Crittically Examine The Use Of The Term Community Essays

Crittically Examine The Use Of The Term Community Critically examine the use of the term ?community' in the 1990's. The essay should be structured in such a way that it incorporates reference to Social Policy, Legislation and practice issues. Students will be required to make use of theoretical studies, particularly from relevant academic and other sources such as books, journals and relevant publications. The meaning of community is a tricky one. It is used in many different contexts and is a concept that means very different things to different people. A useful starting point is in the book Keywords by Raymond Williams. His research on the word community indicates that it has been part of English language since the 14th century, originally used to refer to the common people as opposed to those of rank, or to state or organised society. By the 16th century it was used to refer to ?the quality of having something in common' and ? to a sense of common identity and characteristics.' In time Community also came to refer to a particular quality of relationship, as well as a distinction between community and civil society on one hand and the state on the other. There are many different types of community and the word is very ambiguous, but it is possible to distinguish between several types according to their contrasting features and characteristics, such as density of their social networks, the degree of their openness and their duration. Sociologically it is usually taken to mean people who live in a common geographical area or it can be defined in terms of common interest. It implies some kind of association, perhaps even sharing, and participation in common relationships. It is in these shared characteristics which bind people together where we start to understand the term and its implications, although even within sociology community takes many different forms. In 1995 researcher Hillery found 94 sociological definitions and the only common thread was that they all dealt with people. The classic form of community which many think of when they here the word is the traditional working class communities found throughout industrial Britain during the earlier part of the 20th century. These were tightly knit settlements of workers and their families who grew up around the mines, factories, ports and other workplaces. However with an increasingly efficient transport network many British industries came under threat from cheaper and better quality products from abroad, and within those industries that Britain still held, the workers were replaced with machines. This loss of industry had a crippling effect on local areas, many of which had grown up around the industry. Research into such areas revealed that such communities are very conservative. They are also seeped in tradition related to these ideologies. Such traditions include a moral obligation to maintain a respectable standard of living and a strong commitment to the work ethic. Howe's research on a working class district of Eastlough in Protestant East Belfast showed despite a high unemployment rate the dole was still seen as an interruption of work, and it was legitimate employment which was sought and desired. This was strongly supported by long standing attitudes and values. Being on the dole induced strong feelings of private shame, which, in turn often led people to withdraw from the community. As a result Howe found their lives to become further impoverished by ?social isolation, fragmentation and distrust' (Howe 1990). With the decline of these so-called ?occupational communities' comes the notion that the concept of community is not relevant in the 21st century. The Elderly who once belonged to such so called ?occupational' communities reminisce about the good old days, when everyone knew and looked out for each other. They talk about a strong community consciousness generated by common residence and common necessity - a social support network that they feel is lacking in modern day society. Not just among the elderly but in general, there is a widely held belief that modern times have witnessed a decline of community. In my opinion this comes about because selective, romanticised views of the past are often adopted and the less sentimental memories of characteristics and events from the past are often forgotten. The conflicts and internal tensions

