Attitudes and behaviors in human services

Human Services

The attitudes and behaviors of public largely rests on the issues of public policy which aid in decision making in matters relating to income, laws, political issues and other social infrastructure programs. Angus Reid, (1996), an author of the book, "shakedown" describes how economic policies have influenced the life of a large population of Canadians all the way from 1960s to 1990s.

In his book, he argues that 1960s was an era of "spend and share" in the sense that Canadian economy was strong and steady; there were plenty of jobs, households experienced flow of government services due to growth and corporate were also willing to spend. Thus these are some of the reasons for "spend and share." However, in 1990s this was not the case due increasing issues of national security, anxiety over jobs, emergence of new technology and change in demographic forces influenced the transition of "spend and share to "sink or swim" era.

I have voted in an election. My decision to vote for the candidate came as a result of the strong manifesto in the campaign especially the economic issues. My decision was influenced by the fact that the candidate himself had a strong education background on economic affairs and other social policy matters that are of great importance to a nation like health. This made me believe that if I voted the candidate we would experience an economic miracle or transformation.

However, these were not the only policy issues that influenced my voting behavior. There were other factors that considered such as; cultural and civic tradition influence of family and friends, who never ceased to talk and discuss political candidacy and eligibility of each candidate, massive voter education programs especially through media and person to person enlightenment, I also believed that the whole electoral process would be just and fair in election management.

Change is inevitable. Mary Edwards,(2011), in her work, holds a perspective that as communities continue to grow, there will be a need to balance fiscal, social, economic and environmental goals without comprising the quality of human life. This is in relation to socio-economic impacts that would assist communities in making decisions that promote long-term sustainability of economic prosperity, healthy community, and social well-being.

This kind of development will cause a change in demographics impacts of the population needs and growth such education levels, health status and thirdly wealth and income levels. As the population seeks these three things, development will attract and draw new workers in a particular community increasing the total population of that community. When this happens, the new population affects the social environment resulting into increased demand for housing and social services. Therefore, policy makers will be forced to adjust their policies to accommodate the old and the new demographic and employment profiles.