Accomodation and it's Characteristics

 


Accomodation

It refers to the process of getting along inspite of differences. In other words, it is simply a way of inventing social environments which helps people to work together whether they like it or not.

Characteristics of Accomodation:

1. It is the natural result of conflict (Park and Burgess, 1921). Even if conflict disappears as an overt action, it remains latent as a potential.

2. It is a universal process.

3. It is a continuous process. It changes with the changing environment.

4. It is a state in which the attitudes of love and hate coexist (Ogburn and Nimkoff, 1958).

5. It is generally a subconscious process.

6. It is an agreement to disagree (Jones, 1949).

7. It involves changes in habits, attitudes, patterns of behaviour, techniques, institutions and traditions, etc., according to the changed conditions of life.

Cooperation and it's Characteristics

 


Cooperation

Cooperation is defined as the individuals or groups working together for the achievement of their individual or collective goals. In its simplest form, cooperation may involve only two people who work together towards a common goal.

For eg: Two college students working together to complete a laboratory experiment, or two inter-city youths working together to protect their 'turf' from violation by outsiders are examples.

Characteristics of Cooperation:

a.      It is continuous process.

b.     It is personal process.

c.      It is conscious process.

d.     It has common ends.

e.      It is universal process.

f.       It has organized efforts.

1. Direct Cooperation:

Those activities in which people do like things together play together, worship together, labor together in myriad ways. The essential character is that people do in company, the things which they can also do separately or in isolation. They do them together because it brings social satisfaction.

2. Indirect Cooperation:

Those activities in which people do definitely unlike tasks toward a single end. Here the famous principle of the 'division of labour' is introduced, a principle that is imbedded in the nature of social revealed wherever people combine their difference for mutual satisfaction or for a common end.

3. Primary Cooperation:

It is found in primary groups such as family, neighborhood, friends and so on. Here, there is an identity end. The rewards for which everyone works are shared or meant to be shared, with every other member in the group. Means and goals become one, for cooperation itself is a highly prized value.

4. Secondary Cooperation:

It is the characteristic feature of the modern civilized society and is found mainly in social groups. It is highly formalized and specialized. Each performs his/her task, and thus helps others to perform their tasks, so that he/she can separately enjoy the fruits of his/her cooperation.

5. Tertiary Cooperation:

It may be found between 2 or more political parties, castes, tribes, religions groups etc. It is often called accommodation. The two groups may cooperate and work together for antagonistic goals.

Cooperation is important in the life of an individual that it is difficult for man to survive without it. C.H. Cooley says that Cooperation arises only when men realize that they have a common interest. They have sufficient theme, intelligence and self control, to seek this interest through united action.

Role and Importance of Cooperation from Individual point of view:

a.      Man can fulfill his basic needs.

b.     It is impossible for individuals to reach is goals without cooperation.

c.      It is the foundation on which our social life is built up.

d.     Man can lead a happy and comfortable life with cooperation.

Role and Importance of Cooperation from Community point of view:

a.      It helps society to progress.

b.     It is the main spring of collective life.

c.      It provides solutions for many conflicts.

Political Parties and their Functions

 


Political Parties

It is defined as organization which create, enforce and apply laws that mediate conflict, make play on the economy and social structure and provide representation for the population.

Major functions of the Political parties:

a.      To Contest Election

In democracy, election are fought mainly among the candidates put up by the political parties. Parties select their candidates in different ways. Top parties choose candidates for contesting election.

b.     Forming Policies and Programmes

Parties will put forward different policies and programmes and the votes choose from them.

c.      Making Laws

When parties come to power they make laws for the country. Formally, the laws are debated and passed in the legislature. Members of the political party follow the direction of party leaders irrespective of their popular opinions.

d.     Form and Run Government

The parties who have majority form the government. Parties recruit leaders, train them then make them ministers to role the government in the way they want.

e.      Role of Opposition

Parties that lose in elections play the role of opposition to the parties in power by crticising the government for it’s failures or wrong policies.

f.       Shaping Public Opinion

Parties raise and highlight the issues. They have lakhs of members and activists spread all over the country. Many of the pressure groups are extension of political parties among different sections in the society.

