HUMAN ADAPTATION AND

SOCIAL CHANGE
GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE
 Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• explain the causes and effects of global warming and climate change;

• identify new challenges faced by human population in contemporary

societies; and

• describe how human societies adapt to new challenges in the physical,

social, and cultural environment.
• Do you feel the extreme heat of the summer season lately?

• Are you wondering why this year’s summer is hotter than last year?
 Global Warming and Climate Change

Many believe that the scorching weather we are experiencing

today is a result of global warming and climate change.

GLOBAL WARMING is the increase in the Earth's temperature

caused by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.

CLIMATE CHANGE is a result of global warming. It is considered

as a long-term shift that happens in the Earth's atmosphere.
 The Causes and Effects of Global Warming and
Climate Change
There are both natural and man-made causes of global warming and climate
change.

The changes in the climate may naturally be caused by Earth’s activities like
volcanic activity, its orbit around the sun, and many others.

Man-made causes, on the other hand, greatly contribute to the worsening of global
warming and climate change. Some examples that contribute to the phenomenon are
burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gases, and continuously
converting forests (deforestation) into industrial, agricultural or residential
lands. These human activities have a higher possibility of speeding up the warming
of the planet.
 The Causes and Effects of Global Warming and
Climate Change
The Philippines is currently experiencing extremely hot weather. The
highest temperature to be recorded in the Philippines for the year is
39.3 degrees Celsius in General Santos City last April 12, 2016.

The hot temperature is not the only problem. The Philippines is

presently under what is considered the strongest El Nino ever
experienced. El Nino happens every two to seven years when the
water surface is warmer than usual. The effects of El Nino are lesser
rainfalls which can lead to drought, stronger typhoons, and higher
chances of forest fires and grass fires.
 New Challenges in Contemporary Societies
Global warming and climate change are starting to alter our life here on Earth.
[

• The increase in the global temperature has resulted to incidences of forest fires and grass fires
in the mountains such as in Mt. Apo.

• Drought is also rampant in our country, as an effect of a stronger El Nino. Farmers all over the
Philippines are experiencing drought, which makes it harder for them to produce enough crops
for our food supply.

• We had also experienced stronger typhoons in the past years, like typhoon Yolanda. Typhoon
Yolanda greatly devastated parts of Visayas and flooded some areas of Luzon and Mindanao.
 New Challenges in Contemporary Societies

These are only some of the challenges we currently face

because of global warming and climate change. If global
warming and climate change will not be controlled, we will
experience stronger typhoons that can result to more
damages, we will experience more heat-related illnesses,
there might be higher death rates because of the increase
in the heat index, and many other effects.
 Adaptation to New Challenges in the Physical, Social,
and Cultural Environment
Adapting to the new challenges brought by climate change
is necessary because they are already unavoidable. Most
of the countries are now developing different strategies
they can use to adapt to the challenges of climate change.
These adaptation strategies range from technological
responses to policy responses, and changes in the
behavior of the people are also necessary.
 Adaptation to New Challenges in the Physical, Social,
and Cultural Environment
• As part of our behavioral change, we are being encouraged to lessen our activities that contribute to the
increase of greenhouse gases. Instead of riding cars, we are encouraged to ride bicycles, public
transportations, or even use carpool so we can lessen the carbon dioxide coming from automobiles.

• We are also encouraged to utilize our water supply properly and stop the old Filipino practice of burning
our trashes. We must also start conserving our forests and revive forests that have been victims of
deforestation.

• Some societies are also starting to utilize energy from natural resources like wind energy, water energy,
and solar energy. Other societies where food supply has been affected by climate change have
developed crops, seeds, and farming techniques that can adapt to climate change.

These are only some of the programs developed to help our world adapt to climate change.
HUMAN ADAPTATION AND
SOCIAL CHANGE
TRANSNATIONAL MIGRATION AND OFWs
 Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• explain the concept of transnational migration;

• define and describe the key role of the Overseas Filipino Workers and how
they affect the Philippine society; and

• discuss how human societies adapt to new challenges in the physical,

social, and cultural environment.
• Do you ever wonder about your physical surroundings?

• Do you observe how people relate to one another not just in their local
communities but also through the presence of the Internet, showing
patterns of interactions among people of different cultures?
 Transnational Migration

In this era, people are no longer confined to their local

communities. Residents of a certain location have become mobile
if not interested to relocate. Causes of this trend are mostly
economic in nature, with people desiring to provide a better life for
themselves and their families. This phenomenon is known as
transnational migration. Aside from economic reasons, what has
propelled this trend is the advent of the Internet.
 Transnational Migration
The Internet has become a venue where people can witness the improved
lifestyles from the developed nations like the United States, Canada, and Japan.
Human nature dictates that people naturally want to improve their living
conditions. Hence, skilled and talented people leave their home countries,
journeying to developed countries to seek better employment, housing, and
educational opportunities. Transnational migration then changes the landscapes
of these migrants' home and host countries.

