Factors That Have Contributed to Poverty Being Considered as a Sociological Issue - Essay Example

Running head: Poverty Poverty Explain the major factors or the historical foundations that contributed to making poverty important for sociological consideration There are several major factors that have contributed to poverty being considered as a sociological issue. These factors are ignorance, disease, apathy and dependency Ignorance Ignorance can be defined as lacking knowledge or information. Stupidity and foolishness are different from ignorance. Stupidity is lack of intelligence while wisdom means lack of wisdom. If the society suffers from ignorance, then it means that they lack the knowledge or information to progress their lives. This in turn leads to poverty. Disease Disease is another major cause of poverty. If a high population of the community suffers from any kind of disease, then it is likely that poverty will strike in. When a high population of the community suffers from diseases, this means that the rate of productivity is low. Additionally, the rate of absenteeism is usually high making the rate at which the community is acquiring wealth be quite low. Apathy Apathy is the state in which a person feels so powerless that they are unable to change things. Apathy can also be defined as the state in which people do not care. If a community or a person does not care or they feel powerless, then it is unlikely that they will try to change the condition in which they are in. This increases the rate of poverty in a given community. Dependency Dependency is the state at which people are usually at the receiving end. Over dependency on other people is a major cause of poverty in that people who are dependent on others do little or nothing at all for themselves. This makes them become unproductive thus leading to a low generation of income. Charity also causes dependency. People over rely too much on charity that they are not in a position to do any wealth generating activity. If the supply is cut short, then the people who are used to rely or depend on others end up in poverty. 2. Describe how the society defines poverty. Poverty may be defined as a situation whereby a person is not in a capacity to live by certain standards stipulated by their society, or when a person has inadequate resources to cater for their basic needs. According to Burton (1992), it may also be defined as situation whereby someone does not have certain minimum standards required for a person to live comfortably as well as safely. The “relative deprivation definition,” which addresses a person’s inability to reach certain living standards “customary in the society” considers poverty in terms of both material goods and the psychological impacts the situation has on the individual in question, especially when such an individual lacks some resources that those people around them have (Yilmaz et al., 2003). There are three basic approaches to defining and measuring poverty. The first approach is the absolute approach, which sees poverty as that situation where an individual earns income or consumes below some given minimum standards “for the poor.” The second approach is the relative one, which looks at poverty as a “proportion of the median income or consumption of the rest of the society.” The definition addresses issues pertaining to distribution as well as equity. It makes an assumption that every individual has some kind of a right to not only share but also to use their nation’s resources and wealth that is made by this particular society as a whole. The last approach is the subjective approach which mostly bases its arguments on the opinions of certain people who believe that they are poor. It considers, for instance, a household’s assessment of what they consider as minimum or even sufficient income or even consumption which they need. This approach is more comprehensive as compared to the other two, since it takes into consideration the two approaches (Yilmaz et al., 2003). However, regardless of the definition, each and every nation has its own official “poverty line” which sets the standards below which an individual may be viewed as poor. Poverty is measured by determining a certain amount of money that if a person’s income and consumption falls below, then such individual is considered as poor. Most nations tend to adjust this level every year, especially considering the inflation rate. Recent years have seen most international development agencies adopt the US$1 as a standard measure for comparing poverty across nations. 3. Describe the social category of poverty There are certain social categories that are more susceptible to poverty than others. The “DAC Guidelines on Poverty Reduction” define poverty within a very broad framework of factors that lead to the social problem and appropriate actions that should be taken to lower the rates of poverty. The guidelines consider five major dimensions of poverty, which address the limitations it has on the human capabilities. One of such dimensions is the economic one, which is concerned with people’s income, their livelihood, and even decent work. There is also the human dimension, which mostly considers health and education. Then there is the political perspective which is mostly concerned with empowerment, people’s rights, and voice. In addition, there is the social-cultural perspective that deals with poor people’s status and dignity. The last dimension is the protective one, which addresses insecurity amongst the poor, risks that they face, and their vulnerability. The DAC Guidelines show that there are certain social categories that are mostly affected by poverty, and severe for that matter. These categories include indigenous populations, the minorities, and socially excluded groups. There are also refugees, the mentally or physically challenged, and those living with AIDS/HIV. The DAC Guidelines show that these groups consist of the poorest people among the poor in various societies. Gender inequality also contributes to some members of the society, women and girls to be precise, to be poor. Poor women and girls are even worse off when it comes to property ownership in most societies, especially in the developing countries. This inequality is majorly attributed to certain socio-cultural beliefs that distinguish between the roles of women and men in such societies. Moreover, certain categories of women as well as children are particularly vulnerable. These include elderly widows, female-headed families that are unsupported, child-headed families, and street families. 