RURAL-URBAN CONTINUUM

RURAL-URBAN CONTINUUM

SAROJ KUMAR SAMAL

DIRECTOR,SAROJ SAMAL'S IAS,DELHI

Generally, it seems that the social life in countryside moves and develops in
a rural setting just as social life in the city area moves and develops in an urban
setting. While comparing and contrasting between the two societies, i. e. rural and
urban, it has to be kept in mind that both the societies are the parts of the same
human society. They share many life are quite visible and in urban societies also
some basic features of rural life are prevalent. There is no clear cut demarcation
between the two. In this context MacIver has rightly remarked that “between the
two there is no sharp demarcation to tell where the city ends and country
begins.” It is presumed that a town starts where a village ends. But such a notion
is not at all scientifically true. It is in fact, a difficult task to demarcate and distinguish
the two communities. The dichotomy between “Rural” and ‘Urban’ is more a
theoretical concept than “a division based upon the facts of community of life”.
Often the dichotomy between rural and urban community is substituted by ruralurban
continuum. Such explanations are given due to many factors that prohibit
any concrete distinction between the two.
1. Lack of universal definition of Village and Town :
There is no universal definition which can distinguish between a town and
a village. It is very difficult to give a comprehensive definition of rural and
urban society. As Bergel has rightly pointed out “everybody seems to know
what a city is but no one has given a satisfactory definition.” Some thinkers
are of the opinion that there are some important characteristics which can
determine whether a particular area is town or village. These important
determinants are population, mode of life and mode of occupation, Let us examine
these conditions in detail.
An area to be called a town must possesses a sizable population. According
to the demographic structure, the number of population needed for an area to be
called urban varies from country to country. In America a town must possess 2500
population, in France 2000 and Japan 30,000. The census authority of Government
of India, lays down that a town or municipality area or notified area council must
not possess population less than 5000. But such a definition is too loose to
distinguish between town and village. Because there are some villages in India
where population exceeds 20,000 and on the other hand there are some railway
towns where population is below 5000. For example, Bhuban—a village of Orissa,
has approximately 35,000 population and the village itself has a notified area council:
There are also number of villages in U. P., and Punjab where population exceeds
20,000.
Some are of the opinion that ‘mode of life’ is one of the important criteria for
determining an urban urea. The patterns of urban living is closely associated with
transportation, communication, electricity, palacial buildings etc. But a closer
examination of the facts reveal that these facilities are not the adequate criteria to
distinguish between the rural and urban life. For example, if the palacial buildings
are constructed thirty miles away from the Bombay city, it cannot be called a
town. If the atmosphere of a village is created in the heart of a town, the town
can’t be called a village.
Some other scholars take the “mode of occupation” as a criterian to
distinguish between town and village. In village the predominant mode of occupation
is agriculture whereas in the town the important mode of occupation is industrial.
But it is found that with the impact of industrialization and new industrial policy of
government, industries are no more confined only to urban centres. A number of
industries are gradually growing up in rural areas. Hence, it cannot be strictly held
that the occupation in rural area is only agriculture. In this way all such attempts to
distinguish between a rural and urban society has failed due to the over laping
nature of both the societies

