Monday, January 27, 2020
History of US Immigration Law and Reform
History of US Immigration Law and Reform Alejandro Bojorquez is a Mexican citizen who has been waiting decades to be reunited with his family in this United States through issuance of a family-sponsored green card. Alejandro’s father, Jesus Bojorquez, first filed a family sponsored green card petition for his son when Alejandro was only 14 years old (Gonzalez, 2013). Alejandro is now 33 years old and he could still wait until 2018 before he receives his family sponsored green card due to the wait time for the visa category he is currently in. This will make his wait for issuance of his green card twenty years, however, this length of time is not that uncommon. Alejandro Bojorquez’s family is not alone. Similar situations are being seen every day due to the current shortage of family-sponsored visas available. In the past, the United States immigration system has made it a priority to have families kept together; however, due to shortage of family-sponsored visas available, the number of visa backlogs have rapidly increased, keeping families separated for many years. Congress must reform the family immigration laws and the family visa process to start reuniting families again, before families become completely broken. History of Immigration Laws Immigration laws in the United States date back to the early 18th Century. During the 18th and early 19th Century, the United States welcomed free and open immigration and did not have concrete immigration laws put in place under legislation. In the 1880’s, the number of immigrants immigrating to the United States was rising, and economic conditions were becoming worse. Therefore, Congress implemented legislation and passed the General Immigration Act of 1882 (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012).   The General Immigration Act of 1882 placed a fifty cent head tax on each immigrant. Additionally, this Act barred the entry of any immigrant presumed to be an idiot, lunatic, convict, or a public charge (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012). The first laws enacted that began prohibiting certain immigrants from coming to the United States was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Alien Contract Labor Laws of 1885 and 1887 (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012). These Acts were the first immigration laws that significantly placed a restriction on certain immigrants immigrating to the United States. The Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited entry of Chinese immigrant workers due to the belief that the Chinese immigrants were taking American citizen jobs, and the Alien Contact Labor Laws prohibited American employers from recruiting immigrant workers to work for lower wages than the American workers.    Pursuant to the Immigrant Act of 1891, the United States federal government began the control, inspection, admitting, rejecting, and processing of all immigrants trying to be admitted into the United States (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012). Due to the need to have a single agency enforce and regulate the new immigration laws, the Act also created the Office of the Superintendent of Immigration in the Treasury Department, also known as the Department of Commerce and Labor. This name changed in 1895 to General of Immigration (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012) The Superintendent oversaw the United States Immigrant Inspectors who were stationed at the port of entry, Ellis Island. Ellis Island was opened by the United States Immigration Service on January 2, 1982 (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012).    The Naturalization Act of 1802 allowed any court of record to naturalize a new American citizen (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012).  However, immigration laws began to change in the early 1900’s. In 1906, Congress enacted the Basic Naturalization Act of 1906. This Act was designed to add uniformity to the naturalization process. This Act also outlined the essential rules and regulations that governed the United States naturalization process for the majority of the 20th Century.  The 1906 Act created the Federal Naturalization Service. Accordingly, Congress placed the Federal Naturalization Service together with the Bureau of Immigration, which changed the name to the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012).    In the early 1900’s, the United States admitted more than 14.5 million immigrants (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012).  The large amount immigrants being admitted began to raise concerns as to the type of immigrant they were due to many of the immigrants not being able to read or write. Therefore, it was determined that there needed to be stronger immigration laws in place. In 1917, Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917. This Act required that immigrants being admitted into the United States be able to read and write in their native language (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012). This was a way to catch the undesirables from being admitted in to the United States.  However, large amounts of immigration slowed when World War I began.     When World War I ended, mass immigration to the United States began again. Therefore, stricter immigration laws were put in place. Immigration legislation of the Immigration Acts of 1921 and the Immigration Acts of 1924 placed a numerical limit on immigration for the first time in United States history (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012). Each nationality received a certain quota based on numbers in the United States census and was referred to as the national-origins quota system. A visa was required to be admitted into the United States. If immigrants tried to be admitted and did not have a valid visa, they were not admitted it. The Immigration Acts of 1921 and the Immigration Acts of 1924 severely restricted the amount of immigrants allowed to be admitted into the United States. Immigrants from all over the world began to cross into the United States illegally. Congress needed to do something about the amount of illegal immigrants coming into the United States, therefore, they passed the Labor Appropriation Act of 1924 (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012).  This created the Border Patrol which secured the borders between inspection stations and on the coast. In 1952, Congress combined all of the previous immigration and naturalization regulations into the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA). This removed all of the racial barriers within immigration and naturalization and retained the national origins quotas (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012). However, civil rights activists viewed this Act as discriminatory as a quota system that placed a numerical limit on visas issued by national-origin was not equal treatment.   Consequently, in 1965, amendments were made to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 which created the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012). This Act removed the earlier quota system that placed limits on the number of immigrants by their nationality. Instead, the Act established a new preference system that was designed to reunite families and draw skilled immigrants to immigrate to the United States. The preference system was supposed to put all immigrants on the same footing while immigrating to the United States. The preference system, like the national-origin quota, places a limit to the number of immigration visas that were available each fiscal year. Throughout the years, modifications have been made to the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, however, the framework of this act remains still today.  The 1965 immigration policies are illogical. Prior to the 1965 amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the only thing that stood between families being reunited, was the amount of time it took for first family member that immigrated to the United States to get a job and save money to send back for their relatives to immigrate. However, the passage of 1965 INA eliminated that way of immigrating and instead created the family preference quota that places annual limits on the number of family visas that can be awarded each year by country of origin and family preference. Currently, family-sponsored visas are the majority of visas given each year (Department of Homeland Security, 2017). Thus, the equality, organization, and promptness of the entire visa process is vital. Ironically though, the United States current policies lack all of them.  More recently, one of the most important immigration laws that has been put in place is the Immigration Act of 1990. This act changed American immigration law as it allowed more immigrants to come to the United States each year. Additionally, the 1990 Immigration Act began the yearly lottery of visas and it encouraged counties that do not have a strong presence in the United States to apply for a visa in the lottery (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2012).  The lottery system assigns visas to immigrants randomly.   Previous immigration laws did not allow immigrants from a certain nationality, origin or country to attain visas. The 1990 Immigration Act changed those immigration policies.  In 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act (IIRIRA 96) was signed into law by former President Bill Clinton. This Act made immigrating and adjusting status in the United States very hard for immigrants and United States citizens.   The IIRIRA 96 made more immigrants, even legal immigrants, deportable and less immigrants legalizable (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 1996). The provisions in this Act increased penalties on immigrants who had violated the United States law in some way. IIRIRA 96 needs to be reformed.   Prior to 1996, undocumented immigrants were able to obtain legal status if they had been in the United States for at least seven years and could show extreme hardship if they were to get deported. This was essentially the back door to gaining lawful status in the United States. After the passage of IIRIRA 96, the back door closed. The only way for an undocumented immigrant to gain lawful presence with a green card was by having an immediate relative (United States spouse or child over 18 years) file a petition. IIRIRA 96 defined unlawful presence. This act has provisions that place a three-year ban on immigrants who were in the United States for more than six months (180 days) unlawfully, and a ten-year ban if the immigrant lived in the United States for more than one year unlawfully (8 U.S.C.A  § 1182, 2013). In order to adjust the immigrant’s status, they would have to travel back to their country of origin to have the visa appointment. This created tremendous difficulties for the families of undocumented immigrants whose immigrant spouse or parent had to leave the United States to apply for their visa. Once the immigrant would leave the United States, they would trigger an unlawful presence ban. Under United States law, the USCIS is permitted to waive the unlawful presence ban through filing for an I-601a provisional unlawful presence waiver (8 U.S.C.A  § 1182, 2013). In order to file the waiver, the applicant needs to be able to demonstrate that denial of the waiver and their excessive time abroad would result in extreme hardship of the immigrant’s U.S. citizen spouse or parent. The problem with the I-601a provisional unlawful presence waiver is that it does not include guidance for how â€Å"extreme hardship†is defined. Therefore, many families were placed in the backlog and separated for many months to years because they did not provide enough extreme hardship. The lengthy separation caused emotional and financial hardship of families waiting for the waiver to be approved.    Prior to 2013, families were separated for many months to many years waiting for their visa and their I-601a provisional unlawful presence waiver to be approved. Under the Obama Administration, President Obama made an executive order regarding the I-601a provisional unlawful presence waiver and decreasing the backlog (8 CFR 103, 2013). Under his order, U.S. citizens were allowed to file their petition and an I-601a provisional waiver while continuing to reside in the United States. Once both were approved, a visa appointment would be scheduled in the immigrant’s country of origin and a visa would be issued within weeks. Besides including immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, it also included immediate relatives of legal permanent residents, work visa petitions, and diversity visa applicants. These changes decreased the backlog and reunited relatives more prompt.   With the improvements of the I-601a under the Obama administration, it was hoped that there would be clarification and updated regulations to make clear what is considered to be extreme hardship and how it was defined. However, that was not the case and it is still vital for DHS to propose regulations that will make extreme hardship more clear. Regardless, the improvements that were made in the I-601a waiver was a huge step for immigration reform as it greatly reduces the amount of time family members are separated from those that they love the most.  