sociology – Page 2 – Best Essay Writers

United Nations Human Rights Commission

United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) is an intergovernmental organization within the structure of the United Nations. It comprises of 47 Council positions intended to ensure a fair geographical representation. 13 members are drawn from Asia, 13 members from Africa, 8 from Caribbean and Latin American, 5 from Eastern Europe and 7 from Western Europe and other states.

The Council was established in 2006 by the United Nations General Assembly to succeed the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR). UNCHR was widely criticized for failing to address human rights desecrations, and having a huge number of nations with a dismal human rights track record as its members. Despite overhauling UNCHR, several states and policymakers expressed their concerns over UNHRC’s lack of attention to contentious human right occurrences (Thompson, 2015).

Notwithstanding, the United Nations Human Rights Commission has been effective is addressing human rights violations in different nations. The effectiveness of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in accomplishing its objective of protecting global human rights largely depends on the influence of the major powers and cooperation of states.

Organizational Structure

Member countries in the General Assembly participate in an election to appoint individuals who will occupy the 47 seats of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Each position has a tenure of three years and there is no member who can hold a position beyond two consecutive terms. The General Assembly has the authority to suspend the privileges and rights of any Council member, if it persistently commits systematic or gross human rights violation during its membership term (Smith, 2014).

Suspension from the General Assembly necessitates a two-thirds majority vote to oust a member from the Assembly. The resolution that founded the United Nations Human Rights Commission shares that when appointing Council members, states should consider the candidates’ contribution to the protection and promotion of human rights and their voluntary commitments and pledges made.

Members selected to join the UNHRC are expected to exemplify highest human rights protection and promotion standards (Thompson, 2015). The Human Rights Council holds meeting three times every year in September, March and June. Nonetheless, the Council may decide to schedule a special session to discuss human rights emergencies and violations, at the approval of a third of the member countries.

Goals

The United Nations Human Rights Council serves as the main forum for addressing human rights issues and intergovernmental cooperation. The Council endeavors to aid member’s nations to manage their human rights infringement through dialogues, technical assistance, and capacity building. In addition, it makes proposals to the General Assembly to improve the advancement of international law in the arena of human rights.

Through the Universal Periodic Review, the United Nations Human Rights Council evaluates the human rights situation in 192 United Nations member states. The advisory committee offers advice and expertise in thematic human rights matters, thereby promoting the efficiency of the Council. Another responsibility of the committee is to forward complaints about violation of human rights to the Council. After a complaint is filed, the Council manages thematic issues or country situations through the special procedures system (Smith, 2014).

Evaluation

The United Nations Human Rights Council has been successful in promoting the protection of human rights across the globe. Nonetheless, the success has been varied with the greatest achievement being realized in Africa. In contrast to Western Nations, African nations have been accommodating refugees thereby incorporating the subject of human right issues.

Refugees have been granted asylum and accepted in these societies since African communities have a strong hospitality tradition. Most importantly, African nations have exemplified massive cooperation with the UNHCR thereby accelerating to the attainment of the Council’s goals. Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Malawi are examples of some of the nations that granted asylum to a huge number of refugees from Mozambique in 1986 (Hammerstad, 2014).

Kenya has also granted asylum to a massive number of refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan. In all the nations, the presence of the United Nations Human Rights Council has been crucial in protecting the rights of refugees and compelling host nations to grant refuge to refugees.

In Europe and North America, the UNHRC has encountered pressures due to the presence of stringent rules restricting entry of refuges. The outcome has been a lower level of refugee protection and refusal to enjoy asylum. In Western nations, the Council has failed in promoting the protection of human rights especially for refugees. UNHCR has resorted to reminding these nations of their duty to enhance the rights of all people whether citizens or refugees.

While the role of providing physical security or protection is the duty of the host nation, United Nations Human Rights Council has a facilitating mandate to ensure this obligation is observed. Although, the Council has failed in executing this role in certain nations and human rights situations, it has performed much better compared to its successor.

