March 2017 – Emma Bowie Society & Lifestyles

March 14, 2017

Society and Culture – Youth

Our lecture / tutorial today focused on society and culture and how these relate to ‘youth culture’. It gave me more of an insight into what society and culture mean. Culture is the traditions shared by members of a group that are reflected in their way of life. Whereas a society can range from a small to large group of people, these groups could be formal or informal and not everyone has to have the same views. We also discussed the term ‘youth’, what it meant and what a subculture was in relation to it. The term ‘youth’ can be described by ‘a particular stage of physical, emotional and social development’, it is the stage between being a child and an adult. Some examples of youth subcultures are punks, hippies and goths. It is a group from the wider society that is known from its cultural patterns.

Another key concept covered in the tutorial was the differences and commonalities between youths around the world. Some of the main commonalities that my group came up with was informal education (for example learning through play and adventure), puberty and friends (interactions with others their age). There are also many differences, some being formal education (schooling, not every youth across the world has the chance to go to school), human rights and responsibilities (the driving and drinking age and the minimum wage or right to work). Overall the thing I took away from this the most was that although many things are similar in youths around the world, there are even more differences in culture and society, these are evident across the globe.

We then moved onto talk about the theories of adolescence, some theorist being Piaget, Erikson, Maslow and Kohlberg. Piaget believes that children go through set stages at certain times in their lives, these focus of how children think and how they interact with the world around them. Likewise Kohlberg agrees with Piaget about moral development and that children go through set stages, he however does not attach these stages to age. He also believes that children go through a principled level at stage 5 and 6. However Erikson doesn’t believe in stages as such, he believes that during the transition from childhood to adulthood (12-18), youths climb steps in order for them to become an adult. Youths now start to look into the future in terms of relationships, housing and careers, he also believes that they are now trying to look for a society to fit into.

There was however one theory that I was struggling to comprehend, Maslows theory. During the lecture I feel like I knew the basics, I understood the triangle but I struggled to understand it in as much depth as the others. As I don’t feel as confident on this theorist I aim to look more into him before the exam so that I feel confident to write about each if need be in the exam. I will look at the recommended reading for this topic and I will visit the library if need be. I think this will help develop my understanding of not only Maslows theory but the rest too, so that I go into the exam feeling confident on this topic.

Before the exam I will also need to look further into the example case studies provided. I believe that reading these more in depth will aid my understanding of the topic as a whole.

I feel like what I have learned today will help me in the future to have a deeper understanding of the children in my classes. I think this will in turn make me a better teacher.

Overall I believe that what I have learned over the past few weeks have been very useful and interesting. Looking back on the last two weeks I can now see how everything fits together and I look forward to taking the information gained further in my career as a primary school teacher.

March 7, 2017

Ideology and Prejudice

In todays lecture and tutorial we focused on ideology and prejudice; what they mean and examples of each. From the lecture and tutorials I also got to know the five different agents of socialisation and how they influence us. The five being; media, family, peers, education and technology. Prior to todays lecture I wouldn’t have been abel to state the difference between ideology and prejudice, I have now learned that prejudice is an attitude, that is usually negative, that involves pre-judgements or preconceived ideas. Where as ideology is an organised collection of ideas that reflects on someone believes and values of a group.

I feel like I did understand the main concepts discussed today. From the tutorial I am now able, as spoke about previously, to identify and talk about the impact of the five agents of socialisation. My group spoke about each and discussed how they influence us. We said that media impacts us as on social media often fake news circulates and people may get caught up in it. Social media also promotes the idea of a ‘perfect body’, this could effect how children view themselves and others which could in turn create conflict. Family may influence our ideology as believes and values are sent down and reenforced to the younger generation (Karl Mannheim – The Generation Theory) meaning that the children want to stick by what their family believe. Likewise with peers, children grow up surrounded by peer pressure and may start to adapt what their true feelings are to ‘fit in’ with their friends.

The only thing that I feel slightly unsure of is secularisation. When this was mentioned in one of the tutorials I asked my lecturer to provide a further explanation I also asked my peers to do the same. This gave me more of a clear understanding, however when I got home I did still have to look on the internet for examples. I feel like I do understand this a lot more now, although I will make sure I research this further before the exam.

I feel like what I have learned today will impact both my micro and macro world. In my miro world I will be abel to discuss with those around me what I have be told today and the effects that certain aspects can have on people. This will hopefully, in turn, make them more open and understanding to different ideas and believes. In my macro world I will be sure not to judge someone just because they are a celebrity. I will also make sure that I do not confirm to something that someone in my macro world may say, just because who they are.

I think one area that needs improvement is learning more about the theories and scholars. I understood the basics of what they believed to be true however I would not be able to write about a specific one in detail. For this I will be sure to visit the library a lot more to read up on each individual one so that I can further my understanding. I think that this was I will have confidence in all aspect of the topic ideology and prejudice so far.

Overall I think that everything spoke about today was very relevant to me. As I progress into becoming a teacher I will now be more conscious than ever that I do not show prejudice towards a child or allow it in the classroom. I will try my best not to be bias and allow every child from each different background the chance to explore different believes and values, not just their own. I have really enjoyed this input and I look forward for next week to widen my knowledge ideology and prejudice.