TRANSNATIONAL MIGRATION is a social, economic, and political process that

affects those who move, those who stay behind, and the places where they go
across national boundaries.
 Overseas Filipino Workers

OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS OR OFWs are skilled professionals like

engineers, nurses, doctors, and other workers like drivers, domestic
helpers, and construction workers who leave their families to work abroad
where better employment opportunities are present. The phenomenon of
OFWs reached its height in the 1970s when Ferdinand Marcos enacted
the Philippine Labor Migration Policy due to the lack of jobs in the
country. The Filipino workers were encouraged to serve in oil-rich nations in
the Middle East like Saudi Arabia. The Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration (POEA) was established to oversee these migrant workers.
 Overseas Filipino Workers

The OFW remittances have propelled Philippine economic

development. Conversely, socio-economic setbacks include “brain
drain” (departure of skilled laborers towards developed countries),
broken families, cultural adjustment difficulties, human trafficking,
and illegal recruitment. As for the host countries, OFWs contribute
to “brain gain”, the opposite of “brain drain”, in which they benefit
from these outsourced skilled laborers' services.
 New Challenges in Contemporary Societies
Transnational migration presents physical, social, and cultural challenges to
contemporary societies.

• Due to "brain drain", foreign workers cause overpopulation and stress in the host
countries and their resources.

• Social challenges for developing countries involve families becoming incomplete as

their members decide to work abroad.

• Parents then have to delegate their responsibilities to close family members like
grandparents or nannies to care for their children.
 New Challenges in Contemporary Societies
• Moreover, the entry of foreign workers leads to permanent settlement to the host countries, hence,
diversifying their population.

• Interracial marriages transpire between the migrants and the local people.

• Exchange of ideas and culture occur as migrants interact with the local communities of their host
countries as well, sharing traditions, beliefs, and norms.

• Migrants then bring home new concepts like foreign cuisine and international business setups.

• Nevertheless, adjustment difficulties and xenophobia (the hatred or fear of foreigners) pose as cultural
challenges.
 How Societies Adapt to the Challenges to the Physical,
Social, and Cultural Environments
Governments play a vital role in responding to the physical, social, and cultural challenges
caused by transnational migration. Settlements for migrants are established to address their
housing concerns adequately. For instance, in the United Kingdom, hosting the refugees from
Syria created the tenements in Coventry and Bradford.

As for the social challenges, migrants' affairs are dealt with by government and non-government
organizations. These help families with regards to their needs as migrants or having migrant
workers as family members. Examples are social organizations like the Filipino communities in
Saudi Arabia which were established for socialization and assistance purposes.

Pre-departure orientation seminars are conducted to educate the migrants on adjusting to their
host countries' cultures and people. These facilitate the quiet sailing existence of these migrants
in their host communities and prevent xenophobia and culture shock.
HUMAN ADAPTATION AND
SOCIAL CHANGE
RESPONSE TO CHANGE: INCLUSIVE CITIZENSHIP
AND PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE
 Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• explain the concept of inclusive citizenship;

• define the meaning of participatory governance;

• elaborate on how inclusive citizenship is translated to action through participatory

governance; and

• participate in developing an organized program of measures for community-based

response to change.
• As a citizen of the Philippines which is a democratic country, do you feel that the
government prioritizes your well-being?

• Do you think the government takes your wishes and ideas into consideration?

• Are you aware that a democratic government does not exercise power on its
own?

• Have you got any idea on how the citizens are empowered to participate in
governance, hence, realizing the ideal of "democracy" which means the "rule of
the people"?
 Inclusive Citizenship

Democracy is a form of government in which the people are given

the voice on how they would like to be governed and protected by
the government, with the latter expected to provide the premium to
their well-being. With democracy's Greek root words being demos,
"people" and kratos, "rule", citizens of democratic countries are
understood to be involved in the government's implementation of
laws. INCLUSIVE CITIZENSHIP is a governing policy in which the
citizens are given a strong feeling that they are a part of the overall
society.
 Inclusive Citizenship
By and large, citizens of democratic countries would feel disenfranchised, questioning whether
the government they elected is responding to their needs.

• In the United States, critics of President Barrack Obama remark that he is merely pro-Black,
promoting only the rights of the African-Americans.

• In the Philippines, civil society organizations like the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN)
and the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) criticize the government for doing little for the
impoverished.

By making the citizens feel that the government values their viewpoints, the people are then
motivated to participate in the elections, civic participation, and military service.
 Participatory Governance
• PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE translates the feelings of inclusive
citizenship into action. This concept involves the citizens in the form of civil
society activists and government reformers who establish participatory
institutions which enable them to improve their states. In most democratic
jurisdictions, the right to public participation is enshrined by law as a human
right.

