ISSN: 0976-3759

ISSN: 0976-3759

Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013

Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013

ISSN: 0976-3759

ISSN: 0976-3759

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Editorial Prof Visvesvaran P K Patterns of Power Struggle and Remedy at Hand Dr Vijayalakshmi V Pattern Recognition: A Challenge before Parents Prof Visvesvaran P K Typical Relationship Patterns in Families Naidu P J Concept Paper on Control Vs. Autunomy Casework Intervention for the Hearing Impaired Dr Sinu E Changing Patterns in Daily Routine among Urban Commuters Sandhya Rani P J Nafisa Khan and Dr Charumathi P J

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Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013

Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013

ISSN: 0976-3759

ISSN: 0976-3759

Pattern? Yes! Rigidity ? No! Editorial Identification is, however, only the Ruth Benedict in her anthropological masterpiece first step and is not a solution by itself. Patterns of Culture identifies the Also, any diagnosis is only tentative modal personalities in different and the therapist should have an societies. The typical Dobuan open mind to revise his views as he suffers from chronic anxiety, hostility goes along and as new facts come and paranoia. His gods are hostile up. A corollary to this is the fact that beings and all social relationships are characterized by deliberate fraud, symptoms are a mixed bag and not treachery and double-dealings. On a holdall. For example, a person the other hand, the average Zuni is may exhibit symptoms of anxiety, friendly, co-operative and peace- depression and obsessiveloving. That is because his deities compulsion all rolled into one. Any are benevolent and his culture attempt to put it in anyone particular encourages peaceful resolution of all pigeon hole may fail. More important than this is the conflicts. Erich Fromm refers to the Manus who are highly competitive need to avoid labeling, either the and drive themselves to despair and symptom or the client. For example, death pushed to the brink by intense the childs enuresis may belong to rivalry towards one another. the revenge type (punishing the Identification of patterns is, thus, very parents) or regressive type (arising important for human beings to from sibling rivalry) or may represent understand one another. To adapt both, usually the last. Let not the Swithun Bowers (who uses the therapist label a boy permanently as following phraseology to define a mother-hater or an exhibitionist social work) pattern detection is an though he manifests these art, based on the knowledge of the tendencies alternatingly. For labeling science of human relations. One may prove to be a self-fulfilling should have some knowledge of the prophecy and turn an one-time Freudian theory, the behavioural offender into an incorrigibly chronic approach and the modern schools of antisocial character. Identification of treatment such as the client-centered patterns is a handy therapeutic tool Rogerian therapy to discern typical but let us guard against its fall patterns of behaviour in our clients. out,namely role inflexibility. Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013 02

Changing Patterns in Daily Routine among Urban Commuters

Sandhya Rani P J* Nafisa Khan** Charumathi P J***
*Sandhya Rani P J , PhD Research Scholar, Department of Applied Psychology, JBAS College For Women, Teynampet. Chennai. **Nafisa Khan, PhD Research Scholar, Department of Applied Psychology, JBAS College For Women, Teynampet. Chennai. ***Dr Charumathi P J , Research Supervisor, Guest Faculty, Department of Psychology, University of Madras, Chepauk. Chennai.

Introduction: is seen as a facility that is not Lifestyle is determined by ones comfortable due to over crowding attitudes, beliefs and opinions and time consuming. Apart from (Assael, 1998). The daily routine is privately owned vehicles there is a an indicator of ones lifestyle. The rise in the number of private buses lifestyle of those living in the urban that caters to students of colleges and setting and those living in the rural employees of companies often setting differ widely due to reasons working on shift basis 24/7 in Special like access to comforts, distance and Economic Zones which are located time taken to commute from one point in the outskirts of cities. Call taxis and to another and the socio economic shared auto rickshaws have also status. increased in numbers. These In the past decade Census changes have caused inevitable reveals that there has been 85% traffic congestion in the city not only increase in households owning cars. during peak hours but also through The reasons could be that out the day. However, the options globalization has led to the and comforts available for families in introduction of multiple brands of cars the rural setting is not the same as that cater to different levels of income that in the urban setting. School drop groups. Dual income families and out rate was found to be higher in rural loan options have facilitated the schools than in urban schools. (Usha purchase of cars. For the multitasking Jayachandran, 2007). The school individual owning a vehicle is out of drop out rate was higher among rural necessity more than comfort. In spite girls as compared to urban girls. of public transport being cheaper it 27 Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013

