Blog #13 How the poor cope with crisis

In this article, it touches on how lower income people and families cope and deal with crisis, or higher food and fuel prices as an example. It talks about the global financial crisis that struck in 2008, and how 3,000 people in 17 different countries had to cope with these deficits.  According to some of the interviewees in the study, families were forced to skip medical treatment and sold some of their assets, while some people turned to prostitution or drugs and slipped even lower into poverty.  Women were also hit hard as they had to continue to carry the burden of house work while still working long hours.  This article focuses a lot on a study called, “Living Through Crises” and gets a lot of it’s information from this study.  They conducted interviews and found a lot of similarities from the people who they interviewed.  This study also found that the informal safety net, such as, neighbors, community groups, families and friends play an important role.  They found it obvious that there was a need for “more generous social protection systems.”, as poor people were better protected compared to other countries.

This article had some strong points, one being the photo at the top, which caught my attention from the very beginning and made me want to continue to read and find out more about this photo.  It provides a lot of relative and important information involving the study that it speaks about, “Living Through Crises.”  It provides quotes from interviewees and quotes from the study itself.  It concludes with a long quote from one of the study’s editors, Naomi Hossein and this is a strong way to conclude an article.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/apr/18/how-poor-cope-with-crisis

Blog #12 Family planning the key to future of crowded planet

In this article by Nicholas Kristof, he focuses on the topic of family planning, and how this could be a possible solution to a lot of our worlds global problems, such as poverty, climate change, and civil wars.  According to this article, the worlds population has raced past 7 million, and apparently the worlds population is steadily increasing more so than it has in the past.  By the year 2050, the estimated world population looks to be 9.3 million, compared to the previous estimate of 8.9 billion.  

Clearly, overpopulation is a great global problem, and it is seeming to only be increasing, which is leading to more poverty of families, climate change, and other social issues around the world.  This article also touches on the impacts of overpopulation, a few being countries are more prone to conflicts, and terrorism.  

Kristof explains how family planning really is affective.  With examples of women from India and from Mexico dropping the number of children and pregnancies down, it is seen that this plan has worked.  Yet, some women in a number of different countries have been able to get out of this revolution, and still have 6 or more children, either from lack of contraception, or lack of education, as more educated women tend to have fewer children.

This is a short article, but holds some valid and important information.  He provides statistics that come from the past as well as some relating to the future.  He offers information about and facts about how overpopulation impacts countries and gives specific issues and events to tie into this.  He also provides examples showing that this family plan works, which makes this article believable and worth reading.  If he were to include some graphs or put these statistics into a picture format, it would have enhanced this article even more.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/family-planning-the-key-to-future-of-crowded-planet-20111104-1n00e.html

Blog #11 Sahel food crisis has been made worse by the widespread unrest in Africa

In this article by Afua Hirsch, she speaks about the Sahel food crisis in Africa, and how it is affecting the lives of up to 15 million people.  She expresses the concern of this affecting people, families, and children in more ways than one.  Such as a combination of drought, poverty, and high grain prices, this can and will lead to a nutritional and food crisis.  Hirsch states that families are attempting to flee the violence but 20% have at least one child suffering of malnutrition.  These families do not have access to the basic essentials such as food, water, clothing, and blankets.  Families have started to reduce the amount of food each day because the sheer lack of it.

This article provides a variety of different social global problems having to do with families and children in how these aspects affect them.  They all interrelate and show that the combination of them all is even more devastating and can affect more people.

The picture at the beginning of the article is a nice addition, showing a real perspective of how it looks like in Africa, and seeing the children and the worn out and tired bodies of people suffering from lack of basic needs and food.  The author also provides important statistics that provide needed information and interesting information to the reader throughout the piece. She brings in different aspects and a study from western and eastern Niger to bring in different statistics and perspectives as well.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/mar/29/sahel-food-crisis-made-worse?INTCMP=SRCH

Blog #10 Russia Struggles to Reform Soviet-Era Orphanages

In Jennifer Rankin’s article in the Moscow Times, Russia’s struggle with its institutional child care system is addressed as it is one of the highest rates in the world.  This social problem that face countless poor families all over the world is no different in Russia as over 371,700 children are growing up in state institutions all over Russia with reasons stemming from families suffering from alcoholism, drug abuse, death, unemployment and other issues.  This problem has been constantly rising since the early nineties and the fall of the Soviet Union. 

