind it was impossible that this could happen. No one who was close to me had ever died before. It was even harder to believe because my grandmother had been much more healthy than her husband. She still worked as a babysitter during the days, and that is where she died. She was taking care of a four year old child and had a stroke while sitting in a chair. The little boy just thought she fell asleep. He tried very hard to wake her up, but obviously couldnt. When the paramedics finally came they said she had died the minute it happened. To me the strangest part of my memories of that day is the fact that I dont really remember being told. I think this may be because I didnt believe it. My grandmother had taken care of me many times in my childhood. She lived in the next town over with my grandfather for my whole life. Every holiday she would cook so much food for my entire family, that there would be leftovers (and my family is huge seeing as my last name is ) How could this woman not be ten minutes away anymore? I just couldnt believe my parents and maybe that is why I dont remember being told. The memory that stays with me is the memory of kneeling in front of her open coffin at the wake. I had been to one funeral a long time ago when I was very young and it had been of a relative I did not know very well, so this was my first actual experience in these things. That and the fact that I finally realized everyone was telling me the truth are what I think made this memory so vivid. I can picture her laying there right now. I can even feel the same feelings as I did then. All my denial and confusion were lost, and at that moment there was a huge sense of inevitability and sadness in my mind. Just thinking about looking at her face makes tears spring to my eyes. I reme...

Impact of Technology on Employee Training Research Paper

Impact of Technology on Employee Training - Research Paper Example Technology may include software programs or hardware which get incorporated into organizations. For maximum production, employees need to get trained on the new technology. As organizations invest in new technology, so does employee training become necessary (Daft, 2009). Training and IT departments in organizations get involved with provisioning the employees with the necessary techniques required for handling the technology. Management and stakeholders want to see technology acquired implemented in the organization, and it is therefore, necessary for employees to get trained. This paper will discuss the impact of technology in employee training. Importance of employee training When a firm acquires new technology, it is vital for the company to train its employees to ensure the overall success of the technology getting incorporated. Below are reasons as to why employee training is beneficial to an organization incorporating new technology: Employee training assists in maximizing the potential of the technology. If the employees become aware of using the new technology, they will get to use it to its maximum potential. This will only serve to benefit the organization as there will be increased efficiency (Daft, 2009). Proper training ensures that employees become willing to change and adopt newer ways of the firm’s operation (Kleynhans, 2006). ... If employees get to understand the benefits of the new technology through training, it gets easier to revolutionize the organizations technological needs. Employee training Employees within an organization get trained using various approaches to enlighten them on new technology. Training may get conducted internally or externally. Internal training gets carried out by the IT or training departments within the organization (Cornelius, 2001). External training gets conducted by an external consultant or the supplier of technology. The traditional method of training has always been classroom based. This approach towards training proves to fall short in addressing the challenges raised by the technology introduced in the organization. Class room based training falls short in addressing the personal needs of the training participants. Class room based training takes a holistic approach towards training (Daft, 2009). This traditional method of training does not identify and address individ ual gaps needed by the trainees. It does not explain the perceived benefits to the trainees nor does it take into account the prior knowledge of trainees about the technology. This traditional method of training does not also support maximum knowledge retention among employees as the class room instructions quickly decrease prior to their application in the work environment (Cornelius, 2001). Another training methodology instigated by organizations in incorporating new technology is self learning (Cornelius, 2001). This method involves the employees to learn on the technology by their accord through using it. This method is an ineffective way of training employees. This method is not beneficial to the firm if the technology is to become impacted through the entire organization. This