• Participatory governance started as a reaction to "direct democracy" involving

only the government in policy-making and leading to rampant corruption and
oligarchy (or rule of the powerful elite few segment of the population). To
combat this, citizens' opinions are then incorporated into the government's
complex policy-making process.
 Participatory Governance
• Participatory organizations deliberate and vote on the use of public
resources, oversee the enactment of laws and making them more
transparent, and improve the government's performance. Citizens are
also empowered and scarce government resources are reasonably
used.

• The Volunteers against Crime and Corruption (VACC) eradicate

criminality and corrupt practices, aiding the Department of Justice and
the Office of the Ombudsman. As the citizens interact and get
involved with their government, their democratic life and social well-
being are improved.
 Organized Program of Measures for Community-based
Response to Change
• To foster inclusive citizenship and participatory governance, leaders of
democratic countries deliver State of the Nation addresses annually, reporting their
accomplishments and agenda for the benefit of their constituents. This
manifestation of inclusive citizenship enables the citizens to feel involved in their
government, allowing them freely to voice out their views about their leader's "report
card". E-democracy combines 21st-century information and communications
technology to promote democracy, enabling the citizens to participate equitably in
lawmaking.

• Through public opinion polls, the Philippines' Pulse Asia and Social Weather
Stations monitor and disseminate information about salient socio-economic,
political, and cultural issues, periodically measuring the public pulse as an essential
ingredient for a robust democracy.
HUMAN ADAPTATION AND
SOCIAL CHANGE
RESPONSE TO CHANGE: NEW FORMS OF
MEDIA AND SOCIAL NETWORKING
 Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• explain the types of traditional and new forms of media;

• define the concepts of social media and social networking;

• discuss how social media and social networking influence human societies in both
positive and negative ways; and

• participate in developing a plan of action for community-based response to change.

• How do you get the information you need like the news or details about
your personal interests?

• Do you observe how people's ways of obtaining public information have

significantly evolved?
 Traditional Forms of Media
Citizens of a democratic society enjoy the inalienable right to information. They
are capable of knowing what's happening around them, hence, enabling them to
conduct their lives properly. The media plays a vital role in the people's right to
public information.
The media is the way on how people obtain relevant news. Traditional forms of
media include printed literature like books, magazines, journals, and
newspapers as well as the television and the radio. Diverse human interests
like health, education, the environment, food, the news, and politics are
communicated to the people through the media, enabling them to become
knowledgeable about how they can live well and enjoy their inalienable right to
live.
 New Forms of Social Media and Social Networking

Most of us use the terms interchangeably but there is a difference between

social media and social networking.
 New Forms of Social Media and Social Networking
In the 1990s, the advent of technology gave birth to new forms of media.
Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, invented the World Wide
Web, which is an information space linking documents and other web
resources through URLs and can be accessed via the Internet.

The Internet is a digital form of media that involves the computer serving as
an information highway. The e-mail, e-books, e-zines, and e-journals are
offshoots of the Internet and act as the digital versions of traditional media.
Thus, people are no longer confined to getting the information relevant to
their lives in printed ways but can now access them online.
 New Forms of Social Media and Social Networking
The new forms of media are more interactive that the old one. As the 21st century
ushered in, a different form of media with a social dimension to it emerged.
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram are some of these forms of
"social" media sites. Once you decide what media you are going to use, begin
with social networking in any sites to engage with your audience.

Besides reading relevant details, people can get involved by interacting and
reacting to these sources of information. Through the aid of digital devices like
smartphones (like the iPhone), smart TVs, laptops, and tablet (like the iPad),
new media have provided the people fast and easy access to information.
 Challenges to the Use of Social Media and Social
Networking
The use of the media is not without flaws. It can also have the disadvantages.

• CYBER-BULLYING involves the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending intimidating
and threatening messages.

• STALKING has troubled social media users as they (and their personal information) are stealthily pursued by
unwanted individuals.

• IDENTITY THEFT involves the fraudulent acquisition and use of a person's private identifying information like Social
Security or driver's license for financial gain.

• Finally, HACKING involves illegally obtaining passwords to access another person's computer, website, or social
media account.
 Plan of Action for Community-based Response to
Change
National governments have been responsible for the
enactment of stringent laws and programs protecting their
citizens from cybercrimes.
 In the Philippines
• The CYBERCRIME PREVENTION ACT OF 2012 (Republic Act No. 10175) is a law
approved on September 12, 2012. It aims to address legal issues regarding online
interactions and the Internet in the country. Among the cybercrime offenses included in
the Act are cybersex, cybersquatting, child pornography, identity theft, illegal access
to data, and libel. Several petitions have been submitted to the Supreme Court
questioning the constitutionality of the Act. On February 18, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled
the online libel provision of the act to be constitutional, although it struck down other
provisions, including the ones that violated the provisions on double jeopardy. The
petitioners planned to appeal the decision.

