Introduction to Contemporary Society Essay

STUDENT lucubrateACAP Student IDNameCourse BASSIX.ASSESSMENT DETAILSUnit/ mental faculty Introduction to Contemporary SocietyEducator judgment Name Assignment1Assessment Number 1Term & YearWord Count 2,121. promulgationI decl are that this assessment is my feature work, based on my own personal explore/study. I also declare that this assessment, nor parts of it, has non been previously submitted for any other unit/module or course, and that I have not copied in part or whole or otherwise plagiarised the work of another student and/or persons. I have read the ACAP Student Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct indemnity and understand its implications.Society is a human construct that in its around basic form refers to a theme of heap who share a mind of society and agree on how to behave at heart the community so it can function effectively. Socialisation is the process of learning, and adapting as a result of the learning, in order to successfullyintegrate into society. Alth ough we believe, or entreat to believe, that we make choices autonomously, free from the solves of others, this is not the case. Agents of favorableisation are those nation and groups within a society that process our self-c oncept, which in turn manifests in our attitudes, whims, honour and behaviours. Although a uncounted of ingredients contribute to this process over an individual aliveness the influence and dissemble these agents have w bedridden vary from individual to individual. This set intimately reflects on three agents of secondary socialisation internal identity, the workplace and social media and their influences on my socialisation process.Van Krieken, Habibis, Smith, Hutchins, Marton and Maton (2010) state that subject area identity is about signaliseing ourselves and others as a incarnate quite a than as individuals a collective that shares a common outlook shaped by either grow, life style or ancestry or all three. National identity, practical ly unconsciously, shapes our perfunctory lives as it manifests in our beliefs, values, behaviours, views, language, lifestyle and choices. I am an Australian by choice, having lived in Australia for a number of years and attaining citizenship in June 2006, and a young Zealander by birth. Although both national identities are available to me I identify more or less safely with my terra firma of birth so I distinguish myself a tonic Zealander when asked about my nationality.Mori are the Indigenous peoples of crude Zealand whilst newborn Zealanders of European descent can be categorised in several routes Pkeh from the Mori language, which literally trans advanceds to stranger, New Zealander or informally as Kiwis. The Kiwi is a flightless snort unique to New Zealand and is also one of its most recognizable national symbols. Of the three terms available to me as a non-indigenous New Zealander I engagement the term Kiwi as it also encapsu late(a)s symbolical aspects of New Z ealand. There are a number of key traits that typify the national character and identity of New Zealanders according to research undertaken by Sibley, Hoverd and Liu (2011) where people who were born in New Zealand were asked what qualities classify someone a consecutive New Zealander. The top 5 traces to emerge from this research were liberal republican values, cultural/bi-cultural sense, rugby/sporting culture, citizenship and ancestry and patriotic values, with each characteristic also beingdeconstructed into number of related elements.Liberal democratic values, which encompassed pro-social, pro-environmental elements such as friendliness, respect for people and environment, tolerance, equality and work ethic was the characteristic that I believe has most influenced my secondary socialisation and continues to do so on a daily basis. New Zealanders view themselves as classless and classless and this aspect of the national character has a crucial influence on me as I place no value on titles, ranks, gender or backgrounds and my underpinning belief is that everyone is equal regardless of their wealth, power, race or gender. This may also prove to be a blind tell in my socialisation, as others may perceive my interactions with them as being sarcastic due to my egalitarian viewpoint.The pro-environment outlook that I have also emanates from my sense of national identity rather than from my family of origin, as I am the scarcely member of my family that has a green outlook and respects the environment through all forms of recycling. As a child in primary train I was exposed to Mori folklore, which explains the origins of everything from a mythological perspective. As a result of this the attitude of umpteen New Zealanders towards the environment is heavily influenced by the Mori concept of the mauri, or environmental life force, which says that any disconfirming impact on the mauri adversely impacts its energy, which has a negative flow on effect to the lives of people and the environment. This value also underpins my support of the New Zealand thermonuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act that was passed by the Parliament in 1987, which bans visits by vessels that are nuclear powered or armed. From my perspective this wear round of legislation also embodies another characteristic of New Zealanders, that of punching above our charge or fighting for what we believe in socially despite our size.The mass of New Zealanders saw the passing of the legislation as a mild nation courageously taking a clear position on a con tennertious topic on the world stage. Cultural/Bicultural awareness is another key characteristic identify by Sibley et.al. (2011) that has influenced me. In the late 1980s in that location was a renaissance of Moritanga or Mori culture and a subsequent acceptance of it by the broader New Zealand. This Mori renaissance manifested in a multitude of ways suchas a greater emphasis on Mori cultural mirror image in the arts, language and tikanga or customs and traditions. Te Reo, the Mori language, was officially recognised as an official language of New Zealand and all political science departments formally incorporated the Mori translation into their names.Even though I no longer reside in New Zealand this still has an influence on my language as I often subconsciously give Mori words or phrases that more effectively explain symbolic concepts than English, which ca applys a lack of understanding from non New Zealanders. New Zealand art, which incorporates a significant amount of national symbolism and Mori culture, also adorns my home. This assignment has encourage me to question why I am a patriotic Australian but fiercely patriotic New Zealander. Upon reflection it is my belief that it was my mother, an agent of primary socialisation and a fiercely patriotic woman, who instilled in me the strong sense of national pride that I still possess today. She reminded me often h ow fortunate I was to be a Kiwi and to never bequeath that we were lucky to live in Gods own country, a phrase use proudly by New Zealanders since the late 1880s to typify New Zealand.The primary school I be also served to deepen this sense of patriotism, as we sang the national anthem at our weekly assembly, which only served to deepen the connection I felt. Whilst the value I