exam preparation notes for 4685
November 18, 2019
Notes for 4685 AIOU - Exam Preparation Notes of 4685
Notes for 4685
Socialization
is the lifelong process of social
interaction through which individuals acquire a self-identity and social skills
needed for survival in society. Socialization helps people learn to
function successfully in their social worlds.
Gender Socialization
Socialization process by which
person acquires sense of self, identity; learns expectations of society that
will hold individual accountable.
•
The
process of gender socialization begins early in life.
•
Children
develop an understanding of gender categories at a young age
•
By
age three, children have formed their own gender identity. They have also begun
to learn their culture’s gender norms, including which toys, activities,
behaviors, and attitudes are associated with each gender.
Social
groups often provide the first experiences of socialization. Families, and
later peer groups, communicate expectations and reinforce norms. People first
learn to use the tangible objects of material culture in these settings, as
well as being introduced to the beliefs and values of society.
Agents of socialization
• The Family
• The School
• Peer Groups
• Mass Media
1. Family
Family is the first agent of socialization. Mothers and fathers,
siblings and grandparents, plus members of an extended family, all teach a
child what he or she needs to know. For example, they show the child how to use
objects (such as clothes, computers, eating utensils, books, bikes); how to
relate to others (some as “family,” others as “friends,” still others as
“strangers” or “teachers” or “neighbors”); and how the world works (what is
“real” and what is “imagined”). As you are aware, either from your own
experience as a child or from your role in helping to raise one, socialization
includes teaching and learning about an unending array of objects and ideas.
Keep in mind, however, that families do not socialize children
in a vacuum. Many social factors affect the way a family raises its children.
For example, we can use sociological imagination to recognize that individual
behaviors are affected by the historical period in which they take place. Sixty
years ago, it would not have been considered especially strict for a father to
hit his son with a wooden spoon or a belt if he misbehaved, but today that same
action might be considered child abuse.
Sociologists recognize that race, social class, religion, and
other societal factors play an important role in socialization. For example,
poor families usually emphasize obedience and conformity when raising their
children, while wealthy families emphasize judgment and creativity (National
Opinion Research Center 2008). This may occur because working-class parents
have less education and more repetitive-task jobs for which it is helpful to be
able to follow rules and conform. Wealthy parents tend to have better
educations and often work in managerial positions or careers that require
creative problem solving, so they teach their children behaviors that are
beneficial in these positions. This means children are effectively socialized
and raised to take the types of jobs their parents already have, thus
reproducing the class system (Kohn 1977). Likewise, children are socialized to
abide by gender norms, perceptions of race, and class-related behaviors.
Key Points:-
• The most important and first agent of socialization
• The principle socializer of young children
• Teaches how to behave in socially acceptable ways, to develop
emotional ties and internalize values and norms
• Individuals share the patterns of the larger culture, but retain
unique values and behavioral traits as learned from their family
• Socialization can be both
deliberate (structured) and unconscious (unintended)”…do as I say not as I do”
Parental practices
• Parents socialize sons/daughters differently
• Fathers react more negatively to sons in cross-gender play (boys
with Barbies) and boys believe fathers would do so.
• Fathers spend more time
with sons than daughters, engage in more physical play; expect more toughness
from sons
• Mothers spend more time with children, more involved in daily
care
• Cultural differences—higher socioeconomic children more gender
stereotypical than and lower socioeconomic
backgrounds
2. Peer group
A peer
group is made up of people who are similar in age and
social status and who share interests. Peer group socialization begins in the
earliest years, such as when kids on a playground teach younger children the norms
about taking turns, the rules of a game, or how to shoot a basket. As children
grow into teenagers, this process continues. Peer groups are important to
adolescents in a new way, as they begin to develop an identity separate from
their parents and exert independence. Additionally, peer groups provide their
own opportunities for socialization since kids usually engage in different
types of activities with their peers than they do with their families.