Organizational Philosophies and Technology Paper Essay

Organizational Philosophies and Technology Paper - Essay Example Technology can, very easily, support an ethical business culture. This requires the development of an organization culture of ethics first, before employing technology to maintain that culture despite situations that challenge the company’s values. Ethics is crucially important for the success (and failure) of companies. In particular, in the case of successful companies, ethics provides a framework for actions that are conducive to relationships with others, the environment, and the public. These actions bring about mutually beneficial results, which lay the foundation for positive public relations. In the case of failed companies, ethics provides a challenge to be overcome with immoral, and sometimes unlawful, acts. Ethics, taken in this way, is defined primarily by the moral, social, and organizational context of the company. Company culture must take into account this context. For instance, a cosmetics company that tests its products on live monkey and other animals may ha ve to deal with the ethical context with changing social attitudes toward testing on live animals. For instance, the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA) trade-group, consisting of 600 member companies, has controlled vast amounts of resources in order to sway public opinion its animal testing since the industry came under scrutiny in the 1980s (Farsetta, 2006). Companies utilize technology not only to gain favor with the public, but also to maintain and manage their ethical standards and guidelines internally amongst its employees. One way to control how employees interact with customers or vendors is to observe the employees’ emails and telephone correspondence. Some interpret this as a necessary method for avoiding unethical situations with relation to employee-customer relationships; others interpret this as a breach of employee privacy. Another method is filtering searchable websites at the company’s office. A more effective means of managing the e thical corporate culture of one’s organization is to have employees agree with the company to conduct themselves in an ethical manner, according to the company’s values and ethical standards. In return, the employers then give the employees enough privacy in order to do their work effectively. This alternative seems to spare companies the duty of spying on their employees to the extent that current technology allows. From this case, it seems technology has a wide range for ethical and unethical uses in the 21st century business environment. Methods like monitoring employees and filtering viewable websites, while seemingly superficial, contribute to a culture of productivity that excludes actions that detract from the company’s fundamental values. Additionally, it is important for senior levels of management to lead by example: setting these values and working them into the company culture from the top-down. Through these individuals, the company culture and gene ral tone are set for the remainder of the workforce to follow. Managers can either set this example using technology by communicating instantly with all of their employees or giving their employees technology-enhanced values training. Each of these methods ensures that not only will employees treat customers with respect and integrity,

