...Culture and Poverty I, Introduction As every countries is developing their economics and societies, their people are enjoying the growth of the economics and modern society; however, still most people are left behind depend on what society they are live in. Those left behind are categories as poverty. Developing countries seem to have more poverty populations than those of developed countries. There are many definitions and explanations to define poverty. Many factors such as, income, non-materialist, feminist are examples of the poverty defined factors, with their own unique way of explanation. However, there is much scholar has ever discussed about culture as one factor of poverty. In other word, cultural factor seems to be the last thing people talk about poverty. In this paper, we shall discuss how culture influence to poverty progress. The paper will briefly discuss about some theories of poverty such as absolute poverty, relative poverty, and UN definition of poverty. The analysis will lead to the answer to the following question: 1, Should definition of poverty include culture as one factor? 2, Can culture contribute to the reducing in poverty? 3, How should definition of poverty be best defined? II, Body Absolute poverty is defines that, “a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to...
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...On Saturday, January 9, 2016, several Republican presidential candidates gathered in Columbia, South Carolina to discuss the grappling issue of poverty in America. However, the conservatives’ narratives relied on a “single story”: people in poverty are poor because they do not work hard enough, therefore complementing the underlying beliefs about the poor in the United States. Furthermore, candidates claimed that too much government involvement has “weakened the poor’s moral spine” and created a web of dependency – claims perpetuated by the media. However, as Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie argues, over-reliance on a single story poses a danger to truth. Through the assertion that poverty is a result of individual failures, these candidates (and several million Americans) ignore structural explanations and in turn cultivate a negative image of the poor different from reality....
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...It is quite common to hear how the middle and high-income classes of the United States affect their culture and economy. However, the role that poverty and low-income classes play is not discussed as often, especially in a positive light. Usually, poverty and the impoverished are looked down upon from the other classes, causing divides. Poverty and culture affect each other at the same time, intertwining and impacting both. Some of the influences poverty produces in the culture of the United states includes stigma, segregation, and a lack of empathy. First off, poverty is stigmatized. Poverty in itself is its own culture, creating new ways to survive and function in a capitalistic society that depends on money. The large majority that makes up impoverished communities consists of minorities such as African-Americans. Since African-Americans are already being stereotyped and given the short stick, adding poverty into the mix does not produce any benefit. In American society, being low-income is shameful and receiving help from the government is seen as negative. The...
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...these people were put in a rough situation because of of how they started out in life. many of them come from poverty which can restrict the opportunities they have in life. Economics play a key role in the African American literature as it effects the lives of many people. This was found in pieces of literature such as the article "How Poverty and Racism Persist in Mississippi", the novel The Water is Wide, and the poem "Note on Commercial Theater". First, the article "How Poverty and Racism Persists in Mississippi" shares the story of the author and his life as a child growing up in poverty. He tells about the struggles he went through such as only eating beans for days on end and constantly being hungry. As a child that just seemed ordinary to him as he didn't know anything else. As he is now grown up and a writer for The Atlantic, he knows different and is able to recognize the position of what he was in. Not only did he live that life, but many others did as well. Thirty two percent of African Americans in Mississippi live in poverty which is much higher than the national average....
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...‘Globalization’, is an often-discussed but seldom-defined phenomenon. In my opinion it can be defined as interconnectedness on a global level, which usually means that something in one part of the world can impact upon the rest of the world. Additionally, it is all those processes by which people of the world are incorporated into one single society and impact countries and individuals in an uneven manner. There are various categories of globalization and they could be economic, cultural, technological and also social. However, this essay’s main focus is on identifying three social issues that arose because of globalization and discuss how they have affected the quality of life of the people in the Caribbean. These issues include; poverty, migration and culture and identity. To begin, (Ritzer, 2011) stated that, “globalization is the spread of worldwide practices, relations, consciousness, and organization of social life.” This implies that globalization is the driving force within society, which allow for the sharing of common goals and values for both social life, financial and political aspects as well. This helps move society from an obsolete to technological way of thinking. (UNDP, 1997) posits that “globalization encapsulates both a description and a prescription. The description is the widening and deepening of international flows of trade, finance and information in a single, integrated global market. The prescription is to liberalize national and global markets in the belief...