FUNCTIONS AND DYSFUNCTIONS OF FAMILY

FUNCTIONS AND DYSFUNCTIONS OF FAMILY

SAROJ KUMAR SAMAL

DIRECTOR,SAROJ SAMAL'S IAS,DELHI

A society, in competition with other societies and with nature, can survive
only if its members, through their activities, perform certain social functions. These
functions will not be performed except when the activities are organized. Hence
any existent society will be found to possess an institutional structure through which
its functions are performed. In the case of the family we have an institutional complex
adapted for meeting certain social needs like for continual replacement of the social
membership etc. Sociologists hold different views on various functions performed
by the family.
T. Parsons
His analysis is primarily confined to American society. Even then, his analysis
is applicable to family, anywhere because he claims that the American family retains
the basic and irreducible functions of family .primarily socialization of children
and the stabilization of the adult personalities of the population of the society.
G. P. Murdock
Murdock took a sample survey of 250 societies ranging from small hunting
bands to the large-scale industrial societies. His study found that family’s structure
would vary from society to society, though it was always present. He also found
that the nuclear family was present in every society in his sample. This made him
conclude that the nuclear family was a universal human social grouping. Murdock
argues that family performs four basic functions in all societies: sexual, reproductive
economic, and educational (socializing). Indeed, family alone does not perform
these functions exclusively, but still it makes important contributions to them and
there is no other institution to match this efficiency.
Ogburn and Nimcoff
Ogburn and Nimcoff have pointed out the following functions of family:
(a) Affectional (b) Economic (c) Recreational (d) Protective and (e) Educational.
DYSFUNCTIONS OF FAMILY
Although the family has always been an universal social institution and has
been an inevitable part of human society, but in the contemporary modern societies
the very assumptions of family are being questioned by a number of sociologists.

R.D. Laing’s “The politics of the Family”
R.D. Laing refers to the family group as a matrix. He argues that the highest
concern of the nexus is reciprocal concern. Each partner is concerned about what
the other thinks, feels, does’. Within the nexus there is a constant, unremitting
demand for mutual concern and attention. Laing argues, “a family can act as
gangsters, offering each other mutual protection against each other’s violence”.
According to Laing, family is the root of all problems in society. Some families
live in perpetual anxiety of an external persecuting world. The members of the
family live in a family ghetto, as it were. Moreover, the most dangerous feature of
family is the inculcation of obedience in the minds of siblings. Later in life they
become soldiers and officials blindly and unquestionably following orders.
Edmund Leach’s “Runaway world”
Edmund Leach argues that the chief malady of the family is because of the
isolation of the nuclear family from kin and wider community. Leach summarizes
this situation and its consequences as follows: ‘in the past, kinsfolk and neighbourhood
gave the individual continuous moral support throughout his life. Today the domestic
household is isolated. The family looks inward upon itself; there is an intensification
of emotional stress between husband and wife and between parents and children.
The strain is greater than most of us can bear’. Thrown back almost entirely on its
own resources, the nuclear family becomes like an overloaded electrical circuit.
The demands made upon it are too great, and fuse blows. In their isolation, family
members expect and demand too much from each other. The result is conflict. In
Leach’s words: ‘the parents and children huddled together in their loneliness take
too much out of each other, the parents fight, the children rebel.
Vogel and Bell’s study of American family
Vogel and Bell argue that the tension and hostility of unresolved conflicts
between parents are projected on to the child. The child is often used as an emotional
scapegoat by the parents to relieve their tensions.

David Cooper’s “Death of the family”
David Cooper pronounces the death of family. He too maintains that the
child is destroyed by family since he is primarily taught how to submit to society
for the sake of survival. Each child has the potential to be an artist, a visionary, and
a revolutionary; but this potential is crushed in the family. The children are taught
to play the roles of son and daughter, male and female.
In the language of David Cooper. “The family is an ideological conditioning
device in an exploitative society”.
Marxist Perspective
Another critique of the institution of family is given by the Marxists. This
is primarily the contribution of Engels. According to him, family changed as per
the changes in the modes of production, which placed a greater restriction on the
number of mates that an individual could possess. When modes of production
were communally owned there was no family and promiscuity prevailed. The
monogamous nuclear family developed with the emergence of private property,
in particular with the advent of the State. The State readily instituted laws to
protect the system of private property and to enforce the rules of monogamous
marriage.
Kathleen Gough argues that this picture may not be that far from the truth.
She notes that man’s nearest relatives; the chimpanzees live in promiscuous hordes
and this may have been the pattern for early man.
This view of Engels was further examined in the 60s and 70s by several
feminist writers. According to them family is seen as a unit which produces one of
the basic commodities of capitalism, labour. It is .cheap for capitalists because they
do not have to pay for the production of children or their upkeep. The wife is paid
nothing for producing and rearing children. In .the words of Margaret Houston
“An economic unit, the nuclear family is a variable stabilizing force in the
capitalist society. Since the production which is done in the home is paid for
by the husband - father’s earnings, his ability to withhold labour from the
market is much reduce

