Comparing Sweden Immigration Policy with German Immigration Policy

Introduction Among the many policies established by various nations, immigration policies are some of the states’ laws that have many biases attached to them. Aristide defines immigration policy as â€Å"any policy of a state that deals with the transit of persons across its borders into the country especially those that intend to work and remain in the country† (2006, p.23).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Comparing Sweden Immigration Policy with German Immigration Policy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A country may choose to prohibit the transit of people across its borders or rather permit free movement of people. However, as priory mentioned, even in situations of free immigration, the state must establish some criterion of distinguishing people who fit from those who do not. One of such biasness may entail the issuance of a directive to permit the admission of citizens belonging to a given mu lti or bilateral form of an organization such as commonwealth amongst others. More often, scholars have criticized immigration policies based on what characterizes them: religious or even racial prejudices. As Herrera and Moualhi posit, â€Å"In liberal-democratic polities, the question of ‘who makes immigration policy’ evokes the question of the extent at which those policies mirror the preferences of a majority of citizens, or rather those of small interest groups† (2004, p.1). The most preferred answer being to foster multiculturalism attitude in the formulation and implementation of the immigration policies within a country. With this in mind, the paper scrutinizes the Sweden and Germany immigration policies. The focus lies on unveiling the imminent racial inequalities that characterize these two countries coupled with conducting an examination of how recent social policy contributed to maintaining or reducing the inequalities. Immigration policies in Germany and Sweden Over the years, immigration has constituted a global phenomenon worth regulating by enacting various state policies. While not negating permanent immigrants, the immigrants’ population constitutes both temporally, frontier and seasonal workers. Disguised as one of these legally acceptable immigrants, the immigrant population also comprises of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers who may or may not be legally recognized. As Luciani Posits, â€Å"In Europe, new flows into the traditional countries of emigration such as Italy, Spain and Portugal have supplemented the long established migration patterns from ex colonies to the UK and France, and of Turks to Germany† (1993, p.59). Over the decades, both eastern and central Europe have experienced ardent political changes that have in turn resulted to the creation of magnificent immigration pressures among the citizens. Whether Sweden or Germany, most of the immigrants come from developing nations. The developin g nations faced the challenges of the high population growth rates, which outweigh the rate at which their governments can create employment opportunities. Consequently, immigration acts like a safety valve, which has significant advantages in terms of provision of employment.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In this end immigration is somewhat influential in that â€Å"Remittances can be a significant source of foreign exchange, while returning migrants may bring capital and skills to foster economic growth† (Luciani 1993, p.57). In this context, immigration stands as a critical mechanism for ensuring free movement of capital and skills across the globe: something that is necessary for maximization of global welfare. However, the maximization of global welfare through encouraging immigration faces critical challenge since as Esping-Anderson argues, â€Å"†labor is unable to withhold itself for long without recourse to alternative means of subsistence† (1990, 37). Unfortunately, economic forces are not the only determinants of immigration policies: politics plays significant roles in setting of immigration policies. â€Å"The receiving countries’ immigration policies determine the scale of immigration flows†¦it is their national economic evaluation of the costs and benefits that is central to understanding this phenomenon† (Luciani 1993, p.70). West Germany had made incredible endeavors to make a rotation of the immigrant labor policies through the â€Å"guest workers† system. This system had experienced a remarkable failure since, as Krauss and Baumol (1979) reckon, it did not â€Å"prevent the emergence of a permanent immigrant community which exceeded 10% of the workforce one quarter of which was Turkish† (p.37). The year 1967 through 1968 saw Germany experience a recession. When Germany encountered an oil prices shock in 1973 through 1974, a reason for alteration of its policies including immigration policies was necessary. One of such a wave of changes entailed increment of permits for the primary immigration coupled with conduction of foreign labor recruitments by November 1973. At around the same time, â€Å"the number of permits for relatives of existing migrants was increased effectively recognizing the failure of the rotational system† (Luciani 1993, p.67). Recessions constituted one of the rationales behind the implementation of more rigid immigration controls in Germany then. However, as Hansen posits, â€Å"the available evidence of unemployment rates amongst unskilled workers (approx. 