Religion and it's Function

 


Religion

Religion is a social institution involving beliefs and practices based upon a concep­tion of the sacred. In other words, religion is a belief in powers superior to man, which are believed to direct and con­trol the course of nature and of human life. Simply, it is a set of beliefs, cultural systems and views that relate humanity to the supernatural and spirituality.

Elements in the Religion

Beliefs:

A belief is a conviction. Religious beliefs refer to the belief in the existence of supernatural powers, which take the shape of divine beings,who are not part of this world, and are not governed by the ordinary rules of nature.

Different societies and dif­ferent religions have different sets of religious beliefs. These vary not only from society to society, but within societies, variations can be seen from region to region, state to state and between different communities and groups.

Rituals:

Every religion is associated with a set of practices, rites and rituals, which are ceremonies or repetitive practices. Religious rituals are prescribed acts that are not only sacred in themselves, but also symbolize the scared (Broom, Selznick and Darroch, p. 392). Ritualization of religious behaviour makes it scared. A ritual may emerge simply as a means of coordinating activities, but one it is given religious connotations, it becomes sacred.

Symbols:

Every religion uses certain symbols, with which it is usually associated. The cross denotes Christianity, the Muslim symbol is the crescent moon and star, the Jews have the Star of David and so on.

Organization:

Most modern societies have organized religious groups, which are used to affirm religious beliefs and sentiments, to recruit and train specialists in theory, rituals and doctrine, and to organize meetings and gatherings and the relations between religious groups and the masses.

Emotions:

All religions evoke strong emotions in the believers or followers. Generally, religious emotions are associated with all things that are sacred and close to the hearts of the believers.

Functions of Religion:

These functions are discussed below in brief:

1. Religion as an Integrative Force:

The primary function of religion is to preserve and solidify society. Sharing the same religion or religious interpretation of the meaning of life unites people in a cohesive and building moral order.

The social cohesion is developed through rituals such as reciting prayer in the honour of God, institutions of worship (church, temple, mosque, etc.), performing Namaz, and multitudes of observances and ceremonies practised by different groups.

The unifying rituals of different faiths are also observed by individuals on the most significant occasions such as birth, marriage and death. This integrative function of religion was particularly apparent in tradi­tional, pre-industrial societies.

Religious bonds often transcend these personal and divisive forces. It gives people certain ultimate values and ends to hold in common.

Although the integrative impact of religion has been emphasized here, it should be noted that religion is not the only integrative force—the feelings of nationalism or patriotism may also serve the same end. In contemporary industrial societies, people are also bound together by patterns of consumption, ways of life, laws and other forces.

2. Creating a Moral Community:

Religion provides a system of beliefs around which people may gather to belong to something greater than themselves in order to have their personal beliefs reinforced by the group and its rituals. Those who share a common ideology develop a collective identity and a sense of fellowship.

Members of moral community also share a common life. This moral community gives rise to social community through the symbolism of the sacred that supports the more ordinary aspects of social life. Religion then legitimizes society. It provides sacred sanction for the social order and for its basic values and meanings.

3. Religion as Social Control:

Religion is a mechanism which inspire terror for those who commit bad actions.

It keeps people ‘in line’ through folkways and mores. It provides a foundation for mores of society. Religious approvals are sought for certain desirable patterns of behaviour to persist in society in the forms of mores. Thus, many taboos in various cultures have religious approbals, e.g., the taboo against eating of pork in Jewish and Muslims and cows meat in Hindus.

4. Provides Rites of Passage:

Religion helps us in performing ceremonies and rituals related to rites of passage (birth, marriage, death and other momentous events) which give meaning and a social significance to our life.