Major Powers such as the United Nations have had a major impact on the Council due to its financial donation and interest in advancing certain ideals (Smith, 2014). The United Nations should endeavor to cooperate with member states to ensure that human rights are protected and promoted. In the future, the council should review its membership slots due to population growth and to promote equality among member states.

Conclusion

The United Nations Human Rights Council has been successful in promoting and protecting human rights across the globe compared to its predecessor. Since the Council does not harbor enforcement powers, it has effectively accomplished its mission, ensuring that human rights are observed. The effectiveness of the Council in attaining its vision of global human rights protection rest with securing cooperation with major powers and host nations.

As exemplified in the African situation, the interpretation of refugee’s rights and rights relating to granting asylum rights has hindered observation of global human rights. The UNHRC has not been successful where nations have been uncooperative, such as the incident of Cuban, Haitian, and Mexican refuges residing in the United States. Nonetheless, on a global scale, the Council has largely demonstrated its efficiency in accomplishing its mandate.

References

Hammerstad, A. (2014). Rise and decline of a global security actor: UNHCR, refugee protection, and security. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Smith, H. (2014). Crimes against humanity? Unpacking the North Korean human rights debate. Critical Asian Studies, 46(1), 127-143.

Thompson, A. S. (2015). Tehran 1968 and Reform of the UN Human Rights System. Journal of Human Rights, 14(1), 84-100.

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Teenage Pregnancy Research Proposal

A study on how teenage pregnancy affects education, employment, and housing.

Introduction

Teenage pregnancy is a major social problem affecting many countries worldwide ranging from the first world to third world countries. According to research, UK has the leading number of teenage pregnancies. Every year, there is an increase in the number of girls between 13 and 19 who get pregnant (Magaraggia, 2010).

An increased number of teen pregnancies have been attributed to various factors such as peer influence, lack of parental guidance on sexual health as well as socioeconomic factors such as poverty. Most researchers link lack of parental guidance, peer influence and mass media influence as the primary causes of teen pregnancy.

Despite extensive measures laid down to deal with teenage pregnancy, the rate remains rampant. Teenage pregnancy leads to school drop out for the victim, poor housing due to increased cost of living and unemployment for the relatives due to increased responsibilities. (Magaraggia, 2010).

Objectives of the study

The major objectives of the study will include:

To identify factors contributing to teen pregnancy.
To determine and describe the effects of teen pregnancy on education, employment, and housing.
To determine the various ways of curbing teen pregnancies

Rationale

In the current world, the number of teen pregnancy has been a growing concern. The United States has been found to have the highest number of pregnant teenage girls. Therefore it is an issue that requires to be addressed to help in reducing the numbers.

Aim

The study will aim at getting relevant information on teen pregnancy, and this will substantially contribute to prevention of pregnancies among adolescents. Information gathered from the study could be used in education institutions as well as healthcare facilities to offer the necessary information regarding teen pregnancy.

Literature Review

Today, teenage pregnancy remains a major issue. According to Minnick & Shandler 2011, among the industrialized countries, UK has second highest rates of teenage pregnancy. The Census conducted in 2008 which indicated that the birth rate of mothers between the ages of 14-19 was 41.5 per 1000 women. Each year, 14 million children are born worldwide to teenage mothers between the age of 15 and 19 UNICEF, 2012. Magaraggia (2010)established teenage pregnancy as a social problem which requires being addressed.

Many factors have been attributed to high incidence of teenage pregnancy. The following factors have been attributed to the increased rates of pregnancy among adolescents. These factors include; inadequate and inaccurate information on sexual health, peer pressure which offers an avenue to discuss sex matters and mass media which gives teenagers easy access to pornographic materials (Magaraggia, 2010)

Teenage pregnancy may have detrimental effects in all aspects of life including education where the affected person as to drop out of school to be able to take care of the child. Also, it may lead to unemployment being attributed to low self-esteem as well as inability to perform assigned duties(Girma & Paton, 2015). Consequently, the victims find themselves living in substandard houses due to reduced finances.