Rankin outlined some attempts by the Russian government in reforming this “out of date and broken system” so that it not only minimizes the number of children sent to these institutions but to serve the children well who are still there.  These reforms would have to change in these areas:  to raise the awareness of the Russian citizens about the advantages of adopting “their own” children, to raise the percentage of new orphans who will be able to be reunited with their families, improve the psychological and social environment for these children, and to raise the quality of life for these orphans through political changes necessary to offer financial support to make the reforms.  

This article has some strong points overall.  Rankin provides solid statistics throughout the piece, as well as good examples about how the orphanages have improved over time with improvements in better facilities, toys, and medical care for the children.  She also did well on organizing the article into different sections with appropriate headings that made it easy to follow.  She also went on a limb and interviewed an anonymous director of an institution who revealed some poor conditions about the orphanage that she is in charge of and some of her struggles in getting proper support from the government and people in charge.  

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russia-struggles-to-reform-soviet-era-orphanages/455659.html

Blog #9 For poor villagers, lure of street life proves too great

This article by Zhou Wenting relayed homelessness as a social problem that continually drives rural Chinese families from poor villages into the capital city of Beijing to earn wages for themselves.  Homelessness is indeed a global problem for China as it is for other countries in that it causes family hardship on many fronts- economically, socially, and politically.  Wenting stated that homelessness in Beijing was in need of something more than a hot meal and a warm place to sleep. The answer was in determining what the root causes are and doing something about them.  

  In his research, he found that homeless population do not take advantage of the nation’s 1,376 homeless shelters and countless other support systems that were set out for them by the government.  In his interviews with various homeless people, he found that they moved to the capital on the thought that there is much wealth and power there, unlike the rural communities where they found nothing but poverty.  They merely wanted a chance to partake of what is there and were willing to let go of their pride in pursuit of this chance. 

In talking with officials and experts, the root causes he found were the growing gap between wealth, poor living conditions in the rural areas and the poor social security system with detailed examples of actual people whom are experiencing these conditions.  He also found insufficient basic transportation, courses that would teach much needed skills and knowledge, insurance and pensions.  

Overall, the article proved to be informative from the detailed interviews that he did.  He cared enough to research further and surmised that China’s annual revenue of 6.85 trillion yuan was more than enough to offer pensions to it’s elderly who are above the age of 60.  And to further suggest vital reforms to increasing farmers’ incomes, narrowing the urban divide, and leaving benefits to people not the governments.  

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/china/2010-12/22/content_11739016.htm

Blog #8 Linking Extreme Poverty and Global Terrorism

This article by Jake Harriman, talks about extreme poverty and how this is linked or related to global terrorism.  This is a blatant global social problem as it is an issue around the globe to this day.  When I think of the biggest problems surrounding our world, poverty, and terrorism are two of the top issues. 

Harriman explains what he does in his work, how he travels from shamba to shamba talking to farmers who live in extreme poverty. He talks about his past working experiences as a platoon commander in the Marines, and how he and his fellow brothers fought in a War on Terror.  He also explains what poverty is, how it is considered as consuming less than $1.25 a day and how it is more than just the lack of material resources or needs necessary for ones basic needs. He also talks about how a big chunk of the worlds population does not have the opportunity to make certain choices.  This affects ones family, and providing the basic needs for ones children.

In closing his article he shares what he is doing in the present day.  He hoped to build an organization that would combat extreme poverty, and he did when he founded Nuru International, “a social venture committed to ending extreme poverty in remote, rural areas.” 

Overall, this article had many positives to it.  Harriman did well on bringing a lot of heartfelt emotions and his own experiences and things he has learned to it.  It made it engaging and more enjoyable to read rather than an article based solely on facts, numbers, data, and surveys.  But it also did include some valuable information and statistics about poverty.

I feel as though the positives definitely outweighed the negatives, seeing as I could not really find many negatives about this article, as it was an honest and emotional driven piece.

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/linking-extreme-poverty-and-global-terrorism/?scp=1&sq=families%20in%20poverty%20&st=cse

Blog #7 Good for kids: Children who have been homeless talk about school

The title of this article, Good for kids:  Children who have been homeless talk about school, was true to every word as the stories were from the children who were in the study as they have had the unfortunate experience of being homeless with their families.  I found that the study’s strength was in hearing from the children themselves as they relayed how they and their families have been affected by homelessness with detailed examples and even offered informative suggestions to services and schools on how to help homeless children.  I thought it was an innovative way to confront this global social problem by seeking the views of those most affected by homelessness, in this case, the children and using their experiences to bring about social changes.     

The article reported on a study of twenty-five homeless children between the ages of 14 and 21 in Canberra, Australia as they conveyed how homelessness affected their educational paths with direct quotations from interviews, art activities, and group discussions that really showed the stark reality of the children’s experiences.  