5. Religion as Emotional Support:

Religion is a sense of comfort and solace to the individuals during times of personal and social crises such as death of loved ones, serious injury, etc. This is especially true when something ‘senseless’ happens. It gives them emotional support and provides consolation, reconciliation and moral strength during trials and defeats, personal losses and unjust treatments.

It provides a means whereby man can face the crises and changes of life with strength and fortitude. The concepts of karma and transmigration among Hindus and Jesus Christ as son of God and prayer among Christians seek to provide such fortitude and strength.

 It is often said that visiting places of worship and holy premises serves as outlets for releasing tension and stress.

Religion offers consolation to oppressed peoples also by giving them hope that they can achieve salvation and eternal happiness in the afterlife. Religion increases the ‘God will provide’ the attitude.

6. Religion Serves a Means to Provide Answers to Ultimate Questions:

Why are we here on earth? Is there a supreme being? What happens after death? All religions have certain notions and beliefs that provide answers to the above questions. These beliefs are based on the faith that life has a purpose, and there is someone or something that controls the universe. It defines the spiritual world and gives meaning to the divine. Because of its beliefs concerning people’s relationships to a beyond, religion provides an explanation for events that seem difficult to understand.

7. Religion as a Source of Identity:

Religion gives individuals a sense of identity—a profound and positive self-identity. It enables them to cope effectively with the many doubts and indignation of everyday life. Religion may suggest people that they are not worthless or meaningless creatures and thus helps them alleviating the frustrating experiences of life which sometimes force a person to commit suicide.

In industrial societies, religion helps to integrate newcomers by providing a source of identity.

8. Legitimating Function of Religion:

Religion may be used to explain, justify or rationalize the exercise of power. It reinforces the interests of those in power. Even in societies not as visibly ruled by religious dogma, religion legitimates the political sector.

For example, Nepal traditional caste system defined the social structure of society. According to one theory, caste system is a creation of the priesthood (Brahmins)—the uppermost stratum of this system, but it also served the interests of political rulers by granting legitimacy to social inequality.

The values of religion reinforce other social institutions and the social order as a whole and as a consequence it perpetuates social inequality in society.

9. Psychologizing Religion:

The notion of ‘positive thinking’ serves as an example of psychologizing religion. It provides peace of mind, promises prosperity and success in life, as well as effective and happy human relations. It is thus a source of security and confidence, and also of happiness and success in this world.

But at times religion can be debilitating and personally destructive. Persons convinced of their own essential wickedness can suffer extreme personal difficulties.

Many times, it serves as a liberating and integrating force for individuals. For instance, it helps in bringing change (sobriety) to seemingly hopeless alcoholics.

10. Religion Acts as Psychotherapy:

In modern world, religion has also become a supporting psychology—a form of psychotherapy. Now, God is conceived of as a humane and considerate God. Such a hopeful perception helps the sufferer in alleviating his/her personal and social crisis.

A new vocation of religious practitioner has recently come up in the mental health field as a helping professional. It already existed in village India and other places in the form of shamans, priests and magicians (shamans are treated as super-humans endowed with supernatural powers in some tribal societies).

11. Religion as an Agent of Social Change:

While religion supports the status quo in its priestly function, it inspires great change in its prophetic function. It can enable individuals to transcend social forces; to act in ways other than those prescribed by the social order.

Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus, Thomas More all died upholding spiritual beliefs that were not those of the social order in which they lived. Religion, in its prophetic function, provides individuals with an unshakable foundation of social criticism which later on becomes the basis for social change. Many religious groups of the world protested against Vietnam and Iraq wars and an age-old Buddha statue in Afghanistan.

Generally, religion is regarded as an impediment in the path of social change but many religious groups, by criticizing existing rules of social morality and social injustice, and community or government actions, help in bringing about social change. In this regard, Max Weber’s pioneering work on the relationship between economy and the religion.

It should be noted that many religious leaders have acted in the forefront of many social and political movements. For example, Martin Luther King fought for civil rights of Blacks in America. Swami Dayanand worked aggres­sively for women education and widow remarriage in India.