Conclusion

Curbing of teenage pregnancy requires application of different approaches including sexual education and raising awareness. Both the society and policy makers can as well be involved solving in providing solutions to the risk factors of teenage pregnancy (Girma & Paton, 2015). Therefore, combined efforts from families, healthcare facilities and the society as a whole will be required to help in coming up with a solution to this nightmare.

References

Girma, S., & Paton, D. (2015). Is education the best contraception: The case of teenage pregnancy in England? Social Science and Medicine, 131, 1–9. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.02.040

Magaraggia, S. (2010). Teenage pregnancy: the making and unmaking of a problem. Gender and Education, 22(4), 475–476. http://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2010.496161

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Pillars of Society Matrix

*Pillars*	*What have you read? (use your textbook and other academic readings)*	*What have you observed (personal experience)?*	How does your community impact the pillars?	*What is the impact of technology?
Politics	Politics are designed to maintain checks and balance system through governance where the ruling class is associated with the rich who influence political decisions (Henslin & Nelson, 2011).	The economy plays an important role in politics where leaders are elected based on the ability to fix economic issues in their country	A community can influence the political pillar of the society through voting or political participation rights (Henslin & Nelson, 2011)	Technology can negatively or positively by getting extra income online or destruction of marriages through social websites.
Marriage and Family	Marriage and family pillar of the society is economically influenced by class and wealth affecting the basic human needs that may lead to family conflicts and child abuse (Kaestle, 2011).	Individual economic status affects his/her marriage and family status. The middle class society members focus on self actualization while low class society concentrates on sharing the available scarce resources (Henslin & Nelson, 2011).	The community impacts the type of spouses that an individual is likely to choose	Technology can negatively or positively by getting extra income online or destruction of marriages through social websites.
Religion	Religion society pillar based on literature economically influence the direction of prosperity.	From personal experience, young generation tends to separate themselves from religious groups where economic development is taught and are likely to develop economically	The community play emphasis and advocate for controlled behaviors and life guidelines based on religious teaching	The young generation rely on technology to get religious teaching (Henslin & Nelson, 2011)
Education	Education influences the economical gap between the rich and the poor where the rich are likely to reach at advanced education levels compared to the poor (Kaestle, 2011).	From personal experience, the rich society obtains quality education considering their financial capability	, advance communities embrace education compared to marginalized communities as educated individuals seek higher positions and good jobs.	Technology provides easy access to education programs and shared knowledge stored in digital libraries.

The four pillars of society hold the society together and are essential for group survival as well as institutional function (Kaestle, 2011). The four pillars of society work together and the absence of one eliminates the rest.

References

Henslin, J. M., & Nelson, A. (2011). Essentials of sociology: A down-to-earth approach.

Kaestle, C. (2011). Pillars of the republic: Common schools and American society, 1780-1860. Macmillan.

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SOCIAL COGNITION IN ADOLESCENTS WITH ASD

Study Sample

Parents have great influences in their children social cognition. For this reason, the eligible participants for this study include adolescents diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), age 16- 23 years and together with their parents or the primary caregiver (Hartley, Schaidle, & Burnson, 2013; Loukas et al., 2015). The inclusion criteria for participants included the ability to communicate in English, and the adolescent is diagnosed with ASD.

Participant recruitment will take place at the community clinical settings. Emails requesting for participation will be sent to the adolescent’s parents/ caregivers diagnosed with ASD. The email will include the project’s description in detail, including the benefits and risks associated with their participation. The parents who are interested in participating will be requested respond to the email and will be contacted for official recruitment processes including the signing of the informed consent

Sample collection is an integral part of research design as it determines whether the research hypothesis will be appropriately tested. Therefore, it is important to establish a balance between an ideal sample and a convenient (Kandalaft et al., 2013). At the commencement of the study, the available study sample is estimated at ten pairs of participants, that is ten adolescents diagnosed with ASD and ten parents/caregivers of the adolescents diagnosed with ASD. However, due to unavoidable circumstances, the study sample may slightly less than the estimated number.

