SOC 100 - Sociology of Religion Assignment

The last assignment! YaHoo!

 On page 369 in your text is a “Mass Media In Social Life” relating to God on the net.  At the end of that article are these questions:  How do you think that the Internet might change religion?  Can it replace the warm embrace of fellow believers? Do you think it can bring comfort to someone who is grieving for a loved one?
I got a 45/45 on this one. Seems like the grading is getting easier as the end nears. Good for me though :-) Here it is:

Religion on the Internet

How do you think that the Internet might change religion?  It changes how the people get information about religion. They no longer have to go to a physical church to hear the gospel or message. They can do it from their own home or anywhere for that matter with a computer. I think the Internet is a good tool that religions are able to use and it can serve many purposes. For one, they are able to reach millions of people with the hopes of bringing in new converts. They can also get their message out to members cheaply and quickly.  Even the Pope is on youtube.com (Henslin, 2011). It’s changing the way people get the teachings and messages from their religion or church. Internet video is becoming more popular with religions along with websites, newsletters and blogs.

Can it replace the warm embrace of fellow believers? I don't think it can. There have been a number of attempts to create online Christian communities, usually supplementing, but occasionally attempting to replace, more traditional, brick and mortar Christian communities ("Religion and the," ). From what I’ve seen, it may change the way people get communications from their church, but I can’t see it replacing the physical church and warm embrace of fellow believers.  From another website: Church of Fools is an experimental online site in which worshippers move around a virtual church building using avatars ("Religion and the,”). Again, I think this is an attempt to replace a physical church, but it doesn’t replace face-to-face socializing with fellow members. It may help temporarily or be used as a bridge to the “warm embrace”, but it cannot replace it. From a functionalist viewpoint I don’t think it can bring sufficient “emotional comfort.” As one Christian says, “For us to truly communicate the love and grace of Jesus Christ, we must have a personal relationship with people to witness to them. The sound of love and concern in someone’s voice, a gentle touch and the look into someone’s eyes are what really make a difference (Hearne, 2011).”

            Do you think it can bring comfort to someone who is grieving for a loved one? I think it can, but only for a short duration. It may temporarily bring some level of comfort to someone who is suffering, but we need personal contact with people. In all of the information I scanned on the Internet I haven’t seen one article that says it will replace face-to-face contact, but it is a good way to stay in contact with the person who is grieving.  It’s a good way to touch bases until the next time you can get together with them.  As I stated earlier, from a functionalist perspective I don’t think it can bring sufficient “emotional comfort.”  The answers that religion provides about ultimate meaning also comfort people by assuring them that there is a purpose to life, even to suffering (Henslin, 2011). I think this can only be fully achieved with personal contact, not by a website, blog or other electronic media. While technology has brought with it the benefits of convenience, flexibility and global connectivity, it’s also made us long for the warmth associated with more tactile experiences; those things that have a human touch ("The human touch,”).

            There are four concerns or questions that many people have. These are (1) the existence of God, (2) the purpose of life, (3) the existence of an afterlife, and (4) morality (Henslin, 2011). From a functionalist perspective religious sites on the Internet can help answer these questions. The Internet may help to serve the function of “emotional comfort”, but I don’t think it can replace face-to-face communications.  The Internet can also help the religion re-enforce the guidelines for everyday life which serves the function of “social control” and a website or online community can help its followers to keep up with teachings and practices which in turn re-enforces “social solidarity” within that community. I don’t believe the Internet is completely sufficient though. The Internet can be used as a tool or aid, but I don’t think it is going to completely eliminate the traditional approach.

            It’s true; there are many ways that the Internet can change religion. Our text book lists new ideas from online prayer requests to virtual church services.  I think the Internet is a good tool for religions to use to help market their own beliefs and it’s a good way to make contact with thousands and potentially millions of people either who are already members or who are potential converts. It’s just good business for them. Can it replace the warm embrace of fellow believers? No, it won’t replace face-to-face contact with fellow members. The sound of a person’s voice, the smile on someone’s face and the warmth of another’s touch can’t be replaced with a computer screen. We are social animals who crave the real company of others.

