Sociological Report: Social Constructs in Northern Ireland

This sociological report offers an in-depth analysis of Northern Irish society, examining its social, political, and economic construction. It delves into social stratification, political dynamics, and economic shifts, exploring how these constructs shape the region. The report investigates societal changes, including demographic trends, employment rates, educational advancements, income levels, family structures, and the evolving healthcare and social care systems. It also addresses the social construction of age, gender, and disability, and highlights key health and social issues. The analysis draws on demographic data, governmental reports, and scholarly research to provide a comprehensive understanding of Northern Ireland's societal evolution and current challenges. The report emphasizes the interconnectedness of various social factors and their impact on the overall well-being of the population, offering insights into the region's complex social landscape.

Sociological Report
Sociological Report on
Northern Ireland
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Sociological Report
Abstract
Society is made up of many types of individuals that are categorised according to what they have
in common. Demographic data is the information collected on these groups. It is collected by
government agencies (i.e. The Office of National Statistics, Northern Ireland Statistics and
Research Agency) in the form of the Census (this happens every 10 years) and the General
Lifestyle Survey. Data is collected about the makeup of society, in other words what social
groups there are, who they are made up of, what they do in terms of how they access health
services, where they live, what they do in leisure time amongst other things.
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Table of Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
A. Current social, political and economic construction of Northern Irish Society...................3
Social Stratification.................................................................................................................3
Symbol for social stratification................................................................................................4
Political Construction..............................................................................................................4
Economic Construction...........................................................................................................4
B. Societal change.....................................................................................................................5
Demographic............................................................................................................................5
Employment.............................................................................................................................5
Education.................................................................................................................................6
Income.....................................................................................................................................6
Family and households............................................................................................................7
Healthcare and social care...........................................................................................................8
Age, gender and disability are socially constructed....................................................................9
Age...........................................................................................................................................9
Gender....................................................................................................................................10
Disability................................................................................................................................12
Health and Social Issues in Northern Ireland............................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13
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Introduction
A. Current social, political and economic construction of Northern Irish Society
In modern society there are also political and economic constructs. Examples of these are
called ‘systems of stratification’ or the systems that we use to understand people’s ‘place’ in
society. We categorise, or differentiate from each other and thus show who has power, using
categories such as age, gender, ethnicity, social class and disability. Members of each layer of
‘stratum’ (singular ‘strat’) will have a common identity and culture as well as similar interests,
lifestyles and usually, life chances.
Social Stratification
The Irish believe that their culture has been initiated from the egalitarianism, informality and
reciprocity of their neighbors. The pressures engendered by class relations are seen to alleviate
owing to the mentioned characteristics. The society of Northern Ireland does not comprise of the
rigid class structure whereas the economic and social class distinctions are seen to exist and
reproduced using the religious and educational institutions. The Anglo-Irish and old British
aristocracy is present in a small proportionate with less power with their replacements being
made by the sports and arts world. The social classes are grouped on the basis of wealth, size of
landholding and capital and are discussed in terms of middle and working classes and gentry
with occupations like farmers etc.
Most of the people have chosen to refer themselves as Northern Irish. It has been seen that the
Northern Irish Identity offers a shared identification for Protestants and Catholics without
threatening the ideological and political commitments of either of the groups. (Crotty, W. J., &
Schmitt, D. A., 2014). This development can be significant keeping the social identity in mind.
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Symbol for social stratification
Dialect and use of language are the indicator for social standing and class. Although the dress
codes are seen to relax over the last generation, the strategies like designer clothing, expensive
cars, food are implemented as social advancements and class mobility.
Political Construction
The Republic of Ireland is a parliamentary democracy. The National Parliament of Ireland
(Oireachtas) consists of two houses known as House of Representatives, Dáil Éireann and
Senate, Seanad Éireann. Constitution derives the function and powers and was enacted on 1 July
1937. A proportional representation using a transferable vote is used for electing the
Representatives to Dáil Éireann and are known as the Teachta Dála, or TDs. The Catholic
Emancipation Act of 1830s allowed the Catholics to seek elections to the British legislature. The
people of the Northern Ireland are descendants of original population and are Catholics.
However, the majority of people of the country have emigrated from Scotland and England and
have been Protestants from past 500 years. Eventually, the Protestant leaders of the country were
seen to gerrymander the voting districts in order to make sure that the Catholics were present in a
minority. (Crotty, W. J., & Schmitt, D. A., 2014).
Economic Construction
In the last three decades, the Northern Ireland has shifted from the agriculture and manufacturing
industry to a more service based economy which also includes the public sector. The economy of
the country is seen to be based manufacturing, wholesale, retail, professional and business
services. However, the region of Northern Ireland is seen to one of the most disadvantaged
region of the United Kingdom. The country lowest labor productivity rate with lowest wages.