The study sample will be pretested using questionnaires to evaluate the adolescent’s social cognition ability at the baseline. This will be followed by the proposed intervention (training for adolescents and their parents for 15 weeks). After 15 weeks, a post-test and a focus group discussion will be performed to determine the impact of the intervention and to understand the challenges adolescent’s experiences during the transition.

References

Hartley, S. L., Schaidle, E. M., & Burnson, C. F. (2013). Parental Attributions for the Behavior Problems of Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics : JDBP, 34(9), 651–660. http://doi.org/10.1097/01.DBP.0000437725.39459.a0

Kandalaft, M. R., Didehbani, N., Krawczyk, D. C., Allen, T. T., & Chapman, S. B. (2013). Virtual Reality Social Cognition Training for Young Adults with High-Functioning Autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(1), 34–44. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1544-6

Loukas, K. M., Raymond, L., Perron, A. R., McHarg, L. A., & LaCroix Doe, T. C. (2015). Occupational transformation: Parental influence and social cognition of young adults with autism. Work, 50(3), 457-463.

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Social cognition: Reflective essay

Social cognition

Question 1: various viewpoints and findings observed during literature review

The social cognitive process is critical especially when an individual is navigating complex social interactions. The way people perceive or interpret other people’s actions is important. However, most people diagnosed with atypical mental disorders such as autism lack appropriate social cognitive skills.

It has been postulated that people diagnosed with ASD are biased in visual cognition such as body language or facial assessment. This is a challenge among the adolescents because they are in a stage characterized by consolidation of their social self, their identity and understanding their roles in the social world (Loukas et al., 2015).

From the literature review, I identified two contrasting viewpoints about social cognition development in adolescence diagnosed with ASD; theory of mind (ToM) and adolescent’s sensitivity to social rejection (Leekam, 2016). According to the concept of sensitivity to social rejection, the studies stated that the developmental mismatch occurs due to poor regulation of the adolescent’s emotions and accounts for the poor social cognition skills in adolescents diagnosed with ASD.

On the other hand, ToM argues that individuals are trained to understand other people’s minds, thoughts, intentions and beliefs based on the principles they were taught at the age of 4, and that their social cognition is mainly influenced by their caregivers or parents (Leekam, 2016).

These two viewpoints have been integrated into the literature review and will be used during analysis to determine whether adolescent’s social cognition is determined by the affective theory of mind, sensitivity to social rejection or both. This is because adolescence stage is marked with increased social and emotional sophistication; therefore, the underlying themes that influence social cognition skills should be explored to empower adolescents diagnosed with ASD well-being and behavioral outcomes (Loukas et al., 2015).

Question 2: Thought processes when developing research question

A good research question should be relevant and manageable. Therefore, the research question was developed from issues of intellectual interest raised in practice and literature. The aspects that I find most interesting in this field are children growth and development. From the literature, it is evident that parenting skills greatly influence the children behaviors (Loukas et al., 2015). In this context, the adolescent stage is marked by distinct changes in their relationship with family, peers and the society. It is a stage when they should be taught on ways to assert autonomous control over their emotions, actions, and decisions.

During this stage, it has been argued that the brain undergoes remodeling process. Whereas substantial research has been conducted on social cognition in autistic children, there is little attention in researching parent’s role in ASD adolescent’s social cognition, and whether support training of the parents and caregivers reinforce positive social cognition skills in ASD adolescents (Leekam, 2016). From this analysis, the knowledge gap was evident which led to the formulation of the research questions;

Does parallel complementary training for parents make them be well informed about their children social and intellectual development? Does it empower them with new viewpoints that help to improve social cognition in their children (autistic adolescents)?

Question 3: Developing research methodology

After developing the research questions, I evaluated six evidence-based studies to analyze the research method appropriate to this discipline critically. From these articles, I found out that it is important to establish appropriate study sample because excessive sample or too small study sample lack the statistical power that shows the significant effect. The literature review as the primary source that informed by choice and application of the mixed research method. This research method has a clear connection with the research problem as it provides a complete and comprehensive understanding of the research question (Leekam, 2016).