0.1%) suggests other political considerations were of greater importance than the state of the labor market† (1993, p.90). In this context, the forces of demand and supply never influenced the inflow of immigrants. This is perhaps shifts from believe that â€Å"Within the m arket, the liberal dogma of freedom appears justified: the worker can freely choose between alternative utilities, jobs, employers, and leisure trade-offs† (Esping-Anderson 1990, pp.36-37). There were jobs opportunities that emerged with the onset of high industrialization.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Comparing Sweden Immigration Policy with German Immigration Policy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Immigrants were required to fill these job opportunities and not those held by the natives. Tantamount to Germany, in 1970s, Sweden also faced the dilemma of whether to permit free immigration or not. In 1972, Sweden had deployed strategies that ensured the reduction of the emigration permits. It also heralded foreign labor immigration recruitments. Arguably, the need to reserve employment opportunities for the native population may not have amply explained the initial early 1970s immigration controls, foll owed by maintenance of the same. The evident increment of the unemployment at around the same time in West Germany is a sufficient justification of the claim. Consequently, an alternative explanation of the alteration of the policies may lie on the concerns confined to social repercussion of the immigrant community. Additionally, the immigrant population exerted immense pressure on the limited social amenities such as health, social, education and the security services. As Hansen (1993) posits, â€Å"Pressure from trade unions feared that immigrants would depress wages, consequently, displacing their members in employment† (78). These two latter concerns rely on the economic concerns for permitting free immigration. On a larger extent, the early 1970s strategies to curtail immigration were somewhat successful. Unfortunately, a substantial drawback was evident in maintaining the population of the immigrant communities within certain prescribed levels. The natural reproduction rates for the immigrant communities were much larger in relation to the native German communities. In this end, Molle and Mourik (1988) note that â€Å"while the European fertility rate is approximately 1.6 children per woman below the replacement ratio of 2.1, that of Tunisian women resident in France was 6.19 and by 199210% of all births were to parents of foreign origin in Germany, Belgium, France and the UK† (p.79). This scenario was much similar to what was happening to Sweden. It was then necessary for the immigrant communities to adjust their birth rate to match that of European nations. Sweden is the largest country that forms the Nordic countries in terms of population. Westin (2006) notes that â€Å"with a population of nine million it is one of the smaller members of the European Union, which it joined in 1995† (Para 1). The rapid extension of the public sector in the 1950-60 was widely necessitated by the by the immigrant labor recruitments which give an ex tra advantage in that it provided extra tax base. In this extent, it is perhaps ample to pose a query as to whether the immigrants are equal citizens to the native citizens. With the need to foster multiculturalism and shunning from racism, many nations would argue that their immigration policies are free from these negatives.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, as evidenced by Sweden, â€Å"a number of social indicators show that people of migrant origin have considerably higher rates of unemployment than native Swedes and that they are more heavily dependent on social welfare benefits† (Westin 2006, para.2). This gives an indication of state accepted inequalities between immigrant communities and the Swedes, though amplified by historical social policies. The time 1949 to 1971 marked an essential period in the emergence of Sweden immigration policies. During this period, there were policies that permitted free entry of people from Finland and southern Europe nations. At his time majority of the countries in the Western Europe were out looking for additional labor. The massive growth of the Swedish export market by 1940s perhaps signaled the issue. In 1950 to 1960s, Sweden had permitted large-scale migration of people of Finland origin. Westin (2006) approximates that â€Å"a total of 550,000 Finns migrated to Sweden durin g this time† (Para 10). Unlike Germany in 1970, Sweden never set up guest workers program to curtail immigration. Rather rate of immigration was at the peak in the 1970 in Sweden. In fact, Westin (2006) adds, â€Å"Unlike other Western European countries, Sweden had a policy of permanent immigration that treated these labor migrants as future