THE COPPERBELT UNIVERSITY

THE SCHOOL OF THE BUILT

ENVIRONMENT

NAME: ELIJAH KALUBA

MWEEMBA
COURSE: ES 141
SIN: 19189287
PROGRAM: C.E.M
TITLE: OPEN TEST
LECTURER: DR KAURT
DUE DATE: 13/O4/20
QUESTION ONE

Mass media have long been recognized as powerful forces shaping how we
experience the world and ourselves. In the wake of the novel Covid-19, mass media-
social media in particular-has been a go-to for many around the global community. It
is no secret that social media among others, has had some positive as well as negative
effects during the pandemic. We will examine these and more using the Functionalist
perspective.
Functionalist perspective views society as being similar to a body, just as the various
parts of the body work together to keep the body functioning and regulated, the various parts
of society ( economic,political,health care,education etc…) work together to keep the entire
society functioning and regulated.
Corona Virus, Covid-19 as it is famously known, has taken the world by storm.
Affecting anyone and everyone, it’s clear to see it’s taking no prisoners. From
overwhelming even the best health care systems to crippling a local bar owner’s
business in Misisi compound in Lusaka, it’s effects are far reaching.
Among the many mandates of mass media, one of the most important should be
providing not only factual and up-to-date but credible information. New research
shows that between 80% and 90% of people consume news and entertainment for an
average of almost 24 hours during a typical week. For the media, the pandemic has
provided both opportunities and challenges. On one hand social distancing has led to
an increase in at-home media consumption with most turning to news providers for
updates on the virus, at the same time, some of the most valuable content-such as live
sports-is being canceled leading to a drop in revenue for media companies.
In a webinar hosted by representatives from the international Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies (Geneva, Switzerland), BBC Media Action
(London, UK), Internews (CA, USA) and the WHO it was discussed that journalists
and media organizations should do their utmost to keep up to date with the outbreak
using reliable information from respective health departments and the WHO, and that
they should both fact-and reality-check information in order to remain a trusted
source.
Evident almost everywhere around the global community is the fact there is an
influx of information from all sorts of channels, which is not all inherently true. Social
media platforms like Facebook and What’s App have unfortunately been vices for
those wishing to spread misinformation regarding Covid-19. From claims like
drinking bleach to having “Too Much” sexual intercourse will protect from
contracting the contagious virus which all were baseless and unfounded. These and a
host of other concocted claims unfortunately ill advise the public. This under
Functionalism would be described as Social Dysfunction (this is an undesirable
function of society).
There are also other functions like Manifest and Latent functions. Manifest
functions are obvious and intended while Latent are unrecognized and unintended. A
manifest function would be informing the people about ways in which they can stay
safe from the virus, its progression, most affected areas like epicenters and
government policy among others as the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation
(ZNBC) has been doing by providing Covid-19 updates. A latent function would be
increased family bonds due to more time they are spending together at home or people
drinking less beer due to the closing of bars and becoming more productive etc..
worth noting would be that these functions can be either negative or positive.
As things stand it would be safe to assume that the media have been more than
effective in the dissemination of information as we have seen an increase in adherence
to the safety measures prescribed the health experts. And this increased adherence
could also be attributed to the fact that people have now demystified Covid-19 hence
they are able to pick the truth from the fake news. Another aspect to look at has been
knowing whether the symptoms you have are indeed an indication of Covid-19 or
anything else. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in partnership
with Microsoft had set what they are calling the Self-Checker. It is an interactive
platform that acts as a guide to help you make decisions and seek medical care.

In a world where various systems that make up the basic fabric of society work
interdependently to maintain stability and function, a pandemic can and has been
very detrimental to the global community as a whole. Which mass media in the thick
of it, we have seen as cities have been turned into ghost town, Italy’s death toll sky
rocketed to unprecedented heights, Wuhan the genesis of the virus record no new
cases or even the USA recording more deaths in 24 hours than Italy.
In conclusion mass media’s role in contributing to regaining of the lost balance
has been an indispensable one. From providing with information about the virus and
how we can stay safe to helping us draw a distinction between the right information
and fake news.

