Sociology Essay The WritePass Journal

Sociology Essay Introduction: Sociology Essay ). Determinists argue that thought processes are affected by language (Boroditsky 2001; Boroditsky, et al 2001, 2003, 2004). Nevertheless, this approach fails to recognise the fluidity of language, which is seen in the development of diaspora communities (Canagarajah, 2007; Haughen, 1972). The perceptions and the ideology of the researcher influence their examination of language, its language links to culture and impact of the person (Zahedi, 2008). Hence, the best model of determinism is ascertained by the researcher’s methodological approach. The empiricist is best suited to the Sapir- Whorfian Hypothesis, because it focuses on linguistic relativity and linguistic determinism (Mooney, 2010). The strong form that â€Å"language determines thought† (Zahedi, 2008, p.29) has been rejected. Instead the viable form is the soft approach, which states language affects thought patterns (Bilik, 2002; Zahedi, 2008). This has been supported by a number of studies (Boroditsky 2001; Boroditsky, et al 2001, 2003, 2004). This is an anthropological approach to language (i.e. externalist approach). Thus, language develops in a flexibly, especially when different cultures clash (Bilik, 2002). Culture clash will have two effects, the first is that the language will adapt to the new community (Collinge, 2002, p. 254; De Bot Stoessel, 2002). Thus, a broader understanding of language needs to be engaged with, such as the Saussurean approach. The Saussurean is an internalist approach, which identifies the arbitrariness of linguistic signs identified in the externalist framework (Zahedi, 2008, p.25). This article argues both the internalist and externalist approaches to language are necessary. Thus, Zahedi (2008) argues that just focusing on Sapir- Whorfian determinism will limit sociological understandings of language. A broader application of language and culture is essential, especially in the multicultural or transnational community (Safar, 2004). This is because clashes between cultures or resident state and HL preservation can change the perceptions of the person (Knight, 2002). The application to the Multicultural London is interesting, because the use of West Indian patios in other communities is clearly identifiable. It seems that this language has become part of the urban landscape. Thus, applying a narrow assimilative approach is not appropriate. Rather, a mixed approach to determinism is necessary, in order to understand how language affects the person and its connection to the social landscape (i.e. the link between West Indian patois and London’s urban landsc ape. . References: Alfonsi, C, Kokot, W Toloyan, K (2004). Diaspora, Identity and Religion: New Directions in Theory and Research London: Routledge Bilik, N. (2002). The Ethnicity of Anthropology in China: Discursive Diversity and Linguistic Relativity. Critique of Anthropology Vol 22, No 2, 133-148 Blunt, A. (2007). â€Å"Cultural Geographies of Migration: Mobility, Transnationality and Diaspora† Progress in Human GeographyVol. 31, Iss 5: 684-694 Blunt, A. and Dowling, R. (2006) Home. London: Routledge Boroditsky, L, Phillips W, and Schmidt., LA. (2004) Can Quirks of Grammar Affect the   Way You Think? Grammatical Gender Categories and the Mental Representation of Objects. Manuscript. Stanford, CA: Stanford University. Boroditsky, L,. Schmidt, LA and Phillips, W (2003). Sex, Syntax and Semantics. in Language in Mind: Advances in the Study of Language and Thought, edited by D. Gentner and S. Goldin-Meadow. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press., pp. 61-67 Byon, A. (2003). Language socialization and Korean as a heritage language: A study of Canagarajah, S. (2007). Lingua Franca English, Multilingual Communities, and Language Acquisition. Modern Language Journal Vol 91, pp. 923-939 Cohen, R (2008). Global Diasporas: An Introduction London: Routledge Collinge, NE. (2002). An Encyclopaedia of Language Taylor Francis De Bot, K and Stoessel, S. (2002). Introduction: Language and Social Networks. International Journal of the Sociology of the Language Vol. 2002. Iss. 153. 1-7 Fairclough, N. (2001). Language and Culture London: Longman Gammage, S. Paul, A. Machado, M. Benitez, M. (2005). Gender Migration and Transnational Communities. A Draft Prepared for the Inter-American Foundation April 2005 Washington DC. Retrieved from: http://previous.wiego.org/pdf/Gammage-Gender-Migration-Transnational-Communities.pdf Gibbons, J., Ramirez, E. (2004). Maintaining a minority language: A case study of Hispanic Teenagers. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters Giles, H. (Ed). (1984). The dynamics of speech accommodation. International Journal of the   Sociology of Language pp. 46 Haller, W and Landolt, P. (2005). The Transnational Dimensions of Identity Formation: Adult Children of Immigrants in Miami Identity Formation 1182-1209 Harris, R. (2006) New Ethnicities and Language Use. London: Palgrave Hawaiian classrooms. Language, Culture and Curriculum Vol 16, 269–283 He, AW. (2010). The Heart of Heritage: Sociological Dimensions of Heritage Language Learning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics Vol. 30, 66-82 Hojat, M., D, Foroughi, H. Mahmoudi, F. Holakouee. (2010). A Desire to Return to the Country of Birth as a Function of Language Preference: An Empirical Study with Iranian Immigrants in the United States. International Migration, Vol 48 Iss. 3, 158-173 Honeycutt, C Cunliffe, D. (2010). The Use of the Welsh Language on Facebook: An initial investigation. Information, Communication Society Vol. 13, Iss. 2 226-248 Knight, WA. (2002). Conceptualising Transnational Community Formation: Migrants, Sojourners and Diasporas in a Globalised Era. Canadian Studies in Population Vol. 29, Iss. 1, 1-30 Lam, SEL and Warriner, DS. (2012). Transnationalism and Literacy: Investigating the Mobility of People, Languages, Texts and Practices in Contexts of Migration. Research Reading Quarterly Vol 47, iss. 2, pp. 191 Mooney, A. (2010). Language, Thought and Representation in Language, Society and Power: An Introduction 3rd Edition (eds, Mooney, A, Stilwell Pecci, J , Labelle, S et al) Routledge Portes, A (2003). ‘Conclusion: theoretical convergences and empirical evidence in the study of immigrant Transnationalism’, International Migration Review, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 874-892 Safran, W. (2004). Deconstruction and Comparing Diasporas. New York: Taylor Francis Schupach, D. (2008) Shared Languages, Shared Identities, Shared Stories: A Qualitative Study of Life Stories by Immigrants from German-Speaking Switzerland in Australia Frankfurt: Peter Lang Singer, A. (2004) â€Å"The Rise of New Immigrant Gateways,† Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, The Brookings Institution, The Living cities Census Series, Washington DC, February 2004. Singer, A. S. Friedman, I. Cheung and M. Price (2001) â€Å"The World in A Zip Code: Greater Washington D.C. as a New Region of Immigration,† Center on Urban and Metropolitan   Policy, Brookings Greater Washington Research Program, The Brookings Institution. Walter, B. (2001), Outsiders inside: whiteness, place and Irish women. London: Routledge Zahedi, K. (2008). â€Å"Determinist Inquiries: Debates on the Foundation of Language† International Inquiries: Debates on the Foundation of Language Vol. 1, Iss 1, 26-50