citizens† (Para. 11). In 1970s, the government dedicated a lot of time to dialogue with Swedish trade union (LO) on the significance of conducting recruitment of foreign labor. However, the immigrants were to get a Swedish-like treatment. Westin reckons that â€Å"the LO and the government struck a consensus that â€Å"importing cheap labor would not be allowed and that foreign workers were to enjoy the same wage levels and rights as Swedes, including access to unemployment benefits† (2006, Para. 13). In this regard, the government wanted the most ideal situation free from prejudices based on race or any other social discri minating trait against the foreigners as compared to the native Swedes. Apart from the labor recruitment executed by industrial based companies, an increasing number of immigrant flowed into Sweden. This was not a problem to the nation in as much as these immigrants found jobs. Lack of solid policies to contain and controlled immigration in 1960s made Sweden authorities unaware of expanding immigrant flows. However, by 1967, immigration law was underway with the intension of slowing down the immigration rate especially where recruiting companies did not directly sponsor it. Brubaker (1990) adds that â€Å"Many Western European countries began to consider curbing labor migration in the early 1970s, with most programs stopping around the time of the 1973 oil crisis with Sweden officially ended labor migration from non-Nordic countries in 1972† (p.340). However, the Sweden immigration polices continued to permit free entry of the asylum seekers in the period starting from 1972 t o 1989. Sweden is perhaps one of the nations that have arguably endeavored through its immigration policies to guarantee equal treatment of immigrants and it native residents. As a way of example, in 1972, Idi Amin expelled from Uganda people of Asian origin who went latter seeking asylum globally. While Canada and the US accepted some of the well-educated refugees, they accommodated the rest in the European countries of which Sweden had its share of about 1000. To reinforce this argument further, Westin (2006) notes that, in 1973, â€Å"some 5,000 refugees from Chile were accepted after the coup against Chilean President Salvador Allende in 1973†¦Approximately 6,000 refugees from Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru also came to Sweden† (Para 15). Still, on religious grounds, Sweden never prejudiced the immigrants who sought refuge. Refugees from Middle East: mainly Islamic in origin, between 1970s and 1980s found sound homes in Sweden. Additionally, Christian Syrians ran for asylum in Sweden in fear of religious persecution. In 1990s, in fear of persecution and humiliation of the Saddam Hussein dictatorial regime, Sweden also accommodated many Iraqis. However, this immigration rate was alarming making the government make certain provisions in the immigration policies to help curb and or reduce the immigration rate. One of the changes was only to give asylum based on humanitarian grounds. Such an approach â€Å"allowed the immigration authorities to appease liberal critics who felt that Sweden was not doing enough to live up to its commitments to the UN† (Aristide 2006, p.47). Through not appreciating the asylum seekers as being refugees as defined in the UN convection, the refuges did not get certain rights including protection rights. Amid the immigration controls of 1972s, recruitment of laborers from countries not belonging to the Nordic regions were tremendously dwindled. Nevertheless, refuges, coupled with their family member s, had permanent residence permission into Sweden. This resulted into a chain migration. The flow of refugees into Sweden was critical. Hence, a policy was to be in place to control the flow rate. The government did not put its intents to curtail the inflow of refuges into the country. All it did was â€Å"to rule that political asylum applications filed in December 1989 or later would be treated strictly in accordance with the 1951 Geneva Convention; humanitarian grounds for asylum would no longer be used† (Taguma, Kim, Brink Teltemann 2010, p.13). This was like a state fostered policy to regulate immigration since it was highly effective in cutting down the inflow of refuges. Sweden has a long traditional history of egalitarian policies. Even with endeavors to ensure that immigrant have equal rights as Swedish natives, some discrepancies are evident, as voiced by Taguma, Kim, Brink and Teltemann (2010), when they claim that â€Å"In 1995, the foreign-born with less than fi ve years presence in Sweden had employment rates 50 points lower than the native-born† (p.14). On a different research, the gap has tremendously dropped up to about 26 points (OECD 2007, p.34). An enormous earnings gap is also evident between immigrants and the natives of Sweden. According to Taguma, Kim, Brink and Teltemann (2010), â€Å"in Sweden, foreign-born persons earn 17% less than native born persons, which while compared to other OECD countries is a moderate gap comparable to Germany’s 17%† (p.14). Somewhat worth to note is that immigrant’s policies do not only cut across the process of allowing entry or rejecting the entry of