4. Discuss how society has changed over time in regard to poverty Over time, society has changed a great deal in regard to poverty. One of the few developments that have been made is the realization that there is need to empower those social categories that are more prone to poverty. As such, many organizations have come up with projects to empower women, orphans and vulnerable children, as well as people living with HIV/AIDS. Most societies have also developed holistic approaches to poverty reduction, a situation whereby all members of a society are involved in the fight against poverty, and all societal structures are put into consideration. The biggest step has been the introduction of various community development and self-help projects as well as human delivery services. Most organizations today mostly deal with poverty through community empowerment, unlike in the past when there was overdependence on relief services. 5. Recommend two (2) ways of attempting to improve the social situation you described above.  Poverty reduction can only succeed if special attention is given to the various social categories which are more vulnerable to poverty. As noted above, one of such categories comprises of women and girls. Educating girls seems to be one of “the most effective ways of poverty reduction.” Providing quality education to parents means a better future for their children. Educating mothers seems to be even more influential on not only children’s life but also their education in future. Educated mothers have a greater influence on “household negotiations,” and as such they have better chances of securing more “resources for their children.” In addition, educated mothers help their husbands in taking care of various bills and therefore their contribution is very crucial when it comes to joining hands in taking care of their families, thereby reducing the burden on their husbands who have for long been considered as sole breadwinners. Educated mothers also tend to bear few children, a factor which not only helps in population control, but also helps in giving the few children the kind of attention they need as they grow up. These mothers no longer have to choose which amongst their children to go to school and which ones to remain at home. Education also helps women and girls to not only know their rights but also to gain the appropriate confidence to claim those rights. According to ICPD Program of Action, education forms part of those most crucial tools for women empowerment, through knowledge and skills, as well as by giving them the necessary confidence they need to fully participate in development projects. Another way of reducing poverty is through collaborations between the community, the government, and various NGOs. Numbers work miracles when it comes to solving social problems. Most developing countries have very scarce resources but the people’s needs are relatively high. Therefore, when like-minded organizations come together, they not only pool their resources but they also assist one another in decision making and policy implementation. 6. Evaluate the various methodologies for sociological research that can be applied to your two (2) recommendations above.  Archival research or historical method There are various journals and articles that have been written before in connection to poverty. One of the most sufficient and effective methodology that can be used is the historical method. This method entails drawing up evidence using secondary materials such as journals or articles. It is an effective method since it does not entail much work to be done. Observation The observation method is yet another methodology that can be used in the sociological research for poverty. This method uses the data which has been collected by the observer to come up with a conclusion. The method entails using the sight senses to record information about a certain social phenomenon in which in this case is poverty. In this type of methodology participation may or may not be included. To acquire a deep understanding of the social phenomena being studied, the researcher usually goes to the field. In the case of studying poverty, the researcher should use the community as his or her tool of observation. The researcher will need to be in the field of study for a long time in order to participate in the activities of the community so as to acquire a deep understanding of what the researcher is studying. The data that the researcher acquires can either be analyzed qualitatively or quantitatively. Survey research In this kind of methodology, the researcher uses the data that they have acquired from the field, analyses it then comes up with a summary. This kind of methodology entails using data which is gathered from questionnaires or interviews from a particular group of sampled people. The interview questions or the questionnaire questions that are used might either be closed-ended or open-ended. The data that is acquired from the survey might either be analyzed statistically on a computer or manually (Macionis, 2010). Content analysis Content analysis is a kind of methodology in which the researcher analyses contents from a previous interviews, observation or questionnaire method then come up with a conclusion References Macionis, G (2010). Sociology 7th Canadian Ed. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Canada Inc. Read More