Sociology in New Zealand Essay Example

Sociology in New Zealand Essay Example Sociology in New Zealand Essay Sociology in New Zealand Essay The country of New Zealand consists of two dominant cultures: Western-influenced European culture, and the Maori culture. This paper will focus on the sociological aspects of the environment, family, and aging in respect to the Western-influenced European culture only. I say that the European culture of New Zealand is Western-influenced because beliefs and values of Western cultures are affecting those of their own society. Based on findings regarding the three sociological topics that will be covered in this paper, the environment, family, and aging, the society in New Zealand is primarily a functionalist society. I have found that in New Zealand, the culture, under the influence of the environment and family structure, fulfills the functionalist theory, while aging implements the interactionist theory. These theories show how the New Zealand culture is one of efficiency, as these topics (the environment, family, and aging) have important roles as to how the society as a whole functions. However, it is not a completely functionalist society- it is also an interactionist society as the citizens are socially aware of each other and this awareness affects their behavior. The way the people of New Zealand behave, when influenced by the environment and their family structure, folds back into society, and benefits it as a whole. These topics follow the functionalist theory originally presented by sociologists August Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim. These three sociologists had slightly differing views of functionalism, but the main message remained constant: that society is comprised of interconnected parts, each of which has its own function. The parts rely on each other to function optimally, or are interdependent, and if a part fails to carry out its function, it can negatively affect the other parts. This disrupts the unification of society and causes conflict, which, from a functionalist point of view, is a symptom of disease. Inversely, when all parts fulfill their roles, then society would be in a stable, unified, â€Å"disease-free† condition. Furthermore, the society will only thrive when stable and when its citizens cooperate with its collective conscience, or accepted basic values and rules of behavior. There are a few criticisms of this theory, however. Many argue that functionalism is merely an ideal state, as it refers to society as an effectively running machine with no complications. This is not always the case, as society is almost never free of conflict. Another argument is that the functionalist theory disregards the influence of whoever creates and maintains social agreements. (Kier, 2010) With these criticisms in mind, it is safe to say that no society completely fulfills the functionalist theory. Thus, the society of New Zealand is not completely functionalist, although some aspects are, such as the environment and family. ENVIRONMENT The country of New Zealand is a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, located to the southeast of Australia. The terrain is predominantly mountainous, with some large coastal plains. Despite the fact that most of its terrain is mountainous, a majority of the New Zealand people live in urban environments that are mainly situated along the coast. That is not to say that the surrounding, non-urban environment is unimportant. Only about 13 percent of this land is used for crops, while the other 87 percent is reserved for industrial, urban, tourist, and residential purposes. The majority of the land is used to support and maintain the citizens’ way of life and their economy. The country is involved with a number of international agreements primarily regarding marine life, as New Zealand is located in the Oceania region of the world. New Zealanders, an outdoor-loving people, hold their environment in high regard. In a survey held in 2004 by the Growth and Innovation Advisory Board, 87 percent of New Zealanders consider the environment to be important. The same survey found that New Zealanders deem the quality of their natural environment to be in the top three most important aspects of New Zealand, the other two being quality of life and quality of education. (Ministry for the Environment, 2000) The main current environmental issues that the country faces are deforestation, soil erosion, and the invasion of native flora and fauna by foreign species. Another, although not as current, concern of New Zealand is marine maintenance. Some preventive and restoration measures that the government is taking include the Conversation Act 1987, which was established to promote conserving the natural and historic resources of New Zealand and laid the foundation for the development of the Department of Conservation, and the International Tropical Timber Agreement 1983, which was developed to encourage nations to establish strategies that strove for the conservation and sustainable exercise of tropical forests and their natural resources. The goal of conservation also has economic reasons. As n island nation, the land is one of the primary means to support the lives of the New Zealand citizens, so the environment is very important to the people of New Zealand. So as to keep this stable way of life, New Zealanders under their government are implementing laws to clean up their pollution and conserve what has remained untouched by industrialization and urbanization. For example, as members of the Kyoto Protocol, a contract be tween nations that strives to cap the world’s carbon emissions, the New Zealand government has implemented a new carbon tax for all households and businesses. New Zealanders care about preserving and cleaning their environment because of the role the land plays in their society. They are intent on improving and sustaining their environment because they have realized, just as many other industrial countries have, that the world’s natural resources are depleting, and that if the citizens wish to maintain a comfortable, consumerist way of life, then these resources must be preserved. New environmental laws must be implemented to prevent further damage, lest citizens lose the convenience of having their own cars and other extraneous materials. Kier, 2010) Furthermore, the environment is prevalent in their lives through business, recreation and tourism- it stimulates their economy and supports their lifestyle. Moreover, the state that their country is in is what the rest of the world sees. If the country of New Zealand appears unable to manage its resources and satisfy the consumer demands of its