foreign people in to a country. It also embraces what happens soon or latter after denying or permitting entry or what Brubaker (1990) terms as â€Å"immigrants integration into the society† (p.379). Now, two concepts are essential for consideration in relation to Swedish and Germany immigration policies: multicultura lism and assimilation. By assimilation, it infers that the immigrants keeps their cultures at bay and adopts the ways of life and cultures of the natives. Multiculturalism, on the other hand, infers that the immigrants keeps part of their cultures but also adopts some elements of the cultures of those they find in their new habitats. The question that remains is, ‘do Sweden and Germany immigration policies permit or rather promote assimilation or multiculturalism?’. The German policy is widely taken as a differential policy. In fact, as Herrera and Moualhi (2004) reckon, the Swede and German policies rely on the need to maintain low profiled attitudes towards assimilation (p.12). This is perhaps largely different as compared to other EU nations such as Britain, which tend to incline more on multiculturalism. However, most scholars contend that such nations immigration policies do not have concepts of multiculturalism at the core of their heart on the purposes of fosteri ng integration but rather on the need to keep racism at bay. This means that racism is evident in the integration policies of the immigrants adopted by both Germany and Sweden. Swedes’ considerations to ease the entry of the immigrants who wish to adopt the ways of life of the native Swedes amplify this argument (Herrera Moualhi 2004, p.13). This seems more of a liberal approach to social welfare in which Esping-Anderson argues that â€Å"†is not the fault of the system, but solely a consequence of an individual’s lack of foresight and thrift† (Esping-Anderson 1990, p.42). This implies that racism is evident in the integration policies of the immigrants adopted by both Germany and Sweden. This policy is somewhat largely consistent with the endeavors of the government to foster multiculturalism. However, fostering multiculturalism as previously discussed has the effects of maintaining some form of cultural differences in the minds of not only the immigrant s themselves but also appreciation of the same by the natives. As Herrera and Moualhi (2004) posit, â€Å"The attitudes of the German are similar to those of the Swede, as also the German seem to come to terms with the existence of different customs and traditions while preferring that immigrants adopt the â€Å"way of life in Germany† (p.14). The deference that exists between the German and the Swedish immigration policies in this extent pertains to the fact that Germany advocates for the deferential integration program. The deferential integration policy appreciates and accommodates establishments of segregated communities defined by differing cultures. The government avails minimal support to such communities. By providing minimal support to the segregated communities, the German government proves its inability to tolerate cultural diversity. In this end, Krauss and Baumol comment that â€Å"The German integration policies have induced segregated communities that do not help the living together between eussiller and natives, and the large Turkish minority have for long been considered as guest workers without the right to acquire the German citizenship† (1979, p.44) sounds significant. This perhaps makes an indication that even though Germany claims to integrate the immigrants, in the actual sense it does not. The integration policy of Germany lies on the foundations of homogeneous culture. Then, do the naturalization and citizenship law enforced in 2000 acclaim German immigration and integration policies compliant with their claimed opening to appreciate cultural diversity? This law alteration makes the process of naturalization of the foreigners who settled in German soil easier and more importantly introduce the jus soli principles to the off springs of these long-term immigrants. Conclusion The immigration policies aim at providing a mechanism of segregating people who fit in a given state and those who are not worth. Many of such policie s have contents of racism and various others discrimination including looking at the level of education coupled with skills level of the immigrants. This paper confirms such discrimination in Sweden and German immigration and integration policies. Furthermore, the paper has held the position: by looking at immigration history of the Sweden, that the formulation of the immigration policies has economic and political reasons tied behind them. For instance, in 1940s, Sweden underwent tremendous growth and hence needed large labor. The immigration policy was thus that fostering free migration to seal the labor requirements gap. With the gap sealed, the policies reduced the immigration rate from the Nordic nations. Furthermore, people have argued that immigration policies introduce discrepancies between immigrants and the native in terms of the employment levels. This coupled with cultural difference has the effect of making immigrants seem like lesser citizens compared to the natives. T herefore, racism and social policy history in Germany amplified these inequalities. References Aristide, Z., 2006. A Nation by Design: Immigration Policy in the Fashioning of America, New York: Harvard University Press. Brubaker, R., 1990. â€Å"Citizenship and Nationhood in France and Germany†. International Sociology, 5(4), pp.379-407. Esping-Anderson, G., 1990. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. New Jersey, NJ: Princeton University Press. Hansen, B., 1993. Immigration Policies in Fortress Europe: In Labor and an Integrated Europe. Washington: The Brookings Institute. Herrera, E., Moualhi, D., 2004. Public opinions and immigration policies in five EU Countries: accounting for inconsistencies between selection and integration policies and citizens’ altitudes. Web. Krauss, M., Baumol, W., 1979. â€Å"Guest Workers and Income Transfer Programs financed by Host Governments†. Kylos, 32(7), pp.36-46. Luciani, G., 1993. Migration Policies in Europe and the Uni ted States. London: Kluwer. Molle, W., Mourik, A., 1988. â€Å"International Movements of Labour under Conditions of Economic Integration: The Case of Western Europe†. Journal of Common Market Studies, 26(3), p.79. OECD., 2007. Jobs for Immigrants: Labor Market Integration in Australia, Denmark, Germany and Sweden. Paris: OECD. Taguma, M., Kim, M., Brink, S., Teltemann, J., 2010. OECD reviews of emigrant  Education in Sweden. Web. Westin, C., 2006. Sweden: restrictive immigration policy and multiculturalism. Web. This essay on Comparing Sweden Immigration Policy with German Immigration Policy was written and submitted by user Trey Love to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The United Kingdoms Ageing Population

The United Kingdom's Ageing Population Like many countries across Europe, the United Kingdoms population is ageing. Although the number of elderly people is not rising as quickly as some countries such as Italy or Japan, the UK’s 2001 census showed that for the first time, there were more people aged 65 and older than under 16 living in the country. Between 1984 and 2009, the percentage of the population aged 65 rose from 15% to 16% which is an increase of 1.7 million people. Over same period, the proportion of those under 16 fell from 21% to 19%. By 2040, it is estimated that there will be 15 million people aged 65 or over, compared to 8.7 million under 16.Within this older age cohort, the most rapid rise has been made by the ‘oldest old’ who are aged 85. Their numbers have increased from 660,000 in 1984 to 1.4 million in 2009.By 2034, it is predicted that there will be 3.5 million people in the elderly age range, accounting for 5% of the UK population. Nearly 90,000 of these will be over 100 years old – seven times the 2009 figure. Why is the Population Ageing? These are the reasons for an ageing population: increased life expectancy and Increased fertility rate, Life Expectancy As medicine advances and older populations are healthier, they will live longer and thus the population as a whole will age. Fertility Rate In the UK, the fertility rate has been below replacement levels since the early 1970s. The average fertility is presently 1.94 but there are regional differences within this, with Scotland’s fertility rate currently 1.77 compared with 2.04 in Northern Ireland. There is also a shift to higher mean pregnancy ages – women giving birth in 2009 were on average one year older (29.4) than those in 1999 (28.4). There a lot of factors that have contributed to this change. These include improved availability and effectiveness of contraception; the rising costs of living; increasing female participation in the labour market; changing social attitudes; and the rise of individualism. Impacts on Society Work and Pensions Longer retirement periods may lead to an increased level of pensioner poverty, especially amongst those who have not been able to pay into occupational schemes. Women are particularly vulnerable to this. They have a higher life expectancy than men and can lose their husband’s pension support if he dies first. They are also more likely to have taken time out of the labor market to raise children or care for others, meaning they may not have saved enough for their retirement. In response to this, the UK government recently announced plans to remove the fixed retirement age meaning that employers can no longer force people to retire once they reach 65. They have also announced plans to increase the retirement age for women from 60 to 65 by 2018. It will then be raised to 66 for both men women by 2020. Employers are also being encouraged to employ older workers and specialist initiatives are being put in place to support older people in returning to work. Healthcare Positive Impacts It is also noted that healthy retirees are able to provide care to their grandchildren and more likely to be involved in community activities. They are more inclined to support the arts by attending concerts, theatres and galleries and some studies show that as we get older, our satisfaction with life increases. In addition, communities are likely to become safer as older people are statistically less likely to commit crimes.