QUESTION TWO

Bourdieu’s work was primarily concerned with the dynamics of power in

society, especially the diverse and subtle ways in which power is transferred and
social order is maintained within and across generations. He claimed that how one
chooses to present their social space to the world depicts their status and distances
them from lower groups.
Specifically, Bourdieu hypothesized that children internalize these dispositions at
an early age and that such dispositions guide the young towards their appropriate
social positions, towards the behaviors that are suitable for them, and foster an
aversion towards behaviors. He developed the idea that cultural capital was a method
that groups used to identify and trade on status. For example, the ability to utilize
Debrett’s Eticate is not a sign of intrinsic superiority but cultural currency used by a
group in order to maintain advantage over other groups.
Cultural capital did not just represent people’s resources of financial capital. It is
shaped by family circumstances and school tuition, and can exist independently of
monetary holding and even compensate for lack of money as a part of a strategy to
pursue power and status.
He defined social capital as a sum of resources, actual or virtual, that accure to
an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less
institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition. He suggested
that in order foe social capital to maintain it’s value, people had to work at it. He
viewed the concept as an adjunct or dimension of cultural capital.
He was interested in how economic capital combined with other forms of capital
to create and reproduce inequality. Inequality was to be explained by the production
and reproduction of capital. He defined capital as ‘accumulated labour’ and includes
as a factor ‘it takes time to accumulate’, something beyond self interest needed to
exist to explain the world as we know it.
Both cultural capital and social capital should be treated as assets and valued as
representing the product of accumulated labour. It is impossible to understand the social
world without acknowledging the role of ‘capital in all it’s forms and not solely in one form
recognized by economic theory’.

In the context of Zambia, cultural capital would comprise the social assets of a
person (education, intellect, style of speech, style of dress code, etc.) As a social
relation within a system of exchange, cultural capital includes the accumulated
cultural knowledge that confers social status and power. For example, those who have
acquired a degree from either the Copperbelt University and The University of
Zambia have a higher chance of getting the job against someone with a degree from
any other higher education institution or someone who lives the city, like Kitwe,
where the job is being offered can be given preference over someone who doesn’t.
Social capital includes economic resources that one gains from being part of a
network of social relationships, including group membership. Here we can cite
belonging to a student chapter as an example of social capital. You as a member of
the chapter will pay less when going on trips, access to study material, etc.
Rural areas significantly outperform urban areas with regards to localized trust,
rate of passive and active participation in local and civic associations, and various
measures of local reciprocity. From a traditional point of view, relationships in the
urban space are typically shallow, short lived and formal because of size, density, and
the heterogeneous social nature of the city. These characteristics result in less
individual social capital in urban areas.
Going to school, whether it is kindergarten through high school or college,
generates a potential to build both social capital and cultural capital. Each class you
enroll or participate in has both the teaching professional(s) and other students. When
you are part of these groups, you meet the people who are also members. Each office
and person you come into contact with could be part of your current or future job hunt
process. Gaining knowledge, building skills, and getting a true education will change
the way you think, the choices you make and what you have learned will be become
part of you. We can already see how this could perpetuate a divide between rural and
urban communities as those in urban areas have a much higher access to education
than rural areas. This gives them a comparative advantage of accumulating more of
both cultural and social capital.
Finally, in rural areas, tradition is held in high esteem- importance attached to
traditional ceremonies and other cultural beliefs and values- which people from the
urban community might regard as uncivilized. In contrast, people born and raised in
urban areas might exhibit characteristics that the rural folk might flag as taboos.
Examples of such would be; dress code, the new development of gender roles, etc.

QUESTION THREE

Feminist Perspective
Feminist theory analyzes gender stratification through the intersection of gender,
race, and class. Gender stratification occurs when gender differences give men greater
privilege and power over women, transgender and gender-non-conforming people.
The theory uses the conflict approach to examine the reinforcement of gender roles
and inequalities, highlighting the role patriarchy in maintaining the oppression of
women. Feminism focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that
organizes society into a complex of relationships based on the assertion of male
supremacy.
It also takes into account intersectionality, a feminist sociological theory first
highlighted by feminist-sociologist Kimberle Crenshaw. Intersectionality suggests
that various biological, social and cultural categories, including gender, race, class
and ethnicity, interact and contribute toward systemic social inequality. In light of this
theory, the oppression and marginalization of women is thus shaped not only by
gender but by other factors such as race and class.