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...Week 6 DQ2 Racial and Ethnic Groups defines the culture of poverty as “a way of life that involves no future planning, no enduring commitment to marriage, and no work ethic; this culture follows the poor even when they move out of slums or barrios.” Do you believe there is such a thing as a culture of poverty? Explain. I do strongly believe there is a culture of poverty. However, most who agree with me on this also take this further and then categorize those who are in poverty as "victims", and I do not agree with that assessment. I was raised in a comfortable, upper-middle-class household on the good side of town, and we always had everything we needed. My friends always thought we were "rich", although I never felt that way, and I certainly would not have classified us as such. When we grew up, my siblings left home and began using drugs and living on welfare. Some of them got involved in prostitution. They began spawning a large number of children because they could get more welfare that way. They lived in the projects. Meanwhile, I moved away from home. I did not even go to college at first, because I was not interested in it despite, or possibly because of, the fact that I was brought up in a very financially comfortable home with two intelligent parents. I became very successful professionally in a very demanding professional career, then got married and have been happily married ever since. I always plan for the future, and my wife and I have a very stable life...
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...Steinberg, the “ethnic myth” and “culture of poverty” are discussed. Chapter three begins by questioning if ethnic values produce unequal ranks for different races, if arrival time generates different success and states how the variety in cultures is a starting factor not a result. Chapter four then goes into how if there on cultural values that are believed to make certain ethnicities successful then there must be cultural values that are preventing other races from success. It would be foolish to deny that there are values which promote success and others that do not but how that played into ethnic accomplishments compared to others is not the only factor to be taken into consideration. Life doesn’t work through destiny continuously favoring some groups over others but rather that those who are willing to put in the time and give up possibly favored parts of their life will eventually surpass those not making a devoted effort to success. It is important to evaluate an ethnic groups’ life prior to immigration to accurately explain majority achieved or failed culture mobility. If the ethnicity was relatively taught skills that aligned...
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...famous in the United States is called Poverty...
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...behaviors such as teen pregnancy and substance abuse? Discuss specific systemic factors that are related to disparities in rates of teen pregnancy; also discuss systemic factors related to substance use. Use examples from at least three related chapters/course readings in your response. You may also use data from the PowerPoint slides posted on Blackboard. Structure creates culture. William Julius Wilson points out this by stating that “structure trumps culture” in his book, More Than Just Race. In this quotation, he implies that systemic factors (“structure”) affect personal behaviors (“culture”). Systemic factors refer to the factors that emerge from the social structure and give impact on the social constituents of structure. Because the social constituents should live within the social structure, they obviously are influenced by the systemic factors. Thus, systemic factors have an underlying linkage with personal behaviors. Systemic factors, such as education, poverty, and economic change, strongly influence on an individual’s behaviors such as teen pregnancy and substance abuse. Education, poverty, and economic changes are systemic factors that have created major shifts in general behaviors of teen pregnancy. According to the article “After the Sexual Revolution,” some factors contribute to these shifts: success of abstinent education, positive effect of comprehensive sex education cultural backlash against sexual revolution, fear of disease. Nationwide in 2007, 47.8% of...
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...Generational Poverty Belinda UOP Diversity and Special Populations 345 Roberto Vara October 21, 2014 Generational Poverty Generational Poverty Generational Poverty is defined as a family having been in poverty for at least two generations meaning children of parents in poverty grow up to live in poverty themselves. It is important to understand the difference between Generational Poverty and Situational Poverty. A person or family can experience Situational Poverty when their income and support is has a set back due to a specific change in areas such as job loss, death, divorce or health issues. Although there can be a domino effect caused by this one particular change, families experiencing Situational Poverty have a tendency to remain positive and hopeful, knowing that this is a temporary setback. This typically is not so with generational poverty. (Susan E. Mayer 2008). Consequences of Generational Poverty It’s a sad thought that crime is one the most negative consequences of poverty. This occurs because a “culture of poverty” cultivates among families who struggle just to meet their basic needs. People develop beliefs that their chances are limited for future success. And one of the most discouraging things people turn to is crime as an alternate to getting employment. Another consequence of poverty is the lack of education. Actually there is a huge relation between the two. Illiteracy is a major problem among families who are part of the cycle of generational...
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...Who are the poor? The answer is what poverty is. WHAT IS POVERTY? In the most extreme definition, poverty manifests itself in the form of outright starvation and destitution because individuals or households do not possess the resources which give access to the basics for survival or which enable them to enjoy some minimum standard of living. (Christine Barrow; 2001) From a theoretical Perspective of Poverty. Culture of Poverty The underlying idea is that the lifestyle of the poor differs in many respects to that of the non poor in society. Similarities have been found in this poverty lifestyle even across different societies. This leads to the development of a sub culture, with its own norms and values, which can now be transmitted from one generation to the next. Technically, the culture of poverty is a subculture of poor people in ghettos, poor regions or social contexts where they develop a shared set of beliefs, values and norms for behaviour that are separate from but embedded in the culture of the main society. Once the culture of poverty has come into existence it tends to perpetuate itself. By the time slum children are six or seven they usually absorbed the basic attitudes and values of their subculture. Thereafter they are psychologically unready to take full advantage of changing conditions or improving opportunities that may develop in their lifetime. Oscar Lewis. Marxist Perspectives Conflict theorists posit that poverty results from the failure of the state...