Moreover, the data collection process is through interviews and questionnaire which are an appropriate approach that facilitates the researcher to develop better and more contexts that have greater construct validity (Loukas et al., 2015). From the literature review, I also learned that the most commonly used data analysis method include chi-square, t-test, and ANOVA, which I have integrated into the proposal’s research methodology. Also, it is important to ensure that the data gathered is accurate. One advantage of mixed research method is that it facilitates triangulation (assessing the same phenomenon using several means of research methods) thereby enhancing the study validity and reliability (Loukas et al., 2015).

Question 4: Innovative part of this research proposal

It is evident that children’s social and cognitive skills development is influenced by their parenting style. Responsive parenting has been explored using various research frameworks such as socio-cultural and attachment; and have been found to have a strong foundation is children’s social and emotional skills (Loukas et al., 2015). In combination with the environment, these aspects shape the child’s social cognition needs including the various range of support required for the child’s learning process. It is these supports that enable the children to be actively engaged in problem-solving, self-regulation and execution of social cognitive skills (Walsh, Creighton, & Rutherford, 2016).

However, the social and emotional stability of parents with children diagnosed with ASD is small. Therefore, their parenting responsiveness is poor and negatively impacts on the child’s social cognition function. The benefits of SCTI-A training is well documented. The study proposes that integrating a parallel complementary training for the parents and caregivers will promote mutual engagement and reciprocate the parent-child interaction. That inturn enables the adolescent to become more active and to develop a trust and bond between the parents and to internalize the trust such that they can generalize the learned behavior to new social cognitive functions/ experiences (Leekam, 2016).

References

Leekam, S. (2016). Social cognitive impairment and autism: what are we trying to explain?. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, 371(1686), 20150082.

Walsh, J. A., Creighton, S. E., & Rutherford, M. D. (2016). Emotion Perception or Social Cognitive Complexity: What Drives Face Processing Deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorder?. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 46(2), 615-623.

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Impact of criminological research on social policy

Impact of criminological research on social policy

Criminological research can impact social policy in a considerable way, given that crime and criminal justice are generally considered social issues. While criminal justice is involved in studying crime, social policy aims at establishing how the society promotes the welfare of individuals. Both areas are also related to social problems that relate to crime and are concerned about how better responses can be undertaken to prevent crime (Wincup, 2013: 5).

Therefore, research in criminology provides useful findings on crime, criminal behavior, causes of crime, ways of preventing crime and how to deal with offenders in order to reduce crime, all which provide solutions that can be applied in social policy development to make the society a better place to live.

Sociology aspect: Criminological Research

Crime is considered a social problem and social policy concerns itself with addressing social problems. In this relation, criminology and social policy have a direct relationship in that criminology studies provide solutions for addressing crime in order to promote societal welfare. The application of criminological research provides a more comprehensive approach to identifying social problems that lead to crime.

It provides a more scientific approach in the collection of data, analysis and presentation, which provides highly relevant information for use in managing crime (Liebling, Maruna & McAra, 2017: 58). A majority of these interventions revolve around social policy and this implies that criminological research has significant implications on criminal research. This could also explain why criminological research as a course is offered together with social policy, given that they both have a beneficial relationship.

The more recent research on whether prisons are more useful or harmful in promoting reducing crime is an example of research in criminal justice that has a direct impact on social policy. This is because while the use of prisons has been predominant over the decades as a means of correction, statistics have also shown that the use of prisons has only resulted in overcrowded jail facilities and increased crime as witnessed in the rate of recidivism among former criminals.

In this relation, criminology research has also focused on determining social interventions that would be more effective in reducing crime such as poverty reduction, education, early child development programs, job creation, war on drugs, help for mental problems and community-based punishments for crime (Liebling, Maruna & McAra, 2017). This would impact social policy in that based on the recommendations from criminology research, it is possible to implement such measures to provide solutions that improve social welfare.