Key Points:-
• Other peers that you encounter can also influence you
• More influential as
children grow older
• To be accepted by our
peers we often behave certain ways – we try to be the kind of person we think
they want us to be
• Desire to fit in - there’s
a focus on group interests and acquiring skills needed to fit into a subculture
• Socialization is not “structured”
• Groups goals can be at odds with larger society/parents/schools
3. School:-
After family the educational institutions take over the charge
of socialization. In some societies (simple non-literate societies), socialization
takes place almost entirely within the family but in highly complex societies
children are also socialized by the educational system. Schools not only teach
reading, writing and other basic skills, they also teach students to develop
themselves, to discipline themselves, to cooperate with others, to obey rules
and to test their achievements through competition.
Schools teach sets of expectations about the work, profession
or occupations they will follow when they mature. Schools have the formal
responsibility of imparting knowledge in those disciplines which are most
central to adult functioning in our society. It has been said that learning at
home is on a personal, emotional level, whereas learning at school is basically
intellectual.
Key Points:-
·
Plays a major
part in our socialization because we’re in school for so long
•
Most
socialization is deliberate: activities teach skills whether vocational,
academic or social
•
Extracurricular
activities teach us teamwork, practice
•
Anticipatory
socialization for the world of work because of deadlines, schedules and
learning how to fit in to the larger society
•
Transmission of
values
•
Unintentional
socialization – some teachers and peers become role models for students
•
Peer groups are
abundant in school
4.
Mass media:-
From early
forms of print technology to electronic communication (radio, TV, etc.), the
media is playing a central role in shaping the personality of the individuals.
Since the last century, technological innovations such as radio, motion
pictures, recorded music and television have become important agents of
socialization.
Television,
in particular, is a critical force in the socialization of children almost all
over the new world. According to a study conducted in America, the average
young person (between the ages of 6 and 18) spends more time watching the
‘tube’ (15,000 to 16,000 hours) than studying in school. Apart from sleeping,
watching television is the most time-consuming activity of young people.
Relative to
other agents of socialization discussed above, such as family, peer group and
school, TV has certain distinctive characteristics. It permits imitation and
role playing but does not encourage more complex forms of learning. Watching TV
is a passive experience.
Key points:-
•
Forms of communication that reach large audiences with no personal
contact between those sending and receiving the information – TV, newspaper,
radio, films, magazines, Internet, etc…
•
TV is the most influential of all mass media (there is at least one in
every home – said to watch an average of 7 hours a day).
•
Positives and negatives of TV…
•
Where (geographically) would mass media NOT play a role?
Gender specific Nature of
children Environment
As young
children develop, they begin to explore gender roles and what it means to be a
boy or a girl. Cultures provide expectations for boys and girls, and children
begin learning about gender roles from the norms of their family and cultural
background. They also hear messages about gender roles from the larger world
around them. Through their interactions and their play exploration, children
begin to define themselves and others in many ways, including gender. Children
may ask their parents and teachers questions about gender, take on “boy” and
“girl” roles in dramatic play and notice differences between the boys and girls
they know. They may choose certain toys based on what they think is right for
boys or girls. They may also make statements about toys and activities that
they think are only for girls or only for boys.
For more
than 50 years, child development researchers have studied how young children
learn and think about gender
Research has
identified several stages of gender development: Infancy. Children observe
messages about gender from adults’ appearances, activities, and behaviors. Most
parents’ interactions with their infants are shaped by the child’s gender, and
this in turn also shapes the child’s understanding of gender (Fagot &
Leinbach, 1989; Witt, 1997; Zosuls, Miller, Ruble, Martin, & Fabes, 2011).
18–24 months:-
Toddlers
begin to define gender, using messages from many sources. As they develop a
sense of self, toddlers look for patterns in their homes and early care
settings. Gender is one way to understand group belonging, which is important
for secure development (Kuhn, Nash & Brucken, 1978; Langlois & Downs,
1980; Fagot & Leinbach, 1989; Baldwin & Moses, 1996; Witt, 1997;
Antill, Cunningham, & Cotton, 2003; Zoslus, et al., 2009).
Ages 3–4.