Currently there are harmful anti-immigration laws that are damaging state economies. Alabama and Arizona have both passed harsh anti-immigration laws to try to dismantle the amount of undocumented immigrants that are living in their states. The idea of these laws was to make the everyday life of the undocumented immigrant so difficult that they would choose to go back to their country, however, the laws implemented did far worse damage. For Arizona, the passing of The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, S.B. 1070, in 2010 was extreme. S.B. 1070 was the most comprehensive, strictest and most controversial anti-illegal immigration law put in place in the United States for a long time. S.B. 1070 includes provisions which add penalties in relation to the enforcement of immigration law that include trespassing, harboring and transporting illegal immigrants, alien registration documents, employer sanctions, and human smuggling (Morse, 2011).  This law has been criticized most due to the encouragement of racial profiling of anyone who looked like a Mexican. A boycott of Arizona began immediately after passing of this law, which cost Phoenix Arizona 141 million dollars in tourist and business in the first four months after passing the Act (Khan, N, 2015).  The Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act, Alabama H.B. 56, of 2011 is an anti-illegal immigration law aimed to remove illegal immigrants from the state of Alabama. This law turned out to be the strictest illegal immigration law in the nation’s history, even more strict than Arizona’s S.B. 1070, as it attempted to regulate every part of immigrants lives in the State of Alabama. Areas regulated included interfering with immigrant children’s schooling, preventing immigrants from renting, entering contracts, and working, obstructing lawful access to public benefits, and require law enforcement to verify immigration status (ACLU, 2017).  Shortly after the passage of H.B. 56, the citizens of Alabama began to see that the law was causing more damage than good. Particularly, it was harmful to Alabama’s agriculture industry.  Due to Alabama’s anti-immigration law, agriculture farmers lost a significant amount of income. Chad Smith, an Alabama tomato farmer, estimated that he would lose up to $300,000 a year due to lack of immigrant farm workers that were in Alabama (Baxter, 2012). Additionally, the H.B. 56 is tearing families apart to the point that undocumented immigrants are facing the choice on whether to take their United States born children with them to their country of origin, or leave them behind to allow them to have a better future. Anti-immigration laws implemented in states have been proven not to work in both the example of Alabama’s H.B. 56 and Arizona’s S.B. 1070. These laws legalized racial profiling, frightened immigrant children, and damaged both state’s economies. Both of these laws should be either repealed, replaced or reformed with more effective laws that will not racial profile, tear families apart and deter immigrants from residing in those states and the United States. Petition for Lawful Presence The 2016 Current Population Survey (CPS) notes that there are currently more than 84.3 million, or 27 percent, of immigrants living in the United States, which include legal, illegal and their U.S. born children of immigrants (Zong & Batalova, 2017). Each year, the United States admits more than one million legal permanent residents (Department of Homeland Security, 2017).  The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) authorizations American citizens and legal permanent residents to immigrate their spouse, children (under the age of 21), or parents to the United States. The family visa process has three main steps. The first step is for the petitioner to file an application.  The United States citizen or legal permanent resident relative needs to file a Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative and a Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status with the USCIS. If the immigrant is an immediate relative of the United States citizen, the visa process can move forward. However, if the immigrant is not an immediate relative, they will be put in the family visa backlog to wait for their priority date for visa issuance to become available.   It is often thought that once an immigrant’s Form I-130 is approved, the immigrant can be immediately admitted to the United States. However, that is not the case.  The case of Bolvito v. Mukasey discusses the issue that once the Form I-130 is filed and approved by the USCIS, a visa is not automatically provided and approval does not automatically grant lawful status of the immigrant in the United States. Instead, the approval of the Form I-130 only means that the immigrant is eligible to receive permission to enter the United States as long as they are not found to be excludable under another immigration law.   The approval of Form I-130 simply means that the immigrant is free to move to the next step. When the immigrant reaches their priority date, they can then move to the second step. For immediate relatives, the second step comes within months after the Form I-130 is approved. The second step is to determine if the immigrant can apply for their visa at the USCIS offices inside the United States, or a United States consulate in the immigrant’s country of origin. If the immigrant was lawfully admitted, they will be able to apply for their visa at a USCIS office in the United States. If the immigrant is unlawfully present, or are not currently present in the United States, the immigrant will have to apply for their visa in their country of origin, regardless of whether they are currently residing in the United States. The third step is when the visa is issued to the immigrant. In order for a visa to be issued, the immigrant must prove that they are not admissible under 8 U.S.C.A Sec. 1182. Immigration violations, crimes, mental disorders, unlawful presence, national security concerns, public charge, and infectious diseases are all grounds that may bar the immigrant from the United States for a period of time.   If the third step is a success, the immigrant will be admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident. If the third step is not successful, there are other hoops that need to be jumped through before the immigrant will be admitted into the United States. Consequently, the immigrant will be placed in the backlog for months to years.   Current Backlog Most of the legal permanent residents the United States admits each year are immigrants that are already residing in the United States due to their current visa status or they are residing as undocumented immigrants. Nearly two-thirds of them qualify as members of an American family that have already adjusted their status to legal permanent residents through a family-sponsored visa or they are currently waiting in the backlog for their family-sponsored visa to be issued (Department of Homeland Security, 2017).     The backlog of family-sponsored visas begins with the number of visas that are allowed to be issued each fiscal year surpasses the amount of family-sponsored visas being applied for. In 2015, 1,051,031 Lawful Permanent Residents were admitted to the United States (Department of Homeland Security, 2017). However, out of the 1,051,031 legal permanent residents admitted, 44.03 % were immediate relatives of United States citizens and only 20.4 % of them were from the family sponsored preference categories (Department of Homeland Security, 2017). The remaining visas went to the employment based visas, refugees, diversity, asylees, and other types of visas. As of November 1, 2016, 4,259,573 family-sponsored immigrants were still waiting in the backlog for their visa to become available (U.S. Department of State, 2016).  Pursuant to 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1151(c) (2009) Worldwide level of immigration, the worldwide level of family-sponsored visas allowed to be given can be the maximum of 480,000 and is to be no less than 226,000 per fiscal year. The variance in the maximum amount of visas allowed and the minimum amount of visas allowed to be issued each fiscal year is due to that certain immigrants are not subject to the worldwide numerical limitations. Under current immigration law, there is currently not a limit set for the amount of immigrant visas that can be given to â€Å"immediate relatives†of United States citizens. According to 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1151(b)(2) (2009), â€Å"immediate relatives†is defined as the children, spouses, and parents of a citizen of the United States. This means that spouses, children and parents of United States citizens do not have to worry about the numerical limitations and are able to get a visa issued to them right away, as long as they are not excludable. However, relatives to United States citizens and legal permanent residents who are not considered to be an â€Å"immediate relative†and apply for a family-sponsored green card are subject to the current numerical limitations of worldwide visas. These relative immigrants have to wait in line and are placed in a backlog until their place in line is ready for a visa. 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1151(a)(2) (2009) places the annual numerical limits allowed per nation. Currently, the total numerical limit for family-sponsored visas for relatives other than immediate relatives is 226,000 per fiscal year (8 U.S.C.A.  § 1151(a) 2009).   There is not only one line to wait in, there are multiple lines. The lines are divided into family-sponsored preference categories that set limits depending on the exact relationship the petitioner has with the immigrant, age of the immigrant, and country of residence. According to 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1154 (2014) – Procedure for granting immigrant status, the current family-sponsored preferences are as follows: First: (F1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; Second (F2A) spouses and children of legal permanent residents and (F2B) unmarried sons and daughters (21 years or age or older) of permanent residents; Third (F3) married sons and daughters or U.S. citizens; and Fourth (F4) brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens (U.S. Department of State, 2017).   According to 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1152 (2000) – Numerical limitations on individual foreign states, each country is only allowed to receive 7% of the worldwide immigrant visa level provided under 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1151 (2009). Some countries have a higher amount of visa applicants each year. For example, China, Mexico, and the Philippines have a higher amount of applicants each year and most family preference categories force these visa applicants to wait two decades or more to have their visa approved.  As of April, 2017, the wait time for the first family-sponsored visa preference category for Mexico was 22 years. The National Visa Center is currently processing visas for May 22, 1995 (U.S. Department of State, 2017).   Due to the numerical limitation for visas per country, visa applicants from countries with a high immigration demand (Mexico, China, and the Philippines) have to wait a long period of time for their visa to become available.      There are currently two different backlogs that family-sponsored visa applicants are placed into while waiting for a visa to be issued to them. The first backlog is the administrative backlog, also referred to as the processing backlog (Vaughan, 2015). The administrative backlog is given to visa applicants due to the lack of resources that are available from Congress to the specific agency handling the visa processing (Vaughan, 2015). Therefore, USCIS is not able to effectively manage the large volume of visa applications that comes in each year. These applicants are put in queue until resources are made available. The administrative backlogs could easily be eliminated if the United States government would provide adequate resources to those agencies. The second, and more grave backlog is the shortage of visa backlog. The shortage of visa backlog begins with the annual number of visas available to be distributed each year. Due to the current visa demand being higher than the 480,000 visas available to be issued each year pursuant to 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1151 (2009), family-sponsored visa applicants get placed in the backlog and have the possibility of waiting as long as twenty years or more for their visa to be issued. Congress passing a comprehensive immigration reform that will meet the current visa demands and cut down on the current backlog, is the only solution. INA does not specifically state that immigrants who have visa applications pending cannot visit the United States to visit, however, in order to do so, they would have to qualify for a non-immigrant or employment visa (Cruz, 2010). Both these visas require the immigrant to state that they have no immigrant intent. If the immigrants fail to disclose their pending immigrant visa, they will risk being denied into the United States. Thus, if immigrants are waiting for their visa to be issued in their country of origin, they typically they are not allowed to visit their family in the United States until they become a legal permanent resident.   