Social policy development for the aged in the modern day context Dissertation

Social policy development for the aged in the modern day context - Dissertation Example Over the past couple of decades, the senior citizens have become contributing members of the society in their own way (Chung, McLarney and Gillen, 2008). The complete change in the perception about the elderly in the past few decades warranted for a change in the way policy makers devised policies to meet their meets. In 2002, under the aegis of United Nations, the Second World Assembly was conducted in Madrid and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging was declared. The conference proposed a strong plan for providing social care and social development for the elderly, and for providing supportive environments for the same (DESA, 2002). This plan forms the basis of several countries own policies. Though the awareness regarding the need for a social policy for the elders is a recent development, many nations have already formulated policies regarding this. For most developed nations, these policies for the elderly revolve around improving the social status that the senior cit izens have and ensuring that they continue to function at their optimum (Voit and Vickers, 2012). Policies continue to focus on their safety and healthcare, but also endeavor to enhance participation in cultural and social activities. The overall aim is therefore to improve the quality of life for the elderly members of the society. Most nations like the United States and Canada have active Elderly Assistance Programs that function with the help of the government and the non-governmental organizations and help provide a supportive environment to the elderly citizens (Litwin, 2000).On the other hand, in the developing nations, such policies are in a nascent stage only. However, much of the policymaking related to the aged is undertaken in a normative manner with the government paving the way to develop new benefits or incentives for the elderly in a bid to make their life more comfortable. There appears to be little focus on understanding the perceptions of the elderly and their opin ions on what social policies related to them need to imbibe. The current research therefore endeavors to fill this gap by exploring the perceptions and opinions of the elderly and hence to present an assessment of their needs from their perspectives. The following research questions will guide the research: Research Questions 1. Are the senior citizens of XYZ satisfied with the quality of social policy aimed at them? 2. What are some of the changes that are needed for social policy so that the needs of the older citizens are adequately met? Literature Review A review of the available literature has highlighted the fact that The Elderly Assistance Programs of several countries are found to have become more and more responsive to the needs of the overall development of the seniors (Everard et al 2000). For example, in the European Union (EU), several innovative policies have been implemented that provide for the elderly to engage themselves more with their lives. Countries in the EU p rovide facilities that enable the elderly to have free or subsidized access to the cultural institutions. Also, there are several initiatives and programs that the elderly can participate in or lead, like the EU environment care programs that

American vs. UAE Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American vs. UAE Culture - Essay Example The culture of this country has unique social and cultural characteristics, which include dialects, music, art, social habits, cuisine, and folklore. This has made the country unique and diverse ethnically and racially. One major contributing factor was the large-scale immigration from many different countries through the history of the country (Graham, 2008). The major influencers of American culture came from the British. That is, English, Scottish, and Irish settlers who colonized the colonial America. This contributes greatly to the spread of English language, the legal system, and the cultural inheritances. It resulted to formative influence. The rest of the influences came from Germany, France, and Italy. The culture of America encompasses both liberal and conservative elements. The country also has military and scientific competitiveness, political structures, and risk taking expressions. This has challenged me in a great way and I have always admired this culture. Their polit ical structures are accommodative of the foreign investors who contribute in large scale in the USA economy. Their political structures have influenced the world over and play a major role to determining and overseeing that democracy and peace have been maintained in the world. I am a great advocator of democracy and I feel that the will of the majority of these people should be respected. In this country, I would feel free to interact with various business people who have been my mentors (Marsden, 2006). The American culture is also characterized by consistent ideological principles such as individualism, egalitarianism, and faith in freedom and democracy. The culture is also shaped by the variety of expressions due to the countries lager geographic scale and demographic diversity. The culture is also flexible and it is highly symbolic. It has invited researchers to research on it and most of them have found out that the culture is mythic. They mean that the culture of this country is a mystery that is yet to be unveiled. Other researchers say that the culture is exceptionalism (Neil & Kean, 1997). The culture also includes some principles, which evolved from the Native Americans including other cultural and ethnic subtitles. The dominant of these cases is the inclusion of the culture of African Americans and different cultures from Latin Americans. These cultures are highly exported to the modern world through mass media such as television, which are the greatest influencers in the modern world. Other influencers have been radio, music and books (Plotnicov, 1990). There is no official language in the US but 30 federal states have passed a legislation, which makes English the official language. However, the culture of this country accommodates other foreign languages. There are 891 different languages spoken in this country Spanish being the second language spoken by many people. I am conversant with the English language and this would not pose a threat when I go there to do business. Being from United Arabs Emirates, the dominant religion in my country is Islam. The Muslim people are mostly conservative in their culture and like to uphold what they believe in. However, the religion of America is mostly Christian. This has shaped the country a lot in terms of their attitude. Majority of the Americans claim that religion played an important role in their lives. This is according to Pew Global Attitudes Project, of