Radical Feminism
Radical feminism theory analyses the structures of power which oppress the
female sex. It’s central tenet is that women as a biological class are globally
oppressed by men. They believe that male power is constructed and maintained
through institutional and cultural practices that aim to bolster male superiority through
the reinforcement of female inferiority.
One such manifestation of the patriarchy is gender, which is believed to be a
socially constructed hierarchy which functions to repress female autonomy and has no
bias in biology. Radical feminists also critique all religions and their institutions, and
other practices that promote violence against women such as prostitution,
pornography and FGM.

Socialist Feminism
The phrase “social feminism” was increasingly used during the 1970s to describe a
mixed theoretical approach to achieving women’s equality. Socialist feminist theory
analyzed the connection between the oppression of women and other oppressions in
society, such as racism and economic injustice.
Like radical feminism, socialist feminism recognized the fundamental oppression of
women, particularly in a patriarchal society. They held and continue to hold that class
and gender are symbiotic, at least to some degree, and one cannot be addressed
without taking the other into consideration.
Socialist feminists wanted to integrate the recognition of sex discrimination within
their work to achieve justice and equality for women, for working classes, for the poor
and all humanity.

Post-Colonial Feminism
Post-colonial feminism aims to understand and undo the legacies of colonialism
within the feminist activism. In other words, post-colonial feminism wants to to
decolonize feminist activism- reclaim it as more than just a pursuit of the western
world and it’s people.
Post-colonial feminist evolved in reaction to the western feminist centering of the
white experience, and it’s focus on white women’s lives, rights and experiences above
all else. It therefore illuminates the vast difference between what weare subliminally
taught is universal and what are in fact the varied lived realities for the rest of the
world’s population. Post-colonial feminism reminds us that while western feminism
might advocate for, as an example, equal pay, that concern may not be forefront for
women outside of Europe and America.
QUESTION FIVE

DEVIANCE

Deviance is any behavior or appearance that violates cultural norms and

expectations of a group. Deviance is often divided into two types of deviant activities.
The first, crime is the violation of formally enacted laws and is referred to as formal
deviance. Examples of formal deviance would include: robbery, theft, rape, murder
and assault, just to name a few. The second type of deviant behaviour refers to
violations of informal norms, norms that have not been codified into law, and is
referred to as informal deviance. Examples of informal deviance might include:
picking one’s nose, belching loudly (in some cultures), or standing to close to another
( again, in some cultures).
One characteristic common to all forms of deviance is that some social audience
challenges or condemns a behavior or appearance because it departs from established
norms. Deviance is a very complex topic because every behaviour has at some point
qualified to be deviant. When sociologist J.L.Simmons (1965) asked 180 men and
women in the United States from various age, educational, occupational and, religious
groups to “list those things or persons they regard as deviant,” they identified a total
of 1,154 items.
Even with a certain amount of grouping and collapsing, these include no less than 252
different acts and persons as “deviant.” The sheer range of responses included such expected
items as homosexuals, prostitutes, drug addicts and murderers: it also included liars,
democrats, reckless drivers, atheists, the retired, career women, movie stars, perpetual
bridge players, prudes, pacifists, psychiatrists, priests, liberals, junior executives, girls who
wear makeup and know-it-all professors.” (Simmons 1965,pp.223-224)
Deviance therefore, only exists in relation to norms in effect at a particular time
and place.