A lot can happen while an immigrant waits in the backlog for their visa to be approved. If they want to reunite with their family sooner, they may enter the United States illegally. They also may choose to get married, and then a putting them in an even longer backlog (Cruz, 2010). Moreover, the petitioning relative or the immigrant could die before the visa was issued. Current United States immigration laws do not account for these circumstances. Alejandro Bojorquez was put in the endless shortage of visa backlog when he was only 14 years old. At that time, his father was a legal permanent resident. As a permanent resident, his father petitioned for Alejandro and his mother to gain lawful entry to the United States through a family-sponsored visa petition on January 8, 1998 (priority date) (Gonzalez, 2013). Nevertheless, Alejandro’s backlog increased when he attained the age of 21, as the United States government automatically moved him to the F2B category for unmarried adult children 21 years and older, and that line was much longer. In January of 2013, Alejandro’s father became a naturalized United States citizen, and Alejandro was again moved into another family preference category. This time, Alejandro was moved into the F1 category for unmarried adult children 21 years and older of United States Citizens. Currently, for the FL preference category, the National Visa Center is processing priority dates of June 15, 1995 (U.S. Department of State, 2017). Reform of current immigration laws is needed to eliminate loopholes like described above that keep family members apart for more time than initially required. Clearly, the timely family reunification process is not working well for U.S. Citizens or legal permanent residents and their immediate family members. Currently, there are 423,373 adult children over the age of 21 still waiting in line for their visa and the priority date to come (U.S. Department of State, 2016).  Forcing families to be separated from each other for many years, while trying to gain lawful status in the United States, puts major emotional and financial strain on them. Many immigrants find themselves facing either family reunification or keeping the life that they have set up in the United States.     Immigration Reform Immigrants come to the United States for the promise of freedom and the many opportunities the United States has to give. However, current immigration laws keep families separated and the incoherent laws make it hard for immigrants to attain a visa. Current immigration regulations and statutes in the United States need to be reformed on both the federal level and the state level. The United States needs a comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants already residing in the country. There are social consequences for immigrant families who are waiting in the backlog for their visa to become available. The undetermined time an immigrant family has to wait for their visa disrupts family relationships. This is due to spouses and children residing in their country of origin for an uncertain period of time. Children who are waiting for their family sponsored visa are often staying with grandparents and develop a sense of abandonment, which results in destructive behaviors (Cruz, 2010). The immigrant’s opportunity to develop language, cultural, and economical ties to the United States are also delayed due to the undetermined wait for a visa to be issued. Therefore, many immigrants waiting in the backlog immigrate to the United States illegally to ease these social consequences. More than 6,000 immigrant children are arrested at the Mexican/United States border each year while attempting to reunite with their parents in the United States (Cruz, 2010).  Comprehensive immigration reform will eliminate the social consequences of the family visa backlog.  Currently there are 11 million undocumented immigrants residing in the United States (Cohn &Passel, 2016). Legalizing these undocumented immigrants would boost the economy and the federal and state tax revenue. In 2010, the United States collected 11.2 billion dollars of tax revenue from undocumented immigrants. This tax revenue is beneficial to both the federal government and individual states.  A comprehensive immigration reform that would legalize the current undocumented immigrants would benefit the United States economy and American workers. Employers need to have a legalized workforce. Business owners from farm workers to hotel workers have worker lacking immigration status. A compressive immigration reform would put all workers, Americans and immigrants, on a level playing field which would result in increased wages. Higher wages would mean more consumers spending, and a huge benefit for the United States economy. The federal government would accrue $4.5 billion to $5.4 billion in additional net tax revenue in three years if the 11 million undocumented immigrants were legalized (Hinojosa-Ojeda, 2010).      Immigration reform would keep families together. According to a 2011 study, more than 5,100 children were in foster care because their parents were undocumented and had either been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or deported (Cortez-Neavel, 2016).  ICE completed their own assessment in the years 2010 to 2012, which they recorded removing 204,810 parents of U.S. citizen children under the age of 18 (Cortez-Neavel, 2016). Removing undocumented immigrants with United States citizen children only leaves more family on welfare.    The Trump administration plans to deport between two and three million undocumented workers (Cortez-Neavel, 2016).  If President Trumps words hold true, the children of the undocumented immigrants being deported will either go to a relative, if one was available, or be placed in foster care.  Comprehensive immigration reform that includes legalizing the undocumented immigrants is the only way to keep families together and these children out of foster care and off welfare. Reforming of current immigration laws will also create more jobs. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), one out of every ten immigrants owns a business and 620 out of 100,000 immigrants start a business each month (Fairlie, 2012). This means that immigrants being admitted into the United States will be employing workers, paying taxes and contributing to the economy. These immigrants will become strong members of a community and their societies.   A comprehensive immigration reform that encourages more high-skilled workers to be admitted to the United States will strengthen the economy, innovate and provide workforce stability throughout the country. Opposition of Immigration Reform From research, it appears that some Americans seem to not favor the idea of comprehensive immigration reform. Many individuals who oppose immigration reform believe that all of the immigrants who are undocumented can simply go back to their country and get in line for a green card (Nowrasteh, 2016). It is just not that easy. For most of the undocumented immigrants in the United States, there is no line available to them as they do not have a family member in the United States who can petition for their legal entry. Since there is no current amnesty in the United States and IIRIRA dismantled the grandfathered adjustment of status, undocumented immigrants either have the choice to stay in the United States and fear deportation, or go to a country that many do not even know.  The cost of immigration reform is a major concern of congress. In 2013, the Heritage Foundation stated that immigration reform was estimated to cost the United States 6.3 billion dollars from start to finish (Harris, 2013). The 6.3 billion dollars represents the total cost of immigration reform, which includes; revising the family visa process, border security, and creating a pathway for citizenship for the current undocumented workers in the United States (Harris, 2013). However, that number does not even include the Trump Administrations proposed border wall. The Department of Homeland Security estimated that the proposed border wall would cost the United States 21.6 billion dollars (Ainsley, 2017). Congress needs to take into consideration the broad range of areas that the estimated cost of reform covers when determining if it costs too much.    What the estimated cost of reform fails to represent is what comprehensive immigration reform will do for the United States. Due to the current broken family visa process, there are consequences which arise from the inability of families being able to reunite in a timely manner. A comprehensive reform of current immigration laws will allow for many families to be put back together. Families lean on each other in time of need. They help each other raise the children, and help with the daily finances. When a family is waiting for one of their family members to be provided with their visa, they often have to apply for state aid as they cannot afford food, childcare, housing, and their everyday bills (Vaughan, 2015). Eliminating the backlog will get families off of welfare. The Trump Administration has categorized undocumented immigrants as a threat to the American workers. President Trump claims to be on the side of American workers and he vows to deport the undocumented workers that are taking jobs away from the white working class. This argument resonates well with the white working class supporters who are struggling with poor jobs, low wages and unemployment. However, deportation of these immigrants is not the answer for the following reasons. First, there is not any documented proof that undocumented immigrants are taking the jobs of the white working class. Undocumented immigrants rarely compete for employment against an American worker, immigrants compete against other immigrants (Nowrasteh, 2016).    Second, six states that account for 40 percent of the goods and services produced in the United States have the largest amount of undocumented workers, as undocumented workers often work as farm help, which is low wage employment (Nowrasteh, 2016). If President Trump does as he has promised, there will be a shortage of farm workers and the employers will have to offer higher pay to get new employees. The higher pay will be passed to consumers at the super market.    Those that oppose immigration reform believe that the United States needs tighter border security. The Department of Homeland Security and Congress should tackle the problems at the border and they should provide Border Patrol with the means to protect the United States border adequately. The Trump administration has signed executive orders directing federal agencies to being constructing a wall on the U.S./Mexico border and he has directed the Department of Homeland Security and local law enforcement to enforce the laws of the United States strongly. President Trumps words were hostile and all they did was seclude immigrant communities and families. The immigrants will go back to the shadows and again fear the police. The will not assimilate into American culture any longer as there will be no incentive Nowrasteh, 2016). Those that oppose immigration reform believe that granting amnesty to the 11 million undocumented immigrants will create and encourage more illegal immigration to the United States. This view is not true. Actually, recent numbers show that the number of immigrants crossing the border illegally has decreased (Cohn & Passel, 2016). Therefore, granting amnesty to the undocumented immigrants who currently have their life and family in the United States will in fact deter future illegal immigration and keep families together. Amnesty is admission of that the immigration laws of the past are not working and they need to be reformed. Importance of Immigration Reform to the Researcher Reforming the immigration process is important to the researcher due to the fact the researcher has been through the family visa process, stuck in the backlog, and the researcher has saw firsthand the effects current immigration laws have on families. In 2010, the researcher was separated from her spouse for a period of 11 months waiting for her husband’s visa to be approved. The researcher initially had to file a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative and Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status for her spouse, and because the researcher’s spouse was brought the United States as a teenager, her spouse needed to go to his country of origin, Mexico, to complete the visa process at the United States Consulate in Ciudad Juarez. The researcher’s husband accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence. While crossing the United States/Mexico border to go to his scheduled visa appointment in Ciudad Juarez, the researcher’s husband immediately triggered a ten-year ban created by IIRARA 96. The ten-year ban was able to be removed by filing a I-601a, provisional unlawful presence waiver. The researcher had to prove the hardship that she would face if she would have to live separate from her husband for ten years. The process was a difficult one for the researcher, as she was not able to utilize legal counsel and prepared all the documents alone.  