Effect of Social Media on Political Participation

Effect of Social Media on Political Participation Has social media led to substantial changes in citizens’ repertoires of political participation? In the past few decades, an upsurge in the use of social networking sites (SNS) has been witnessed (Bode et al., 2014). Ever since the emergence of social media, the deliberation of how and to what extent they altered the way people engaged in politics has been ardently discussed. To understand this question, one should first examine it in two directions, the definition of social media and political participation, before moving on to the discussion of whether or not there are changes over time. Undoubtedly, any authority would be ill-advised to underestimate the power of the internet. If using the internet and sending text messages can modify the foreground of a nation and overturn ingrained authoritarianisms; if they have the ability to change the fortune of an unknown man into an overnight star; if they have magic for fixing the ‘illness’ of the society by pressuring governments, is it possible for anyone to resist using these types of media to achieve their goals? It is an undeniable fact that the current society is a world where all kinds of social media are almost inevitable. Since the launch of social media over 10 years ago, one can fairly address that there have been some enormous changes in people’s everyday lives. According to Jeroen Van Laer and Peter Van Aelst, â€Å"A notable feature of recent public engagements with the internet is its use by a wide range of activists and groups engaging in social and political protest† (Aelst et al., 2010). Tufekci and Wilson (2012) provided an example of this statement. They noted that, â€Å"Since the ‘‘Arab Spring’’ burst forth in uprisings in Tunisia and in Egypt in early 2011, scholars have sought to understand how the Internet and social media contribute to political change in authoritarian regimes† (Tufekci et al, 2012). The two mentioned assertions of each scholar have shed some light on the influence of the internet. This essay will deal with the following aspects of the question of whether or not social media reforms the means of civic participation in politics, a) what is political participation; b) what is the role of social media in the sense of taking part in the policy-making procedure. Finally, the essay will be concluded by the outcome of the discussion in question. To begin with, the definition that was given by Boyle and other scholars in ‘Expressive responses to news stories about extremist groups: A framing experiment’, they proposed that the term ‘‘expressive action’’ included talking to friends and family about politics, sending letters to the editor, contacting public officials and attending rallies (Boyle et al., 2006). However, as Rojas, H. and Puigà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Abril, E mentioned in their journal (2009), â€Å"Verba et al. (1995) narrowly define political participation as ‘an activity that has the intent or effect of influencing government action–either directly by affecting the making or implementation of public policy or indirectly by influencing the selection of people who make those policies’ (Rojas et al., 2009). Either way, one thing is clear, political participation is a set of activities to affect who decides or decision itself in any possible way. In ‘Mobilizers mobilized: Information, expression, mobilization and participation in the digital age’, a number of hypotheses were suggested by Rojas, H., and Puig-Abril. These hypotheses embodied a model explaining the cycle of the interactions between Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as Figure 1 they proposed below. As the result of their study, assumptions of informational uses of ICT resulting expending expressive behaviours in the online sphere are sturdily supported. Furthermore, the relative significance of blogs as a source of information that accelerates such expressive behaviours is also suggested in this study. Nevertheless, one interesting result was noted that there is no support for a direct relationship between online expressive behaviours and offline participatory behaviours. This implies that online political activists may not be as enthusiastic as they are online when it comes to taking part in the policy-making procedure offline (Rojas et al., 2009). Political participation on social media is referred to as ‘political SNS use’ by Bode (2014). The definition of ‘political SNS use’ is using SNS for political intentions, for example, displaying a political preference on one’s profile page or becoming a ‘fan’ of a politician (Bode et al, 2014). However, another argument suggested that while one is studying ‘political SNS use’, the disadvantages that it presented should not be overlooked. One example of this is addressed in one of Clair Cain Miller’s articles of The New York Times. Miller stated that due to the convenience that the internet provides, it is useful for promoting events, such as the Arab Spring to the Ice Bucket Challenge. However, people might be reluctant to express themselves because of the urge for obtaining recognition (Miller, 2014). With the exact reason, people tend to interpret the various signals in social media, as liked or hated. As these signa ls become clearer, the reluctance of people to express their views online increases; hence, the differentiation between the different positions will turn into a more serious situation and those who share the same or similar points of view will be even more unified (Miller, 2014). Citing from Bode’s journal, â€Å"although social networking sites were not originally conceived of as political tools, politicians have quickly adapted to use them as such (Bode et al, 2014). The internet has given civil society new tools to support their claims. In the recent years catchphrases, such as, ‘‘Twitter Revolution’’ or ‘‘Facebook Revolution’’ have been high-lighted (Tufekci et al, 2012). However, one should keep in mind that social media alone did not cause the revolutions and demonstrations (Joseph, 2012). In the case study of the Arab Spring, it was the urgent need of four things; namely, justice(Adala), freedom (Hurriya), dignity (Karama), and respect (Ihtiram) which pushed the citizens participating in those protests, and social media merely played the role of supporting the combustion by providing the platform for exchanging and spreading the information. Due to the falling costs and expanding capabilities of mobile phones, the traditional communications have been enriched with capacities of taking pictures and videos. Within the past decade, communities in which it had long been difficult to access information were converted into massive social experiments fuelled by an explosion in channels of information (Aelst et al., 2010). The evolution of new communication technologies brought new forms of political communications. In Jeroen Van Laer and Peter Van Aelst’s journal, they categorised 4 new forms of political communication; namely, a) Internet-supported action with low thresholds. In this category, donation of money, consumer behaviours, and legal protests and demonstrations are involved. It is believed that donating money is the most primary way to engage in a social movement that involves almost no risks or commitments (Aelst et al., 2010). b) Internet-supported action with high threshold, which means transnational demonstrations, transnational meetings, and Sit-in / occupations and more radical forms of protest. One case study of this section is the Harvard Progressive Student Labour Movement at Harvard College. The incident was for demanding higher living wages for the institution’s security guards, janitors and dining-room workers. This movement was initiated with the occupation of several university administrative offices in 2001. Eventually, the ‘real-life ’sit-in at Harvard College was accompanied with a ‘virtual sit-in’ in order to increase media attention and to broaden the pressure on administration officials (Constanza-Chock 2003;Biddix Park 2008). c) Internet-based action with low threshold. This includes actions that are solely performed online: online petitions, email bombs and virtual sit-ins. Any Face book user can generate a group to protest or support a specific cause and invite other members to ‘sign’ this cause by taking part in this group. d) Internet-based action with high threshold. This involves Protest websites, Alternative media sites, Culture jamming, and Hacktivism. The definition of culture jamming was coined by Stolle and other researchers, â€Å"changes the meaning of corporate advertising through artistic techniques that alter corporate logos visually and by giving marketing slogans new meaning (Stolle et al., 2005). These ‘attacks’ are all blurring the line between what is legal and what is not. These tactics are then labelled as ‘electronic civil disobedience’, ‘hacktivism’ or as ‘cyber terrorism’, and depends on the point of view (Denning 2001; Vegh 2003). Using and managing social media as a participatory tool is not the same thing. The real challenge is how to utilize social media to properly take part in the decision-making process. It is indeed that the world needs diverse voices and with the help of social media, everyone is granted the power to ‘have a say.’ Social media did not merely become a tool in hands for those who actively want to have a say, they also bind the communities which were not asked to take actions previously. However, one should bear in mind that ‘saying what’ is the most crucial part of participating in politics. The results from Bode’s study are compelling,†-political SNS use is not a dead-end, but instead provides an impetus for greater political participation (Bode et al, 2014). Perhaps it is worth acknowledging here that social media have indeed changed the citizens’ repertoires of political participation. The evidence is compelling, although there are some op posed arguments. The development of ‘political SNS use’ is promising and is a study worthy for future research. Bibliography Biddix, J. P. Park, H. W. (2008) ‘Online networks of student protest: the case of the living wage campaign’, New Media Society, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 871–891. Bode, L., Vraga, E. K., Borah, P., Shah, D. V. (2014). A New Space for Political Behavior: Political Social Networking and its Democratic Consequences.Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(3), 414-429. doi: 10.1111/jcc4.12048 Boyle, M. P., Schmierbach, M., Armstrong, C. L., Cho, J., McCluskey, M. R., McLeod, D. M., et al. (2006). Expressive responses to news stories about extremist groups: A framing experiment. Journal of Communication, 56, 271–288. Constanza-Chock, S. (2003) ‘Mapping the repertoire of electronic contention’, in Representing Resistance: Media, Civil Disobedience and the Global Justice Movement, eds A. Opel Pompper D. Praeger, London, pp. 173–191. Denning, D. E. (2001) ‘Activism, hacktivism, and cyberterrorism: the internet as a tool for influencing foreign policy’, in Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy, eds J. Arquilla D. Ronfeldt, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, pp. 239–288. Joseph, S. 2012. ‘Social Media, Political Change and Human Right’, Boston College International Comparative Law Review. Laer, J. V. Aelst, P. V., (2009) INTERNET AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTACTION REPERTOIRES.Information, Communication Society,13(8). Available at: http://www.academia.edu/262038/Internet_and_Social_Movement_Action_Repertoires_Opportunities_and_Limitations> [Accessed: February 19, 2015]. Miller, C. C., 2014. How Social Media Silences Debate.The New York Times, [Online]. 0, 0. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/upshot/how-social-media-silences-debate.html?abt=0002abg=1 Rojas, H., Puigà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Abril, E. (2009).Mobilizers mobilized: Information, expression, mobilization and participation in the digital age.Journal of Computerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Mediated Communication, 14(4), 902-927. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01475.x Stolle, D., Hooghe, M. Micheletti, M. (2005) ‘Politics in the supermarket: political consumerism as a form of political participation’, International PoliticalScience Review, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 245–269. Tufekci, Z. Wilson, C., 2012. Social Media and the Decision to Participate in Political Protest: Observations From Tahrir Square. Journal of Communication. Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01629.x/pdf> [Accessed: February 19, 2015]. Vegh, S. (2003) ‘Classifying forms of online activism: the case of cyberprotests against the World Bank’, in Cyberactivism. Online Activism in Theory and Practice, eds M. McCaughey M. D. Ayers, Routledge, New York, London, pp. 71–95. Verba, S., Schlozman, K. L., Brady, H. E. (1995). Voice and equality: Civic volunteerism in American politics. Cambridge: Harvard University Press