SOCIAL CONTROL

This refers to methods used to teach, persuade or force a group’s members and,
even nonmembers, to comply with and not deviate from it’s norms and expectations.
Ideally, conformity is voluntary. That is, people feel internally motivated to maintain
group standards and to feel guilty if they deviate from them. When conformity cannot
be achieved voluntarily, other mechanisms of social control may be used to convey
and enforce norms.
In Zambia, we will agree that the laws of the land are largest form of social
control. They dictate what is normal and what unacceptable behaviour. Those found
to clash with these set norms receive the appropriate action as prescribed by the law.
In line with law enforcement, the Road Transport and Safety Agency (R.T.S.A)
installed speed cameras on major highways to curb the issue of over speeding, which
was one of the major causes of road traffic accidents.
In the era of former republican president, DR Kenneth Kaunda, it was alleged
that the government then planted secret operatives incognito to spy on those who
spoke ill of the head of state and he’s government. And that these would be placed
under arrest on national interest-thereafter they would be tortured. Such stories made
people less likely deviate and say anything they like about the president as it is now.
Respecting our parents and elders is something that deeply ingrained in the
Zambian culture. From early childhood, it is greatly emphasized to obey parents and
to treat anyone old enough to be our parent as we would our own. This in itself is a
positive form of social control even though the time we are in now may suggest it
gradually dissolving with every successive generation.
Church is another striking example of social control. People have been
conditioned to regard the church (the building) as a sacred place and they cannot
behave or do anything that would be flagged as out of the norm. It is a normal scene
around the country, especially with our traditional churches, to see people come from
from church and go straight to the bar, or for them to be found insulting after leaving
the church premises. Such behavior, if done inside the church can be frowned upon
and even attract sanctions on that individual.
Signage can also act as a means of social control. A stop sign on the road tells
you to stop, a no smoking sign tells you not to smoke in that place, a no trespassing
will tell you to safe away etc. These are put in place so as to make sure that people
behave in a particular way either for their own safety or for informative purposes.
Recently the government of Zambia announced to the nation the safety measures
to be taken by every citizen to prevent the spread of the novel Covid-19 and, of
course, social distancing. The aim of which was to effect a change in the way people
normally behave. This of course has it’s challenges as do all the earlier mentioned
examples of social control. This is because it is impossible for any society to exist
without deviance.

QUESTION SIX

Globalization
This is an ongoing process that involves interconnected changes in the economic,
cultural, social and political spheres of society. As a process, it involves the ever-
increasing integration of these aspects between nations, regions, communities, and
even seemingly isolated places. Using the economy as an example, globalization
refers to the expansion of capitalism to include all places around the world into one
globally integrated economic system. This can be seen in global and regional
organizations and trade blocs like WTO, TPP, EU and ASEAN.

Subcultures
Groups that share in some parts of the dominant culture but have their own distinctive
norms, beliefs, symbols, language, or material culture. The military is an example of a
subculture. It uses, among other things, military uniforms to distinguish it’s members
from the larger civilian population

Countercultures
These are subcultures in which the norms, values, beliefs, symbols, and language the
members share emphasize conflict or opposition to the larger culture. In fact, rejection
of dominant cultures’ values, norms, symbols, and beliefs is central to understanding
a counterculture. In South Korea, Buddhist monks constitute a counterculture.

Sanctions
These are penalties and rewards concerning norms. An example of a reward would be
being given your degree after completing your degree program. A penalty would be
being given a fine or being arrested for breaking the law.
Norms
These are the values that dictates what is considered appropriate or inappropriate
behaviour. There are two types of norms, formal norms and informal norm. Formal
norms are codified into law and have prescribed punishment for those who break
them ( e.g someone who commits murder breaks a formal norm and can be
imprisoned for life). Informal are expectations of certain groups at a particular place
and time like dress code, table manners, etc.

Culture Shock
The strain that people from one culture experience when they must reorient
themselves to the ways of a new culture. An example would be the shock that white
people experience when they see us (African) eating caterpillars.

Culture Relativism
The perspective that a foreign culture not be judged by the standards of a home
culture and that a behaviour or way of thinking must be examined in it’s cultural
context. For example, whereas most Americans cannot stand why some Koreans eat
dog meat, most Koreans are equally appalled that Americans often let their dogs live
in their homes. Looking at these two in their own context might not seem as
unreasonable as when viewed from the other’s perspective.

Ethnocentrism
A viewpoint that uses one culture, usually the home culture, as a standard for judging
the worth of foreign ways. The most extreme case of ethnocentrism is cultural
genocide, in which people of one society define the culture of another society not as
merely offensive but as so intolerable that they attempt to destroy it. For example, the
Japanese tried to exterminate Korean culture between 1910 and 1945.