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...through advancements in technology and communication systems. According to the IMF work by Masson (2001), globalisation can be defined as the increased integration of economies, reflected by increases in trade, capital, investment and migration flows. This phenomenon has brought about high economic growth (Dreher, 2003) and improved standard of living. It is thus deduced that globalisation will be able to serve as an effective tool to reduce poverty (Nissanke, Thorbecke, 2005). However, heated debate has arise concerning the unequal outcomes in economic gains created by globalization. Despite a decreasing amount of people living in poverty in China, poverty in areas outside China has increased (Stiglitz, 2006). Along with economic effects, it is also suggested that globalisation has resulted in a global identity where local cultures are homogenized and no longer unique (Friedman, 2007). This essay thus compares and contrasts both favourable and pernicious views on the effects of globalisation from two aspects: economic outcomes and cultures, and concludes that globalisation is more favourable than pernicious. Economists generally have a positive outlook on the effects of globalisation on economy since deregulation and openness to trade will create more jobs for the people. Friedman’s article on the globalized world (2007) supported this perspective as it showed how developing countries such as India have benefited from outsourcing, which is made possible by the interconnectedness...
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...Understanding Poverty From Multiple Social Science Perspectives A Learning Resource for Staff Development In Social Service Agencies Michael J. Austin, PhD, Editor BASSC Staff Director Mack Professor of Nonprofit Management School of Social Welfare University of California, Berkeley 510-642-7066 mjaustin@berkeley.edu August 2006 1 Table of Contents Introduction – Michael J. Austin, Guest Editor Part I Multiple Social Science Perspectives of Poverty Theories of Poverty: Findings from Textbooks on Human Behavior and the Social Environment Amanda J. Lehning, Catherine M. Vu, & Indira Pintak Economic Theories of Poverty Sun Young Jung & Richard Smith Sociological Theories of Poverty in Urban America Jennifer Price Wolf Psychological Theories of Poverty Kelly Turner & Amanda Lehning An Anthropological View of Poverty Kristine Frerer & Catherine Vu Political Science Perspectives on Poverty Amanda Lehning Theories of Global Poverty in the Developed and Developing World Jennifer Morazes & Indira Pintak Part II Theory Integration and Practitioner Perspectives Social Capital and Neighborhood Poverty: Toward an Ecologically-Grounded Model of Neighborhood Effects Kathy Lemon Osterling Social Work Students’ Perceptions of Poverty Sherrill Clark The Explosive Nature of the Culture of Poverty: A Teaching Case Based on An Agency-based Training Program Catherine Vu & Michael J. Austin 2 Understanding Poverty From Multiple...
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...Child Development During a child’s early development they learn more quickly than any other time in their life. They are eager to learn and are easily influenced throughout their childhood. These influences are categorized in three different groups. They are social, economic, and cultural influences. These different influences can affects a child’s development both negatively and positively. Social influence is very important for all ages, but it changes and forms over the course of childhood. Social influence comes in many shapes and sizes, but there are some majors influences that affect a child more dramatically. One of the main positive social influences is family. Family is especially important because they are the people that a child spends most of their early childhood with. They have a direct and indirect influences on the challenges that children encounter and have the resources they need to accomplish those certain challenges. Within the family children learn social skills and attach to people who love and care for them. Children who have parents that spend time with them are able to reach out and relate to others. There is a theory called the Attachment Theory which explain that the emergence of an emotional bond between an infant and their parent or caregiver and the way in which this bond affects the child's behavioral and emotional development into adulthood. According to this theory, children who have a secure bond with their parent use this attachment to...
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...There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Poverty of Mind Underline idea(s) that you find intriguing The mind is a very powerful tool that runs on the data that we put into it. We all have lenses that filter how we see the world around us. Based on what passes through those lenses, we build a system of how we perceive the world. It shapes what we believe to be true. Our life, culture, choices everything is shaped by these beliefs. These lenses are given to us through the influences throughout our life. We all have key people or events that shaped our belief systems. Our parents, siblings, friends, culture, media, religion all play a big role in what lens we wear. Culture is formed by a group of people that all wear similar lens or have shared belief systems. There is nothing good or bad about that, it is just a way of life for all of us. Our beliefs shape what we value in life. They shape what our culture values. Our values shape the actions or behaviors we engage in. They shape the common practices of our culture, our communities. Our actions or behaviors always lead to results or outcomes. To put it simply think of a tree. The roots are like our beliefs they hold us in place and provide stability. Our values are like the trunk of that tree. They are visible and strong. Our actions or behaviors are like the branches, they stem from what we value. Lastly the fruit or flowers that grow on the branches are the results of our actions or behaviors...
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