References

Hearne, R. (2011, July 08). [Web log message]. Retrieved from             http://www.ntcumc.org/_blog/The_Lay_Leaders_Blog/post/Texts_and_tweets_can't_repl ace_old-fashioned_face-to-face_contact/

Henslin, J. (2011). Essentials of sociology: a down-to-earth approach. (Ninth ed., p. 368, 369).     Pearson. Retrieved from http://www.coursesmart.com/SR/3803881/9780205841141/369

The human touch. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://contributor.corbis.com/content/Creative     Research/Macro Briefs/100222-ExecSummary-HumanTouch-EN.pdf

Religion and the internet. (n.d.). Retrieved from                                                                                            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_and_the_Internet

SOC 100 - Sociology of Education Assignment

This was a fun assignment. I used Powerpoint 2010 and then converted the PP to a video file. The first wmv video I made was too big so I converted that one to mp4 which turned out great. I got a 45/45 on this and could have done a better job, but the initial video conversion took my poor laptop about 6 hours to make, so I didn't go back and fix my mistakes. I got a very good grade though. So here's the assignment: For your assignment select at least two countries not mentioned in the text or on the video and develop a slide presentation illustrating one of the three sociological perspectives mentioned in the text. In other words you would use the significant concepts (constructs) the perspective you choose and explain how these concepts and perspective could impact test scores. 

SOC 100 - Gender

This assignment was pretty easy. He had it embedded in the video lecture and even though I don't remember exactly what it was, he said to write a couple of paragraphs on Viagra and Botox. Write about how they are marketed and the social constraints. I got a 43/45 so I was happy with it. Here it is:

Viagra, Botox and Social Constraints

Pfizer makes Viagra, an erectile dysfunction medication for men. This is not an over the counter (OTC) medication, but it is prescribed by doctors for men who have trouble with erectile dysfunction. This medication has been very popular for around 13 years now and since its inception has gained tremendous popularity with men over 50 years of age. Since it came on the market many other similar medications have followed that are similar in nature, but Viagra is the first and most widely used today. The advertising and marketing of Viagra is targeted toward men. Advertisements show strong, seemingly successful, healthy men promoting the product Images are of masculine, good looking men in their 50’s, dressed in business suits or nice casual attire ("Viagra," ). They are usually White or African American men and I don’t think I’ve ever seen any other races or ethnic groups in these ads. On Viagra’s website the description of erectile dysfunction lists the problems and builds the fear of not being able to perform with a woman. Specifically it states erectile dysfunction is when a man has difficulty getting an erection or keeping it long enough for sex. In the ads most of the men look to be either middle or upper class in society, nicely dressed and sometimes the outdoors type. They look strong and powerful and as in one ad, “in charge” of their life. When it comes to social constraints I think normally in our society we think of older men in the later years (65+) as not having sex at all or at least very little and not being concerned with it. At least that’s the way it was seen for years. However, now it seems to be saying that men and women in their later stages of life do want to have sex and have it on a regular basis. There’s even a pill similar to Viagra and it’s taken daily. This is breaking the old idea that sex is for the young. Another social constraint is that people just didn’t use to talk about things like this in public and we never saw it on TV. It wasn’t acceptable. That has certainly changed and advertisements like these are all over the media. Talking about these things is not taboo any longer.