Gender identity takes on more meaning as
children begin to focus on all kinds of differences. Children begin to connect
the concept “girl” or “boy” to specific attributes. They form stronger rules or
expectations for how each gender behaves and looks (Kuhn, Nash, & Brucken
1978; Martin, Ruble, & Szkrybalo, 2004; Halim & Ruble, 2010).
Ages 5–6.
At these ages children’s thinking may be rigid
in many ways. For example, 5- and 6-year-olds are very aware of rules and of
the pressure to comply with them. They do so rigidly because they are not yet
developmentally ready to think more deeply about the beliefs and values that
many rules are based on. For example, as early educators and parents know, the
use of “white lies” is still hard for them to understand. Researchers call
these ages the most “rigid” period of gender identity (Weinraub et al., 1984; Egan,
Perry, & Dannemiller, 2001; Miller, Lurye, Zosuls, & Ruble, 2009). A
child who wants to do or wear things that are not typical of his gender is
probably aware that other children find it strange. The persistence of these
choices, despite the negative reactions of others, show that these are strong
feelings. Gender rigidity typically declines as children age (Trautner et al.,
2005; Halim, Ruble, Tamis-LeMonda, & Shrout, 2013). With this change,
children develop stronger moral impulses about what is “fair” for themselves
and other children (Killen & Stangor, 2001).
Children
need a safe and nurturing environment to explore gender and gender expression.
It’s important for all children to feel good about who they are and what they
can do.
Marxists Analysis of sexism
Solved
Assignments
Language and Media
Media
Plays a large role in
creating social norms, because various forms of media, including
advertisements, television, and film, are present almost everywhere in current
culture. Gender roles, as an example, exist solely because society as a whole
chooses to accept them, but they are perpetuated by the media. Conspicuous
viewers must be aware of what the media is presenting to them, and make sure
they’re not actively participating in a culture of oppression.
Television
for a long time has been a tool in promoting the stereotypes of gender roles
and tends to show them as being natural. The television industry is usually
male dominated therefore most of what is produced tends to take a male
perspective therefore bringing about male gaze. Through such productions girls
get to learn that this is a man’s world and hence they get to change their
personalities. ‘It is a very powerful and highly influential means to make and
communicate gender equality and gender culture of society are mass media
technologies which have become an essential part of individual daily lives and
culture in the world over’ (Craig, 2003, p.93). The mass media are able to
genuinely make legal gender ideas and philosophy shaped by gender politics and
beliefs, and to increase the likelihood or chance of their reception by the
general audiences.
The mass informs and also
gives great pleasure and full entertainment. It is a dominant influence in
distinguishing the roles of men and women in a civilized world. Morley in his
work opines that, ‘The younger generations are especially influenced by its
depiction of gender roles. Even though television has improved very well in its
representation of gender, women are still stereotype in conventional roles, and
under-represented, while men are revealed or seen as dominant figures’
Media Define
Masculinity:-
Families, friends, teachers, and community
leaders all play a role in helping boys define what it means to be a man.
Mainstream media representations also play a role in reinforcing ideas about
what it means to be a “real” man in our society. In most media portrayals, male
characters are rewarded for self-control and the control of others, aggression
and violence, financial independence, and physical desirability.
A more recent study found
similar patterns in how male characters were portrayed in children’s television
around the world: boys are portrayed as tough, powerful and either as a loner
or leader, while girls were most often shown as depending on boys to lead them
and being most interested in romance.
Recent study points:-
The
report observes that:
·
the majority of male characters
in media are heterosexual
·
male characters are more often
associated with the public sphere of work, rather than the private sphere of
the home, and issues and problems related to work are more significant than
personal issues
·
Non-white male characters are
more likely to experience personal problems and are more likely to use physical
aggression or violence to solve those problems.
The
portrayal and acceptance of men by the media as socially powerful and
physically violent serve to reinforce assumptions about how men and boys should
act in society, how they should treat each other, as well as how they should
treat women and children.
Impact of Gender Inequality “It’s
like a normal thing for women to be treated by their husbands as punching bags.
