Understanding Citizenship

Define ‘citizenship’. Authors have stated that there are 3 elements to citizenship. What are those 3 elements to citizenship and why is each of these significant

From a generalised perspective a citizen could be considered the member of a specific political community. The initial dimension is the legal status of the citizen. The second dimension is the political aspect related to the factor of citizenship which demonstrates the consideration of citizenry as political agencies in the most specific manner (Piper, 2018). The citizens obtain the rights of active participation in the socio-political institutions under such a system of citizenship. Ultimately, the third dimension pertains to the development of a distinctive and in some instances, an exclusive sense of identity within any political community (Howard-Hassmann and Walton-Roberts, 2015).

To what extent has homophobia been eradicated at UK

Homophobia is the fear of sexual affinity with the members of the same sex and the associated hatred which could be directed towards the homosexual feelings in others as well.

The Equality Act 2010 is the point of consolidation for every anti-discrimination legislative provision within the UK. The concerned Act accords legal protection from discrimination to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and heterosexuals in terms of their sexual orientation (de Boise and Conway, 2015).

The primary reason of short falls in eradication of homophobia is Internalised Homophobia such as the case of Melania Geymonat and Chris, who had been assaulted and harassed on May 30th, 2019, on the London bus by a group of 4 miscreants due to their homosexual orientations.

The next reason is the individual behaviour identified as Interpersonal Homophobia such as the case of Will Mayrick who had been verbally and physically harassed by two teenagers at the London underground for the specific reason of his homosexuality during October 21st, 2017.

The third reason has been Institutional Homophobia such as Religious organisations at the UK having implicit policies which are ardently antithetical to homosexual practices (Piekut and Valentine, 2016). The fourth reason is Cultural Homophobia which is characterised as social norms and standards dictating the inferiority and reprehensibility of homosexuality. The portrayal of the LGBTQ personnel in the mainstream media generally borders on stereotypical projection such as self-destructive or ambivalent in terms of sexual orientation.

What are the main advantages and disadvantages of user involvement in decision making? What problems might practitioners and services face in attempting to engage service users in the workplace

The workplace relationship improvement is the initial advantage. However, the disadvantage is palpable as the problem of institution of proper ethical considerations in formulation of judgements to prevent the influence of stereotypical perceptions.

The next factor is improvement of internal consideration enhancement. The issue is the proper implementation of the provisions of Equal Opportunity Act, 2010 to encourage the prevention of victimisation and discrimination at the health service centres (Makkar et al. 2018).

The third factor is moral improvement through service user empowerment. The primary challenge lies in proper mode of communication development and management.

The fourth factor is the improvement in employee commitment scenario through affirmation of the value of the practitioners. The primary challenge lies in the possibility of blurring the distinctive boundary between the practitioners and end user levels through such actions (Li et al. 2015).

The fifth factors is the advantage of overall growth in the productivity and service quality out of the general moral improvement and through gaining of better insights of the concerns of users of services. However, the primary challenge lies in the formulation of proper interpersonal communication measures.

Define Race and Ethnicity and consider 3 reasons why tensions might emerge in a racially diverse UK.

The concept of Race could be defined as the notion of superficial differences in the physical structures of particular members of a specific society. The concept of Ethnicity refers to the shared identities and cultures amongst the members of a particular social group (Bulmer, 2018).

One significant reason of emerging racial tensions is the racial apprehensions and xenophobia of the rising middle income social groups of the UK. Another factor is the continuation of institutional racism within the UK economic architecture. The third reason is the post Brexit development of the political landscape within UK where the political narrative of far-right groups have gained increased traction (Alexander, 2018).

Define Social Model of Disability. Why does the Social Model of Disability seek to challenge the medical model of disability

The Social Model of Disability propagates the notion of social barriers being the core impediments for disabled people in their social existence (Goering, 2015). The notion of systemic barriers, exclusion and negative social attitudes of society towards the disabled people being the contributory factors for their disability, as propagated by this model, is antithetical to the notions of Medical Model of Disability of the human body being a machine which requires proper medical intervention to conform to social normative values (Berghs et al. 2019).

Gender’ is one of the most taken for granted but also one of the most significant ways in which society is organised. Discuss.

Gender has been considered as a social construct concerning the roles and activities associated with gender differences apparent in social structures (Seidman, Fischer and Meeks, 2016). This notion ascribes that culture and society formulate gender roles and prescribe these as appropriate behaviours involving personnel of particular gender identities such as women (Ljungholm, 2016).

What is social exclusion’? Choose one group in society and discuss how they are excluded.