            Botox use on wrinkles was first documented by a plastic surgeon in California in 1989. Cosmetic use of botulinum toxin type A has become popular with celebrities who view it as less intrusive and/or artificial than other types of plastic surgery. The results of cosmetic procedures vary but can last up to eight months ("Botulinum toxin,”). On the website advertising and marketing is targeted toward women. Images show nicely dressed, beautiful, happy, confident women who are smiling ("Botox cosmetic home,”). The images of most of the women look to be in their 40’s, and all who appear in the forefront of the advertising are White American women. On one page they show before and after photos of women who have taken the treatment. On that page there are many photos and the majority are women, but there are couple of men. Most are White women, but I did see one African American women. In the majority of the ads the women all appear to be middle or upper class. On the webpage “About Botox”, it lists some reasons why you might want to have it. It specifically mentions you might want to have it if you look “tired or unapproachable”, which I see as reaching out to women’s fears. When it comes to social constraints I use to think that our society forbid things like plastic surgery and treatments like Botox strictly for the purpose of vanity and we never use to see it advertised on TV. Plastic surgery use to be for people that needed it, say if a person was disfigured in a car accident, but it’s not that way anymore.  It’s acceptable today to see ads like these in all the media. These ads appeal to a person’s vanity and that’s okay today. It’s perfectly acceptable for women and men to talk about these issues openly. Today, people don’t hide the fact they’re considering Botox and people are less likely today to hide the fact that they had the procedure . Also, our society used to think of signs of aging, like wrinkles, as a natural progression and a sign of wisdom, but now people have Botox to remove those signs of aging. In the ads it’s promoted that if you want to be successful you have to look good, either handsome if you are a man, or young and beautiful if you’re a women. I can also see that our society used to believe that when a person ages, looks should be less important.  When you got older you were expected to slow down and stay at home. However, our human lifespan is increasing, our health is better and age is not a constraint like it used to be. As people age, they are more active today than ever before and they care about physical appearances.

            Whether it’s bold advertising on television about erectile dysfunction or talking openly with friends about removing wrinkles with Botox, social constraints have loosened.

 

References

Botox cosmetic home page. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.botoxcosmetic.com/home.aspx

Botulinum toxin. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulinum_toxin

Viagra. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.viagra.com

SOC 100 - Global Stratification Assignment

Okay, we had a video with this assignment as with most of our assignments, but I'm not able to post the video because it's not mine to post. We're reading the chapter on Global Stratification in Essentials of Sociology, A Down to Earth Approach, Henslin, 9th Edition. Here's the assignment: In the video lecture it was discussed how the concepts we studied in Culture strongly influenced social stratification in different countries. In other words how does the definition of each of the three concepts that sociologists use to measure social stratification influence the strata in a society? (Power, Property, and Prestige). Here's my paper:

The Three Elements: Property, Power and Prestige

Property, power and prestige normally occur together in a society. Yet they are not always evenly distributed. Property is all the wealth, investments, deeded and titled properties, and other tangible sources of income. Power is the ability to get one's way even in the face of opposition to one's goals. Prestige is the degree of social honor attached with your position in society (Cheney, 2009). How do these influence the strata in society? In our country and in other industrialized nations wealth or income is the major determining factor of a person’s social status.  However, in the least industrialized nations they are less dependent upon income as a means of stratifying the society. They have a stratification system based more on power and prestige.  For instance, in Sudan the number of cattle a family owns is a sign of wealth and status. In some countries a shaman or medicine man ranks high in status and little importance is placed on material possessions or income.

Max Weber said that three elements determine social class: property, power and prestige (the three Ps). So let’s look at our country and how the three Ps occur together but aren’t always evenly distributed.  In our country people who are wealthy and in the upper class tend to also have power and prestige. Yet this is not always the case. Plumbers may make more money than college professors, but holding a professorship is more prestigious than being a “blue collar worker” (Cliffnotes.com, 2011). Normally people who have very powerful positions also tend to have more wealth and prestige. Again, this is not always the case. Look at the President of the United States. This is a very powerful position. President Obama wields a lot of power, but in fact doesn’t make that much money in comparison to the tremendous power his position holds.  Firefighters are viewed by 61% of the public as having “very great prestige,” and rightly so – with an occupation that puts them decisively in harm’s way in order to save lives and properties, it’s of little wonder why firefighters stand firmly at the top of the occupation prestige list (Tu, 2009). However, the salary for firefighters on the average is only around $41,000 per year. Given all of the prestige of a firefighter one would think they would have more power and wealth, but they don’t. 

In the least industrialized countries income isn’t a major determining factor of social class. In those countries stratification is based more on power and prestige.  In our society wealth and income play an important role in determining social class, but as we’ve seen, even though power, property and prestige normally occur together, they aren’t always evenly distributed.