The Nigerian man thinks that a woman is his inferior.
Gender representation in the media
Various
studies have confirmed horizontal and vertical labor market segregation within
media industries. A key overarching finding is that women are under-represented
in the media workforce, particularly at senior, decision-making levels.
According to a study conducted by Skillset in the UK (2008), which was based on
a labor market census, women are a minority in virtually every segment of the
media sector in the UK, including mainstream news and television, creative
industries, gaming, and other digital media industries. Further, the study
found an important driver for this inequality is the loss of women beyond
middle age. Despite more women than men entering the sector as graduates, women
in the UK media workforce are far less likely than men to have dependent
children living with them, suggesting that women who have children are leaving
the industry.
In several
countries, women substantially outnumber men in journalism training and enter
the profession in (slightly) greater numbers, but relatively few rise to senior
jobs, and the pay gap between male and female journalists remains wide.
Research by
the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP, 2015) suggests that women still make
up a minority of reporters and presenters, with very little improvement since
2000.
Media in Health Care:-
Media is one
of the most powerful instruments of communication. the communication medium can
be radio" television" cinema" magazines" newspapers"
and/or internet based web sites. These mediums often play a varied and vital
role in our society. !n today’s world" media has made a very special place
for itself in our lives. !f we say media has become almost as important as food
and clothing" the majority of us will agree.
Health
awareness is considered to be one of the most essential ingredients
of life. People do not value their good state
of health until they experience one form of sickness
or another.
Key points:-
·
Media help in spreading awareness.
·
It can help people by telling them the causes and
provide the basic instruction regarding diseases.
·
It help in better living and better diet.
·
Those people who have no access to any health care
unit also aware/acknowledge.
·
Life expectance improve because of media awareness.
Language Role
Even in this modern day,
language still plays a great role in defining gender, to the extent that if
affects gender roles in society. Protagoras, a Greek philosopher, introduced
the grammatical concepts of gender with the use of masculine, feminine.
The manner of speaking
Aside
from the actual words being used, the manner in which they are being spoken
also contributes to gender difference. For instance, there are certain
countries in which there is a strong order for women to pay high respect when
talking to men. They are not allowed to talk back or argue with men. They are
also not allowed to look at men directly in the eyes. In some cases, they are
not even allowed to socialize with men outside their family at all.
Some Difference In Men & women Talk:-
The question
of whether men and women as groups have different conversational styles must be
considered in the context of cross-cultural communication.
According to
Lakoff, women’s talk has the following properties:
1) A large set of words specific to their
interests: e.g. color words like magenta, shirr, dart (in sewing), etc.
2) “Empty” adjectives such
as divine, precious, lovely, cute, etc.
3) Tag questions and
rising intonation in statement contexts: What’s your name dear? Mary Smith?
4) Use of hedges
5) Use of intensive “so”
6) Hypercorrect grammar:
women are not supposed to talk rough
7) Super-politeness
8) Ask more questions
Man’s Talk Characteristics:-
But surely men talk to their friends too! And here are the
topics:
•
Work
•
Sports
•
Institutional power
•
Politics
•
Not so much about family Personal issues are not expected to feature
prominently in the conversation
•
Men interrupt women more than vice versa.
•
Men speak more comfortably in public than women.
AIDS
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, which is the virus
that causes HIV infection. The abbreviation “HIV” can refer to the virus or to
HIV infection.
AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is the
most advanced stage of HIV infection.
What
is AIDS?
AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection. Once HIV infection
develops into AIDS, infections and cancer pose a greater risk.
Without treatment, HIV infection is likely to develop into AIDS
as the immune system gradually wears down. However, advances in ART mean than
an ever-decreasing number of people progress to this stage.
By the close of 2015, around 1,122,900 people were HIV-positive. To compare, figures from 2016
show that medical professionals diagnosed AIDS in an estimated 18,160 people.
