Chapter 3 Introduction

Civic sense is an essential virtue for every citizen because it builds not only peoples character but it moulds the country into a humane and civilized nation. Where civic sense runs high in the citizens consciousness, that nation has progressed steadily but where civic sense is low, like in our country, progress and development come at a snails pace. This is because civic sense generates solidarity and collaboration with the authority. It strengthens a sense of common responsibility towards nation building and it infuses a strong sense of common well being which is so fundamental for the holistic growth of the nation. Our country India, is such a great nation, with a potentiality beyond our imagination. But what we see today is pure under-performance by the nation. Our lack of civic sense has become a hurdle on our path towards progress and development. What India needs today is an education that fosters a strong civic sense in all her citizens right from their childhood and then all the rest will fall in line. Our education has to take a serious look at this aspect. I would not hesitate to say that our children and youth must be indoctrinated with civic sense. For this purpose, schools and colleges should integrate into their daily curriculum programmes and activities that will generate civic sense in the students. If the ultimate goal of education is to build persons and the nation, then there is no escape from this sacred duty. It is not uncommon to see in India respectable or so called educated persons who behave worse than a savage when it comes to mannerism. We must have witnessed such persons spitting or blowing their noses on the road, littering public places, raising their voices in silence zones or rubbing lime on public places etc. We also see school or college students who litter the roads or even school compounds with papers and plastics. There are many cases of students being involved in destroying public properties or disrespecting public sentiments. I may mention a few more examples of such uncivic behaviours like; irresponsible parking on public roads, dumping of construction materials like sand, stones etc on public places which inconvenience the commuters; non-maintenance of government or public buildings by the occupants, dumping of garbage on roadsides or in public drains. These are some of the glaring examples of lack of civic sense among the people.

Role of Educational Institutions in Promoting Civic Sense

Educational Institutions are having vital importance in preparing students for citizenship, college, and careers. Benefit of Civic includes Promoting Civic Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions.

(a) Civic Knowledge Civic knowledge begins with a fundamental understanding of the structure of government and the processes by which government passes laws and makes policy. 1. Democratic citizenship is all but impossible if citizens fail to understand basic concepts such as separation of powers, federalism, individual rights, and the role of government. But responsible citizenship requires even more knowledge it demands that students understand the history that continues to shape the present, aspects of geography that are vital to understanding America and the world, and the economics that is necessary to assess public policy options. Recent research suggests that students who have taken civics courses score better on civic knowledge tests than students who have not had such classes, even once researchers adjust for demographics, type of school and community, and many other factors that might affect knowledge.

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Focusing on specific topics produces more striking results. For example, students who specifically recall studying the First Amendment know more about the First Amendment than other students do, even after many factors are controlled. The original Civic Mission of Schools report perhaps put it best in summarizing the potential of civic learning: If you teach them, they will learn. Program evaluations of highquality civic learning programs find positive impacts on students knowledge. For example, Kids Voting USA enhances students knowledge of politics, reduces gaps in knowledge between the most and least knowledgeable students, and increases the consistency between students opinions on issues and their own potential voting behavior. A study of civics courses in which students were required to read and discuss the newspaper similarly found gains in knowledge and smaller knowledge gaps. Overall, the research suggests that taking civics courses boosts civic knowledge. Studying a particular topic can strongly enhance knowledge of that topic when the curriculum and teaching conform to best practices. Some programs have positive effects not only on the children who participate, but also on their parents, who demonstrate increased discussion and media use at home when their students have higher civic knowledge. Civic knowledge encourages civic action. Young people who know more about government are more likely to vote, discuss politics, contact the government, and take part in other civic activities than their less knowledgeable counterparts. This holds even when the researchers controlled for income and race, showing that as powerful as socioeconomic factors are, civic learning can increase the knowledge of all students.

