Essay: Diversity's Role In Society - Understanding Characteristics.

1.Describe characteristics of culture, race and ethnicity that may play a key role in diversity.

2.Describe characteristics of disability that may play a key role in diversity.

3.Explain how religion and or spiritual beliefs are a key area of diversity.

4.Explain how characteristics of gender, including transgender are a key area of diversity.

5.Describe how the characteristics of intersex play a key role in diversity. ‘Intersex’ refers to an individual who has neither specific male or female organs.

6.Explain how the characteristics of age and generational differences are key areas of diversity.

7.Explain how the characteristics of sexual orientation/sexual identity (lesbian, gay, bisexual, heterosexual) are key areas of diversity.

8.Write a brief paragraph explaining the political features of diversity in Australia and how these impact on different areas of work and life.

9.In your own words, explain the concept of social cohesion.

10.Explain how economic circumstances of Australia are linked to diversity and how this impacts on different areas of work and life. Consider immigration and Australia’s welfare safety net

Culture, Race, and Ethnicity as Key Areas of Diversity

1.This can have a varied answer, according to few sociologists’ culture, ethnicity and race are identical. People think that race is constructed by the society according to its tradition, biasness and personal confidence, however race traditionally depends on the physicals characteristics of that particular society (Gay, 2013). The easiest way to know about the diversity of culture is to understand the difference between the genetics and the environmental surroundings. Culture is always changing and has a dynamic side to it.  The change is constant when it comes to culture it will change according to the changing surroundings. Ethnicity is not only the external side of an individual but also the connection between a group that shares a past and present culture of the society. Ethnicity is a feeling of togetherness and one hood. These concepts are abstract and complex characteristics but however it plays a diverse role in the society. All these above mentioned characteristics symbolize the Cultural Revolution (Spencer, 2014).

2.Disability can be of many types, it can be mental, physical, social and even economical. For example disability can be a symbol of weakness in the society, if that particular country is suffering from a disease, for example diabetes then it can give a deep impact on the society. Disability can give a negative impact in the society and it can have diverse effect. Obesity is also another well known disease in Australia. This kind of disability creates a difference between individuals and the society. It does not only concern the effected person but also the social occurrence that shaped the history of that society. Disability also leads to inequality, which also affects the society (Nishii, 2013). There it plays an important role in the diversity of the society. When the disabilities are common then it often happens that the whole country suffers because of it, the whole country is then known for that disease. The Australians have a diverse culture and therefore there are people with different types of problem and deficiencies. In order to maintain this disability and keep it under control, government has to take the responsibility for this (Xu, 2015).

3.The religious and spiritual beliefs in the world have been an important fact all through the entire world. The belief and faith is the main strength of all the countries. Australia is the main hub of religious diversity and pluralism. The religious scenery is through the vast effect of the people and the movements from religion. Due to the increasing number of immigrants the diversity is more and therefore there are different beliefs in different people. Earlier in Australia majority of people were Christian and then there were few who desire to take up Aboriginal spirituality. Australia has more than three million migrants (Kahle, & Robbins, 2014). They have a diverse religious culture; Buddhism is among the top rising religion along with Islam and Christianity. However Christianity is still dominating Australia. This diversity in religious value shows the religious and spiritual acceptance of the country. This effect in the socio cultural value of the country and shows the open mentality of that country. The religious and spiritual culture of Australia is dynamic and liberal. This has made the country richer in terms of value and beliefs, and has therefore it gives a broader understanding of many religious values (Abu & Pargament, 2015).

Disabilities and their Impact on Diversity

4.This is one of the main and important characteristic of a country. There should be equal rights for both women and men in the society, in order encourage the growth of the society. In today’s world, everything should be equal for both male and female. There should be liberation for both. For a long time the world has been a male biased place. Starting from the right of education everything should be equal. The cultural diversity is very important. The Aboriginal tribe has gender diversity in them. Any discrimination is wrong but gender discrimination is nearly a crime, everyone should have equal right devoid of their caste, race and gender. Gender equality is necessary for a growth of a country. One of the most discriminated sections is transgender, at first they did not have any recognition, but now Australia has progressed, and is working hard on these rights. There is biasness present in every society, but it should progress in such a way that there should be less amount of biasness. Gender and transgender equality plays a major role in every country and society (Robinson, 2014).