12. Religion as an Agent of De-politicization:

According to Bryan Wilson (1976), religion functions as an agent of de-politicization. Marxists suggest that by inducing a ‘false consciousness’ among the disadvantaged, religion lessens the possibility of collective political action. In simpler terms, religion keeps people away from seeing their lives and societal conditions in political terms.

13. Religion Controls Sexuality:

According to B. Turner (1992), ‘religion has the function of controlling the sexuality of the body, in order to secure the regular transmission of property via the family’. In feudalism, and now in capitalism, religious control of sexuality is an important vehicle for the production of legitimate offspring.

In the end, it may be said that in spite of being regarded as superstition, religion is persisting for such a long time as a social institution because of its varied functions cited above that it performs for the welfare of the individual and the society both.

At many times, even the so-called educated people regard religious laws as superior to the man-made laws. In primitive and tradi­tional societies and even some sections of modern societies, despite all-round attack over it, religion is a pervasive matter, and religious beliefs and rites play an important part in the activities of various kinds of groups—from family to occupational groups. Though inhabitants and citizens of a ‘modern’ society, many remain traditional in their religious and moral outlook. For some, this means that religious authority and principles override that of secular law.

Functions of Religion can be summarized below:

1. It helps man to deal with his fear of the supernatural powers. It helps individuals to overcome pain, fear and anxiety.

2. It is a means used by man to adjust to his belief in the existence of supernatural powers.

3. It gives people explanations regarding the road to salvation or release from the cycle of births and rebirths.

4. It is a potent and powerful means of controlling social behaviour. The fear of punishment from supernatural powers for violating religious rule is an effective means of controlling the behaviour of individuals within society. Each religion has its own code regarding acceptable and unacceptable modes of behaviour, which is binding on all the individuals who belong to, or follow a particular religion.

5. It provides emotional and psychological comfort by assuring people that there is a meaning in life, and there is a purpose even in suffering. It is a great source of comfort and solace in times of crises.

6. It unites people and brings social solidarity.

7. It provides answers to certain basic questions in life—what is the purpose of life, why do people suffer, why do people die, what happens after death, and so on.

8. It provides guidelines regarding everyday life, societal behaviour, behaviour towards others, and so on.

9. It helps people to adapt to changing situations, environment and customs. It helps individuals to adapt to all kinds of social change, including change in marital status, death in the family, and change in family structure due to death, divorce or separation.

10. It provides individuals with a sense of identity.

11. It is an effective means of preserving or conserving the values and morals of life.

12. All religions promote welfare of people, and inculcate a desire to help the needy.

13. It helps individuals to understand the reason for their existence, and makes the world more understandable.

 

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Family, it's Functions and Types

 


Family

Family is the simplest and most elementary group found in a society  consisting of a father, mother and one or more children.

Characteristics of Family:

1. Family is a Universal group. It is found in some form or the other, in all types of societies whether primitive or modern.

2. A family is based on marriage, which results in a mating relationship between two adults of opposite sex.

3. Every family provides an individual with a name, and hence, it is a source of nomenclature.

4. Family is the group through which descent or ancestry can be traced.

5. Family is the most important group in any individual’s life.

6. Family is the most basic and important group in primary socialization of an individual.

7. A family is generally limited in size, even large, joint and extended families.

8. The family is the most important group in society; it is the nucleus of all institu­tions, organizations and groups.

9. Family is based on emotions and sentiments. Mating, procreation, maternal and fraternal devotion, love and affection are the basis of family ties.

10. The family is a unit of emotional and economic cooperation.

11. Each member of family shares duties and responsibilities.

12. Every family is made up of husband and wife, and/or one or more children, both natural and adopted.

13. Each family is made up of different social roles, like those of husband, wife, mother, father, children, brothers or sisters.