The authors who are faculty members of Australian Catholic University’s Institute of Child Protective Studies have a commitment in using research findings as a way to improve the caring and protecting of children and young people by advancing quality research, training and community education. This study reflected their view of homelessness as one social problem that needs global attention by using the children’s perspectives and experiences to assist schools and other systems in offering support so that these children can be successful individuals of the educational systems.  If I were affiliated with a support system that is set to help homeless children, my organization would benefit from this study. 

http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libproxy.uncg.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1b2a42c9-ce8f-41df-8036-8029a227a484%40sessionmgr4&vid=4&hid=109

Blog #6 What the snows of Moscow reveal about modern Russia

In this article, A Winter’s Tale, the author used the snow to reveal one of the most visible impacts of social change by globalization - homelessness - that is faced by thousands of poor Russian families in Moscow with a large number of them belonging to migrant workers from neighboring counties.  Many of these homeless people lose their lives to hypothermia in the streets from death or accidents.  The author gave several reasons as he paid particular attention to why these homeless people were not given opportunities to earn wages that would enable them to obtain life chances that other Russians have.  The first was that the actual numbers of homeless in Moscow are put at a low figure when the numbers are higher than in reality.  This was a way to deflect from the problem of homelessness. The second was how the attitudes of Russians in general still reflected the old Soviet law that banned homeless from any recognition, were imprisoned or expelled from the cities.  The ban was lifted in the early 1990‘s. The third is how this old attitude was still enforced by the very people who were in position to help the people no matter their circumstances.  The police force freely waged their own version of equality and justice through brutalities, bribes, and countless illegal enforcement of government decrees set to protect and accommodate the homeless communities.  It was these tactics that most often placed the migrant workers without homes or deportations.  This article conveyed a desperate and dangerous gap in the system (police) where it is crippling the system by not adhering to the laws set by their own government.  According to an expert on migration of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the police offered 70% of the problems with homelessness.  That is just dehumanizing to say the least. 

http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libproxy.uncg.edu/ehost/detail?sid=b9053d61-1aab-4be4-8e23-f523711de8fb%40sessionmgr13&vid=6&hid=115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=19819665  

Blog #5 Homeless Families, Cloaked in Normality

Alan Feuer’s article, Homeless Families, Cloaked in Normality, conveyed one single mother’s arduous journey being homeless with three sons- ages 19, 15, &2, in the middle of New York City.  It brought the plight of homelessness that many families are living with in this country and worldwide to light by chronicling a day in her life.  A life walking a fine line daily in trying to balance a low paying job, temporary housing, single parenting, and being on the receiving end of an on-going and forever shifting political and economical disagreements between the city and state officials on their policies concerning their homeless communities.  Feuer’s statistics proved helpful in visualizing the city’s homeless population.  But he particularly paid attention to the complexities of the homeless problem politically as to how the different levels of governments went back and forth in trying to solve the problems with some of its programs, funding, and political differences.  Feuer placed 38 year old Tonya Lewis among the three-quarters of 40,000 homeless people in shelters who do not fit the “normal” profile of homeless simply because she is not on the street sleeping on benches or some other “rat-infested welfare hotels”,  but lives in private housing where she is able to receive support.  Despite that, the inequalities that are present in her daily life are still quite real but they are propelling her toward getting her independence back.   

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/nyregion/ordinary-families-cloaked-in-a-veil-of-homelessness.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=families&st=cse

Blog #4 The Census Bureau Counts Fathers as ‘Child Care

“It’s not babysitting when daddy does it.” This statement was made by a young child, referring to her father taking care of her instead of a baby sitter or her mother.  This child automatically believed and had a mindset at an early age that women are the main care takers when it came to rearing children, taking care of household chores and nurturing.  The author of this article found the social norm to have men bring in the income while the women stay at home to care for their children and home still prevalent despite the increasing percentage of fathers staying at home caring for their children.

The article brought to light how gender roles between women and men who are caring for their children or family is viewed and how it is affecting today’s family structure.  It claims that stay at home fathers are not being supported equally like that of the mothers.  Fathers are also parents after all.  But many men are more frequently not being seen as a primary care taker despite being the other parent.  Even the U.S. Census Bureau agrees with this as they classify men as providing “care” only when both parents are in the household and the woman as the “designated parent”.   

The article also revealed a few helpful and interesting statistics like how families who are above the poverty line are having a much easier time providing family care then those families who are living beneath the poverty line.  However, it would have been beneficial to add some more for deeper content and to see some statistics globally perhaps. Adding some other information like interviews, surveys or graphs could have made this article much stronger.  