people, it is likely to be taken less ser iously and looked down upon. The environment plays an essential role in the lives of New Zealanders, and always will- its function is timeless. It is the foundation, on which they set their behavior, and it continues to affect what they do and how they live, fulfilling functionalist theory. FAMILY As in most cultures, family is a huge aspect of life. Family, from a sociological point of view, is a social construct, and is a social unit rather than a biological unit. Family is a social construct because, over time, the definition of family has changed. In the past, family was considered â€Å"a group of people related by blood, marriage. † However, many people have family bonds with others that they have no relation to, changing the idea of family from a biological unit to a social unit. In New Zealand, the definition of family has expanded to include not only the European culture, but the Maori culture that occupies the country as well. In new Zealand, a family is taken to be â€Å"a family group, including an extended family, in which there is at least one adult member with whom a child or another adult member has a biological or legal relationship; or to whom the child or other adult member has a significant psychological attachment; or that is the child’s or other adult member’s whanau or other culturally recognised family group. (Department of Labour, 2000) These people, one’s family, support each other and teach each other accepted norms and behaviors of society. Now, there are a number of different types of families, the first being couple-only families. There are also nuclear families, stem families, and compound families. A nuclear family consists of a couple and their child(ren), or a single parent with his/her child(ren), while a stem family consists of a couple, a married child and their spouse, and their children. The last type of family, the compound, is when two families combine after a divorce. Birks amp; Hodgson, 2002) For a majority of the past century, the prevalent family type of New Zealand was the nuclear family. (Statistics New Zealand, 2007) However, over the years, the number of couple-only families has grown the fastest, outpacing the growth of nuclear families, which has become the slowest growing family type. As shown from this information, the value of starting a family with children has decreased as time continued. Statistics on changes in New Zealand’s household income (New Zealand Treasury, 2000) show that, since 1998, the gross household income has been decreasing. Because of this decline, working age citizens have been working harder than before to make enough to support themselves and be able to live comfortably, thus improving their quality of life. From this information, I have found that New Zealand citizens replaced family with work in their hierarchy of values. This could mean either of two things, the first being that family is not valued as highly as work and a steady income, and the second being that the role of a support system a family plays is assumed and stable, and thus can be put aside so that other things (work) may be addressed. All of this does not necessarily say that the New Zealand society is completely focused on work. Based on the fact that New Zealanders highly value a good quality of living, and the gross household income has been decreasing over the years, working has become one of the top values of New Zealand citizens, but it has not replaced the family or the support system it provides. Granted, this support system is small due to the fact that most families consist of couples only, but the members of the family provide support nonetheless. So instead of depending on family for a large support network, lately New Zealanders depend on family for a steady income in order to have a better quality of living. Despite the change in what New Zealanders rely on their family for, the family has a function in their lives. New Zealanders edit their behavior in correspondence to how the family carries out its role, following functionalist theory. AGING Other sociological aspects of the New Zealand culture follow different theories as well, as aging fulfills the interactionist theory. This theory claims that human beings determine their behavior by comparing themselves to those around them. George Herbert Mead is credited with this theory, as he stressed that society is maintained through our interpretation and communication of â€Å"mutually-agreed-upon† symbols. Our mutual agreement of these symbols, which are typically words, gestures, body language, and anything of the like, is what keeps our society together. Under the interactionist theory, old age (the actual number of years one has aged) is not important. What is important, is society’s definition of the word â€Å"old†, as the culture decides what that label constitutes. For example, a society considers physical, biological appearance and capability when deciding who is and is not old. In New Zealand, as in many cultures, those considered old are no longer influential contributors to society. They become burdens rather than assets. As there is no set age as to when a person is considered â€Å"old†, New Zealand society has set a timetable to inform citizens of their age status. One way of doing this is by setting a mandatory retirement age. While New Zealand does not have a mandatory retirement age, it does have a minimum age, 65 years old, which still does its job in telling whomever that they are considered old in their society. Of the elderly population, only 3-6 percent lives in nursing homes, or residential care, leaving a vast majority to live with their children and their families. (Ministry of Health, 2004) This low percentage shows that it is not customary to consign the elderly into nursing homes. Those who make up this small statistic are admitted primarily because of major factors such as sudden changes in circumstances or health (no one is capable of caring for them) and major disabilities, such as dementia. Of course, there is always the choice few that personally decides to live in residential care. This high rate of retired citizens living with their families further displays the economics of the country, as well as their value in quality of life. Previously, I had mentioned the decrease in gross household income for New Zealand families. Because of this, the authority figures of the household consider the cost of an extra person to support living in the home versus the cost of said person living in residential care. In most, if not all, cases, the notion of having their elderly live in their home wins, as it turns out to be less expensive than residential