(b) Civic Skills Civic skills are the abilities necessary to participate as active and responsible citizens in democracy. They are necessary for critical thinking and collective action, and they include speaking, listening, collaboration, community organizing, public advocacy, and the ability to gather and process information. For the most part, largescale tests and surveys do not actually measure participatory skills. Some tests measure academic skills relevant to civics (such as interpreting a written speech), and some surveys of youth measure their confidence in their own civic skills, which is an important precondition of action. In general, studying civics in school is associated with stronger academic skills related to civics and more confidence in ones participatory skills, such as making a speech or writing a letter to Congress. As with civic knowledge, the evidence is stronger for the impact of certain welldesigned programs than it is for average courses. For example, a randomized controlled experimental evaluation of the Facing History and Ourselves curriculum found positive effects on students ability to interpret evidence, to understand what leads people to make choices, and to analyze cause and effect in historical cases. In turn, civic skills are strongly linked to actual participation. In the words of a study of civic engagement by three of Americas most distinguished political scientists, [t]hose who possess civic skills, the set of specific competencies germane to citizen political activity, are more likely to feel confident about exercising those skills in politics and to be effectiveor, to use the economists term, productivewhen they do. (c) Civic dispositions and participation Civic learning also fosters dispositions supportive of responsible political engagement and encourages active civic participation. Dispositions: The personal dispositions important in a democracy include concern for others rights and welfare, fairness, reasonable levels of trust, and a sense of public duty. Civic learning can enhance these dispositions. For example, students feel a greater sense of general trust in humanity, support for the American political system, and trust in leaders when they report that their teachers have promoted tolerance and respect for all students. Teenagers are more likely to do something to prevent a peer from being harmed if they perceive that their teachers have created a fair and open environment. A large study of Chicago Public School students found that interactive civic learning strongly boosted young peoples commitment to participate in politics and in their communities.

Civic knowledge and skills help adults form their political attitudes on the basis of facts and issues rather than personalities and attacks. Classroom discussion in civics classes has been found to boost students concerns about the unjust treatment of others. The Facing History and Ourselves evaluation, for example, found positive effects on dispositions such as civic efficacy, valuing the protection of the civil liberties of people with different political views, [and] awareness of the dangers of prejudice and discrimination. An important bridge between dispositions and action is selfefficacy, the sense that ones own actions can make a difference, either alone or in combination with peers. A feeling of selfefficacy is, not surprisingly, strongly correlated with civic action.

MEDIA The Press in India is regarded as fourth pillar of democracy and it is an institution made for the welfare of the country and its people. In organized society authority publicly manifests itself in order to maintain and legitimize itself. Every structure of power or authority needs arguments to convince the general public that this specific socio-political order is both natural and independent. Every societal context has its own means of government and organization, its own political structure and history. The media do not merely have an instrumental function in society; they also shape norms, beliefs and fields of interest in matters such as identity-building, regionalization, the formation of the multicultural society. In developing country, especially one with as much widespread poverty and mis-governance as India, media has a special responsibility that perhaps our counterparts in developed countries may not. What is the biggest force that can help in brining the lost awareness back to the people? Its the media obviously. What do the media do? It supplies good content to the people via a good communication infrastructure. In other words, there are two requirements: creating content so that people can understand it, and crating the infrastructure so that people can access the content. The media brings awareness to the people, and I believe that awareness triggers thinking. Once the people are more aware, it will automatically make them think of good and better ways to create a good and better functional democracy. In the words of Marshall McLuhan, the medium is the message because the medium is constituted by the people, and the message (or the content) is also supplied by the same people. The idea is to bring together media and society. It is about bringing information to the people, bringing people to the information, getting them to think, and getting them to realize their responsibilities towards the nation. This change cannot occur overnight, but it can be initiated overnight for sure. The initiation is through your own hearts and minds, to understand what is missing, and take a determined step towards the belief of a better land, and to learn to dream. Print media has a wider access to the people; hence it has a strong impact. It plays a vital role in the opinion making process. Now that world has become a global village. Press has the power to turn a dream into reality. It is the need of the hour that press should play its role in the nation building process. Instead of being indulged into the false propagation media should try to optimize the situation. The role of press in education and health sector is far more important then its role in the election campaigns. Its the job of the print media to show the true picture of the society. But it is unfortunate the most of the press is biased. They are projecting what they want instead of projecting the reality. Access to people demands a very responsible behavior. They have to play crucial rule in educating the people and to provide them clear picture of whats going on in the world because ignorance is a major problem. They should not over proportionate. Factual reporting is the essence of journalism and if the press starts reporting facts there would be a lot of betterment in the society.