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF GENDER

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF GENDER

Identity often appear to be ‘natural’ – something man is born with. But the fact is that identities are socially constructed through cultural practices and socialization. Take, for instance, what is often being regarded as innate/given, something rooted in biology itself-one’s gender identity. Thanks to cultural anthropologists and sociologists, we now know that gender is not sex, and the process of growing up as ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ is essentially a cultural construct. Yes, one is born as a male or a female. But this biological facticity is transformed into an attitude, a belief, an ideal through family socialization, school curriculum and religious beliefs, and eventually one acquires a ‘masculine’ or a ‘feminine’ identity. In fact, I am tempted to refer to Leela Dube’s brilliant work, the way ‘by focusing on aspects of the process of socialization of Hindu girls through rituals and ceremonies, the use of language, and practices within and in relation to the family’, she shows how women are produced as ‘gendered subjects’ (Dube, 2001:87-118). As girls grow up in patrilineal India they realize that male children are privileged, and they are repeatedly reminded of their temporary membership in the natal family. The rituals/ceremonies like Durga puja and Gauri puja convey a significant message that they are destined to be transferred from the natal home to that of the husband. For instance, in a Bengali wedding before leaving her natal home with the bridegroom, the bride stands with her back towards the house and throws a handful of rice over the shoulder. This, argues Dube, signifies that a woman has returned the rice that she had consumed until then and has absolved herself of the debt to the natal family. Not solely that. The ‘purity’ of the prepubertal stage is reaffirmed by the custom of worshipping and the special ritual of feeding virgin girls on special occasions like navaratri. No wonder, the onset of puberty is a turning point. She is reminded that her time has finally come; she has grown big, and become a woman. In Karnataka, for instance, at her first menstruation, a girl is fed dry coconut, milk, ghee, certain fruits, a mixture of jaggery and sesame seeds. Moreover, it is customary for the relatives to bring gifts. The story goes on. Women grow up with blessings and vratas for getting a husband like Shiva and Vishnu. In fact, these practices constitute ‘femininity’; a woman is led to internalize the ‘feminine’ ideal of a polite being with considerable degree of tolerance and self restraint:

            A girl should walk with soft steps – so soft that they are barely audible to others. Taking long strides denotes masculinity. Girls are often rebuked for jumping, running, rushing to a place, and hopping. These movements are considered indicative of masculine behavior unbecoming of a female…A girl has to be  careful about her posture. She should not sit crosslegged or with her legs wide apart. Keeping one’s knees close together while sitting, standing, or sleeping is ‘decent’ and indicates a sense of shame and modesty. ‘Don’t stand like a man’ is a common rebuke to make a girl aware of the demands of femininity (*Ibid: 105). This is the way, Dube adds, a woman is made, She is not expected to be ambitious, aggressive and demanding. The quality of self-denial defines her. If a girl continues to cry and shout for food because she is hungry, she is teased about her lack of self-restraint. She must internalize the ideal of Annapurna: the unfailing supplier of food. ‘This ideal, which has an aesthetic appeal and which sets out privation and sacrifice as defining characteristics of the feminine moral character generates a set of dispositions wherein a woman has to think of others before herself and ought not to care about what is being left for her’ (Ibid:111-12).

CONTENT ANALYSIS

CONTENT ANALYSIS

Human beings communicate through language more than through symbols because language helps in conveying emotions, knowledge, opinions, attitudes and values. Written communications have increased the importance of print media because it is through writing that people are convinced, motivated and manipulated. But, besides the print media, television, radio, movies also communicate ideas, beliefs and values. The analysis of communication content-written and pictorial-has now become a methodological procedure for extracting data from a wide range of communications. The content analysis method therefore needs to be assessed as a research technique for objective and systematic description of that content of communication which is manifest.

WHAT IS CONTENT ANALYSIS?