5.There are various people with different identity. Intersex is basically a term where the person is born with neither female organ nor male organ. Intersex can be of many of many forms, they have single categories. Gender diversity is about the proposal which is forwarded in order to have a better gender sense of stability all through the organization which guarantees equality, to give more progression in work opportunities. The change in time is bringing a wave of change and diversity in the modern society. People think of it as a disability or see it lowly but however the biological difference is not in hand of any people and therefore there should not be any inequality regarding that (Merryfeather  & Bruce, 2014). They are also termed as lady boy. The diversity happens with different types of people in the country, and when they are provided and welcomed with all kind of works. Different people bring different colors in the society and that is how a nation is developed.

6.Age and generation plays a major role in the society. Most of the organizations give time and wealth into getting and cheering diversity. One of the most important intimidating diversity challenges is the age and generation diversity.  Generation is basically includes the people of different age.  The new generation is extremely different from the old generation which brings imbalance in the work place. It happens due to the different mentality, needs, style of working and these differences creates a mess between them. Organizations often seem to be reluctant about these issues and leave them to deal by themselves. Stereotyping age and generation is wrong; there is a diverse effect in the society because of this. Generation gap can create a lot of problem, if not sorted immediately. The new generation is completely different from the old one, however to solve this issue there should be basic respect and acceptability between them. The age and generation if directed and guided properly then it can bring a massive change in the society. The new generation can take experience from the old one and the old generation can take fresh ideas from the new age, and this will create a whole new brighter future for the world. Therefore this is one of the important diversity (Bolton, 2013).

Religion and Spiritual Beliefs as Key Areas of Diversity

7.Sexual orientation is very important; the Australian society is committed to all kind of people, whether the person is gay, lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual. Lesbian is a person who recognize as female who is only attracts females only. Gay is identified as male people who attracts male people and only have sexual emotions for them. Bisexual is a person who is attracted towards both males and female and heterosexual is a person who is attracted towards opposite gender. The research says that in Australia there is a positive report for them. The LGB rights in Australia have brought a more positive impact. The psychologist has an important role to play in turning the negative attitudes into positive. This biological difference should not be a reason to discriminate between people. Lesbian, gay and heterosexual people are just as normal as others. The diversity in sexual orientation and behavior is very complicated but however the past situation was different from today.

8.The changes that Australians has gone through in the past fifty years are both dramatic and dynamic. Huge number of migrants that are born in different parts of Australia, feeling that it is their own motherland. In the world which is filled with challenging environment, Australia has managed to develop its own diverse culture. They have introduced multination business and (Jervis, 2017). Culturally they are changing in a rapid speed. There is acceptance in sociological factors as well, they have a multicultural society, and the speed of adaptability has been good. There new diversity is their national strength and is kept as an advantage. According to the Australian secretary of cultural affair and settlement services, they are proud about the fact that they have managed their cultural diversity so well (Stolle & Harell, 2013).

9.Social cohesion signifies and equality in society.  It mainly affects the quality of an individual’s life as the component of a social cohesion is taken from the member of the society. It is difficult to express the idea of social cohesion; however social cohesion is an ordering mark of the society. It is described as the strength of the sociological relation (Meer & Tolsma, 2014). It is basically the bond between an individual with a social group. The result of the bond is the automatic solidarity. Social cohesion implies a causal link between the mechanisms that provide integration and well-being; on the other hand there is a sense of individual belonging in the society. It is basically the belongingness of a place (Foucault, 2013).

Gender and Transgender as Key Areas of Diversity

10.Social welfare is defined as the provision of a minimal level of well-being and social support for all citizens. In Australia, the government provides payments and assistance to lower income earners through the use of social welfare to reduce income inequality and to protect the well being of all of its population. This means the government creates a "safety net" to protect individuals within society. The government is able to provide social welfare assistance with the revenue gained from taxation. The government provides many payments and assistance to all Australians. Payments are made to a variety of groups of people. Older Australians who are retired are eligible for many forms of assistance including such support as the Age Pension, Rent Assistance, Pension Supplements and also the Widow Allowance (Giddens, 2013). The Age Pension is an income support payment that assists older people to achieve an acceptable standard of living in retirement.

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Foucault, M. (2013). Politics, philosophy, culture: Interviews and other writings, 1977-1984. Routledge.

Gay, G. (2013). Teaching to and through cultural diversity. Curriculum Inquiry, 43(1), 48-70.

Giddens, A. (2013). The third way: The renewal of social democracy. John Wiley & Sons.

Jervis, R. (2017). Perception and misperception in international politics. Princeton University Press.

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Merryfeather, L., & Bruce, A. (2014, April). The invisibility of gender diversity: understanding transgender and transsexuality in nursing literature. In Nursing forum (Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 110-123).

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