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/the-census-bureau-counts-fathers-as-child-care/?scp=5&sq=families&st=cse

Blog#3 HOW YOUR PLACE IN THE FAMILY RULES YOUR LIFE

Can one’s place in the family rule one’s understanding of one’s self and other people?  Linda Blair’s article, How your place in the  family rules your life, not only outlines the birth-order positions - eldest, youngest, middle, and only child, but also lists plenty of distinct characteristics for each positions that she professes will “influence one’s emotions, outlook and behavior”.  

For the first born, Blair states that because of their position in birth, they become organized, responsible, “law abiding conservatives” who thrive as leaders with good language skills and take charge skills simply because of “exclusive attention” that they received as children.  But they also suffer from a need for approval and are more self critical on account of the undivided attention they got.  

The middle child is more relaxed, more diplomatic, more social, creative and innovative because the parents were more relaxed and confident.  But because of that the child represses desires, can be easily persuaded, exhibit tiredness and lack of direction.  

The last born exhibits more outgoing, charming, and manipulative behavior as he benefited from all kinds of help from older siblings and family members.  Because of that, he is more dependent on others, disorganized, rebellious at times, a risk taker, low self esteem, and expects help all the time.  

The only child is a result of parents’ choice of one child that much attention was devoted to him.  Because of this, he could be academically successful, logical, organized, sensible, and have “unemotional problems solving skills”.  However, he would have difficulty in group situations, fearful of disorders and confusions, be impatient and demanding because of his experiences of only relating to adults and not siblings.  

I think that understanding birth order brings awareness to oneself, perspective on human nature, and most importantly, our social mindfulness or how we intend to relate to the rest of the world.  

http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libproxy.uncg.edu/ehost/detail?sid=1cbdbd9d-5905-449a-a63d-d8c6b51fda4c%40sessionmgr111&vid=7&hid=102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=n5h&AN=57643740

Homemaker Dad, Breadwinner Mom

Some families today are going away from the societal tradition where women are responsible for staying at home with the raising of the children while the men work outside the home.  This article, Homemaker Dad, Breadwinner Mom, is about how this role reversal is occurring and gender roles are changing in the United States as of 2010, when wives were 9% of the sole earners and husbands were 20% in all marriages.  Despite facing a reduction in earnings and employability, these families are determined to devote themselves to the raising of their children.  As fathers are gaining respect as stay at home parents compared to 10 years ago, public and government policies, tax breaks and bonuses and Social Security benefits does not make it easier for these families to “reconcile employment with family care” as they do in the Nordic countries.  This article brings to light the arduous task of finding the balance between work and family, and the “unpaid work that may come with providing for the needs of children”.  This is an important factor in gender inequality.     

The positives of this article is how it gives recent statistics of role reversal and gender roles, but I think it would have been stronger with even more statistics of this nature and maybe incorporating some interviews of families or of men who are homemakers or women who are the money makers. To learn of personal insights would  have made this article even more intriguing and interesting.  

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/homemaker-dad-breadwinner-mom/?scp=13&sq=families&st=cse

Blog #1 Dilemma for China’s one-child generation: Where to spend New Year

Many married families worldwide are always faced with the infamous question of which family to spend the holidays with depending on distances or time.  For China, the conflict is quite different because of China’s one-child policy that was implemented by the government in 1978, a social policy that has created its own set of important societal changes in addition to what it was established for - “control over population and the strain on scare resources”.   

The article, Dilemma for China’s one child generation:  Where to spend New Year, focused on the up coming New Year celebrations - which are January 22 and 23 this year - and how these one-child married couples are faced with ‘tough decisions, sometimes painful arguments” with this family tradition.  The article revealed that it’s not just the couples who are affected, but the elderly population (178 million) who are left alone with hardly any government aid, few nursing homes and no caretakers to care for them.      

The public debate presently now is to do away with the on-child policy and simply allow couples to decide for themselves.  This would alleviate some of the problems with the elderly.   But the policy also has severe criticisms such as forced abortions or sterilization, killing of female infants, and basic violations of human rights.    

This article makes it quite evident that the age old tradition of the Chinese family structure that has worked for so many years prior to the policy has been disturbed.  The policy appears to be helping over population somewhat but offering challenges to the families involved especially the elderly who are valued members of the family structure as it is their teachings and presence that help move the next generation forward.  That alone threatens the continuation of the Chinese society as it has worked for centuries. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/new-years-dilemma-for-chinas-one-child-generation/2012/01/14/gIQAIK8e7P_story.html