Such actions have been observed in the United States there is increased efforts towards addressing underlying social issues that influence crime. A notable intervention has been the implementation of prison education programs that ensure that prisoners are able to take reintegrate into the society through finding decent jobs (Davis, 2014: 1). The same applies for prison overcrowding, where criminological research has been prevalent and established that overcrowded prisons have led to more problems in the United States’ attempt to reduce crime.

The government has consequently called for action to address the problem of prison overcrowding to promote the welfare of prisoners and reduce deaths, injuries, immorality and recidivism associated with prison overcrowding. To address such issues, social policy must rely on findings from criminological research because they are more accurate and are based on well researched theories, such that interventions are likely to lead to better outcomes.

References

Davis, Lois M., et al. (2014). How Effective Is Correctional Education, and Where Do We Go

from Here? RAND Corporation, 2014, Report No. 564. Retrieved from https://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/effects-prison-education-programs-research-findings

Liebling, A., Maruna, S. & McAra, L. (2017). The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. Oxford University Press

Wincup, E. (2013). Understanding crime and social policy. New York: The Policy Press

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Museums and Political Actions

Museums are essential for effective communication, social life promotion and further learning about culture, politics and even sciences. Museums are normally connected to politics, and they are normally used as a tool to preserve historic political events. However, political actions taken against the policies of the museum causes more harm than good to its effectiveness. As much as the museum functionality is attached (Blee 2016).

According to Miller during the interview, museums have a great effect on the culture of different groups of people in the society (Miller 2017). In the American Muslim culture, the museum has a negative effect on the environment. Many activities are carried out in the museum, which may result in damage to the environment. The American Muslim culture has changed over time due to the changing environment.

This is also because the Muslim American is a minority group in the United States of America (Geraldine 2016). The main environmental struggle faced by the museum is the political greenwashing on how technological activities applicable in the museum are harmless to living and non-living organisms. Museums and political actions remain go hand in hand. The museum is used as an archive for the storage of materials that are not so environment-friendly, such as disposed of computers, cell phones, and wires. These are simply stored for history, probably to show the development of technology over time.

Museums and political actions: Environmental activists

This may cause environmental activists to advocate against that, which is banned will cause a massive drop in the museum industry (Smith and Font 2014). Therefore, museums should not be used to bring political divisions between people or even cause conflict and death. Instead, it should be used as a tool to show the refection of societal heritage as well as bringing all cultures, religions, and states together to share something in common. Furthermore, the museum may cause pollution to the environment through the technological materials used for artwork and scrap metals of used gadgets.

Measures should be put in place on how to prevent these health hazards that may be caused by the material in the museum and all political objections prevented from interfering with the activities. Every environmental and political activist should be banned from using the museum as a tool to achieve their agendas and strict policies against such needs to be established to retain the museum’s primary purpose for existence. Museum and political actions destroy the tranquility of museums. This also will enable the maintenance of local and international tourists who will help earn the national revenue (Limebeer, Perantoni and Rao 2014).

References

Geraldine Kendall (2016) Museums and their staff are paying the paying the price of low wages, http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/newsanalysis/01062016-museums-and-their-staff-are-paying-the-price-of-low-wages

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MOBILE PHONES AND SOCIAL LIFE

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Mobile Phones and Social Life

How did mobile phones change our social life?

Introduction

In sociology, social life refers to the interpersonal relationships of individuals, or group of individuals in a social setting such as family, community and society Macionis & Plummer (2005). Since human beings are social animals, the tenor of social life is one of the most vital influences in their lives. This is because without durable and positive relationships, the social structures are bound to fall apart. The nature of relationships in social settings influences all other factors in life.

Wajcman et al (2007) argues that, it is undisputable that among many inventions, mobile phones have diffused rapidly into people’s life across the world. As a result it has impacted on people’s lives greatly in all aspects; social, political, cultural, and economic. This research focused on how mobile phones have changed our social life. In order to have a better understanding of this research question, it is important to use sociological concepts and theories.