Functions of family:

Functions of the family can be classified as the essential functions and non-essential functions.

a.      Essential Functions

1 . Satisfaction of Sex Needs:

Sex is the natural and biological urge of human beings. The satisfaction of sex desire requires that male and female should live together as husband and wife.

Hence, family is the only place where husband and wife can satisfy their sexual needs. Family satisfies sexual desires of male and female through the institution of marriage. Without family the satisfaction of sex needs is impossible. The modern family satisfies sex instinct in a greater degree than the traditional family.

2. Reproduction:

The task of race perpetuation has always been an important function of the family. A ongoing society must replace its members. It primarily relies on the biological reproduction of its own members.

The family is an institution par excellence of the reproduction and the rearing of children. It secures a legitimate and responsible basis for procreation by regulating sexual behaviour. It provides care and personal protection to the newly born human beings and children.

3. Sustenance Function:

The family provides the daily care and personal protection to its dependant members namely aged, children etc. The family is an insurance for the individual in times of crisis. Family provides protection and shelter to orphans, widow and her children.

4. Provision of a Home:

Establishment of household life or provision of a home is another essential function of the family. The desire for a home is a powerful instinct for men as well as women. Family provides a opportunity for husband and wife to live together happily. Man after the hard work of the day returns home where in the presence of his wife and children he sheds off his fatigue.

Although there are hotels and club which provide recreation, the home is still the heaven where its members find comfort and affection. Home is the foundation of family, the meeting place of husband and wife, the birth place and play ground of children. The family is a psychological relief station in which one can safely relax.

5. Socialisation:

Man is a social animal. But he is not born human or social. He is made social through the process of socialisation. Socialisation refers to the process through which the growing individual learns the habits, attitudes, values and beliefs of the social group into which he has been born and becomes a person.

From the point of view of society, it is the process through which society transmits its culture from generation to generation and maintains itself. If a society is to endure and function successfully through time, it is to socialise the new recruits.

The family presents itself to the child as an educative group of most fundamental kind. It presents itself as a concrete manifestation of the cultural process. It is the first social environment which trains and educates the newborn child.

The basic socialisation of the child takes place in the family. It carries out the socialisation of the individual. It hands over the social heritage to the generations to come. The family is described as the “transfer point of civilisation. The content of socialisation is the cultural traditions of the society, by passing them to the next generation, says Parsons. The family acts as the cultural mediator.

b.     Non-Essential Functions:

The nonessential functions of a family can be the following ones:

1. Economic Functions:

Family serves as an economic unit. The earlier agricultural family was a self-supporting ‘business enterprise’. It was producing whatever the family needed. Today the importance of family as an economic unit has been lessened as most of the goods for consumption are purchased readymade from the market.

The family still remains as an important economic unit from the point of view of ‘consumer’s outlay’. In other words, the modern family is a consuming unit and not a self-sufficient ‘producing unit’.

2. Property Transformation:

The family acts as an agency for holding and transmission of property. Most families accumulate much property such as land, goods, money and other forms of wealth. The family transmits these property.

3. Religious Function:

Family is a centre for religious training of the children. The children learn various religious virtues from their parents. The religious and moral training of children has always been bound up with the home. Though formal religious education has reached into the earliest years the family still furnishes the matrix of religious ideas, attitudes and practice.

4. Educative Function:

The family provides the bases of all the child’s latter formal education learning. Family is the first school of children. The child learns the first letters under the guidance of parents. The first lesson of child begins between mother’s kiss and father’s care. The child learns language, behaviour and manners from the parents. The virtues of love, cooperation, obedience, sacrifice and discipline are learnt by the child in the family.

5. Recreational Function:

The family provides recreation to its members. The members of the family visit their relations. They enjoy various occasions in the family jointly and derive pleasure. Now recreation is available in clubs and hotels rather than at home.

6. Wish Fulfillment:

The family gives moral and emotional support for the individual member, providing his defence against social isolation and loneliness and satisfying his need for personal happiness and love. The wife finds in the husband love, security, protection and strength, while the husband expects from her affection, tenderness, help and devotion.