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(Usha Jayachandran, 2007) One of congestion. The study was an the reasons for school dropouts in exploratory study conducted using the rural settings was observed to be interview checklist survey technique. distance from school and lack of time Convenient sampling method was for parents to drop them at school used in this study. The sample (Govindraju and Venkatesan, 2010). consisted of 65 Chennai city residents Need for the study: in the age group of 30 years to 50 According to Taylor (2004) daily years out of whom 32 were men and hassles have a cumulative impact on 33 were women. health, making them a bigger stressor Inclusion Criteria: than any other. Health psychologists Owners of two-wheeled and fourhave identified traffic as a routine wheeled vehicles were included stressor. It causes time delay, noise in the study. pollution and air pollution. Therefore Exclusion criteria: traffic not only causes stress but also Commuters who use public affects health. Growing traffic transport like buses and trains congestion has affected the were excluded from the study. respiratory health status of children Sample consisted of 23 twoin urban setting (Nandasena, wheeler owners, 24 four-wheeler Vikramesingheand Sathiakumar, owners and 18 commuters who 2012). Long-term infrastructure used both. development projects like metro rail, Tool used for the study: highways, flyover constructions and Interview checklist: maintenances have resulted in An in-depth interview was narrowed roads, bottlenecks and conducted with five commuters. changed route. However, owning a Open-ended probing questions to vehicle also facilitates traveling understand traffic stress and changes anytime anywhere. With all these in activities revealed changes and changes the need was felt to adjustment made which have been understand how commuters deal with listed. Based on the responses an this constant stressor. interview checklist consisting of 34 Method and design: items describing the changes in their The aim of the study was to routine to cope with the traffic was identify the measures taken by developed. The checklist consisted commuters to adapt to traffic of 19 items (shown in Table:1) that 28 Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013

indicated measures to accommodate traffic and 15 items (Table: 2) that indicated lifestyle changes. Data: Primary data was collected from commuters who had come to drop their children to school and from individuals who were on their way to work. Analysis: Percentage analysis was done for the frequency of changes adapted

by the respondents. Results: Commuters have reported that they use vehicles to commute to office, to go shopping, to pick up and drop children at schools and for extra curricular activities, to visit friends, relatives and for picnics and outings. The changes observed among commuters in their routine due to traffic have been tabulated in Table 1 and Table 2.

ISSN: 0976-3759

Table No. 1: Adjustment to Traffic Related Stress Traffic stress (N=65) Affected by traffic jam. Change route. Avoid main roads. Take by-lane, small lanes Affected by noise Affected by smoke Complete all tasks en route destination Go out during weekends only Avoid traveling during heavy traffic Shopping/visiting for weekends only. Move closer to work place / school/college Car pool to work ( sharing transport) Shop in the neighborhood /nearby area. Avoid long distance driving. Use public transport to avoid driving. Rest well before trips Avoid self-driving (use a friend or a driver ) Avoid driving alone Avoid going out at all Percentage 95.4 93.8 47.7 76.9 81.5 87.7 38.5 52.3 58.5 67.7 49.2 35.4 80.0 83.1 46.2 63.1 33.8 35.4 50.8 29

Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013

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Table No. 2: Lifestyle Changes Due to Owning a Vehicle

Adjustment to stress (N=65) Percentage Start earlier to work. 84.6 Eat breakfast /lunch in the vehicle 20.0 Change vehicle (Upgrade/ Downgrade) 20.0 Rent a cab in spite of owning vehicle 29.2 Frequently go out on picnics 21.5 Do more long trips. 24.6 Travel late nights often 26.2 Have more number of vehicles 26.2 Do more things as I have my own vehicle 76.9 Do things by myself as I can drive 75.4 Attempt all pending tasks in a single day 56.9 Listen to music / chants / FM Channels. 64.6 Complete phone calls. 35.4 Reading newspapers, essential materials. 35.4 Visit more people and places due to vehicle 61.5 Results and discussion: caused by traffic either by avoiding Results indicate that commuters it or finding alternate ways of reaching were affected by traffic (95%). They places. This in turn increased noise were also affected by the smoke and pollution in residential lanes (87%) and noise levels (81%). To posing a major health hazard. Traffic accommodate this they changed their stress has been found to have routes (93%); used smaller lanes and influenced the wellbeing of the urban by-lanes (76%). They planned their population leading to depression shopping only during weekends (Gee, Takeuchi 2004). (67%) and prefer to shop in local and Commuters were able to do more nearby areas (80%). Commuters try things in a day as they had their own to avoid the rush hour driving to vehicle (76). They try to complete all escape traffic (58)% and also avoid tasks on their own (76%) and try to long distance driving (83% )and complete it on the same day itself sometimes going out (51%) itself. instead of distributing it over the week The results indicate that (56%). They have developed new commuters tried to avoid the stress habits like listening to music, chants 30 Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013

