Social Problem in Australia: Understanding Unemployment as a Social Construction

This essay discusses the social construction and sociological imagination concepts and applies them to unemployment as a social problem in Australia. It evaluates the impact of unemployment on the livelihood of people and the society.

Running head: UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY
UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY
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1UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY
Essay plan: Social Problem in Australia
The ideas of 'social construction' and the 'sociological imagination' and apply them to how
unemployment is commonly understood as a social problem in Australian society.
Introduction
The discussion aims at understanding the different aspects of the social construction and
the concept of sociological imagination. This discussion will be helping to evaluate the situations
of unemployment in Australia. It will assist to understand the manner in which it is affecting the
livelihood of the people there.
Defining the sociological concept
The sociological imagination has helped in determining the effects of the unemployment
on the society with a degrading standard of living. The relation of the different aspects of the
unemployment is related to the growth of the enterprises in the economy. The unemployment in
the region has narrowed the scope of healthcare. It has also affected the people, as they cannot
afford the housing facilities.
Key points and examples
The unemployment in Australia has affected the livelihood of the people in the individual
level. The proper understanding of the society is based on the determination of the perspectives
through which the human behavior can be perceived. The sociological imagination helps in
determining the different aspects that interlinks the individuals and the society (Johnsonand
Covello 2012). It helps in ensuring the proper understanding of the different aspects that unifies
the issues faced by the individuals with the society. On the other hand, the term social

2UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY
construction helps in determining the initiative that is being undertaken by the individuals in
order to construct the society according to their own perceptions (Abdelkerim and Grace 2012).
It helps in determining the variations in the society. On the other hand, the livelihood of the
people and the diminishing economic conditions affects the growth of the society (Sanford2017).
The unemployment has created situations of imbalance in the society, which has affected
the lifestyle of the people. The poor employment conditions affect the economic position of the
nation where wealth is accumulated in the hands of few and the rest are ignored of the privilege.
In a broader society, the economic structure of the society is based on the understanding of the
different factors that affects the growth. It is estimated that some 32% of the Australians are
affected by the different factors of unemployment and poverty (Sanford 2017).
Lysaker and Miller(2013) stated that the economic transgression of the region is affected
by the individual growth. It has affected the GDP of the nation as the radical nature of the
unemployment has affected the growth of the individuals thereby affecting the society. The
crime rate of the less developed areas of the region is sure to increase by 12% with the lack of
proper employment options. It will be affecting the society based on the individual standards. On
the other hand, the proper understanding of the social construction helps in determining the
aspects of the change that is required to be undertaken in order to bring in improvements in the
society.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion it can be stated that the proper identification of the
different factors of unemployment has contributed to the study of the social imagination. The
study is facilitated through the determination of the link between the individual and the society

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and the manner in which the issue that is being faced by the individuals in the society affects the
society. The issues that are being faced by the people due to the unemployment have affected
the livelihood of the individuals, which created an impact on the growth of the social culture.

4UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY
References
Abdelkerim, A.A. and Grace, M., 2012. Challenges to employment in newly emerging African
communities in Australia: A review of the literature. Australian Social Work, 65(1), pp.104-119.
Johnson, B.B. and Covello, V.T. eds., 2012. The social and cultural construction of risk: Essays
on risk selection and perception (Vol. 3). Springer Science & Business Media.
Lysaker, J.T. and Miller, A., 2013. Engaging social imagination: The developmental work of
wordless book reading. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 13(2), pp.147-174.
Sanford, N., 2017. Self and society: Social change and individual development. Routledge.