The private sector economy of Northern Ireland is more concentrated on the low value-added
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sectors as compared to the other parts of the United States. In the recent years, the county has
experienced a widening productivity gap with the rest of the United Kingdom. The country has
started focusing on the generation and attraction of new jobs but almost all the involved in low-
value added activities (Giblin, T., Kennedy, K., & McHugh, D., 2013). .
B. Societal change
Demographic
The population of Northern Ireland has risen from 1992 to 2007 from 1.28 million to 1.75
million. From 1922 to early 1930s, a period of loss of population was encountered because of
significant outmigration from the region of Northern Ireland. From late 1930s, a rise in
population was seen throughout the twentieth century, but a marginal decrease was seen in
1970s. The period of 1970s, was during the start of civil unrest which was known as ‘the
troubles’ in the Northern Ireland and was because of high percentage of out-migration from the
country. However, the population project performed in 2006 revealed a continuous increase in
the population beyond 2030 and from the last five years, the population growth was seen to be
driven by the net migration and natural change (Russell, R., 2013, Census 2011)
Employment
The functioning of the society has changed tremendously leading to increase in the number of
employed people in the Northern Society. However, in the confliction years in 1980s, the
unemployment rate was seen to be extremely high and the job opportunities were very less as
compared to other UK regions. The Republic of Ireland and the Northern Irish economy was
seen to have the similar rate of unemployment and job opportunities. The economy saw an
upheaval in the 2007, when the number of actual jobs were seen to incline from 720,000 to
842,000 with an increment of over 12%. This was seen to be the fastest growth rate in any other
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UK region. But the increase was not significant as compared to the Republic of Ireland and the
total employment rate was seen to increase with a whopping 20 percent varying from 1,670,700
to 2,095,000 from 2000 and 2007 (Russell, R.,2013, Census 2011)
Education
The country has understood the impact of educational institutions on the development of the
economy of the country and therefore the budget for current expenditure in education was seen
to increase by over 28 percent between the session of 2001 and 2006 by the Independent
Strategic Review of Education and was estimated to be around £1,838 million. The Irish Medium
primary schools increased from 11 to 20 during the session of 2002 to 2008 and in the same
period, the integrated schools increased from 29 to 39.
Income
The full-time earnings in 2007 were estimated out to be the lowest in any region of the United
Kingdom. £424.80 per week was estimated out to be the full-time earning of the half of the men
compared to £498.30 of the UK-wide figure and is considered to be the lowest paid region of the
UK and North East of England. The women getting wages on the weekly basis are seen to fare
better than the women working full time in the Northern Ireland with around £372.60 per week.
This factor was higher than the disadvantaged region of the United Kingdom. In fact it was seen
that only the South East, London, Scotland and East have considerably higher median for weekly
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wages amounting to over 88% of the male median for weekly wages I the Northern Ireland. In
2007, the median hourly earnings for women with full-time job was £9.65 (97% of men’s
earnings) and £9.93 for men.
Family and households
Family is a social construct. Its definition has been disputed over many years and by many
commentators, but it is agreed that family, and emerging households, are a group of one or more
people together who share a common identity. Family is not a natural feature of human life but
its meaning is something that over time has been tweaked and changed due to social changes. It
holds different meanings to different people. Northern Irish society is made up of different
family types such as nuclear, extended, lone parent, to name but a few.
48 percent of the people over the age of 16 were married on Census Day 2011 and around 36
percent were found to be single. By March 2011, only 0.1 percent of the people i.e. 1200 were
registered in the same-sex partnership. It was observed that 9.4 percent of the residents were
either divorced, separated or engaged in same-sex partnership and over 6.8 were estimated to be
widowed or surviving partnership. The areas like Derry and Belfast have the highest ratio of
single people with 42 percent and 47 percent respectively and the North Down and Ards has the
lowest ratio with 29 percent.
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C. Healthcare and social care
Stratification is important because it allows sociologists in health and social care to analyse who
has more power or status over others and this is an indication as to where there is inequality so
that services can be put in place to help certain groups or services to aid those in need. The
government has been trying to transform the delivery and management of health and social care
services that fit into the modern context along with complying with the increased demands of the
population. This context is seen to involve the trends like technological advances, aging
population, income, employment factor and rising expectations of the Northern Irish people. This
has resulted in the improvements of the social and healthcare in the second half of the twentieth
century and is continuing throughout the 21st century.
The social and healthcare reforms is supposed to be the key themes in the Northern Ireland and
has been considered as the recognition for realising the over-reliance on the hospitality sector of
the country along with an objective of shifting the service provision away from the hospitality
arena and towards the care centres in the community that is closer to the patients. The primary
care is considered to be the first point of contact focusing on the social and health services and
provides a huge gateway to the secondary care (Thompson, Dr Janice, 2016).