and radio while traveling (64%). Also they have the liberty of exploring new places like malls and restaurants (62%). They leave for work early (84%). Eating in the car and night driving have also become more frequent as commuters enjoy the privacy and freedom their vehicle provides. Having a vehicle has empowered commuters to include new activities in their routine and also they have displayed changes in their work habits. Effect on commuters: The findings throw light upon the fact that although long-term projects and increase in traffic are inevitable they have affected the citizens lives to a great extent resulting in lifestyle changes. Such changes can gradually lead to a change in work culture and habits of people. Effect on rural girls education: In spite of the RTE act (2010) girls in the rural settings face many hurdles in continuing their education. Social stigma against womens education is high in the rural settings. Disapproval by family members in the name of safety and future concerns during marriage has been the reasons cited by girls for discontinuing education. Parents stated that there is no time to accompany children to school due to housework were the most cited

reasons for higher school drop out rates among girls (Uma Rani 2010). Cleaner air and lesser pollution may be the benefits enjoyed by rural citizens yet, the benefits of owning vehicles like saving time, facilitating school drops and pick ups need to be made aware for rural citizens so that they do not discourage rural girls from attending schools under the pretext of lack of time and safety. Future directions: An awareness programme on the benefits of transport is necessary for those living in rural setting to save time, effort and for the continuity of childrens education. Further studies on working and non-working people in rural and urban setting are necessary to understand the effect of traffic stress. Car pooling and public transport system needs to be encouraged to reduce costs, fuel consumption and pollution. Changes across different age groups can help identify the target group for which awareness programmes are necessary. Conclusions: 1) There are changes in daily routine due to traffic stress. 2) Commuters have displayed 31 Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013

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ISSN: 0976-3759

ISSN: 0976-3759

Journal of School Social Work English Monthly ISSN: 0976-3759 Registered with Registrar of Newspapers for India under No: TNENG/2004/14389 Postal Registration: TN/ CC (S) DN / 47 / 12-14 Licensed to post under: TN/PMG (CCR) / WPP - 663 / 12-14 Date of publication: 03 April 2013 changes in their daily patterns as a culture. result of using private transport. 4) No one has volunteered any 3) Changes in lifestyle can lead information on road-rage which also to gradual changes in the habits and needs to be investigated.
References: Assael, H (2001): Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Action . India: Thomson. Chennai Transport (2005): retrieved on 13th February 2012 from http://www.ctn.org.in/ problems-of-chennai.html Gee GC, Takeuchi DT (2012): Traffic Stress, Vehicular Burden and Well-being: a Multilevel Analysis. Journal of Social Science Medicine. Jul;59(2):405-14 retrieved on 13th February 2012 from http://www.pubmed.com. Govindaraju R and Venkatesan S (2010): A Study on School Drop-outs in Rural Settings. Journal of Psychology 1(1) 47-53 Nandasena S, Wickremasinghe AR, Sathiakumar N(2012): Respiratory Health Status of Children from Two Different Air Pollution Exposure Settings of Sri Lanka: A Cross-Sectional Study. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. Feb retrieved on 13th February 2012 from http://www.pubmed.com. Taylor S (2001): Health Psychology. India: Tata McGraw hill. Usha Jayachandran (2007): How High are Dropout Rates in India? Economic and political weekly, March 17 2007. Retrieved on 28th March 2013 from http:// www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JP/JP-01-0-000-10-Web/JP-01-1-000-10-PDF/JP01-1-047-10-009-Govindaraju-R/JP-01-1-047-10-009-Govindaraju-R-Tt.pdf (2012) Vehicles in India retrieved on 21st February 2013 from http:// articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-20/chennai/31214306_1_householdspublic-transport-wheelers Uma Rani (2010): Reasons for Rising School Dropout Rates of Rural Girls in India An Analysis using Soft Computing Approach. Retrieved on 28th March 2013 from http://www.journalcra.com/? q=node/786

If you are using material from this article, you can give the following reference in APA style: Reference: Sandhya Rani P J, Nafisa Khan and Dr Charumathi P J (2013): Changing Patterns in Daily Routine among Urban Commuters. Journal of School Social Work, IX-11, pp 27-32.

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Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013

ISSN: 0976-3759

ISSN: 0976-3759

Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013

Journal of SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK April 2013