Mass Media Can Help in Change

Mass media is a tremendous source of information for individuals as well as society. In the previous section, you have learnt about the role of mass media in a democracy. Let us now see how the media perform their functions to bring about changes. Using mass media, peoples attitudes and habits can be changed. For example, all of us have mistaken or wrong notions about various diseases like leprosy or HIV/AIDS. Many of us think that by touching people suffering from these diseases we would be infected. You might have heard on radio or watched television programmes or read messages which tell us that by touching an HIV/AIDS patient we do not get infected. Similarly, for eradicating polio there are special programmes and messages disseminated through the media. They inform people about the need for giving polio drops to children and about the day that is declared a polio day. Special arrangements are made to give polio drops to as many children as possible on polio day. Change would also mean things for the better. The concept of development of a country is again a matter of change, when old practices and equipment are changed and new, better and more efficient means are being used. The mass media play an important role in communicating this change. By giving the necessary information, and sometimes skills, the media can help bring about this change.

Mass Media have made the World Smaller and Closer

The speed of media has resulted in bringing people across the world closer. Let us take an example. When you watch a cricket match between India and another country in England, Australia or New Zealand, live on television, you feel you are part of the crowd in that stadium. Events, happy or sad, happening anywhere can be seen live. Sometimes we feel that the entire world is one big family. You might have heard the term global village. It means that the whole world is shrinking and becoming a village. Wherever we go to any part of the world, we see the same products such as soft drinks, television, washing machine, refrigerator etc. and the same type of advertisements. Similarly, the World Wide Web and internet have brought people and countries much closer.

Mass Media Promotes Distribution of Goods

Mass media are used by the consumer industry to inform people about their products and services through advertising. Without advertising, the public will not know about various products (ranging from soup to oil, television sets to cars) and services (banking, insurance, hospitals etc.) which are available in the market as well as their prices. Thus mass media help the industries and consumers.

Role of Media in promoting civic sense

We have seen how powerful the mass media are. By their very nature media and the media people meaning journalists of the print media, radio and television are quite powerful. So politicians, bureaucrats and the police look at them with apprehension. Generally they do not want to be in the media if the reports are not in their favor. If the media people praise them, they are happy. So by and large people try to be friendly with the media. But for the media this power comes with tremendous responsibility. If they misuse that power to do wrong things or trouble others, people will stop trusting them. Like in any other profession, like law or medicine, the media also need to have a code of ethics or guidelines on what is right or wrong. In the case of lawyers and doctors, there are clear codes of ethics, and anyone who violates the code can be punished, or removed from the profession. But in the case of the mass media there are only a few guidelines and no strict code of conduct. The Press Council of India is one of the organizations which issues guidelines on media ethics. To keep the fair name of the profession, the media practitioners need to follow certain ethical codes which are listed below: a) Accuracy: The information provided by media persons in the print media, radio, television and internet has to be accurate. If incorrect or baseless information is given, it can harm the interests of individuals, institutions and the country. For being accurate, media persons have to verify the correctness of their facts. For example, if only 50 people have died in an accident, the media cannot give out the figure as 200 or 500. If a media person writes against anybody or accuses someone of dishonesty, that person should be given an opportunity to give his or her version of the story. b) Confidentiality: A media person maintains confidentiality of information revealed by various sources.

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d) e) f) g)

Protection of sources: A source which has provided confidential information should never be revealed. For example if a government official provides information pertaining to his department, media person should not reveal the name of the person in order to protect him from any harm. Right to privacy: A journalist should respect the right of a person to have privacy. That would mean that a journalist should not write about the private life of ordinary citizens. No incitement to violence: Mass media should not motivate or provoke people to indulge in violence or crime. Glorifying violence in writings should also be avoided. No vulgarity or obscenity: Mass Media should not write, display or broadcast anything that is vulgar or obscene. No Communal writing:India is a country where people follow diverse faiths and religions. Our Constitution believes in secularism, which means respect for all faiths and religions. It is easy for the media to create problems between sections with different faiths and religions by writing about them or broadcasting issues which can promote communal problems. There have been several occasions when communal riots and killings have taken place based on media reports. The media has to ensure that it works in the interest of the