When filing the I-601a, the United States Consulate in Ciudad Juarez immediately backlogged the petition for lack of extreme hardship.   The researcher knows firsthand how difficult the current immigration laws are on both immigrants and United States citizens as she has gone through them. Though there have been some decent changes to the immigration laws that directly affected the researcher and her family in 2010, a comprehensive immigration reform that eliminates that backlog and revises the family-sponsored visa process is still important to keep families together. Congress needs to reform the family immigration process to being eliminating the backlog of other family preference categories besides the immediate relative category. Children over 21 of U.S. Citizen or legal permanent residents are just important. Importance of Immigration Reform to the Legal Profession There is no question that immigration reform is important to the legal profession. With immigration reform, there will be improvements to our laws. Prior to the 20th century, there was not much need to immigration counsel. However, when the federal government of the United States began enacting immigration laws and restrictions immigration lawyers evolved.   With the constantly changing laws, nearly all immigrants will need to use an immigration attorney to assist them with the increasing amount of new restrictions that affect immigration law.  Without adequate counsel, the United States fundamental concepts that revolve around fairness and equality become damaged. According to 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1362 (2016). – Right to counsel, Immigrants are able to secure legal counsel in immigration proceedings, but â€Å"at no expense to the Government.†  It is vital for immigrants to have quality representation, as the type of representation an immigrant often has determines whether the immigrant will be able to be reunited with their family in a timely manner, given an employment visa, or is granted asylum.  Immigrants often are not fluent in the English language. In order for immigrants to not be at a disadvantage in their immigration proceeding, it is necessary to have adequate counsel.  The United States is a nation of immigrants, however, since 9/11, immigration laws and immigration reform has become a heated political issue, mostly due to fear. Current administration in the United States has been trying to reverse many of the immigration laws that allow refuges into the United States (The White House, 2017). Doing this has incited racism and fear throughout the United States. The Trump administration has tried to place bans on certain immigrant nationalities, predominantly Muslim countries, from entering the United States (The White House, 2017). This ban presented legal challenges, as the United States government cannot act arbitrarily with having supportive evidence to back up their reasoning. Immigration reform is needed to amend immigration laws to prohibit the seclusion of certain immigrants from the United States.          Conclusion For Alejandro Bojorquez, waiting for his visa priority date to be available has been long and difficult process. Alejandro has been waiting in the backlog because the current immigration laws only provide a certain amount of visas to be allocated to each country. The majority of the yearly visas allocated to family-sponsored immigrants go to spouses, minor children, and parents of United States citizens (immediate relatives), followed by spouses and children of legal permanent residents.  He has been waiting since he was 14 years old to be reunited with his parents. Alejandro is like millions of other family-sponsored visas applicants whose priority date keeps getting pushed back due to the increased amount of family visas that are currently being applied for. The hardship of separation is tough and he awaits the day he gets a call from his dad and he says â€Å"yeah, you made it†(Gonzalez, 2013). Alejandro Bojorquez is just one of the millions of examples of immigrants waiting to be reunited with their families. Current immigration laws in the United States need to be updated due to the fact that they are set up to do more harm than good. Congress needs to update the number of visas that allowed to be given each fiscal year, change the individuals that are considered to immediate relatives, and create a wait time that does not surpass five years. It is for these reasons that the only conclusion that can be reached is that Congress needs to reform the current immigration laws. If they do not, families are going to continue to be separated for many years.  Immigration reform is needed now. References 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1151 (West 2009). 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1152 (West 2000). 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1153 (West 2006). 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1154 (West 2014). 8 U.S.C.A  § 1182 (West 2013). 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1255(a) (West 2016). 8 U.S.C.A.  § 1362 (West 2016).  ACLU. (2017). PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF HB 56 â€Å"Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act†. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/other/analysis-hb-56-alabama-taxpayer-and-citizen-protection-act Ainsley, J. (2017). Trump administration has found only $20 million in existing funds for wall. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-funds-idUSKBN1685SY American Immigration Counsel. (2016). How the United States Immigration System Works. Retrieved from https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/how-united-states-immigration-system-works Baxter, T. (2012). Alabama’s Immigration Disaster. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2012/02/15/11117/alabamas-immigration-disaster/ Bolvito v. Mukasey, 527 F.3d 428 (5th Cir. 2008). Cohn, D. and Passel, J. (2016). Overall Number of U.S. Unauthorized Immigrants Holds Steady Since 2009. Retrieved from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/09/20/overall-number-of-u-s-unauthorized-immigrants-holds-steady-since-2009/ Cortex-Neavel, B. (2016). Left Behind: Trump’s Immigration Plans Could Spur Uptick in Foster Care Numbers. Retrieved from https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/left-behind-trumps-immigration-plans-could-increase-children-of-deported-immigrants-in-foster-care/23525 Cruz, E. H. (2010). Because youre mine, I walk the line: The trials and tribulations of the family visa program. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 38(1), 155-181.  Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.lib.kaplan.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=08c1257b-3ff8-4109-a355-8e1014a13e49%40sessionmgr4009&vid=2&hid=4211 Department of Homeland Security. (2017). The U.S. Immigration System by the Numbers: 2015 Lawful Permanent Residents. Retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/visualization/2015 Expansion of Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers of Inadmissibility. 81 Fed. Reg. 50244-01. (July 29, 2016). (to be codified at 8 C.F.R. Pts. 103, & 212) Fairlie, R. (2012). Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners, and their Access to Financial Capital. Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/rs396.pdf Gonzalez, D. (2013). Millions of immigrants waiting for green cards. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/23/millions-of-immigrants-waiting-for-green-cards/2450461/ Guendelsberger, J. (1988). Implementing Family Unification Rights in American Immigration Law: Proposed Amendments. San Diego Law Review., (2), 253.  Retrieved from http://heinonline.org.lib.kaplan.edu/HOL/Page?public=false&handle=hein.journals/sanlr25&page=253&collection=journals Hinojosa-Ojeda, R. (2010). Raising the Floor for American Workers. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2010/01/07/7187/raising-the-floor-for-american-workers/ Khan, N. (2015). Five years after SB 1070, Arizona Immigrants Defy Climate of Intimidation. Retrieved from http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/3/23/five-years-after-sb-1070-arizona-immigrants-defy-law.html Morse, A. (2011). Arizona’s Immigration Enforcement Laws. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/immigration/analysis-of-arizonas-immigration-law.aspx Nowrasteh, A. (2016). 15 Common Arguments against Immigration, Addressed. Retrieved from https://fee.org/articles/15-common-arguments-against-immigration-addressed/ The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. (2017). Executive Order: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States [ Press release]. Retrieved form https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/27/executive-order-protecting-nation-foreign-terrorist-entry-united-states U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (1996).  Pub. L. 104-208 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Retrieved from https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/ocomm/ilink/0-0-0-10948.html U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2012). Overview of INS History. Retrieved from https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/History%20and%20Genealogy/Our%20History/INS%20History/INSHistory.pdf U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2015). Visa Availability and Priority Dates. Retrieved from https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/visa-availability-and-priority-dates#Finding U.S. Department of State. (2016). Annual report of immigrant visa applicants in the family-sponsored and employment-based preferences registered at the National Visa Center. Retrieved from https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Immigrant-Statistics/WaitingListItem.pdf U.S. Department of State. (2017). Visa Bulletin for April 2017. Retrieved from https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin/2017/visa-bulletin-for-april-2017.html Vaughan, J. (2015). Waiting List for Legal Immigrant Visas Keeps Growing. Retrieved from http://cis.org/vaughan/waiting-list-legal-immigrant-visas-keeps-growing
Psychological Changes in Adolescence
Psychological Changes in Adolescence Adolescence is a term usually used to describe transitional period or a passage from childhood to adulthood and in todays context seem to be distinguished by 2 distinct stages: the puberty and transition to adulthood. Todays adolescence seem to be particularly vulnerable because, in addition to physical and psychological changes that an individual goes through, young people are subjected to rapid changes in society and multicultural influences; not the least because of advancement in technology, demography and demands of both, the knowledge and achievement. This is particularly relevant to more advanced, western societies. An early thought in psychoanalysis led by Miller 1950 (cited in Briggs 2008) suggested that adolescence is the age between characterised by puberty (physical changes), mid adolescence (short period of opposition to authority) and late adolescence (leaving the school and becoming an adult). However, the changes occurred post that period exposed a gap in experiences, raising a need for further exploration. These influential changes are reflected in the finding that late adolescence and the transition to adulthood extended considerably in regards to previous assumptions (Briggs 2008). Todays view contradicts that of Miller and alike in understanding that adolescence stretches into mid to late twenties as opposed to teenage years. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that those who accomplish the transition early, at the end of teenage years, may be disadvantaged and at increased risk of social exclusion (Briggs 2008). On the other hand, the onset of puberty itself has changed little for the last fifty years. Contemporary understanding of adolescence also raises the issue of its complexity, sparking the wide debate on accurateness of its earlier description, deepened further by discussion whether there is a need for early intervention. This latter debate divided the community of professionals into two major groups: interventionists and non-interventionists. The interventionists argue that the adolescence is the time of great uncertainty and changes making this group particularly vulnerable; if left unattended, it could influence development itself, educational achievement and the difficulties could persist into the adulthood. The support for interventionists view comes from recent studies that show that most of disorders found in adults, begun in adolescence between the ages of 12 and 24, even though they may not be noticed until the adulthood (Briggs 2008). On the other side we have non-interventionists who believe that the time of stress and turmoil would pass with time and intervention is unnecessary (Briggs 2008). However, there seem to be general consensus within the psychoanalytic world that the adolescents are vulnerable and exposed to risks of anti-social behaviour, a high risk of offending, substance misuse, eating disorders, depression, suicide and inappropriate sexual behaviour. Although these risk factors are present even within the normal development in adolescence for the minority of adolescents, if untreated, it can persist into adulthood. In adolescence, the changes in physique are also accompanied by increased societal demands for conformity, change of school, increased academic demand and so on; therefore this is the period of uncertainty and anxiety. While the majority of adolescents navigate through these changes successfully, for significant minority this period is turbulent and stressful. Individual differences in terms of inner resources to deal with these transitional issues lie within the relationship with adults. These relationships are rooted in the early childhood and could act as determinants of successful or unsuccessful transition. From psychoanalytic point of view, adolescence is the time of powerful changes not only physically, but accompanied by surge of instincts and urges demanding powerful control. In order to examine these inner processes of change we will look into adolescence through two distinct phases: the puberty and the transition to adulthood. The puberty is characterised by changes in physical development and growth spurt. Growth spur describes faster growth rate in weight and height, where girls are noted to enter the growth spur around the age of 10, typically reaching its peak at the age of 12, and more steady growth rate at the age of 13. On the other hand, boys begin the growth spur at around the age of 13 and peak at the age of 14, achieving more stabilized growth rate at the age of 16. In addition to becoming taller and heavier, both sexes assume adult like appearance, with girls growing breasts, widening of hips and for boys broadening of shoulders. Facial features also change in such way that the forehead protrudes while the jaw and the nose become more prominent (Shaffer, Kipp 2006). The puberty is also characterised by sexual maturation, which is quite different in boys and girls. With girls, sexual maturation starts somewhat earlier (before the age of 10) with formation of breast buds, followed by the appearance of pubic hair. With entering the growth spur, the breasts grow faster and sexual organs (vagina and uterus) begin to mature taking adult like forms in its readiness for future motherhood. At around age 12 the girl enters menarche, the time of the first menstruation (Shaffer, Kipp 2006). For boys, sexual maturation starts later at around age of 11 with an enlargement of testes, followed by appearance of pubic hair and penis enlargement. At around age of 13 the production of spermatozoa occurs and ejaculation follows. By the age of 15 most boys would have achieved sexual maturity, rendering them capable of becoming fathers. Somewhat later, facial hair grows and voice changes (Shaffer 2006). It is important to mention that although literature describing puberty varies, in terms of onset, there seem to be general consensus that the earlier growth spur occurs the more dramatic changes become. This seems to be applicable to both sexes. Adolescent physical development is accompanied by many psychological changes. Some of the more obvious psychological changes in adolescence are reflected in growing concern for physical appearance. Girls in particular become more concern with looking pretty and how other people would respond to them, with a hope that they would be seen as attractive. Girls that develop at different pace to the perceived norm are prone to internalising a negative body image. Their reaction to menarche is mixed; they are often excited and confused, especially if they were not told what to expect. On the other hand boys are more likely to welcome body weight in hope that they would become tall, hairy and handsome. What they have in common is preoccupation with physical appearance and mixed feelings about sexual maturity ( Shaffer, Kipp 2006). The sexual maturation and adult like appearance are accompanied by eruption of infantile feelings and a crisis of separating from childhood ways of relating to parents (Blos 1967 cited in Briggs 2008). The prospect of possible parenthood causes identification with the same sex parent, the process called oedipal stage. Sexual urges and passions are revived and the desire for the affection of the opposite sex parent results in unconscious competition for that affection. These urges were present in infancy, however, now they are accompanied by the real possibility of achievement, thus becoming a conflict and destabilising (Briggs 2008). These re-emerging passions and urges demand reconsideration of the relationship with parents and a new dimension of these relationships. Psychoanalytic perspective explain these changes as both, liberating and frightening experience, opening doors to vulnerability and anxiety and developing sense of power. It is also, according to psychoanalytic view, accompanied by identification, separation and loss of childhood relationships (Briggs 2008). These new states of anxiety, vulnerability and power are significant in adolescent development and require particular attention. From the psychoanalytic perspective the adolescence is turbulent because of these new states, which greatly contradicts more common psychological and social perspective that emphasises smooth process of adolescence (Briggs 2008). It is suggested that these turbulent aspects are forgotten and disowned and then projected onto adolescents by adults who do not wish to remind selves on the turbulence once they encountered (Briggs 2008). It is also suggested that the period of adolescence is often idealised or alternatively projected as miserable. Jacobs (1990 cited in Briggs 2008) explains this split as two different stages of adolescence where early adolescence is characterised by misery and turbulence, while the late adolescence is marked by the sense of accomplishments and smooth transition. Briggs demonstrated this idea through the case of Maria, 21 year old self-referred patient. While Maria passed through the teenage years without much of a struggle and in concordance with her parents, at the age of 21, when she achieved financial independence and established professional life, Maria seemed uncertain of her identity, questioning her capacity to be independent in expressing her own opinion. In addition to these observations, it is important not to overlook other influences on the development of adolescence, such as changes that occur in the brain. The understanding of adolescent development has altered taking into consideration of deeper knowledge of neurological changes that take place during this time. According to neuroscience, some of the adolescent behaviour may have its roots in neurological causes. The findings suggest that cognitive abilities needed for mature behaviour are underdeveloped in adolescence. The changes that occur in the brain during the adolescence have effect on regulation, learning and memory. Stressful experiences may have adverse outcomes on brain development, increasing susceptibility to psychopathologies. Advocating enhancement of social and learning environment, the neuroscience suggests that the adverse outcomes could be significantly reduced, even reversed (Briggs 2008). In summary, the biological perspective deepens our understanding of adolescence in a way that indicates the greater need for an integrated approach linking internal, biological, psychological and environmental aspects of adolescent experience. (Briggs 2008). This is to say that the development of the brain increases ability to control behaviour but, the successful execution of that control needs to be facilitated by environmental factors such as stable and supportive relationship with parents. If the environment is filled with adversities, the stress of adolescence could become pathological and in need of an intervention. So far we have discussed biological perspective in conjunction with psychoanalytic view, however it was emphasised that social factors could benefit or damage the normal development of adolescence. This concept of influence of the social context on adolescence is called psychosocial perspective. Some societies mark adolescence with the rite of passage, in western societies this rite of passage does not seem to be either marked or acknowledged. Besides, with extended adolescence the psycho-social context becomes ever more complex. In todays society there is disparage between biological and psychological maturation and transition to adulthood. Patton and Viner ( 2007 cited in Briggs 2008) found this disparage particularly present in the developed world of western societies stating: the development of reproductive capacity and sexual activity precede role transition into parenthood and marriage by more than a decade (p11). This disparage is significant in the way that increases risk and vulnerability of adolescents. In helping a better understanding of this disparage, psychoanalysis relies on the theory of psychosocial development by Erikson. Erikson provided and extension to original model of 5 stages of development described by Freud in a way that accommodated this latency in adolescence by introducing a concept of psychosocial moratorium. The focal point for Erikson is adolescence and the creation of personal identity. The crisis arising during this phase is identity versus role confusion (Papalia and Wendoks-Okds, 1978; Cardwell, Clark, and Meldrum 2004). He argued that adolescents are going through many physical, cognitive, and social changes, associated with puberty, and often become confused undermining their self- esteem .This in turn can lead to a psychosocial moratorium, a temporary suspension of activity. According to this theory, the most important task for adolescents involves achieving a conscious sense of individual uniqueness. This means to discover who am I?, and in doing so ado lescents must make some occupational choices or they will remain confused about the roles they should play as adults (Gross 2005; Papalia and Wendoks-Okds, 1978; Shaffer and Kipp 2006). Erikson goes one-step further to identify four kinds of behaviour linked to identity confusion: Negative Identity (which relates to criminal and anti social behaviour as a sense of control and independence from others); Intimacy (which refers to avoidance from fear of losing own fragile sense of identity, often resulting in isolation); The Perspective (which relates to avoidance of planning the future because, doing so means thinking about ramifications of adulthood and evoking anxiety) and Industry (which relates to difficulty in striking a balance, thus results in inability to concentrate) (Cardwell, Clark and Meldrum 2004). The premise for the reformatting was that adolescents identity creation involves crisis and commitment; Crisis occurs through having to re-evaluate previous choices and values, while commitment occurs when the individual takes on a set of roles and beliefs (Cardwell, Clark, and Meldrum 2004) The moratorium could create additional tension and inner conflict which in turn are met by either by repression or foreclosure . Repression simply is the unwilling yet continued deferment that simply creates more anxiety. Anxiety can turn into development of antisocial behaviour, delinquency, inappropriate sexual behaviour or more severe self-destructive behaviour (e.g suicide, self-harm). Under such a challenge, the experience is one of a split of self images, a loss of center, and a dispersion (Erikson, 1968). These symptoms and the experience of the self as disrupted have been described as the dark and negative side of identity formation, and they are viewed as vital to the identity process (Erikson, 1975). Up until this fifth stage, development depends on what is done to a person. At this point, development now depends primarily upon what a person does. An adolescent must struggle to discover and find his or her own identity, while negotiating and struggling with social interactions and fitting in, and developing a sense of morality and right from wrong. Some attempt to delay entrance to adulthood and withdraw from responsibilities (moratorium). Those unsuccessful with this stage tend to experience role confusion and upheaval. Adolescents begin to develop a strong affiliation and devotion to ideals, causes, and friends. Description: At this stage, adolescents are in search of an identity that will lead themto adulthood. Adolescents make a strong effort to answer the question Whoam I? Erikson