Design and the Implementation of Knowledge Management System Research Proposal

Design and the Implementation of Knowledge Management System - Research Proposal Example On the other hand Maier (2007) defined Knowledge management system as a system that integrates knowledge pertaining to culture, information technology infrastructure and employees’ intellect of an organization. The heightened valuation of business entity on basis of their intellectual capital and prevalence of information has made knowledge management system key determinant of the success or failure of a firm. The main objective of this project will be to study the design and implementation of knowledge management system (KMS) in relation to the management of cultural, leadership and technological information of Samsung electronics. The project intends to examine existing conceptual models of knowledge, KMS implementation success factors and potential hindrance to KMS. The paper will employ case study method to achieve the highlighted objectives. Therefore, the methodology will entail detailed contextual analysis of literature review relating to Samsung electronics KMS. The study will thus examine reports and secondary sources of information detailing the design and implementation of KMS by Samsung electronics. In addition, subsequent analysis will identify barriers, strengths and weakness of the system to Samsung electronics. In conclusion, deductions from the evaluation and analysis of the KMS will be employed to prepare a report (Yin,

Alcan write up Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Alcan write up - Case Study Example Some of the trends in its mergers and acquisitions are indications of this. However, the company has not sought to benefit from operational synergies that are available to it. Organizing Model – In this model several business unit or process leaders in the company make there own decisions. This is akin to a feudal system. This indicates that a decentralized approach is taken towards the organization and management of resources. Architecture – The IT governance style appears to be that of anarchy as each user group pursues its own IT agenda. This has resulted in over 1000 applications. Of this over 400 relates to finance. This has been that way even as the CFO as head of Corporate IT. Standards – The governance style of anarchy prevails as there are really no set standards to follow. The various user groups in each business unit appear to do as they please without any regard for what is happening in similar areas in the organization. Resources – Each business unit decides on the resources that it needs. No attempt is made to determine if the competencies exist in the organization. As a result 80% of IT budget is spent on outsourcing, equipment and software. This would seem to imply that with all the mergers and acquisitions the competencies in IT has not improved but has only gotten worst. Governance is structured in this way at Alcan because after mergers and acquisitions take place the companies basically retain their identity as separate business units. There is no attempt to benefit from economies of scale in terms of merging similar IT projects. Thus on Ouelette’s arrival three separate SAP implementation were taking place at the same time. The advantages of this type of decentralized structure are that: it allows the CIO to concentrate on key IT decisions; and the business unit executives are free to carry out their management function as they were used to before the merger. They operate as before the merger and

Strategic intelligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic intelligence - Essay Example e matter is the fact that seldom do target or host countries declassify sensitive information and this makes accessing important information untenable. With the failure to access sensitive information, comes the making of inaccurate decisions, especially in the field of foreign relations, protecting, consolidating and perpetuating state interest and security. The place of the United States could be very different in international relations, if the US never treated strategic intelligence seriously. The menacing threat of terrorism and the ideological threat of religious or political Islam underscore the instances that have the power to curtail America’s interests, safety and political and socio-economic strength, in the absence of the United State’s commitment to strategic intelligence. In this effect, the value of strategic intelligence is exemplified by: the elimination of US enemies such as Osama bin Laden, Anwar Al Awlaki, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Muhammad Atef, Abu Layth al-Libi, Atiyah A. Al-Rahman, Abu Ayub al Masri; and the capturing of likeminded criminals such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Faraj al-Libi, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, Abu Zubaydah and Walid bin Attash, among many others. It is also because of strategic intelligence that the US has been able to identify points of priority and to make timely, appropriate and accurate response. Some of the response that the US has made to strategic intelligence breakthroughs have included legislation, diplomacy, funding, engaging in direct or proxy war, issuing state-to-state warnings and even issuing travel advisory. It is necessary to cover all the five basic components as an integrated study [instead of separating the components into separate stove-pipes so as to allow learners come up with a more comprehensive scope, and not a fragmented one. For this reason, I like other students have been left with a greater ability to: examine the purpose, significance and role of strategic counterintelligence; deconstruct

The cultural belief of hegemonic masculinity