 

References

Cheney, P. (2009). Stratification and the three p's. Retrieved from 
http://freebooks.uvu.edu/SOC1010/index.php/09.html

CliffsNotes.com. What Divides Us: Stratification. 28 Oct 2011
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26879.html

Tu, D. (2009, August 02). Top 10 most (& least) prestigious jobs in america: How much they earn and     how to land them [Web log message]. Retrieved from         
http://www.billshrink.com/blog/4556/best-worst-jobs-america/

SOC 100 - Discussion Posts Day Five

Okay, here is the final discussion post. This series of posts are related to the "Children of the Plains" video presented by 20/20. This was a very good video, I thought, on the Lakota in the Pine Ridge reservation of South Dakota. See the other posts to get the full list of discussion questions. Here is the final question: Day five:  Draw your own conclusions from the video about the little girl and the middle school boy, will they succeed? and here is my post:

The boy, Robert Looks Twice, has strong character. He’s honest, hardworking and is on a good path in life. He’s determined to overcome the odds. He’s quarterback on the football team, student council president of his class and he dreams of better things. These are all admirable for any 12 year old in any ethnic group.  He’s in a difficult situation on the reservation, but is very intelligent and wise for his age. Just the fact that he knows his struggles are making him stronger is a good indication to me that he’ll succeed. I think he’ll do his best to stay away from drugs and alcohol and I think he’ll try his best to go far in his education and even graduate college. He has some opportunities out there and with just a little help from others he has a chance to succeed. I think his elders will give him the support he needs and he’ll continue to do well. I’m very hopeful for him; he’s a modern day warrior.
The little girl, Louise, has had a tough time. She’s already tried marijuana, to commit suicide and she still has thoughts of it according to the picture she drew. I’m very sad for her and she needs a good support system to overcome this. Her psychologist is a long way away and she probably doesn’t have many sessions with him. She is fragile and she doesn’t eat well at home. Her home environment is sad, because her mother drinks and her home is cold. On the bright side she is good in math and has a bright personality. She seems to keep her head up and the teachers, school counselor and principle of her school watch over her. Even though things are tough now I think with a good support system and people watching over she can survive and succeed. I sincerely hope she does. Heather Thompson, from a neighboring tribe graduated from Harvard law. With a role model like that Louise can succeed. Those role models can teach Louise resilience.

SOC 100 - Discussion Posts Day Four

Day four: Derive from the four theories about prejudice your own theory as to why Pine Ridge Sioux are in the social condition they are living. Here's my post:

It’s a combination of things.  I can see that sometimes they use a scapegoat. They blame their social condition on others, white people, the gov’t, businesses, and educational institutions. People often unfairly blame their troubles on another or a scapegoat. Frustrated, people strike out and look for someone to blame.
Our society is full of authoritarian people who believe that things are either right or wrong and ambiguity disturbs them. They get disturbed when they see norms and values that are different from their own. The authoritarian views people who are different as inferior and this assures them that their own position is right. I think this is what happened to the Native Americans when Europeans settled in their land. They saw the Native Americans as being different and couldn’t understand it, so they viewed the Native Americans as inferior. That’s how the prejudice started and it didn’t stop there, they killed them and ran them off their land.
In another theory functionalist’s show, “Prejudice becomes practically irresistible when state machinery is used to advance the cause of hatred. To produce prejudice, the Nazis harnessed government agencies, the schools, police, courts, and mass media. The results were devastating.” We can see how functional it was for our gov’t, who wanted the land and resources from the Native Americans, to use its power to advance hatred toward the Native people. I think the Pine Ridge Sioux are in the social condition they’re in, because of the campaign waged against them years ago by the federal gov’t. Conflict theorists focus on how groups compete for scarce resources and in the case of the Native Americans I believe it was the land, gold in the Black Hills and buffalo. At that time Europeans, French, and others saw themselves as able to make gains only at the expense of the Native Americans. They still haven’t recovered from the devastation.
When we label a group it affects the way we see people. Labels cause selective perception as it states in our textbook. Long ago people started labeling the Native Americans and using horrible words such as savages, dirty, and lazy. That really affected how people perceived them and even though it’s better today, it’s taken a long time to correct those awful labels. I think the Lakota Sioux are still feeling the repercussions of those labels. In the video it shows how some businesses still today don’t want to hire Native Americans. Also, it shows how difficult it is for them to start a business. As the textbook states, “If we apply a label to a group, we tend to perceive its members as all alike.”
Finally, I think some of it may be contributed to labeling and self-fulfilling stereotypes. The Native Americans were labeled as lazy a long time ago, and not deserving good jobs. Being denied good jobs they got what they could and it wasn’t the best of things. People see the social condition they’re in and then the cycle starts all over again. The discrimination that created the “laziness” in the first place passes unnoticed (Henslin, 2011). The Pine Ridge Sioux aren’t in the social condition they’re in because they want to be, it’s because of a lot of different factors. It’ll take some time and some good people like the children we saw in the video to change things.