Impact of Media
Positive effects a) Media provide news and information required by the people. b) Media can educate the public. c) Media helps a democracy function effectively. They inform the public about government policies and programmes and how these programmes can be useful to them. d) This helps the people voice their feelings and helps the government to make necessary changes in their policies or programmes. e) Media can entertain people. f) Media can act as an agent of change in development. g) Media has brought people of the world closer to each other. h) Media promote trade and industry through advertisements i) Media can help the political and democratic processes of a country. j) Media can bring in positive social changes. Negative effects a) The traditional culture of a country is adversely affected by mass media. b) Entertainment has become the main component of mass media. This affects the primary objectives of media to inform and educate the people. c) Media promote violence. Studies have proved that violence shown on television and cinemas have negative effects on children. d) Mass media promote the desire in people to buy and own products that are advertised through the media but which may not be essential for them. e) Many of the chaotic everyday situations we find ourselves in are totally avoidable if each one of us acts with a strong sense of social responsibility and empathy for the fellow citizens. The way public assets such as roads, parks and even heritage national monuments are treated shows in very poor light the measure of social accountability evident among the Indian citizens today. f) Since the time of independence we have made many strides towards development and social advancement. Technologically we are as advanced as any other country in the world and today our open economic policies are attracting a lot of foreign investments, opening up a plethora of new job markets, and aiding rapid urbanization. Yet, along with such brilliant achievements.

Today television channels and newspapers are making fast money by cashing on the news in wrong sense and wrong way. In the race to become more popular and to make money they have broken all the limits media must follow while serving to build a healthy and progressive society. They have no respect for the sentiments and ethics of the people and land whom they serve to, with their immense power to influence the masses they just make judgment like a true dictator rather than a good advice of a true friend as they previously used to do. If it will be going in the future then we people have to think about the role of media in our life. As wealth and political power become increasingly concentrated, it becomes difficult for human-scale democracy to flourish. Civic society is that component of social life that falls outside the domain of governments and commerce, yet is concerned with building community. In order to flourish, civic society requires informal third place meeting spaces (outside both home and work), non-governmental organizations, and independent media. One significant role of civic society is to maintain a barrier between commerce and government. In the absence of major campaign finance reform, citizens must pay constant attention in order to resist the undue influence of wealth on politics. Immediate and democratic participation in shaping the built environment, landuse, taxation and spending, laws, and policies is intrinsic to reliable prosperity. It is vital that this participation be provided through spontaneous channels and not just through formal governmental processes. Non-profit organizations, associations, trade unions, churches, bookstores, cafes, and related community assets play a critical role in hosting and shaping civic society. They provide ongoing ways for citizens to engage in the great conversations about societys meaning and direction. Such dialogue allows fundamental values to be explored and profound new directions to emerge. It forms an important counterpoint to both the formal governance process and the expression of immediate consumer values in the marketplace. Independent media - including newspapers, radio and television stations, and websites - provide additional communication channels for civic society. They disseminate ideas to much broader audiences and permit ongoing critical examination. Reliable prosperity promotes civic society through its emphasis on local control and accountability and society. Capital that is rooted locally is responsive to local concerns. Citizens with a sense of security whose fundamental needs are met are more likely to shape civic society. In turn, reliable prosperity depends on an ongoing transformation in values that can only result from meaningful public debate. Promote the gathering places, non-governmental organizations, and independent media that give civic society full expression. Honor civic society as a barrier between and alternative to both government and commerce.