The cultural belief of hegemonic masculinity Hegemonic masculinity is a belief in existence of culturally normative ideal of male behavior that is characterized by tendency for male dominance. Proponents of hegemonic masculinity theory argue that hegemonic masculinity is not necessarily the most dominant form of expression in male although it is the most socially endorsed; always contributing to subordinate position of women. Connell (2005) notes that hegemonic masculinity is characterized by ambition, strength, drive and self reliance and argues that such characteristics are encouraged in males but not in females. In his opinion, Donaldson (1993) argues that hegemonic masculinity concerns the dread of and the flight from women; and views it as a culturally idealized form, a personal or collective project and a strategic strategy for men to subordinate women. It is violent, exclusive, anxiety provoking, internally and hierarchically differentiated. However, Donaldson (1993) highlights that not all men practice it, although many benefit from it. Furthermore, it constructs the most dangerous things that humanity must content with; it is resilient and incorporates its own critique, although unraveling. This essay discusses the concept of hegemonic masculinity in relation to gender and social change. Hegemonic Masculinity: Gender and Social Change The concept of hegemonic masculinity is criticized for being framed within hetero-normative conception of gender that essentializes male-female difference and ignores difference and exclusion within the gender categories (Trigiani 1999). The concept largely rests logically on dichotomization of sex, which is biological versus gender, which is cultural, thus marginalizing the body (Trigiani 1999). According to Cornnell (2005) hegemonic masculinity is constructed in relation to subordinated masculinities; especially women thus there is no feminist that is hegemonic in the sense that the dominant form of masculinity is hegemonic among men. Iacuone (2005) views hegemonic masculinity as the most common blueprint for gender in Western culture as it dictates how real men should behave and the goals they should aspire to attain through the masculinity practice. It is an imagined construct rather than a practical one, with only few people possessing all its traits, although majority hold the principle with highest esteem (Iacuone 2005). In line with hegemonic masculinity traits, the identity of heterosexual man depends on his dislike of subordinated gender constructs; hence Iacuone (2005) admits that hegemonic masculinity views women as objects, depicts them as servile and most appropriate for domestic duties; only being value to men in a sexual capacity. The dominant masculine culture influences attitudes of construction workers, whereby hegemonic masculinity prescribes that men should be tough, be courageous enough to face danger and to dominate over others. Such men only view social environment as a conducive place for ri sk taking, with most of them viewing women as sex objects who should be there to entertain them and even embrace sexual assault to women as acceptable (Iacuone 2005). However, a small portion of men try to resist the influences of hegemonic masculine culture in gender, especially in settings where men challenge traditional patriarchal relations with an aim of improving womens welfare (Iacuone 2005). Kimmel Amy (2008) view hegemonic masculinity as a social ideal of a real man, described by society as young, married, white, and protestant, urban, heterosexual, white of college education, good complexion, height, and weight and employed. They argue that any male who does not have any of the described character traits should consider himself as inferior or unworthy. Gender is an ever present force that defines daily behavior of human beings. Spade Valentine (2010) bring out the masculinity contrast between men and women as viewed by society. They argue that as women graduate from girlhood to womanhood and join mixed gender groups at work, in colleges or play, their voices are often ignored and subordinated; they have to monitor what they say, how they say it and how often they talk to ensure that they do not dominate because their gender limits their participation (Spade Valentine 2010). Gendered patterns of belief and behavior influence peoples way of life in daily intimate relationships, with family and friends. According to Spade Valentine (2010), studies shave revealed that girls who transgress into boys zone end up being eventually respected by their male playmates if they are good in conventionally male activities, while on the other hand, boys are harassed and teased when they try to participate in girls related activities thus dominance of hegemonic masculinity is maintained by denying boys access to girls activities. Furthermore, the dominance of masculinity is reinforced when boys are ridiculed because they do not comply with society expectations of hegemonic masculinity; hence they fail to be sufficiently dominant. In order to cope with pressure from the society, Spade Valentine (2010) note that most men have learned how to do the behaviors that maintain hegemonic masculinity, while at the same time suppressing feelings and behaviours that might make the m look feminine. This shows the extent of slavery, frustrations and fear experienced by men in order to maintain their hegemonic masculinity status in the society. Despite these frustrations, hegemonic masculinity comes with its benefits as it is maintained in a hierarchy that is realized by only few men, with every other person subordinated to them; including women, poor white men, men of colour, gay men and men from devalued ethnic and religious groups. This dominance may be institutionalized in the structure of the situation. Hegemonic masculinity is supported by sex role theory, which advocates for people to learn from societys institutions to behave in ways that are appropriate to their sex. According to Trigiani (1998), the sex role theory views men as aggressive, rational, dominant and objective while women are passive, intuitive, submissive and subjective. The theory further assumes that culture values characteristics of each sex equally and that these values complement each other in to bring out balance in the society; whereby women are just