place on work is determined primarily by my familys values it also has links to national identity. In the research undertaken by Sibly et. al. (2011), which focuses on defining the national identity of New Zealanders, many New Zealanders reported that working hard and trying to get ahead, colloquially referred to as the number 8 fencing wire mentality, were national traits, a philosophy that I was brought up to believe in. Work is also an heavy aspect of my life for more than economic reasons. It is a significant endorser to my identity as it allows me to be viewed as an individual rather than by my rela tionships with others such as being someones partner.From an economic perspective, I place significant value on being self-sufficient as a result of a my upbringing and this, combined with the value I place on achievement, has driven me to consciously progress mycareer in order to ensure that I can remain independent financially. An output of these unavoidablenesss is that I am more comfortable in the piece of the primary, rather than secondary, breadwinner in my intimate relationships. Meisenbach (2010) undertook research on the phenomenological devours of women who were the primary income earners in their relationships, either through choice or circumstance, seeking to determine elements of commonalty from these experiences. Six key themes emerged from the womens experiences the consume for control, valuing independence, feelings of stress, placing value on a partners contribution, feelings of resentment or guilt, and placing value on progressing their careers.Although there was variation around the value the participants placed on each element, most agreed that the financial independence the social function of female breadwinner gave them formed an primary(prenominal) aspect of their identity. The value placed on this aspect was usually attributed to a parent actively encouraging their independence, or to a negative practice they saw whilst growing up, so the status of main breadwinner in their lives ensured a sense of independence they felt would be a positive element for negotiating any tough times in their lives. This resonated with me as my mother was ill educated and as a result financially dependent on my stepfather so she stayed in a non-supportive relationship, which had significant impact on me. As noted above another essential element was that the majority of participants identified as being ambitious and career driven, in many cases, practically more so than their male partners.This is another aspect that resonates with me as it is my belief that one of the major reasons I am agelessly studying is that continuing education is a basis for progressing my career thereby as a take to bes of maintaining my ability to remain independent financially if the need were to arise, through either choice or circumstance. This unwavering focus on stay financially independent, even within a committed and loving partnership, must be handled with care in order to ensure my husband understands that that my need to be in control financially in no way no way diminishes his financial contribution or status. Social media also has growing impact on my socialisation, both personally and professed(prenominal)ly. I experience a conflicted relationship with it. From a positive perspective I use social media as a mechanism to keep in constant touch with family overseas.On thenegative aspect of social media, I contract the intrusiveness of it frustrating as some individuals seem to feel the need to be on social media constantly despite being physically in my company. I am also perplexed at the self-foc employ culture social media is breeding in our young people where they seem to volume life rather than experience it. I have a distinct relationship with social media from a professional perspective. I use LinkedIn a networking and job search tool so I connect with people Ive previously worked with, join groups of other like-minded professionals, use it as a passive job search mechanism by having an online resume posted. Hemel (2013) says In the past year LinkedIn has emerged as one of the most respectable business tools on the planet. Long considered a repository for digital rsums, the network now reports 225 million members who have set up profiles and uploaded their education and job histories (pg 68).She also goes on to say that people are using LinkedIn for a multitude of purposes such as building professional portfolios of their work, recommending colleagues and keeping abreast of trends by reading LinkedI n Today, which has news from a myriad of sources including key LinkedIn influencers. With tough economic conditions prevailing over the last few years I made the decision to leave self- physical exertion after ten years to return to the perceived stability of full time, paid employment in order to retain my financial independence. During this time I used LinkedIn to monitor trends in employment, update my network in anticipation of the change, see online job opportunities posted on LinkedIn, connect with recruiters, who are prevalent on LinkedIn nowadays, and to post an updated resume and career history.I also used it to examine and research companies prior to attending interviews. Social media also has a role to play in maintaining links with my national identity. Expatriation is a major phenomenon according to the New Zealand Government statistics as 16% of New Zealanders and 25% of overall tertiary educated New Zealanders live overseas with the largest group residing in Austral ia. In 2004 Kiwi Expatriates Abroad (K.E.A) was formed to connect throw out New Zealanders to their nation, to promote New Zealand to the world and to enhance business opportunities via an online front end on Facebook, LinkedIn and the Internet. I joined at the outset and have used the group to network in order to createbusiness opportunities. With a membership of over 100,00 people, K.E.A demonstrates that national identity doesnt always mean residing in a county in order to identify with it, as the use of social media now makes the worlds boundaries less relevant.Agents of socialisation do not exist as static entities that have a defined, once off influence on an individuals identity at a given point in time but rather as dynamic entities that continue to interact with one another end-to-end an individuals lifetime. These agents also vary in their influence and impact on individuals and they encourage individuals to learn and adapt in order to match comfortably into society.Re ferencesHempel, J. (2013). LinkedIn How its Changing Business(And How To Make It work For You). Fortune. 168(1), 68-1NULL.Meisenback, R. J. (2010). The effeminate BreadwinnerPhenomological Experience and Gendered Identity in Work/Family Spaces, Sex Roles 62(1/2), 2-19. Doi10.1007/s11199-9714-5.Sibley, C.H., Hoverd, W.J, & Liu, J.H. (2011). pluralistic and Monocultural Facets of New Zealand National Character and Identity. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 40(3)19-28).Te genus Ara The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. (2013). National Identity. Retrieved from http//www.teara.govt.nz/en/new-zealand-identity/page-6van Krieken, R., Habibis, D., Smith, P., Hutchins, B., Martin, G. & Maton, K. (2010). Sociology. (4th ed.). Sydney Pearson Australia.