The theories appropriate for this discussion are functionalism, symbolic interaction, and conflict. In relation to functionalist theory, it is true that mobile phones have changed the way people function in the society; they have increased the scope for work and flexibility of families through enabling of coordination of tasks, schedules and time Wajcman et al (2007).

Mobile Phones and Social Life

These devices have diminished the boundaries between people and also between work place and personal life. In regard to symbolic interaction, Sheldon and Vryan (2003) observe that human beings are understood best based on their relation to their environment. They further note that people act toward things according to the meaning those things have for them; the meanings are derived from social interaction.

Conflict theory describes how mobile phones have brought about differences and social problems in the society Harrington (2005). According to social issue scholars and commentators, mobile phones have become a threat to quality of social life even though it provides opportunities for integration in the society. My thesis is thus informed by how these theories describe the research question and the responses from respondents of diverse walks of life. My thesis is: Mobile phones have changed our social life in a positive way.

Mobile Phones and Social Life

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Elaboration

In researching my topic, I consulted variety of academic sources including the lecturer’s notes, sociological books, and related internet sources. In addition, I conducted a sample survey among the students. I administered the sample questionnaires to the selected students in order to obtain their opinions on the issue. I administered the questionnaires to all of my classmates while I selected samples using random sampling technique among the students of the other courses and academic years.

Since, I understand the fact that people have different perceptions on various issues which are in most cases informed by the cultural and social orientation and knowledge backgrounds among other factors, I considered various aspects. First, how mobile phones have impacted different aspects of individuals’ lives? Secondly, how long has an individual accessed the mobile phone? Lastly, I considered the frequency of mobile phone use by an individual.

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Conclusion

From the research I conducted I obtained the following results: 90% of respondents made at least a call a day; 81% either sent or received at least one text message in a day. It is important noting that there was significant percentage of calls made and received and messages sent or received in a day with 72% making or receiving more than two calls a day while 65% sending or receiving more than two messages a day.

The respondents cited the following as the main reasons why they used the mobile phones; one, for leisure or social purposes such as managing family, maintaining contact with extended family, and balancing personal and work life (54%). Two, work or study related uses (31%). Third, other reasons such as playing games and entering lotteries accounted for 15%.

To show how important mobile phones was important in social life, the respondents said that without them life would be unimaginable. As a matter of fact, 99% of respondents admitted they cannot live without mobile phones. Therefore, it is evident that mobile phone use is important in people’s lives as it helps them coordinate their daily activities effectively in addition to providing opportunities for relaxation.

Mobile Phones and Social Life

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As a result of the research, my perspective on myself as a member of a society changed. I realized that indeed human beings are social animals and that is why they also seek to interact with each other at any opportune time. It gave me an insight that even before the invention of mobile phones human beings had a way of communicating and coordinating their daily affairs. However, it reminded me that human beings have always sought a better way of communicating, interacting and having a better social life.

Invention of mobile phones and other communication devices such as computers is a proof of this argument. In regard to mobile phones and social life, I realized that as a human being living in this information age, mobile phone is virtually indispensable in social life and therefore I cannot do without it just like most members of the society cannot. Mobile phones make life easier and enable us conduct our activities without engaging in much of physical movement. Indeed, mobile phones have changed our social life in a positive way.

References

Harrington, A. (2005). Modern Social Theory: An Introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Macionis, J., & Plummer, K. (2005). Sociology: A Global Introduction. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Sheldon, S., & Vryan, K. (2003). The Symbolic Interactionist Frame. New York: Plenum Publishers.

Wajcman, J. et al. (2007). The Impact of the Mobile Phone on Work/ Life Balance. Retrieved from www.politicsir.cass.anu.edu.au , on October 17, 2011.

Sample Questionnaire

Do you make or receive at least one phone call a day, and/ or send or receive at least one message a day? ______________________________
Do you make or receive more than two phone calls a day, and/ or more than two messages a day? __________________________
For what purposes do you use you mobile phone for? Kindly list most if not all of the purposes_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Can you live without a phone? (Yes or No)___________ Briefly, explain your answer______________________________________________________________

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