notes the healthy resolution of earlier conflicts can nowserve as a foundation for the search for an identity. If the child overcomesearlier conflicts they are prepared to search for identity. Did they develop thebasic sense of trust? Do they have a strong sense of industry to believe inthemselves? Elements for a positive outcome: The adolescent must make a conscious search for identity. This is built onthe outcome and resolution to conflict in earlier stages. Elements for a negative outcome: If the adolescent can not make deliberate decisions and choices, especiallyabout vocation, sexual orientation, and life in general, role confusion becomesa threat. Examples: Adolescents attempt to establish their own identities and see themselves asseparate from their parents. Age: Adolescence 12 to 18 years Conflict: Identity vs. Role Confusion Important Event: Peer relationships The most important question asked at this stage is who am I? The major event at this stage is peer relationships. This encompasses the middle school, high school, and even college years where one is trying to figure out where there niche is. What type of person are they? Even though their parents believe in abortionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦do they? What do they want as a career? Do they believe in Godà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦do they want to use that to attach labels to themselves as religious or atheist? Erik Erikson was one of these outcasts. He agreed with Freud that development proceeds through a series of critical stages. But he believed the stages were psychosocial, not psychosexual. Erikson also argued that lifes developmental stages encompass the whole life span According to Erikson, a crisis is equivalent to a turning point in life, where there is the opportunity to progress or regress. At these turning points, a person can either resolve conflicts or fail to adequately resolve the developmental task. Delving further into these differences, Erikson contended that each stage of life has its own psychosocial task. Young children wrestle with issues of trust, then autonomy, then initiative. School-age children develop competence, the sense that they are able and productive human beings. In adolescence, the task is to synthesize past, present, and future possibilities into a clearer sense of self. Adolescents wonder: Who am I as an individual? What do I want to do with my life? What values should I live by? What do I believe in? Erikson calls this quest to more deeply define a sense of self the adolescents search for identity. To refine their sense of identity, adolescents usually try out different selves in different situations perhaps acting out one self at home, another with friends and still another at school and work. If two of these situations overlap like when a teenager brings a friend home from school the discomfort can be considerable. The teen may ask, Which self is the real me? Which self should I be? Often, this role confusion gets resolved by the gradual reshaping of a self-definition that unifies the various selves into a consistent and comfortable sense of who one is an identity. But not always, Erikson believes that some adolescents forge their identity early, simply by taking on their parents values and expectations. Others may adopt a negative identity that defines itself in opposition to parents and society but in conformity with a particular peer group, complete perhaps with the shaved head or multi-colored coif. Still others never quite seem to find themselves or to develop strong commitments. For most, the struggle for identity continues past the teen years and reappears at turning points during adult life. During the first social stage, trust versus mistrust, an infants basic task is to develop a sense of trust in self, others, and the world. The infant needs to count on others and develop a sense of acceptance and security. This sense of trust is learned by being caressed and cared for. From Eriksons viewpoint, if the significant others in an infants life provide the necessary love, the infant develops a sense of trust. When love is absent, the result is a general sense of mistrust in others. Clearly, infants who feel accepted are in a more favorable position to successfully meet future developmental crises than are those who do not receive adequate nurturing. However, Erikson postulates that since development is a ongoing lifelong process, personality is not fixed at any given time. Events, circumstances, and social relationships are dynamic and changing. Thus, even a child who emerged from the first stage of life with a strong sense of trust may become mistrustful and cynical if bet rayed in later social relationships. Hence, personality is not viewed as fixed by the fifth year of life, as Freud believed, but remains fluid throughout the life span. Between the ages of one and three (Freuds anal stage), children are developing a growing sense of control over their lives. They can now walk, run, climb, and get into all sorts of mischief. A sense of autonomy develops as they learn new skills and achieve a feeling of control over their environment. Thus Eriksons titles this stage Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt. During this period, some parents, out of concern or impatience with their childrens progress may intervene and do things that the children should be doing by themselves. Other parents may demand a level of competence of which their children are not yet physically and/or emotionally capable. In either case, these children begin to doubt their own abilities and feel ashamed when they fail to live up to parental expectations. Children who fail to master the tasks of establishing some control over themselves and coping with the world around them develop a sense of shame and feelings of doubt about their capabilities During the next stage, Initiative versus Guilt, which takes place during the preschool years (ages 4 to 6 Freuds phallic stage), children seek to find out how much they can do. According to Erikson, the basic task of preschool years is to establish a sense of competence and initiative. Preschool children begin to initiate many of their own activities as they become physically and psychologically ready to engage in pursuits of their own choosing. If they are allowed realistic freedom to choose their own activities and make some of their own decisions, they tend to develop a positive orientation characterized by confidence to initiate actions and follow through on them. On the other hand, if they are unduly restricted, or if their choices are ridiculed, they tend to experience a sense of guilt and ultimately withdraw from taking an active and initiating stance. By the age of six, the child should enter elementary school. It is during this age that the stage of Industry versus Inferiority occurs. During the ensuing five years, the most important events in the childs life revolve around setting and accomplishing goals related to school situations. When children are successful in mastering the many behaviors expected of them during these years, they develop feelings of competency and a sense of industry. They may express such feelings as: I can do anything if I just work hard enough. Children who encounter failure during the early grades may experience severe handicaps later on. A child with learning problems may begin to feel like a worthless person. Such feelings may drastically affect his or her relationships with peers, which are also vital at this time. During the adolescent years, teens experience Identity versus Role Confusion. Typically, adolescents feel they are on center stage and everyone is looking at them. They are often highly critical of themselves and feel that others are equally critical. Their thoughts often turn inward. They look at themselves and question whether or not they measure up to their peers. They also begin thinking about lifelong goals and careers, wondering whether they will make it in the world of the adult. Their ruthless self-appraisal is often beneficial. It results in the development of values, social attitudes, and standards. This inward focus appears to be necessary for the development of a firm sense of self and of broader roles in the social order. During the stage of Intimacy versus Isolation, adolescence is now behind the individual and the early adult years loom ahead. Energies are focused on building careers, establishing lasting social ties, and achieving then maintaining intimate relationships. Marriage or cohabitation creates new demands on the individual sharing, compromising, and relinquishing social mobility to some degree. Also, many young adults begin having children and raising families. Those who were unsuccessful in resolving their identity crises may find themselves isolated from mainstream society and unable to maintain healthy intimate relationships. It basically identifies the developmental interaction between maturational advances and the social expectations made upon the child Ego identity is never established as an achievement,' as something static or unchangeable, but is a forever to-be-revised sense of reality of the Self within social reality (Erikson, 1968: 24, 211). Although the identity crisis is most pronounced during adolescence and gives that age its stage name, identity issues remain a lifelong concern. A redefinition of ones ego-identity emerges quite commonly when major role changes occur, such as when college freshmen leave home and have to make their own decisions, often for the first time. Other issues that tend to renew identity concerns are: ones first job, marriage, parenthood, the death of ones parents, divorce, unemployment, serious illness, widowhood, and retirement. The ability to cope with these later identity issues that result from major changes in ones role in life may well depend on the degree of success with which one bas mastered the adolescent identity crisis. Adolescence bas been characterized by Erikson (1950) as the period in the human life cycle during which the individual must establish a sense of personal identity and avoid the dangers of rote diffusion and identity confusion. Identity achievement t implies that the individual assesses strengths and weaknesses and determines how he or she wants to deal with them. The adolescent must find an answer to the identity questions: Where did 1 come from? Who am I? What do 1 want to become?Identity, or a sense of sameness and continuity, must be searched for. Identity is not readily given to the individual by society, nor does it appear as a maturational phenomenon when the time comes, as do secondary sex characteristics. Identity must be acquired through sustained individual effort. Unwillingness to work actively on ones identity formation carries with it the danger of role diffusion, which may result in alienation and a sense of isolation and confusion. The search for an identity involves the establishment of a meaningfu1 self-concept in which past, present, and future are brought together to form a unified whole. Consequently, the task is more difficult in a historical period in which the anchorage of family and community tradition bas been lost and the future is unpredictable. ln a period of rapid social change, the aIder generation is no longer able to provide adequate role models for the younger generation. Mead (1970) describes in detail the changing relationship of adolescents to parents as societies move from post- to co- and pre figurative cultures (see Chapter 6). Keniston (1965) bas even suggested that in a rapidly changing society, the search for an identity is replacing the socialization process, since the latter implies that there actually exist stable, uniform, socially defined scales and values into which the adolescent can be guided. The aider generation no longer provides effective role models to the younger generation in the process of searching for a personal identity. If the elders do provide them, adolescents may either reject them as personally inappropriate, or follow them-in what will later be discussed as a foreclosed fashion-that is, seeking to fulfil their parents aspirations for them, without appreciating the search for an identity as a personal opportunity. Thus, the importance of the peer group in helping the individual to answer the identity question, Who am I? cannot be emphasized enough. The answer to this question depends on social feedback from others who provide the adolescent with their perception and their evaluation of him or ber. Identity is based on psychosocial reciprocity. Therefore, adolescents are sometimes morbidly, often curiously, preoccupied with what they appear to be in the eyes of others as compared with what they feel they are and with the question of how to connect to earl ier cultivated cales and skills with the ideal prototype of the clay (Erikson, 1959: 89). Adolescents preoccupation with the thinking of others is the basis of Elkinds (1967) theory of egocentrism. Since an identity can be found only in interaction with significant others, a process Erikson refers to as psychosocial reciprocity, the