March 2, 2017

Mind, Body and Health

In this weeks lecture we focused on stress to start off with. We had to identify the things that made us stressed, if they were good or bad and how we could help prevent them. We discussed stress triggers such as job stress, daily hassles and age related stress (this being something I had never thought about before). We then spoke about our responses to stress. This is where I found out that I didn’t deal with stress very well, I just cry, although after going though the slides and hearing suggestions from others in my year, I have thought about more positive ways to deal with stress such as going a run or seeking social support. We also looked at mental health and how religion and spirituality could help this. Next we looked at how mental health affects physical health, having positive mental health means that the person feels;

Sense of empowerment and personal control
Sense of connectedness
Sense of purpose and meaning
Hope

This then means that they use less health services, meaning less stress on the government. They also have positive recovery rates as they feel in control and they know they can get better. Lastly we spoke about the importance of social support and why it is vital that people feel like they have someone to talk to, so that it doesn’t lead to being lonely and feeling excluded.

Holmes Rahe Inventory

In the tutorial we were asked to complete the Holmes Rahe Inventory to work out our stress levels and the affect this could have on our health. Shockingly I scored 265, this meant I feel into the category 150 to 300 points meaning a 50% chance of health breakdown in the next 2 years. I was very shocked to be placed in the category, and as far up in it. I do feel stressed at this time although not as much as it is suggesting and it is scary to this that this could mean I have a 50% chance of having health problems in the years to come.

I feel like one of the main things I get stressed about it work, uni work and my job. I need to work so I can earn money although working too much means I don’t have enough time for my studies. This does put a lot of stress on me and it is something I struggle to balance and cope with. I think I noticed this as I started having an increase in arguments with my friends and family, this is when I noticed that I had so much going on in my head that I was taking it out on other people.

I feel like to combat this I need to be more effective with my time management. I need to create a timetable of what I am going to study and when so I can fit my job around this (as my university work comes first). I also need to ensure I leave enough time in the week to get out of the house and do things, even if it is just going a drive with my friends I have released that this was part of the reason I was so stressed, because I was over working myself.

In the future I also aim to do more exercise when I am stressed. I would say I live a fairly active lifestyle although when I am stressed or feel overwhelmed I hope to make an effort to get out the house even if it is for a walk, as it is benefiting me in more ways than one. I will also trying listening to music to calm me down, this is something that I have never tried before so I hope to try this technique to see if it works for me.

Stress Hardiness Article

From reading this article in the tutorial I have a deeper understanding of the term ‘hardiness’ and its three components, control, commitment and challenge. I learnt that a ‘hardy’ individual is someone who tackles stress and takes on challenges for personal growth. This article highlighted how major life events can cause stress in certain people, it also discussed how several factors can have a negative effect on your health.

One factors discussed that can negatively impact your health is normative transitions. These are life events that are expected to happen, for example retirement and moving house. These types of events are likely to cause stress to the individual, however the impact doesn’t tend to be long-term or cause much damage.

Next non-normative transitions. These have more of a serious effect on peoples life. Non-normative events include a divorce or loss of job, they are unpredictable. The effects are long term and are things such as coronary heart disease and cancer. It causes high stress levels for anyone involved.

Loneliness is another factor that could negatively impact on health. As we previously learned being alone and being lonely are completely different. Being alone means being psychically alone, for example in a room, however someone could feel lonely even when surrounded with a room full of people. It is the feeling of not being able to speaking to anyone around you. This can cause major depression, promote unhealthy behaviours, such as drinking, and cause excessive reactions to stress. Feeling lonely also means that you are 4 times more likely to get sick. This in turn can effect your health majorly in the long run.

Another factor that can negatively impact your health is lack of human contact. From a hug to a high five to a pat on the back this allows emotion to be shown and for people to connect with others around them, basic human contact daily can have many benefits. Simply touching someone can decrease stress levels, lower blood pressure and reduce overall tension. Lack of this means they are not receiving the benefits that this brings which could intern effect there mental health in the future.

Social support is the last factor that I will talk about that can effect our health negatively. Having social support means that you have someone to talk to and you know is there for you when you need them. These people can include friends or family, colleagues at work, help lines / groups and professionals. Lack of social support in someones life could negatively impact them as they may start to experience higher stress levels, decreased life expectancy and feeling down about themselves. This may also mean that it takes them longer to recover as they don’t feel obliged to get better for someone else, it could also increase the need for medicine in some long term illnesses, thus negatively impacting their health.

However, from what I have learned today I now know of many different way to combat these problems and methods that could support a healthy lifestyle.

One being finding the right coping mechanisms for you. Some include getting enough sleep, managing your time and keeping a stress diary. The next is physical fitness, exercising is a good way of releasing stress and getting fit and healthy at the same time. Exercising releases happy endorphins making you feel more positive about yourself. Social support from family and friends is another way that could help support a healthy lifestyle. Knowing you have someone to talk to and help you through your problems makes you feel safe which should in turn make you worry less. Religion could also help. Researching and attending church is a good way of keeping a healthy lifestyle, it means you are less likely to take part in risky behaviours and it gives you a senses of personal control and connectedness. A last way that could help support a healthy lifestyle is through learning to be optimistic. Being optimistic means you believe in yourself, you realise and make small changes, set goals and stay flexible. This means you look on the positive side of things and overall you believe in your self which in turn should decrease the chance of stress and support a healthy lifestyle.