The country has evolved in terms of medical services and health cares. Northern Ireland has
adopted a new structure which is highly centralized as compared to the Wales and Scotland
where there has been a strong concern over the issue of localism post the devolution. The
number of social care and health care delivery trusts have declined after the restructuring in the
country. The restructuring has established five Trusts that are one of the largest health related
Trusts in the whole United Kingdom.
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Over 40 percent of women and 36 percent of Northern Irish men have indicated the problem of
long-standing illness which is seen to increase with the age. In the age bracket between the 16 to
24 age group, have 14 percent of women and 12 percent of men having issues with illness as
compared to 70 percent women and 68 percent men aged 75 and over. With increase in
population, the increase in illness and diseases are seen to prevail calling for improvement in the
health care and social care system of the country. The age at which one is elderly has also
changed with age determined by social contact, physical ability, independence and knowledge of
medical & technological advances are increasingly more indicators of who is considered the
‘oldest’.
As mentioned in the employment and income section, the country does not enjoy a beneficial
position owing to these factors, the need for health and social care has been recognised by the
government providing cost-efficient measures to the population. The inequality issues in the
society can be addressed using health and social care services with planned services (Ham, C.,
Heenan, D. A., Longley, M., & Steel, D. R., 2013).
D. Age, gender and disability are socially constructed
Age
Age can be socially constructed in the sense that it is a way in which we differentiate from each
other. Childhood, for example, is a social construct. There is an expectation of how someone
should act during childhood that is different from what someone who is in teenage or adulthood
should act. These assumptions are based on stereotypes, or assumptions. During teenage years
there are many changes that occur in life and this is often where there is a blur between youth
and adulthood. For example, the age of sexual consent, tobacco smoking, and work have all
changed over the years. In the early 19th Century, there was no restriction on these activities
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(apart from marriage); today we have the ‘age of consent’. Changes in education policies and
welfare benefits have meant that a child is under 18, yet there are many adult activities allowed
at this stage.
The average median for the age group between age brackets 15-64 has been found out to be
65.7percent and for children aged till 14 are 1.6 in proportion. However the proportion for the
people aged 65 and over is around 15 percent (Anon 2016).
Gender
Gender is another way we differentiate from each other and arguably the oldest. Evolutionary
biologists would say that men have always been dominant due to physical dominance however,
Cameron (2007) pointed out that past analysis of these differences can be argued stating that the
differences between men and women are smaller than differences within. It may not be relevant
that most studies on these differences have been done by men.
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The sex ratio is found to be almost equal in all the major states of the country. Additionally, with
the increase in the labour market of the Northern Ireland, the economic activity rate of working
women has seen to be increased to 67 percent as opposed to 79 percent for men.
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Disability
Northern Ireland has a higher number of people with a disability as compared to the whole
United Kingdom. The statistics for disability in the Northern Ireland have been mentioned in the
data given below:
Health and Social Issues in Northern Ireland
Health and social care have been identified as one of the most important social policy areas in
the Northern Ireland public and is among top priority of government spending. The ongoing
health and social issues have led to increase in the death rates from heart diseases, respiratory
conditions and cancers and decreased life expectancy owning to their lifestyle choices like
leisure activity involving smoking, alcohol, and substance misuse). The country has been facing
growing level of obesity impacting the future health of the population. It has been estimated that
about three out of five adults are obese or overweight in Northern Ireland and is seen to be highly
common in middles aged people. Further the habit of drinking and smoking among youth has led
to declining health of the population. (Gray, A. M., & Horgan, G., 2009).
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References
Crotty, W. J., & Schmitt, D. A. (2014). Ireland and the Politics of Change. Routledge.
Giblin, T., Kennedy, K., & McHugh, D. (2013). The economic development of Ireland in the
twentieth century. Routledge.
Russell, R. (2013). Census 2011: Key Statistics at Northern Ireland and LGD level. Northern
Ireland Assembly: Research and Information Service Research Paper, 9.
Thompson, Dr Janice. 2016. Transforming Health And Social Care In Northern Ireland –
Services And Governance. 1st ed. Ireland. Retrieved December 2, 2016
(http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/raise/publications/2016-2021/2016/
health/4016.pdf).
Ham, C., Heenan, D. A., Longley, M., & Steel, D. R. (2013). Integrated Care in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and
Wales: Lessons for England.
Anon. 2016. "Census Comparison Shows Differences Between Republic And NI". The Irish
Times. Retrieved December 2, 2016 (http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/census-
comparison-shows-differences-between-republic-and-ni-1.1830021).
Cameron, D. (2007). Unanswered questions and unquestioned assumptions in the study of language and gender:
Female verbal superiority. Gender & Language, 1(1).
Gray, A. M., & Horgan, G. (2009). Figuring it Out: Looking behind the Social Statistics in Northern Ireland.
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