adolescent often goes through a period of a great need for peer group recognition and almost compulsive peer group involvement. Conforming to the expectations of peers helps adolescents find out how certain cales fit them, but peer group conformity can also createa new kind of dependencys, o that the individual accepts the values of others tao easily without really addressing the identity issue ofhow weIl they do fit him or ber. The peer group, the clique, and the gang, even the lover, aid the individual in the search for a personal identity since they provide bath a cole model and very personal social feedback. The seemingly endless telephone conversations during adolescencea nd later, the bull sessioni n college, can serveg enuine psychological purposes by providing this kind of personal information. As long as the adolescent depends on role models and feedback, the in-group feeling that the peer group provides will remain quite strong. AIso, behaviors of conformity to the expectations of the peer group reflect the learned skill of not making oneself an easy target of catty remarks or to avoid being mock ed out. The ensuing clannishnessa and intolerance of differences-including petty aspects of language, gesture, hair style, and dress-are explained by Erikson as the necessacy defenses against the dangers of self-diffusion that remain prevalent as long as the identity bas not yet been achieved. Particularly during the time when the body image changes so rapidly, when genital maturation stimulates sexualf antasiesa, nd when intimacy with the opposite sexa ppearsa s a possibility with simultaneouslyp ositive and negative valencest,h e adolescent relies on peers for advice, comfort, companionship, and uses peers as a personal sounding board. Eventually, adolescents must free themselves from this new dependency on peers-which bas just replaced their dependency on parents-in order to find themselves, that is, to attain a mature identity. Such an identity, once found, gives the young adult a sense of knowing where one is going and an inner assuredness anticipated recognition from those who count (Erikson, 1959: 118). Pubescence, according to Erikson, is characterized by the rapidity of body growth, genital maturity, and sexual awareness. Because these changes are qualitatively quite different from those experienced during childhood, an element of discontinuity from previous development may emerge during early adolescence. youth is not only confronted with an internal physiological revolution that interferes with the easy establishment of a new body image, but also confronted with a psychological crisis that revolves around issues of identity and self-definition. Erikson maintains today that the study of identity bas become more important than was the study of sexuality in Freuds rime. For the searching adolescent, identity-the establishment and reestablishment of sameness with previous experiences and a conscious attempt to make the future a part of ones personal life plan-seems to be subordinated to sexuality. Adolescents must establish ego-identity and lea rn to accept body changes as well as new libidinal feelings. Identity exploration depends at least in part on these psycho physiological factors. I
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Advantage of Music Essay
Advantages of music Affecting the brain waves According to studies it has been proven that your brainwaves can get stimulated with strong beats. The stimulation takes place to resonate in sync with the beat. Sharp beats ensure sharp concentration and it can help you attain a meditative and calm state. Music and your heart rate: Due to alternations taking place in brainwaves, other bodily functions also get affected. Functions like heart rate and breathing that are controlled by the autonomic nervous system can be altered with music. Mozart effect The skills you learn through music get transferred to your communication skills, study skills and cognitive skills. According to a Harvard University study, the spatial-temporal reasoning gets enhanced when children start learning music. Such reasoning tends to improve in a temporary manner when an adult listens to a particular type of music. This study was named as the â€Å"Mozart effect†and it suggested that spatial reasoning and music have a neurological and psychological connection. Other Advantages Music therapy is an interpersonal process in which the therapist uses music and all of its facetsâ€â€physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritualâ€â€to help clients to improve or maintain their health. In some instances, the client’s needs are addressed directly through music; in others they are addressed through the relationships that develop between the client and therapist. Music therapy is used with individuals of all ages and with a variety of conditions, including: psychiatric disorders, medical problems, physical handicaps, sensory impairments, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, communication disorders, interpersonal problems, and aging. It is also used to: improve learning, build self-esteem, reduce stress, support physical exercise, and facilitate a host of other health-related activities. Music Genera A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Unbalanced work
The cause of the problem in my department is the unbalanced work load between two secretaries, Jack Snyder, who is providing support to two executive members, Ralph Alane & Jessica Hilo, and Ruth Disselkoen who is providing support to other two executive members, Samuel Daley & Frank Daley. During the long time medical leave of Jessica Hilo, 37% of the work load has been handled by a full time administrative assistant and Jack for the total 80 hours of the week, whereas 63% of the work load has been handled by a part time administrative assistant and Ruth for the total 55 hours of the week. This imbalance in work environment creates stress for Ruth who can’t perform her work perfect, at the same time, makes Jack lazy and irregular. Ruth can’t concentrate in her work even though she works for more hours and the executive members start complain. On the other hand, Jack has enough time to finish his work on time with quality without any stress. This may create friction in the department and so overall quality of the work will go down. In order to solve the issue and make the department efficient, I am very much convinced that an immediate action is required. I would like to discuss this issue with two secretaries. The aim would be to convince both of them that team work is more important than an individual responsibility. Since this is a new approach to handle the situation, initially, I will assign the work. The current practice of work assignment will be changed and the work will be considered as a department work rather than individual. The same will be conveyed to the executive members. This change will result in no overtime and improved work quality for sure.
Friday, January 10, 2020
History of Europe 1815-1914 Essay
Nationalism is a relatively recent phenomenon, considering the grand sweep of history. Although its roots can be found among the ancient Hebrews and Greeks, Niccolo Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, was the beginning of modern day nationalism, and was â€Å"important in the preparation of nationalism. †(Kohn, 1955, p. 9) Machiavelli believed that the state must be preserved and defended at any cost, and longed for Italian unification, which was to come centuries later. John Milton of 17th century Great Britain is considered to be the architect of modern day nationalism. Milton regarded nationalism as â€Å"the affirmation of individual freedom from authority, the self-assertion of personality in face of its own government or church,†and the freedom to â€Å"utter and to argue freely according to conscience. †(Kohn, 1955, p. 16-17) According to historian John Hall, at the core of liberalism is the quest to answer the question, â€Å"What is the nature of a good life? †(Hall, 1988, p. 9) Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher, was concerned with the categories of the human mind. His philosophy is often called critical philosophy. He believed human reasoning to be the ultimate authority on morality, and that a person should be free to reason. As hall puts it, Kant’s â€Å"defense of the basic liberal aim of considering individuals to be of moral worth remains high-powered and absolutely central to liberalism. †(Hall, 1988, p. 19) John Stuart Mill is considered to be â€Å"the most important single theorist of liberalism. †(Hall, 1988, p. 24) He believed in a person’s right to freedom, as did Kant, and defended individual liberty. Mill wrote in his work, On Liberty, â€Å"the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. †(Hall, 1988, p. 25) Mill was considered to be a radical in his time for he supported women’s equality, including the right to vote, education and birth control. Although Mill never became a socialist, he studied pre-Marxist socialist works. Karl Marx’s brand of socialism divided industrialized society into two classes: proletariat and bourgeoisie. The proletariats being the working class, and the bourgeoisie being the rich, ruling class. He criticized capitalism and considered it to be oppressive. He viewed freedom as the â€Å"extent of humankind’s domination over nature and the degree of rational, conscious control over social relations. †(Walicki, 1995, p. 12) Marx was the â€Å"prophet of communism†and he thought that his utopian view of society would â€Å"restore the unity of humankind, reconciling human individual existence with human species essence. †(Walicki, 1995, p. 12) Friedrich Engels was a contemporary of Marx, and co-wrote works with him, including the Communist Manifesto. Both Engels and Marx co-founded communism. He believed that the evils in industrialized society were due to private property, and only through a class struggle which led to a communist society could there be equality. The Problem of Bismarck Otto von Bismarck was appointed as Prime Minister of Prussia by Emperor William I in 1862. Not incredibly popular when appointed, people underestimated the power-hungry man. Prior to Bismarck’s appointment, William wanted to reform the Prussian military. The parliament agreed to reform but did not want to yield control of the budget to William for a long period of time. When Bismarck came on the scene he managed to collect additional taxes needed, and used them toward military reform without the consent or approval of the parliament. Unlike Bismarck, Louis-Napoleon of France, the great nephew of Napoleon I, started his political career with great support, but ended up being deposed. He was elected president of France in 1848 with a victory of 74. 2%. He was able to gain such a huge victory by being able to â€Å"appear as all things to all men. †(Price, 2003) However, resistance grew to his domination of government in 1851. He started a coup in December 1851 with little resistance in Paris, but more in rural areas, but he was able to crush that resistance. An election was held after the coup to decide whether or not people wanted him to have the authority necessary to create a constitution, and the result was an overwhelming yes, due to his â€Å"immense popularity. †(Price, 2003) Napoleon created the Second Empire, with himself the Emperor. In 1868 Bismarck pushed for Leopold, prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, to take the throne of Spain after the Spanish Revolution of 1868. Napoleon was alarmed at the prospect of Leopold taking the Spanish throne and threatened war. Leopold’s candidacy for the throne was withdrawn, but Napoleon wanted a letter of apology from Bismarck. Bismarck published the demands of Napoleon and Prussia’s rejection in the Ems Dispatch because he knew it would likely lead to war, and thought that a war with France would cause southern German states to help fight a Prussian war, leading to the unification of Germany. War did break out in 1870, and lasted until 1871. France was defeated by Prussia under Bismarck’s leadership. Politics & Economy During the 19th century Great Britain experienced a tremendous amount of economic growth, which began with the cotton industry. â€Å"Between 1815 and 1851 occurred the most rapid economic development of domestic resources in the whole of British economic history. †(Smellie, 1962, p. 140) By 1860 half of the world’s coal and manufactured goods were supplied by Britain. By 1870 British international trade was greater than the French, German and Italian combined. Several major political developments occurred in Britain during the 1830s. The Reform Bill, enacted in 1832, lessened the amount of land a man had to own to be eligible to vote. It increased eligible voters by more than 200,000. However, eligible voters still only amounted to 20%. As a reaction to the French Revolution, the Six Acts Law was passed by Parliament in 1819. It severely limited civil liberties, including freedom of the press and the right to public meeting. Other laws were passed which outlawed political rallies, and made it illegal to form labor