It is exclusion from the privileges and rights of existing social structures due to specific reasons such as poverty or ethnic, cultural or racial lineage to minority groups (Joly, 2016). The homeless at the UK are particularly at risk of being socially excluded due to insecure accommodation, detrimental health conditions, educational inadequacies and overall constriction of personal development (Shiner and Noden, 2015). Furthermore, the dearth of proper and registered living accommodation could lead to exclusion from the general services and specialised social support services as well (Wrench, Rea and Ouali, 2016). One significant aspect is that insecure and temporary living accommodation could contribute to the problems with having schooling services. Further, mentally disabled and homeless personnel are critically at risk of accessing secure health and learning facilities (Bramley and Fitzpatrick, 2018).

Using the ‘Disengagement Theory’ and the concept of the ‘Social Constructionism of Old Age’, provide 5 points which relate to the key issues related to the aging population.

The initial point related to the issues is the fact that aging could be considered an inevitable contributor to the gradual withdrawal of the aging personnel from the public sphere (McCormack, 2017). The second factors is fact that disengagement from previous measure of public interaction by the aging personnel due to advancement of aging is emblematic of the social systems to which such personnel could belong to (Riby, 2016). The third point outlines the comparative differentiation in between the perceptions of effects of old age in the Eastern (where advanced age and wisdom are considerably valued) and Western cultures (where aging is considered to be the decay of human potential and youth is highly valued) (Vincent, Patterson and Wale, 2017). The fourth point is the general social notion that older adults would withdraw from the societies they live in as they reach advanced age (Lindberg and Lundgren, 2019). The final factor is the relative freedom of the older adults from the norms imposed by greater variety of social interactions through reducing number of such interactions as they disengage.

Reference List

Alexander, C., 2018. Breaking black: The death of ethnic and racial studies in Britain. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 41(6), pp.1034-1054.

Berghs, M., Atkin, K., Hatton, C. and Thomas, C., 2019. Do disabled people need a stronger social model: a social model of human rights?. Disability & Society, pp.1-6.

Bramley, G. and Fitzpatrick, S., 2018. Homelessness in the UK: who is most at risk?. Housing Studies, 33(1), pp.96-116.

Bulmer, M., 2018. Race and ethnicity. In Key variables in social investigation (pp. 54-75). Routledge.

Goering, S., 2015. Rethinking disability: the social model of disability and chronic disease. Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine, 8(2), pp.134-138.

Howard-Hassmann, R.E. and Walton-Roberts, M. eds., 2015. The human right to citizenship: A slippery concept. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Joly, D. ed., 2016. Scapegoats and social actors: the exclusion and integration of minorities in Western and Eastern Europe. Springer.

Li, K.K., Abelson, J., Giacomini, M. and Contandriopoulos, D., 2015. Conceptualizing the use of public involvement in health policy decision-making. Social Science & Medicine, 138, pp.14-21.

Lindberg, J. and Lundgren, A.S., 2019. Positioning the ageing subject: articulations of choice in Swedish and UK health and social care. Policy Studies, pp.1-19.

Ljungholm, D.P., 2016. The role of work organizations in the social construction of gender. Journal of Research in Gender Studies, 6(1), pp.269-275.

Makkar, N., Jain, K., Siddharth, V. and Sarkar, S., 2018. Patient Involvement in Decision-Making: An Important Parameter for Better Patient Experience—An Observational Study (STROBE Compliant). Journal of Patient Experience, p.237.

McCormack, B., 2017. Negotiating partnerships with older people: A person centred approach. Routledge.

Piekut, A. and Valentine, G., 2016. Unpacking Prejudice: Narratives of Homophobia in Cross-National Context. Cartographies of Difference: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Living with Difference, pp.15-40.

Piper, N., 2018. Racism, nationalism and citizenship: Ethnic minorities in Britain and Germany. Routledge.

Riby, L. ed., 2016. Handbook of Gerontology Research Methods: Understanding Successful Aging. Taylor & Francis.

Seidman, S., Fischer, N.L. and Meeks, C., 2016. The social construction of sexuality. In Introducing the New Sexuality Studies (pp. 59-66). Routledge.

Shiner, M. and Noden, P., 2015. ‘Why are you applying there?’:‘race’, class and the construction of higher education ‘choice’in the United Kingdom. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 36(8), pp.1170-1191.

Vincent, J.A., Patterson, G. and Wale, K., 2017. Politics and Old Age: Older Citizens and Political Processes in Britain: Older Citizens and Political Processes in Britain. Routledge.

Wrench, J., Rea, A. and Ouali, N. eds., 2016. Migrants, ethnic minorities and the labour market: integration and exclusion in Europe. Springer.

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