Role of Family in Promoting Civic Sense

Civic sense begins at home. Begin by teaching him to keep his immediate surroundings clean and tidy. If he learns to appreciate cleanliness, he will be able to practice it outside the home as well. Explain to him that just because other people dirty their surroundings does not mean he should do too. Shall we teach them the principle of I care over public properties and step out in the light towards building a radical generation? Civic sense is a topic which can any time be discussed and argued in our country. Somehow, most of us do not care much for civic sense. And this attitude is prevalent across all sections of society. People today are so driven towards their personal goals that civic sense as an ethic has become a low priority, almost a nuisance. Civic sense has dropped to lowest ebb in recent years. This turpitude in long run surely going to widen the generation gap and indeed will be detrimental to the cultural values of ours. Civic sense is nothing but social ethics. It is consideration by the people for the unspoken norms of society. Majority of people voice that civic sense is just about keeping the roads, streets and public property clean. In fact it is much more than that; it has to do with law-abiding, respect for fellow men and maintaining decorum in public places. To convey differently; lack of sense of respect of emotions and living values of the fellow man. Civic sense, perhaps is making others comfortable to the level where you yourself would have loved being. And this level surely depends upon your up bringing and nurturing, Elders, Parents and Schooling plays an important role in educating kids the civic sense.

But with the exception of a couple of lessons in school, hardly any attention is paid to civic behavior. Schools and homes do not teach their children about the importance of civic sense. The contribution of a decent civic behavior which can add a liveliness and quality of living in a country is rarely shared with kids and fellow country man. Lack of civic sense adds to Separatism, vandalism, intolerance, racism, road rage etc. This all makes People intolerant to others emotions, cultures, background etc. India for a country of diverse people and state sincerely needs education on civic sense. Lack of civil sense causes lot of problems. In fact respect for the law and civic sense is interwoven. A person with high esteem and better civic values does not resort to shortcuts and unethical tactics to get his work done. One of the example in routine is the current state of civic sense in public transport which indeed disheartening. A country man hardly bothers offering a seat to a pregnant lady/old lady/old man. Perhaps his concern was the small piece of discomfort he would have faced in doing so. Great is the civic sense. Spit marks, urination in public, vulgar graffiti, random garbage and overflowing sewers at every nook and corner of India speaks volumes of our unconcern towards civic sense., & the most popular way to escape from failing in adhering to the basic norms of living is ; just blame the government. But people must first question themselves and their own civic sense. Roads are not dirty because nobody cleaned it, but because somebody dirtied it in the first place. Teaching kids more of civic sense is perhaps more important than teaching them lessons on higher science and mathematics. Especially where our chemistry with environment has miserably failed and we have made other discomfort able for our wits. Never late than never, if one is really serious then while you teach your child about civic sense, you also teach him about civic responsibility. Children need to be taught civic sense early because unlike a specific skill, civic sense is a school of thought in itself. It is belief in hygiene, respect for other members of society, and humane behavior. Begin by teaching him/her to keep his/her immediate surroundings clean and tidy. If kid learns to appreciate cleanliness, he/she will be able to practice it outside of home as well. Explain to him/her that just because other people dirty their surroundings does not mean he/she should too. Encourage him/her to mix with people from different backgrounds and not harbor prejudice against them. India is a mix of a variety of people and patience and tolerance in your child will make him more accepted and respected. You can also tell your child about the relevance of different festivals and explain to him/her the spirit behind each. This way, he/she will not see the differences but the similarities between his/her religion and anothers. Make him/her to practice tolerance. For their cause dont blame the person for failing in the civic sense, but do discuss the act in which person failed. With such small steps we can teach our child about civic sense and the importance of it in their life. And by teaching our child about civic sense, we are not only making him/her a better human being but also doing our bit for the future of the country. Civic sense is a person taking an active interest in the communitys needs and affairs of a town or a city of having civic pride that people feel for their town or city by performing their duties and responsibilities to the best of their ability even when they are watched or not seen doing it. The attitude of both a patriot and a person with civic sense is the same; only that, a patriot has the larger share of responsibility than that of a person with civic sense. Patriotism and civic sense calls for readiness to sacrifice for a just cause. Patriotism and civic sense is the hallmark of strong character in the same way as a tree is as strong as its roots. It is the most important quality one looks for in todays world. A sense of patriotism in all relationships generates a sense of belonging and care. Patriotism is an attitude as well as an action. It is totally voluntary. It survives inconveniences, temptations and hardships of any kind. To change, start from self, be a role model to your society, be upright to fight anti-social elements, respect elders, women and handicapped friends, follow the queue even if you dont like it, respect the laws of the land, keep your surroundings neat and clean, be your own moral police. To me, this sense of respect for society is patriotism and civic sense. Saying everybody does it is an excuse and only an excuse. In India, even prominent personalities indulge in proud displays of a lack of civic sense. Take for example, ministers who delay planes with complete