Content analysis is a method of social research that aims at the analysis of the content-qualitative and/or quantitative-of documents, books, newspapers, magazines and other forms of written material. According to Berelson (1952:489), “content analysis is a research technique for the objective, systematic and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication”. The word ‘communication’ here refers to “available written material or print media”. The word ‘manifest’ means “which is presented outwardly”. It thus excludes the ‘implied meaning’. According to Eckhardt and Ermann (1977), as a qualitative technique, content analysis is directed towards more subjective information such as attitudes, motives and values, while as a quantitative method, it is employed when determining the time frequency or duration of the event. In the latter context, it also makes inferences about conduct, intentions, ideologies, sentiments and values of individuals and groups.

The content (in content analysis) may be manifest or latent. The former refers to the visible actual parts of the text as manifested in the document, i.e., sentences, paragraphs, and so on. It involves counting frequencies of appearance of the research unit. The latter is the underlying or implied meaning conveyed. Here, the researcher reads between the lines and analyses the hidden meaning significant for the object of the study. Gardner (1975:597) describes it as “a research method for investigating problems in which the content of communication serves as a basis of inference”. At other stage, he (ibid:601) says: “Content analysis is a technique for making inferences by systematically and objectively identifying specified characteristics of messages (communications).”

RESEARCH EXAMPLES OF CONTENT ANALYSIS

One simple example could be of studying day-time TV serials (say, between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m) and finding out whether TV serials have a firm grip on middle-aged women and old men because they satisfy their psychological needs. It could also be by focusing on one specific serial (say ‘Aurat’ shown between 2.30 and 3.00 p.m. or ‘Ghar Ek Mandir’ shown between 3.00 and 3.30 p.m. by Sony channel for the last two years) and studying what sort of a woman (heroine) is depicted? What type of social life is shown, and what attitudes and values does this serial convey? Does it offer healthy mental food? Does it motivate for adopting new behavior patterns? Here, content analysis is simple but a laborious affair. The results of analysis may be given in qualitative terms as well as in a quantitative way by giving frequencies and percentages. Little or no attempt is made to relate one variable to another.

Another example of content analysis, done by some researchers during 1984, was that of violence against Sikhs as reported in newspapers and magazines. Recently, this method was used in analyzing caste massacres in Bihar during 1999 and 2000 as reported in print media. One sociologist had adopted this method in analyzing a particular movie in 1980s which had depicted cooperative dairy farming in Gujarat. Two scholars have recently used this method in studying the popular TV serial ‘Kaun Banega Karorpati’ relayed by Star channel since July 2000. A content analysis of children’s comic books was also undertaken in America a few decades ago.

Some examples of topics to be studied through content analysis are: communal riots, caste violence, nature and characteristics of violence and sex in movies and TV, advertisements in newspapers and on TV, court judgments or decision-making processes of judiciary (i.e., whether judgments are affected by evidence produced, background of criminal and victims involved, status of advocates pleading the cases, ideological positions of the magistrates and judges), custodial deaths, divorces through courts, articles and stories on marriages without the consent of parents, motivations given by product companies for the sale of their commodities (e.g., TVs, washing machines, mixies, etc.), reported dowry deaths, changing content of novels (sociology of literature), characteristics of folklore, lyrics of contemporary popular songs, and so on.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CONTENT ANALYSIS

Gardner (1975:598) has referred to four characteristics of content analysis as under:

(i)      Objectivity, i.e., carrying out analysis on the basis of explicitly formulated rules which will enable   two or more persons to obtain the same results from the same documents.

(ii)     Systematic, i.e., including and excluding the content or categories according to consistently applied          criteria of selection. This eliminates analysis in which only materials supporting the investigator’s     hypotheses are examined.

(iii)    Generality, i.e., findings must have theoretical relevance. Purely descriptive information about content          unrelated to other attributes of content or to the characteristics of the sender or recipient of the          communication is of little scientific value.