SOC 100 - Discussion Posts Day Three

Day three: How are the three ways of learning to discriminate illustrated in the video? Here is my posting for this question. Again, this is a discussion assignment for Sociology 100. We were instructed to read out of the textbook and then watch a a video. The video is called "Children of the Plains" and was aired on 20/20 a while back. The link is here: http://abc.go.com/watch/2020/SH559026/VD55148316/2020-1014-children-of-the-plains

My post:

Discrimination is the result of an attitude called prejudice. Prejudice is pre-judging, usually negatively.  I also see in the textbook it talks about learning prejudice and one way we learn is from association. We’re not born with prejudice we learn it from the people around us. So in the video I see this in a couple of ways. One, the video shows an old western movie with stage coach and Indians chasing it. People learn discrimination from the way the Indians were depicted in those movies. It’s so negative. Second, I think that negativity just perpetuated and spread from one person to the next, through association. The video shows in a lot of places that many people discriminate against the Indians.
The second way we learn is the “far reaching nature of prejudice.” In the video businesses discriminated against them. They won’t hire Indians and in one part a lady pleads for businesses to come and open stores in the reservation and for businesses to hire Indians. In that same part of the video a man pleads for education. They need schools but are discriminated against and new schools aren’t built there. He asks for that and also for teachers to come and teach and share their knowledge with them. “Bring your education to our community”, he says. Part of the far reaching nature of prejudice is that if you discriminate against one group, you'll tend to discriminate against another. I can really see this with businesses in the video. Also, in the video is the federal government and its discrimination against the Lakota. It seems like for no reason at all or maybe just ignorance, the federal government wanted to westernize the Lakota. The Lakota aren’t the first people they discriminated against. They took their children away and prohibited them to speak Lakota. They cut their hair and changed their clothes. They wanted to kill the Indian and save the man. It’s so far reaching.
Finally, the third way that people learn to be prejudice is internalizing dominant norms. People can actually be prejudice against their own group. In the textbook it talks about ethnic maps too. I can see the ethnic maps illustrated in the video. The pictures they show of intoxicated Indians on the streets, the small lucrative liquor stores in that small town and the signs everywhere that forbid alcohol and drugs. The video shows the beer cans on the side of the road too. This would have to have a strong impact on the people living there, especially the children. The video illustrates this by interviewing the young kids about alcohol and drug use and we hear those children saying they don’t like it and that it’s bad. Those are good things they’re learning and they want change. They want to get a better education and stay away from drugs and alcohol. From this ethnic map they could be learning to discriminate against their own group too. As the textbook says, “Apparently, we all learn the ethnic maps of our culture and, along with them, their route to biased perception.”

SOC 100 - Discussion Posts Day Two

Day two:  Why do some people feel an intense sense of ethnic identity, while others feel hardy any?  Relative size, power, appearance, discrimination. Here's my post:

When a group is small in size (minority), has little power, looks different than most in society and is discriminated against they can feel a strong sense of ethnic identity. I like what the textbook said about discrimination. When the smaller group is discriminated against they are closer and get the feeling of “we-ness”. The opposite is true of the dominant group in society. When a group is large, has power, looks like most in society and isn’t discriminated against then they lack a sense of ethnic identity. I guess they don't have that "we-ness".
I saw all of these four factors played out in the video, size, power, appearance and discrimination. The Lakota’s are small in size (number) and they have a strong sense of ethnic identity. As depicted in the video, they are a small group on a reservation located in Southwestern South Dakota. Also from the video, they don’t have much power because the federal government took it and their property away from them a long time ago. As for appearance and discrimination, the Lakota look different than most in society and they’re definitely discriminated against.  The federal government discriminated against them in the past and today they don’t have educational, job or business opportunities like they should. The Lakota (minority) do ethnic work as mentioned in the textbook.  In the video, in ceremonies like the powwow, they wear the traditional clothing, headdresses, play traditional songs and instruments. Even outside ceremonies they wear a traditional hairstyle, speak Lakota and practice their own customs. They have their own schools too. So I think the video and our text in this part really coincides.