Case Study on Health Education

Case Study on Health Education Sample case study on Health Education: Explain how â€Å"health literacy† relates to Healthy People 2020. Health literacy is having the capacity to process and understand basic health information, and applying this information when making health-related decisions. The responsibility of communicating health information is placed on health professionals and the general public expects them to communicate in plain language which is easily understood. When technical jargons are used, most people are unable to adopt the recommendations which are being put forward by health professionals. The main objective of Healthy People 2020 is to improve the general health of Americans. Besides strengthening the current health policies, Healthy People 2020 also wants to increase the proportion of the population which engages in healthy behaviors. Unless health literacy is improved, the objective mentioned above would no be achieved. There exists a gap of knowledge between the health professionals and the public. The health professionals posses the critical information need to promote health living while the public does not have this information; they rely on the professionals to advice them. Therefore the hunger for information already exists and the impetus is on the health professionals to furnish the public with easily understandable information. The inability to understand health information is often attributed to the manner in which it is presented. There are some factors like age and educational levels which play a part in limiting health literacy but most people blame their inability to understand health information on the manner in which it was conveyed. In concluding, health professionals and physicians in particular must disseminate health information in an accurate and actionable manner. They should speak in a plain language which cuts across all social and cultural boundaries. Health literacy is an attainable goal but the degree to which the public absorbs health information and adopts healthy behaviors largely depends on the language used by health professionals. Please give examples of how health literacy (or the lack of health literacy) affects a persons health behaviors Due to a general improvement in education standards, it is often assumed that everyone possesses some basic form of health literacy. Understanding a medical prescription or sticking to a strict diet prescribed by a doctor may not seem like a complex undertaking to most people. However, there are people within our community who are unable process even the most basic health information without the help of a relative or close friend. Without getting into the details of the factors which limit their health literacy, it has already been proven that the lack of health literacy negatively affects a person’s health behaviors. People with low health literacy are less likely to understand oral or written information given by health professionals. This is glaringly evident among the elderly population or people who are not native speakers (speak English as a second language). Such people are more likely to mix up the prescriptions given by a doctor, ignore important health information and in some occasions refuse to seek treatment for their ailments. Their refusal to seek health treatment is sometimes not voluntary; they are simply daunted by the prospect of navigating a â€Å"complex† health system. The countless procedures, appointment schedules and prescriptions appear like insurmountable challenges. People with low health literacy prefer to seek health services from publicly financed programs instead of going to the private sector which offers better quality of care. Financial ability is often identified as the main reason why certain people opt for publicly financed programs but their health literacy also influences this decision. Public programs like Medicaid are perceived to be more suited for people of low income but the reality is the cost of care at Medicaid is comparable to a majority of private sector programs. Medicaid patients perceive it to be more ‘reliable’ and they ignore private healthcare mostly because of the fear of navigating a ‘new’ healthcare system. Discuss the evolving challenges health educators face regarding improving health literacy. The healthcare industry has undergone massive transformations in the last couple of decades. New medical techniques have been discovered and newer prescriptions introduced to replace the old ones. More importantly, there has also been a dramatic shift in health policies and such changes are unknown to the public. Health educators carry the responsibility of informing the public of all these changes but their efforts are often hampered by financial barriers. Nowadays, educating the public on health awareness is an expensive venture. For example, only a few public organizations can afford to run an important health message during prime time television; the cost of such advertisements exceeds the budgets of most health education projects. The same high costs are evident in other advertising avenues like billboards, magazines and newspapers. The options available for educating the public on health issues are simply limited by the high costs. Other challenges faced by health educators include social and cultural barriers. We currently live in a diverse society which is dominated by different ethnic groups. The difference in earning power has further subdivided our society into different social groups. Health educators face serious challenges especially when communicating social-specific or cultural-specific health information. For example, there is a high prevalence rate of STIs amongst low income populations than high income populations. In some regions, large segments of the low income population are composed of people from a particular ethnic or racial group. How then do health educators convey important information on STIs without appearing like they are racial profiling? Such misconceptions hamper the health educator’s efforts to raise health literacy within certain segments of the population.