Definition of Chinese Exclusion Act

Definition of Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first United States law to restrict immigration of a specific ethnic group. Signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur in 1882, it was a response to a nativist backlash against Chinese immigration to the American West Coast. The law was passed after a campaign against Chinese workers, which included violent assaults. A faction of American workers felt that the Chinese provided unfair competition, claiming they were brought into the country to provide cheap labor. Chinese Workers Arrived During the Gold Rush The discovery of gold in California in the late 1840s created a need for workers who would perform grueling and often dangerous work for low wages. Brokers working with mine operators began to bring Chinese laborers to California, and in the early 1850s as many as 20,000 Chinese workers arrived each year. By the 1860s the Chinese population constituted a considerable number of workers in California. It was estimated that approximately 100,000 Chinese males were in California by 1880. A series of economic downturns in the 1870s created an atmosphere in which Chinese workers were blamed for the loss of work by white, generally immigrant, laborers. A financial crisis that began in 1873 with the collapse of a prominent New York City bank, Jay Cooke and Company, rippled through the economy and hit California. Up to that point, railroad construction had been booming in the West. In the railroad business, Chinese workers had earned a reputation for taking on difficult and often very dangerous labor. The railroad companies openly discriminated against the Chinese in some ways, such as not allowing them to attend the ceremony when the golden spike was driven to make the completion of the transcontinental railroad. But the railroads relied on Chinese labor. The banking collapse in the east put an end to railroad construction in California, and in the mid-1870s many thousands of Chinese workers were suddenly idled. As they sought other work, white workers began to bitterly complain that they were taking their jobs. Hard Times Led to Violence With competition for work, the situation became tense and often violent. American workers, many of them Irish immigrants, felt they were at an unfair disadvantage as the Chinese were willing to work for very low pay in dismal conditions. The Chinese were also targeted as they tended to be far outside the mainstream of American society. They tended to live in enclaves which became known as Chinatowns. They often didnt wear American clothing, and few learned English. They were seen as very different than European immigrants, and were generally mocked as being inferior. Economic downturns in the 1870s led to job losses and wage cuts. White workers blamed the Chinese and persecution of Chinese workers accelerated. A mob in Los Angeles killed 19 Chinese in 1871. Other incidents of mob violence occurred throughout the 1870s. In 1877 an Irish-born businessman in San Francisco, Denis Kearney, formed the Workingmans Party of California. Though ostensibly a political party, similar to the Know-Nothing Party of earlier decades, it also functioned as an effective pressure group focused on anti-Chinese legislation. Kearneys group succeeded in attaining political power in California, and began to be considered the real opposition party to the Republican Party. Making no secret of his racism, Kearney referred to Chinese laborers as Asiatic pests. Anti-Chinese Legislation Appeared in Congress In 1879 the U.S. Congress, spurred on by activists such as Kearney, passed a law known as the 15 Passenger Act. It would have limited Chinese immigration, but President Rutherford B. Hayes vetoed it. The objection Hayes voiced to the law was that it violated the 1868 Burlingame Treaty the United States had signed with China. In 1880 the United States negotiated a new treaty with China that would allow some immigration restrictions. And new legislation, which became the Chinese Exclusion Act, was drafted. The new law suspended Chinese immigration for ten years, and also made Chinese citizens ineligible to become American citizens. The law was challenged by Chinese workers, but was held to be valid. And it was renewed in 1892, and again in 1902, when the exclusion of Chinese immigration was made indefinite. The Chinese Exclusion Act was finally repealed by Congress in 1943, at the height of World War II. Sources: Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Gale Encyclopedia of American Law, edited by Donna Batten, 3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2010, pp. 385-386. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. U.S. Immigration and Migration Reference Library, edited by Lawrence W. Baker, et al., vol. 5: Primary Sources, UXL, 2004, pp. 75-87. Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Telephony Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Telephony - Essay Example Over the years, the increasing development in the field of technology presents the capability of human beings to master over nature (Vergragt 2006, pp.1-3). Telephony represents that form of technology that allows easy and active interactions between different points through the availability of voice equipments. Telephone is the most commonly observed and used instrument of the technology of telephony. It provides interactive facilities to every residential house as well as in businesses. Telephones have also been associated with telephony switching systems and exchanges that are necessary for the processing of the calls occurring between two points. Developments have occurred over the years in telephony reflecting a shift from the initial local point to point connections to highly sophisticated connections in the modern world (What is Telephony 2012). The present study focuses on the origins, characteristics, and consequences of technological system considering the example of teleph ony. ... xtensive knowledge on the nature of sound that he applied in determining the possibility of passing multiple messages through at the same time through the same wire (Bellis 2012). The figure on the left presents one of the earliest telephones as invented by Graham Bell. The use of multiple telegraph had been suggested and tried earlier as well. However, with Bell’s application of a harmonic approach, the idea could be actually implemented. It was in the year 1878 that the first Bell telephone company was established. It is now known as the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T). In 1878, the first exchange of telephone was established in New Haven. Earlier the connections of the telephones had to be done in pairs. In the year 1889, the system of pay phone came into existence. Thereafter, with the advancements in the technology, the touch-tone phones, cordless phones, and mobile phones were developed (Bellis 2012). Characteristics of Telephony: The Technological System : The service of telephony or telecommunications is provided by an industry that includes different groups of people like the engineers, scientists and craftsmen. Telephone companies are either under the control of the government of a country or they may also be private in nature (Freeman 2004, p.1). Basic Telephony: The simple connection of the telephone as is most commonly known to the world is characterised by a device that is connected to other points across the world through use of pair of wires. The parts of such a telephone include a handset, a cradle, along with the signalling system that contains either dial or push buttons for making the connections. The handset is created with two electroacoustic transducers, the earpiece that acts as the receiver, and a mouthpiece that acts as the