SOC 100 - Discussion Posts Day One

The next assignment we had in our Sociology 100 class was a discussion post. It was series of five posts answering some questions about a video we saw. The video is "Children of the Plains" and was a 20/20 special on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. A very good 20/20 video. Here is the link and I reccommend it:
http://abc.go.com/watch/2020/SH559026/VD55148316/2020-1014-children-of-the-plains
Day one:  How do the six myths and reality play out in this video? The six myths come from the textbook and I didn't quite get all of them.

Here's my post:

The first myth I see played out in this video is the myth of pure races. As we read in our text, this is myth. The video portrays the Lakota here as being unlike any other people. In our text it states that even though we have many visible differences, we humans are strikingly very homogeneous (same or similar nature). The second myth I see from our text is the myth of fixed number of races and I don’t see this played out in the video other than there are just two large groupings of people mentioned and that’s, Indian and White.  Either you’re Indian or White, but I don’t believe that’s the real message they intend, but I think that’s all that is mentioned.  I think this video shows a good deal about the culture of the Lakota and this breaks the myth that race is fixed by biology. As stated in our text, “race” depends more on the society in which we live than on biological characteristics.  I particularly like the powwow scenes and the dress of the dancers in this video.  Probably the biggest one that stands out for me is the myth of racial superiority. When the video told of how in as late as the 1940’s these Lakota children were being sent to western schools and sent there to be westernized, that myth just popped out. The federal government believed that they (Lakota) had to be westernized as if the Lakota were inferior. The children had their hair cut, and their clothes changed.
The reality is that no race is superior and even biologists can’t decide how people should be classified into races. People act on beliefs and not always the facts. Alcoholism and drug abused was shown in the video, but the fact is these problems plaque all people. I don’t think it was the intent of the video to suggest it’s only a problem on the reservation, but I can see how some people may get the idea that it’s because of race that it’s such a problem there. As the book said, people will act on perceptions and beliefs, not facts.

SOC 100 - Assignment on Deviance

Okay here's one assignment that I thought I did pretty well on, but the professor didn't think much of it. I received a 35/45 on this paper. The assignment is: How do the Functionalist explain the difference between “Street Crime” and “White Collar Crime?”  So from the text, the video lecture, and your internet research, how should society deal with white collar crime?I can't post the video and let me say that some of these are hard to watch. It's a video lecture and it basically a power point pres. So here it is:

Deterring White Collar Crime

How does the Functionalist explain the difference between “Street Crime” and “White Collar Crime?”  Functionalist stress that just as education and job opportunities are different for the social classes, so are the crimes that they commit. The lower social classes commit most of the street crime while the upper social classes commit the white collar crime (Henslin, 2011).  You have to have the opportunity to commit the crime. In other words, you have to be a doctor in order to commit the types of white collar crimes that a doctor can commit. In this paper I’ll try to write a good explanation on how our society should deal with the white collar criminal.

In our text there are many good cases presented that show how white collar criminals have gotten off almost completely free from any punishment.  Many individuals get off without spending one day in jail. Sears defrauded $100 million from victims and to avoid a criminal trial they pleaded guilty. Macy’s and Bloomingdales were committing similar crimes and to avoid criminal prosecution they settled out of court (Henslin, 2011). When companies commit these crimes I think all people directly involved need to serve time in prison, the company should be fined severely and restitution needs to be made to the victims. In addition, companies should be put on probation. I don’t believe that our government should reward criminal behavior with new lucrative contracts as in the case of Sioux Manufacturing in North Dakota. After Sioux Manufacturing was found guilty of cheating the government, they were given another contract to produce helmets (Henslin, 2011).