(iv)    Quantification, i.e., the answer of the questions(s) raised should be in quantitative terms (Lasswell,          Lerner and Pool, 1992). Some scholars (Kaplan and Goldsen, 1949:83) equate the term ‘quantitative’          with ‘numerical’, i.e., classifying content in precise numerical terms. This means that inferences must           be derived strictly from counts of ‘frequency’. It also means that information should be conveyed as            “40 per cent people or 40 out of 100 people had this opinion”, because it is more precise than the   statement “less than half or a large number of people had this opinion”. But others (Lazarsfeld and   Barton, 1951) say that ‘qualitativeness’ and ‘quantitativeness’ are not dichotomous attributes but fall           along a continuum, i.e., inferences are drawn from    combined frequency and non-frequency        techniques. Despite the advantages of quantitative methods,          the tendency to equate content analysis            with tabulation of frequencies has been criticized on a number of grounds:

(1)     The most important argument is that such a restriction leads to bias in the selection of problems to be          investigated. Undue emphasis is placed on precision at the cost of problem significance.

(2)     Other argument is that more meaningful inferences can be drawn by non-quantitative measures.       Qualitative analysis is more superior in the problems of applied social science.

(3)     The proponents of qualitative techniques also question the assumption (of the proponents of            quantitative techniques) that for purposes of inference, frequency of assertion is necessarily related to the importance of assumption. They (proponents of qualitative techniques) say that the single             appearance or omission of an attribute in a document may be of more significance than the relative          frequency of other characteristics.

(4)     Whether stated explicitly or not, even the most rigorously quantitative study uses qualitative            techniques at some stage in the research.

STEPS IN CONTENT ANALYSIS

According to Sarantakos (1998:280-81), content analysis involves the same steps as in other methods of research, namely, selection of the area of research, formulation of research topic, designing research, collecting data and analyzing data. The difference in content analysis and other methods lies only in the content’ of each step.

         In the selection of the research area, the topic can be one whose various aspects are discussed by the newspapers, magazines, books, TV serials, movies and the like, e.g., communal violence, match-fixing, police excesses at police stations, caste conflicts, violence in moves, and the like. Formulation of research topic involves explaining and operationalising the topic, selection of units, determining categories and formulating hypotheses. Research design aims at determining the size of sampling, method of collecting data and methods of checking reliability. Data collection involves counting frequencies, gathering information on the intensity of the units, determining significance of units and evaluating units and intensity of the statements. Lastly, the analysis and interpretation of data aims at giving inferences and conclusions.

MATERNAL MORTALITY AND INFANT MORTALITY IN ODISHA

Odisha tops in maternal, infant mortality rate

With the State still having highest infant and maternal mortality rates, the Women and Child Development Department has been asked to work out specific action plan for intervention to protect girl child.

A study on some specific areas shows that the life expectancy at birth in Odisha is more than 67 per cent against all-India average of 69 per cent. Women work participation rate in Odisha as per 2011 census is 41 per cent against national average of 39 per cent.

Maternal mortality rate is around 258 in the State against national average of 212 in one lakh births.

Though the situation in Odisha is comparatively better than many other States so far as protection and development for girl child is concerned, the declining sex ratio in the State, high infant mortality rate, low nutritional level for girl children, health and well being of women in age group of 19-59 years, care and protection of elderly women above 60 years are the areas of concern.

The issues were discussed at the first meeting of the State Task Force for care, protection and development of girl child held here on Saturday.

The meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra discussed the trends and factors responsible for declining sex ratio, gender discrimination, problems of girls with disability, girls belonging to particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) and migrant families.

The Chief Secretary asked the Department to plan for construction of hostels for girls and working women. Earlier, the Government had decided construct 12 such hostels in various urban centres with 100 seats each.

It was decided to entrust the maintenance and running of these hostels to Social Welfare Board.

Mohapatra emphasised on convergence of various schemes and programmes running in different departments.

 He also asked the department to prioritise the areas like birth rate, health, nutrition, education and skill development.

Development Commissioner Injeti Srinivas, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, UN Behera, Panchyati Raj Secretary DK Singh, representatives from UNICEF, UNFPA, Social Welfare Board and senior officers of different departments participated in the discussion.