care rates. (Ministry of Health, 2004) Keeping the elderly at home rather than residential care also portrays the social value of a high quality of life. Once again, the people of New Zealand compare the quality of life in a nursing home to the quality of life at home with their families. Being surrounded by your loved ones makes life better, makes for a happier citizen, as opposed to being surrounded by the sick and independently incapable. From this, I find that, while New Zealand families are financially minded, they also put improving the quality of life for the elderly in their list of priorities. The size of the elderly population remaining at home continues to rise, while both the working age and underage populations decrease. The elderly are quickly becoming the largest, most influential group in society. Ministry of Health, 2004) As such, their demands for civil rights specifically established for their age group grows as well. This demographic shift (increase in elderly and decrease in working age population) leads to a smaller work force. Because of these results, employers are will likely need to become flexible with whom they hire, and retain older workers. As such, the New Zealand government is implementing a Positive Ageing Strategy, which promotes the value and participation of the elderly in society. (Office for Senior Citizens, 2001) Not only does this strategy look to provide for the eeds of the older age group, but it also strives to increase the opportunities in which the elderly can contribute to society. In advocating this strategy, the government hopes to put the idea of aging into a more positive light. As many people see the elderly as a burden, one of the goals of this strategy is to make said age group more self-sufficient. By engaging the elderly and providing means with which they can contribute to society, the more they are valued by the rest of society and the less dependent they are on their children- instead of being liabilities, the elderly can become assets to society once again. Not only do the demands for elderly civil rights rise, but so do demands for more specialized health services. I said before that the Positive Ageing Strategy also looks to provide for the needs of the elderly. These needs differ than those of the working age and underage groups. In light of the goal to improve the quality of life for the elderly, the government is working to satisfy the need for more specialist and support services to address conditions related to age, such as hip replacements and cataracts. (Office for Senior Citizens, 2001) New Zealand culture’s agreed definition of the word â€Å"old† provides a means to keep the society unified. This unification allows them, the citizens and the government, to agree upon social values and determine what changes need to be implemented to satisfy demands and needs of the elderly. This demonstrates how mindful of their elderly the citizens of New Zealand are. In the case of aging and the elderly, it is a social value to improve the quality of life for the elderly, and an increasing belief to look at aging with a positive attitude. In allowing the elderly to continue to contribute to society, and live with their families rather than nursing homes, the members of New Zealand society are improving and maintaining the quality of life for those in this age group. This also gives the elderly a chance to once again contribute to society, hopefully casting them in good light. Additionally, these actions have economic benefits as well. When the elderly remain a good percentage of the workforce, companies save money that would have been used to train new employees and purchase unnecessary equipment. Also, by having their elders live with them, families can save money and continue to focus on increasing their household income. Aging does play a role in society, giving it a functionalist aspect, but it mainly adheres to the interactionist theory. As per interactionism, New Zealanders determine their behavior on judgments passed based on the social definition of â€Å"old. † CONCLUSION I find that the society of New Zealand, like most societies, is a combination of perspective theories, namely the functionalist and interactionist theory from investigating these three topics. New Zealand is a functionalist society in that two social aspects, the environment and family, are important to the culture because of the functions they carry out. The interactionist theory comes into play when discussing aging in New Zealand. Age is one of the social criteria in each other that citizens are aware of, and this attentiveness influences their behavior. The environment is important to New Zealanders and affects how they behave because of its function in their society. It sustains the way they live, it provides means for a thriving economy through industry, business, and tourism. The resources with which the environment supports its inhabitants are decreasing, and the citizens are reacting in ways to save these resources. Due to the decline of the gross household income and the high value in quality of life in New Zealand, family has become not only a source of emotional support, but a source of financial support as well. As a couple-only family is the currently dominant model, the emotional support system is small, but if both members work, the financial support is relatively large. Thus, the family is important because it fulfills two roles, emotional and economic. Aging is important to New Zealand society in a number of ways. It provides a way in which the society can be unified, in setting the stage for social values and beliefs to be communally agreed upon. One such value is to improve the quality of life for the elderly, and an increasing belief to look at aging with a positive attitude. In this way, the New Zealand society shows that they are aware of their elderly. This coupled with the notion of giving the elderly a chance to once again contribute to their communities allows this age group to be seen positively, opening the gateway for the rest of the society to behave positively in response. While the country of New Zealand is functionally driven and efficient in the sense that the importance of a social aspect corresponds to how much it benefits society, it is also socially aware, as its citizens use the comparisons they have between each other to determine how to behave. The environment and family are not the only factors of New Zealand society that follow the requisites of functionalism, nor is aging the only sociological aspect that implements interactionist theory. In this sense, New Zealand society fills out aspects of both functionalist and interactionist theory.