disregard for other passengers or companies that freely pollute rivers and lakes. It is difficult for a country to change its mindset when its public leaders themselves are setting bad examples, round the clock, all the time. When you teach your child about civic sense, you also teach him about civic responsibility or patriotism. Children need to be taught civic sense early because unlike a specific skill, civic sense is a school of thought in itself. It is a belief in hygiene, respect for other members of society, and humane behavior. Encourage him to mix with people from different backgrounds and not harbor prejudice against them. India is a mix of a variety of people; and patience and tolerance in your child will make him more accepted and respected. Your child will then learn that discrimination and irresponsibility can be avoided, and will be inculcated with the characteristics of patriotism and a sense of civic responsibility. With such small steps, you and I can teach our children about civic sense and the importance of it in his life. And by teaching them, we not only make them better human beings but also do our bit for the future of our land.

Role of Government and Non-Government organizations in promoting Civic Sense

Government ethics refers to a particular professional code of conduct for those who work in and for government. Government ethics, therefore, involves rules and guidelines about right and wrong behaviors for a host of different groups, including elected leaders (such as the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers), elected representatives (such as Members of Parliament), political staff, and public servants. These groups are faced with a variety of difficult and very unique ethical questions. Should a public official be able to hire his/her own company to work for the government? Should elected representatives be allowed to accept expensive gifts from lobby groups? When can a public official divulge personal information about citizens? How should public servants treat their co-workers and subordinates? Government ethics identifies what are correct behaviors in each of these situations and establishes rules of conduct for public officials to follow. Government ethics, properly enforced, can be a valuable means for protecting against government waste and ensuring effective public administration. Such a code can prohibit many of the activities that lead to waste, including theft by public officials and use of government property for private gain. It can also address issues such as bribery and conflicts of interest; activities that can lead public officials to sacrifice the public interest in the administration of programs and services for private gain and benefit. The non-government organization is one of the public management corpuses, and it is a kind of social organized forms developed quickly since 1960s.The non-government organization is a social organization, which is full of ethics spirit. It has a special social function in promoting the development of administration ethics, social ethics, international ethics, economic ethics and personal ethics.

Review Questions
Multiple Choice Questions 1. Which of the following statements is false? [a] Ethical issues are limited to for-profit organizations. [b] Business ethics goes beyond legal issues. [c] Ethical conduct builds trust among individuals and in business relationships. [d] Ethical conflicts may evolve into legal disputes. 2. Which of the following is not considered unethical behavior in the workplace? [a] Taking notebooks and pens home for personal use [b] Using on the job time to write emails to your friends and family [c] Using your cell phone to make a doctors appointment during your lunch break

[d] Looking the other way when you notice a superior doing something that is against company policy 3. In the United States, if a businessperson brought an elaborately wrapped gift to a prospective client on their first meeting, it might be viewed as [a] Appropriate. [b] Expected. [c] A bribe. [d] A gift. 4. If the owner of a toy store seeking a price reduction gives the manager of a toy manufacturing company a new personal computer, the toy-store owner is using which approach to influence the manufacturers decision making? [a] High technology [b] Computer impacting [c] Discounting [d] Bribery 5. A supplier of a component part has offered Karens family a free two-week cruise if his firm gets a very large order from Karens company. The most ethical course of action for Karen to take would be to [a] politely turn it down and discuss the offer with her boss. [b] accept it if the part in question meets quality standards. [c] ask around and see how her boss handled such offers previously. [d] accept the offer.

Conceptual Type Questions 1. List five ethical codes to be practiced by media persons. 2. Write any three positive and negative effects of media 3. Explain in detail the relationship between mass media and democracy. 4. What are media ethics? List out the ethical codes to be practiced by Media persons. 5. Discuss the various positive and negative effects of media on people. 6. What is ethics and what does it have to do with government? Answer of MCQ 1(a) 2 (c)
3 (c) 4 (d) ***** 5 (a)