• In this connection, Department of Education (DepEd) encourages schools to embrace

cyber wellness program to reduce if not entirely prevent bullying and other cyber abuse
incidents.
In the Philippines
 In Other Countries

• In 2015, US President Barrack Obama signed the

Cybersecurity Act of 2015 into law. In New York, computer-
related crimes are penalized with a fine and at least five years
incarceration.

• In the United Kingdom, the government has allocated £860

million to establish the National Cyber Security Programme,
ensuring that a secure digital environment can enhance the
UK’s economic prosperity, national security, and society.
HUMAN ADAPTATION AND
SOCIAL CHANGE
RESPONSE TO CHANGE: SOCIAL
MOVEMENTS
 Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• explain the concept of social movements;

• discuss how social movements emerged;
• define and clarify the kinds of social movements; and
• elaborate how social movements persuade the people to support their
causes.
• Why do certain groups of people want to change the society?
• How do these groups carry out their objectives to resist or effect change in
the society?
 Social Movement

Some citizens do not always accede to how their

society is structured. They would reckon that there
are better ways to live so they would then gather
together to form a social movement. A SOCIAL
MOVEMENT is a large group of individuals
congregating to either effect or prevent social
changes.
 Social Movement
Social movements express the dissatisfaction of the people in a given
society. Feeling strongly about a particular cause, the members usually feel
that they are deprived, resenting their living conditions, and demanding
improvements. Vastly organized, they intend to transform the society by
influencing public opinion and government policy-making.

Modern social movements utilize the Internet and social media to mobilize
the people globally, facilitating civic engagement and collective action.
These groups do not always succeed though because total government
control (like banning them), public ridicule, and co-optation (or winning over
a social movement) occur.
 Emergence of Social Movements
Social movements began in England in the late 18th century. John
Wilkes, a controversial political figure, vigorously disputed the
government in defense of the impoverished. The Society for the
Supporters of the Bill of Rights in 1769 is considered as the first social
movement involving public conferences, the unprecedented
dissemination of pamphlets, and protests.

German sociologist Lorenz von Stein introduced the term "social

movements" in 1848. Demanding reform, the Russian Revolution of
1917 was carried out by the poor, resulting to labor, socialist, and
communist movements.
 Emergence of Social Movements

The NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS emerged after World War II.

With radical reform and change desired, the rights which these
groups advocate are for women, the gay, peace, civil, pro-choice,
anti-nuclear, anti-globalization, and the environment. It was termed
New Social Movement because it departed from the traditional
social movements which is focused on economic issues. The New
Social Movement that is very evident in the 1960s is focused more
on values and social identities mentioned above.
 Kinds of Social Movements
CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENTS
-resist changes in the society like the anti-technology group, Luddites
REACTIONARY MOVEMENTS
-defend returning to traditional lifestyles as demonstrated by the Ku Klux Klan
REFORM MOVEMENTS
-support change like the marriage-opposed Free Love Movement
RADICAL MOVEMENTS
-replace existing social orders with a totally different social or political structure like the American
Civil Rights Movement, the Occupy Movement, Black Lives Matter, and the Arab Spring
 Kinds of Social Movements
EXPRESSIVE MOVEMENTS
-aim to improve their members' lives, not necessarily imposing their ideas on
others like the Hippie Movement
ESCAPIST MOVEMENTS
-advocate retreating from the society through isolation like religious cults
ASSIMILATIONIST MOVEMENTS
-help minority groups become absorbed in the mainstream society, demanding
equal treatment
 Kinds of Social Movements
PLURALIST MOVEMENTS
-defend respect for diversity like the gay rights movement
ALTERNATIVE MOVEMENTS
-influence the people to change their lifestyles like the vegans
GROUP-FOCUS MOVEMENTS
-concentrate on changing factions, transforming into or joining a
political party
 Persuading the People to Support Social Movements'
Causes
Members of social movements seek adherents through various means.

• Advertisements, films, speeches, and posters are utilized to carry out EDUCATIONAL PERSUASION.
• POLITICAL PERSUASION involve financing political candidates' campaigns, running for public office, or
persuading government officials.
• DIRECT OR VIOLENT TACTICS involve social movements taking matters into their own hands through
extreme measures like boycotting a business employing slave workers, demolishing abortion clinics, and
liberating animals from experimental laboratories.
• NON-VIOLENT TACTICS involve civil disobedience like Mohandas G
• Q andhi's peaceful protest against the British imperialists.