Causes
People transmit HIV in bodily fluids, including:
- blood
- semen
- vaginal
secretions
- anal fluids
- breast milk
- anal or
vaginal intercourse with a person who has HIV while not using a condom or
PrEP, a preventive HIV medication for people at high risk of infection
- sharing
equipment for injectable illicit drugs, hormones, and steroids with a
person who has HIV
A woman living with HIV who is pregnant or has recently given
birth might transfer the disease to her child during pregnancy, childbirth, or
breastfeeding.
The risk of HIV transmitting through blood transfusions is
extremely low in countries that have effective screening procedures in place
for blood donations.
Progression to AIDS
The risk of HIV progressing to AIDS varies widely between
individuals and depends on many factors, including:
•
the age of the individual
•
the body's ability to defend against HIV
•
access to high-quality, sanitary healthcare
•
the presence of other infections
•
the individual's genetic inheritance resistance to certain strains of
HIV
•
drug-resistant strains of HIV
Symptoms
For the most part, infections by other bacteria, viruses, fungi,
or parasites cause the more severe symptoms of HIV.
These conditions tend to progress further in people who live
with HIV than in individuals with healthy immune systems. A correctly
functioning immune system would protect the body against the more advanced
effects of infections, and HIV disrupts this process.
Some people with HIV do not show symptoms until months or even
years after contracting the virus.
However, around 80 percent of
people may develop a set of flu-like symptoms known as acute retroviral
syndrome around 2–6 weeks after the virus enters the body.
The early symptoms of HIV infection may include:
•
fever
•
chills
•
joint pain
•
muscle aches
•
sore throat
•
sweats. particularly at night
•
enlarged glands
•
a red rash
•
tiredness
•
weakness
•
unintentional weight loss
•
thrush
These symptoms might also result from the immune system fighting
off many types of viruses.
However, people who experience several of these symptoms and
know of any reason they might have been at risk of contracting HIV over the
last 6 weeks should take a test.
Late-stage HIV infection
Without medication, HIV weakens the ability to fight infection.
The person becomes vulnerable to serious illnesses. This stage is known as AIDS
or stage 3 HIV.
Symptoms of late-stage HIV infection may include:
•
blurred vision
•
diarrhea, which is usually
persistent or chronic
•
dry cough
•
a fever of over 100 °F (37
°C) lasting for weeks
•
night sweats
•
permanent tiredness
•
shortness of breath, or
dyspnea
•
swollen glands lasting for
weeks
•
unintentional weight loss
•
white spots on the tongue
or mouth
During late-stage HIV infection, the risk of developing a
life-threatening illness increases greatly. A person with late-stage HIV can
control, prevent and treat serious conditions by taking other medications
alongside HIV treatment.
HIV
and AIDS myths and facts
Many misconceptions circulate about HIV that are harmful and
stigmatizing for people with the virus.
The following cannot transmit the virus:
•
shaking hands
•
hugging
•
kissing
•
sneezing
•
touching unbroken skin
•
using the same toilet
•
sharing towels
•
sharing cutlery
•
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or other forms of "casual
contact"
•
the saliva, tears, feces, and urine of a person with HIV
Treatment:-
No cure is currently available for HIV or AIDS.
However, treatments can stop the progression of the condition
and allow most people living with HIV the opportunity to live a long and
relatively healthy life.
Starting ART early in the progression of the virus is crucial.
This improves quality of life, extends life expectancy, and reduces the risk of
transmission. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the use of HIV medicines to
treat HIV infection. People on ART take a combination of HIV medicines (called
an HIV treatment regimen) every day.
ART is recommended for everyone who has HIV. ART prevents HIV
from multiplying, which reduces the amount of HIV in the body (called the viral
load).
Having less HIV in the body protects the immune system and prevents HIV
infection from advancing to AIDS. ART can’t cure HIV, but HIV medicines help
people with HIV live longer, healthier lives.
ART also reduces the risk of HIV transmission. A main goal of
ART is to reduce a person’s viral load to an undetectable level. An undetectable
viral load means that the level of HIV in the blood is too low to be
detected by a viral load test. People with HIV who maintain an undetectable
viral load have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative
partner through sex.