To conclude, there are certain core functions with which the family is always and everywhere concerned.

The family has given up some of the functions that it performed in the past. But by and large, the family remains the most important primary group in society for accomplishing certain essential functions.

Types of Family:

1. On the basis of Birth

a.Family of Orientation:

The family in which an individual is born is his family of orientation.

b.Family of Procreation:

The family where an individual sets up after his/her marriage is his/her family of procreation.

The family of orientation and procreation may live together under the same roof, but can still be distinguished.

2. On the basis of Marriage

a.Monogamous Family:

This family consists of one husband and wife, including children and is based on monogamous marriages.

b.Polygynous Family:

A family consisting of one husband, and more than one wife, and all the children born to all the wives or adopted by each of them. This type of family has its basis in the polygynous form of marriage.

c.Polyandrous Family:

A family made up of one wife and more than one husband, and the children, either born or adopted with each one of them. This family is based on poly­androus marriage.

3. On the basis of Residence:

a.Family of Matrilocal Residence:

When a couple stays in the wife’s house, the family is known as family of matrilocal residence.

b.Family of Patrilocal Residence:

When a family stays in the house of husband, the fam­ily is known as family of patrilocal residence.

c.Family of Changing Residence:

When a family stays in the husband’s house for some time, and moves to wife’s house, stays there for a period of time, and then moves back to husband’s parents, or starts living in another place, the family is called a family of chang­ing residence.

4. On the basis of Ancestry or Decent

a. Matrilineal Family:

When ancestry or descent is traced through the female line, or through the mother’s side, the family is called matrilineal family.

b.Patrilineal Family:

A family in which the authority is carried down the male line, and descent is traced through the male line or the father’s side, is called a patrilineal family.

5. On the basis of Authority

a.Matriarchal Family:

Matriarchal families are generally found in matrilineal societies. In these families, a woman is the head of the family, and authority is vested in her. Succession of property is through the female line, i.e., only daughters inherit the property.

After marriage, the husband resides in the wife’s house and descent is traced through the mother’s side. Here, children are brought up in mother’s house. Thus, in matriarchal societies, the matrilocal system exists. Matriarchal families are found only in matrilineal societies, which are very limited in number all over the world. They are found in parts of Latin America, Ceylon, parts of Africa and India (the Khasis and the Garos).

b.Patriarchal Family:

Patriarchal families are commonly found in all parts of the world, since most societies in the world are patrilineal societies. In patriarchal families, the head of the family is a male, and authority is vested in him. Descent and property is passed through the male line and children are brought up in father’s house. Such families are patrilocal in nature.

6. On the basis of Nature of Relations

a.Conjugal Family:

The conjugal family is made up of adults among whom there is a sexual relationship. It refers to a family system of spouses and their dependent children. The emphasis is placed on the marital relationship that exists between spouses. In modern times, the term ‘conjugal family’ is being used for partners, who have a long- term sexual relationship, but are not actually married.

b.Consanguine Family:

A consanguine family is made up of members among whom a blood relation exists, or those who are consanguineal kin, i.e., a family consisting of parent(s) and children, or siblings (brothers, sisters, or brothers and sisters).

7. On the basis of State or Structure

a.Nuclear Family:

A nuclear family is a small group consisting of a husband, a wife and children, natural or adopted. It is more or less an autonomous unit that is not under the control of adults or elders of the family. It consists of two generations only. In all modern societies, nuclear family is the most common type of family. In fact, nuclear family is both the consequence as well as the cause of the disintegration of joint family.

b.Joint Family:

A joint family consists of three generation, living together under the same roof, sharing the same kitchen and purse or economic expenses. It is a family consisting of three nuclear families living together. A joint family is ‘a group of people, who generally live under the same roof, who eat food cooked at one hearth, who hold property in common, and who participate in common family worship and are related to each other as some particular type of kindered.

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