organizations. The economic development of France was much slower than Britain’s. It took longer to industrialize because the French population did not increase as fast as the rest of Europe. The slow population growth was caused by peasants limiting their family size due to the small plots they farmed. A recession in the 1860s occurred because agriculture and industry could not keep up with global competition. From 1815 to 1870 France went through a series of regime changes. In 1815 Napoleon I was defeated and France was invaded by foreign troops. Restoration of the Bourbon monarchy was forced upon the French people, and Louis XVIII was installed as king. After Louis died in 1824 Charles X became king. Moderate royalists and liberals won seats in elections, and in 1829 Charles appointed Jules de Polignac as chief minister, which alienated both moderates and liberals. After the elections in 1830 Charles signed the July Ordinances into law which dismissed the newly elected Chamber of Deputies, causing another revolution where Charles was driven from the throne, and the July Monarchy installed, named after the month when Louis Philippe, of the house of Orleans, was installed. Louis-Philippe was also driven from the throne in 1848, and the Second Republic was created. An April 1848 election allowed all eligible males to vote. Workers in Paris, however, did not like the results of the election and revolted. The revolts were brutally put down in what came to be called the June Days of 1848. Louis Napoleon won the presidential elections of 1848, as previously mentioned, later declaring himself emperor. War & Unity During the 19th century unification occurred in both Germany and Italy. In Germany Bismarck managed to unite Germany through war with France in 1870, asking Germans not to fight â€Å"for Prussian expansion but for the sake of the fatherland. †(Bridge, 1980, p. 3) He succeeded in uniting Germany, but at a price Germans did not realize. â€Å"Bismarck’s sensational success in unifying the country blinded most of his countrymen to the political retardation he had imposed upon them. †(Feuchtwanger, 2001, p. 14) He managed to force an authoritarian system on all of Germany. In Italy the Risorgimento, the term for Italian resistance to Austrian rule and the growing desire for unification, began with Giuseppe Mazzini. Exiled to France in 1831, he created the organization called Giovane Italia (Young Italy) in order to help spread Italian nationalism. Giuseppe Garibaldi was inspired by Mazzini, and in 1860 he landed in Sicily in order to stir up a revolt against the Sicilian king. He managed to gather Sicilian peasants to fight, and they were able to defeat the king. He then set himself up as the dictator of Sicily, and headed to the southern mainland with his Sicilian peasants. He also gained the support of peasants there, and then headed north, where he defeated King Francis of Naples. He was met with resistance by the forces of Victor Emmanuel, king of Sardinia. He decided to hand over his conquests to Victor Emmanuel. Garibaldi was an exact opposite of Bismarck. He fought for unification of his country by gathering the support of the people, while Bismarck united his country by embroiling them in wars. Bismarck imposed authoritarianism on the German people. Garibaldi put his political ambitions aside for the good of his country. â€Å"He could have established himself as dictator of southern Italy but believed national unity to be more important than personal ambition. †(Farmer, 2006)
What Is Globalization
Globalization is a term that includes a wide range of social and economic variations. It can encompass topics like the cultural changes, economics, finance trends, and global market expansion. There ought to be positive and negative effects of globalization – it all comes as a package. Globalization helps in creating new markets and wealth, at the same time it is responsible for extensive suffering, disorder, and unrest. The great financial crisis that just happened is the biggest example of how negative globalization can turn. It clearly reveals the dangers of an unstable, deregulated, global economy. At the same time, this gave rise to important global initiatives, striving towards betterment. Globalization is a factor responsible for both repression and the social boom. What happens when there is a growing integration of economies across the globe? Majorly there have been positive impacts of this global phenomenon – through liberalization, privatization and globalization (LPG). Due to globalization, there has been significant flow of inward foreign direct investment. MNCs are getting a chance to explore various different markets across economies and explore the untapped potential. IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION It was in July 1991, when foreign currency reserves had tumbled down to almost $1 billion; inflation was at a soaring high of 17%, highest level of fiscal deficit, and foreign investors loosing confidence in Indian Economy. With all these coupling factors, capital was on the verge of flying out of the country and we were on the brink of become loan defaulters. It was at this time that with so many bottlenecks at bay, a complete overhauling of the economic system was required. Policies and programs changed accordingly. This was the best time for us to realize the importance of globalization. MEASURE OF GLOBALIZATION Devaluation: The first initiative towards globalization had been taken the moment there was an announcement of devaluating the Indian currency by a hoping 18-19% against all the major global currencies. This was a major initiative in the international foreign exchange arena. The Balance of payment crisis could also be resolved by this measure. Disinvestment: The core elements of globalization are privatization and liberalization. Under the privatization scheme, bulk of the public sector undertakings have been/ and are still being sold to the private sector. Thus the concept of PPP (public private partnership) came up. Allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): Allowing FDI inflows is a major step of globalization. The foreign investment regime has been quite transparent and thus the economy is getting boosted up. Various sectors were opened up for liberalizing the FDI regime. For successful globalization countries need to chalk out strategies and policies to open up the doors for the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI). The FDI by the MNCs brings with it flow of foreign capital, inflow of technology’ real capital goods, managerial and technical skills and know-how. Globalization can easily promote exports of the country by exploiting its export potentials in a right way. Globalization can be the engine of growth by facilitating export-led growth strategy of a developing country. ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have demonstrated their success of export-led growth strategy supported by the FDI under globalization approach. Globalization can provide sophisticated job opportunities to the qualified and also check ‘brain drain’ in a country. Globalization would provide varieties of products to consumer at a cheaper rate when they are domestically produced rather than imported. This would help in improving the economic welfare of the consumer class. Under globalization, the rising inflow of capital would bring foreign exchange into the country. Consequently, the exchange reserves and balances of payments position of the country can improve. This also helps in stabilizing the external value of the country’s currency. Under global finance, companies can meet their financial requirements easily. Global banking sector could facilitate e-banking and e-business. This would integrate countries economy globally and its prosperity would be enhanced. DEMERITS OF GLOBALISATION: Globalization is never accepted as unmixed blenings. Cities have pessimistic views about its ill-consequences. When a country is opened up and its market economy and financial sectors are well iberalized, its domestic economy may suffer owing to foreign economic invasion. A developing economy when lacks sufficient maturity, globalization may have adverse effect on its growth. Globalization may kill domestic industries when they fail to improve and compete foreign well-managed, well-established firms. Globalization may result into economic imperialism. Unguarded openness may become a playground for speculators. Currency speculation and speculators att acks, as happened in case of Indonesia, Malaysia Thailand, Philippines etc recently may led to economic crisis. It may lead to unemployment, poverty and growing economic inequalities. Despite its some shortcomings, benefits of globalization are likely to outweigh their drawbacks. Globalization essentially provides greater opportunities for the faster growth and economic development of the country and improve economic welfare. It provides wider and large-scale economic activities and employment opportunities. In a planned economy such as India, an indicative planning of desirable globalization process can be great use. India’s perspective planning for foreign investments and entry of MNC’s should be positive towards modernization of India. Besides, Research and Development (R&D) as well as technological up gradobious should be an integral part of India’s liberalized planning towards market economy. In short, globalization implies undeterred business activities and interaction among the firms and people with a global approach. It needs change in the outlook. It requires relaxing of control and regulations. It is heartening to note that an awareness of the government in India is on this line. Relief to foreign investors, new industrial policy, new trade policy, new fiscal policy, banking reforms, FERA and MRTP relaxation, acceptance of WTO agreements etc all suggest a positive out look of Indian policy-makers towards globalization. Indian government has assumed the role of promoter, care taker and regulator of market economy in the country in a desirable manner. Journey has begun. Destination is yet far. Perspective Although the social science literature on globalization has proliferated, social policy and social work scholars have not adequately debated the consequences of globalization for social welfare and social justice. Drawing on different social science interpretations of globalization, four major perspectives that offer different analytical and normative insights into globalization are identified and their implications for social welfare and social justice are briefly examined. The implications of these perspectives for social policy and social work scholarship are also considered. The concept of globalization is widely used today not only in the social sciences but in journalism and popular discourse. However, it is still poorly defined. Although loosely employed to connote the processes of social change that are affecting social relations between people living in the world's different nation states, the nature of these processes and their effects are widely debated and contested in the social sciences today. Nevertheless, these processes are said to be qualitatively different from earlier forms of international exchange in that they are more complex, intense and volatile. They are also believed to be fostering a historically unique interdependence between the people and nations of the world that will ultimately result in the integration of economies and societies. Of course, this interpretation has been disputed and an alternative view that defines globalization as no more than the acceleration of historic patterns of international exchange has also been formulated. Different interpretations of the nature of global change reflect different disciplinary social science perspectives. While economists view globalization as the creation of a world economic market, sociologists place more emphasis on the role of international social relations, communications and population movements in fostering space-time compression, post-modernity and cultural diffusion. In turn, political scientists stress the way power relations operate internationally to foster new systems of global regulation and governance. These diverse disciplinary perspectives have different normative implications that not only evaluate globalization differently but inspire different policy perspectives on how the process of globalization might and should be molded. These normative dimensions are of obvious interest to scholars in the fields of social policy and social work. However, as will be shown, different social science interpretations reach very different conclusions about globalization's consequences for welfare and justice. This article outlines four major perspectives which offer different analytical and normative insights into this issue and then considers the social welfare and social justice implications of these different perspectives. But first, it provides a brief discussion of the emergence of the concept of globalization and its social science usage.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)