as esteemed for their passivity as men are for their aggressiveness (Trigiani 1998). However, Haenfler (2006) views hegemonic masculinity as a configuration of gender practice that only embodies the currently accepted answer to the problem of legitimacy of patriarchy, taken to guarantee the dominant position of men and the subordinate position of women. Haenfler (2006) laments that since late 19th century, the social basis of masculinity has been undermined and men hardly understand what it means to be a man. Furthermore, modernization, rapid industrialization, urbanization and the rise of bureaucracy has separated boys from fathers and destabilized the male breadwinner role. In addition, feminists have challenged dominant notions of gender, making it a challenge for a young man to figure out how to be a man in modern days (Haenfler 2006). Haenfler (2006) observes that the young mens current fears and continued erosion of male breadwinner role might provide a historic opportunity for men, both collectively and individually to reject the destructive and narrow limiting definitions of masculinity and prefer to create more peaceful and egalitarian definitions of manhood. In a culture that glorifies masculine displays of confidence, sexual prowess, strength and power, men increasingly feel unsure, impotent, weak and powerless hence they have often responded to their confusion and feelings of inadequacy through self control, reactive exclusion and escape from reality (Haenfler 2006). Haenfler (2006) observes that men who feel like they are losing control over their work and relationships often exercise extreme control over their personal lives, fitness, alcohol consumption and sexual appetites; hence becoming objects of self control. They react to crisis of hegemonic masculinity by attempting to shut women out of positions of power and influence and escape womens influence by retreating to male only social behavior (Haenfler 2006). Haenfler (2006) laments that while hegemonic masculinity may have its benefits to men in terms of public status and masculine privileges, it comes with a price as men often pay with poor health, shorter live and emotionally swallow their relationships and suffer from mental distress. Other critics of hegemonic masculinity argue that hegemonic masculinities do not correspond to actual lives of men, thus the theory provides a vague and imprecise account of social psychological reproduction of male identities. Conclusion In conclusion, hegemonic masculinity embodies men as superior human beings and views women as inferior and submissive creatures, who should live at mercy of their male counterparts. It teaches men to undermine and mistreat women and fellow men who are perceived as inferior. It values competition of hierarchy, sexual prowess and physical toughness at the expense of human dignity, self respect and peace of mind. Hegemonic masculinities often suppress their true feelings to avoid looking feminine as they internally suffer from mental and emotional distress to please the society and live as expected. However, with increasing modernity and industrialization, hegemonic masculinity is slowly losing its meaning; with many women assuming the role of breadwinners and rising to leadership positions as many young men become more and more afraid of society defined masculine responsibilities associated with hegemonic masculinities.

Assisted Suicides :: essays research papers

Assisted Suicides The Washington Post September 2-8, 1996 Picture yourself in this situation. You go to the doctor for a routine physical. You look fine. You feel good. All those exhausting workouts at the gym are finally starting to pay off and you actually stuck to that low fat, high vitamin diet you're doctor recommended. You have never felt better. You are essentially the epitome of a healthy, fit human being. Then, out of nowhere, you are diagnosed with a disorder of the nervous system accompanied by chronic fatigue syndrome. The illness is permanent and there is no cure. It will only progress and worsen with time, and all you can do is wait. What would you do? If you were 42-year-old Judith Curren, a nurse and mother of two small children, you'd be in close contact with the infamous suicide assessor, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a.k.a. "Doctor Death," discussing your "options." However, according to an editorial published in The Washington Post, entitled "38 Assisted Suicides," many people believe that when it comes to matters such as life and death, there are no options. The decision to live or die is made by God. Judith Curren didn't agree. With the assistance of Dr. Kevorkian, she died and the retired pathologist presided at his 38th assisted suicide, fairly confident that he will not be prosecuted or even suffer public disapproval. Many of the people who have sought out Dr. Kevorkian have been terribly ill and suffering, with no hope of long-term survival. Their stories offered examples that built public sympathy for this cause. But from the beginning, even among observers who believe that the desperately sick should be given help to die, there have been questionable cases. For example, a woman in her fifties allegedly suffering from early Alzheimer's disease was fit enough to play tennis with her adult son shortly before dying. Another-said to have had a painful, progressive illness-was found to be free of disease by the county medical examiner. The article argued this point, "Is it in any way merciful, compassionate, or 'healing' (a favorite word of Kevorkian fans) to assist in the suicide of a middle-aged woman who is tired and depressed and married to a man whom she recently accused of attacking her and who then delivers her to Dr. Kevorkian? Pain is controllable. Depression and fatigue can be ameliorated by drugs. Violent husbands can be prosecuted and divorced. Suicide in such a case is unreasonable. A doctor's help in that course is unconscionable." I had mixed feelings on this editorial because I take into consideration both sides of the argument.