japan :: essays research papers

In the year 710, the first permanent Japanese capital was established in Nara, a city modelled after the Chinese capital. Large Buddhist monasteries were built in the new capital. The monasteries quickly gained such strong political influence that, in order to protect the position of the emperor and central government, the capital was moved to Nagaoka in 784, and finally to Heian (Kyoto) in 794 where it should remain for over one thousand years. One characteristic of the Nara and Heian periods is a gradual decline of Chinese influence, which, nevertheless, remained strong. Many of the imported ideas were gradually "Japanized". In order to meet particular Japanese needs, several governmental offices were established in addition to the government system, which was copied after the Chinese model, for example. In the arts too, native Japanese movements became increasingly popular. The development of the Kana syllables made the creation of actual Japanese literature possible. Several new Buddhist sects that were imported from China during the Heian period, were also "Japanized". Among the worst failures of the Taika reforms were the land and taxation reforms: High taxes resulted in the impoverishment of many farmers who then had to sell their properties and became tenants of larger landowners. Furthermore, many aristocrats and the Buddhist monasteries succeeded in achieving tax immunity. As a result, the state income decreased, and over the centuries, the political power steadily shifted from the central government to the large independent landowners. The Fujiwara family controlled the political scene of the Heian period over several centuries through strategic intermarriages with the imperial family and by occupying all the important political offices in Kyoto and the major provinces. The power of the clan reached its peak with Fujiwara Michinaga in the year 1016. After Michinaga, however, the ability of the Fujiwara leaders began to decline, and public order could not be maintained. Many landowners hired samurai for the protection of their properties. That is how the military class became more and more influential, especially in Eastern Japan. The Fujiwara supremacy came to an end in 1068 when the new emperor Go-Sanjo was determined to rule the country by himself, and the Fujiwara failed to control him. In the year 1086 Go-Sanjo abdicated but continued to rule from behind the political stage. This new form of government was called Insei government. Insei emperors exerted political power from 1086 until 1156 when Taira Kiyomori became the new leader of Japan.