According to one web document Congress has passed laws to help prosecutors with white collar crime.  In the 1970’s and 80’s a wave of laws and statues known as the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was originally associated with mafia-related organized crime, but was soon applied to white collar crime.  Also, in 2002 Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) to improve corporate governance -- the relationship and accountability between corporations and their stakeholders (McGrath). This was in light of Enron and other widely publicized scandals during that time period. I disagree that punishment has gone too far when judges try to make an example of these cases. They should be held to a higher standard and after spending time in prison I don’t think that these white collar criminals should be allowed to go back into business. Investment bankers convicted and sent to prison should not be allowed back into the banking industry. Tougher sanctions need to be imposed on these white collar criminals after they’re freed.  Life in jail isn’t the answer, but maybe lifelong consequences are.

Going back to the beginning, to commit a white-collar crime the person(s) need to have the opportunity. They’re in a position of power and have a fiduciary responsibility to many people. Because of the position they hold, they should be held to a higher standard. When they are convicted they need to be fined and punished severely. Heavy fines can be imposed on companies and the companies put on probation. A judge can impose additional sanctions, or conditions after these white collar criminals are released to prevent them from being put back into another position of power. Maybe lifelong consequences will deter them from committing white collar crimes in the first place.

References

Henslin, J. (2011). Essentials of sociology: a down-to-earth approach. (Ninth ed., p.                                   145-146). Pearson.

McGrath, J. (n.d.). How white collar crime works. Retrieved from                                                               http://money.howstuffworks.com/white-collar-crime6.htm

SOC 100 - Test Over Chapters 4 & 5

Okay this is the first test. I was looking forward to it and now that it's graded I'm kinda disappointed. The last answer I thought was good, but the professor didn't. I had a couple of small errors in the test just because I was in a hurry to get it done. I was going to a retreat in upper South Dakota and was really looking forward to that. The biggest error I had was Roosevelts name. It was Franklin and not Theodore that started the March of Dimes. So here it is. I got an 87%.

Introduction to Sociology

Soc 100

Test over Chapters four and five

Answer all five questions as completely as possible.  Yes, you may use your text, the internet, and any notes you may have taken from the video lectures.  Each question’s answer is worth 20 points each.  It is due 5:00 Friday October 14, 2011.

Erving Goffman introduced the idea that in everyday life we perform our assigned roles, and maintained that our social life was like a drama enacted on a stage. Discuss his approach to the study of everyday life.  Include in your discussion his ideas of front and back stage, as well as impression management.  Describe a major characteristic of your front stage and a major characteristic of your back state.  What is your favorite way of impression management?

Answer: Erving Goffman introduced the term dramaturgy into sociology to show how life is like a play. Goffman said that when we are born we are put on stage and though out our life we act. We have ideas on how we want others to think of us and we act on those ideas. This is what he called impression management.  Every day we are playing our roles and he divided them into two parts, front stage and back stage. Front stage is where we deliver our lines (a major characteristic of front stage) and when we are in front of people. If I were giving a speech to a class, that is considered front stage. Back stage is where we can relax (a characteristic of back stage) as if no one is watching. When we are alone and in our rooms is backstage.  One of my favorite ways of impression management is while working I dress in a company shirt and nice pants. No tennis shoes or blue jeans are allowed. My clients must see me as a professional. I also use a more professional language when around clients and I don’t use slang terms.

Define role strain and role conflict. Give an example of role strain that you might experience as a college student and an example of role conflict that you have experienced.

Answer: We have many roles.  We may be a son, daughter, father, mother, student, business owner, employee, or club member and so on. Sometimes two of our roles may have a conflict. I’m leaving for a retreat this weekend with my girlfriend, but at the same time I have this test due on Friday. There’s a role conflict between my role as a student and my role as a boyfriend. This will require some management on my part. I’ll need to make sure I have time to prepare to leave and also make sure my test paper is done and uploaded. A role strain is a conflict within a role, not between two roles. An example is with my role as a technician.  When I visit offices to fix problems with their equipment I want to be helpful and explain what went wrong or what they did wrong, but at the same time I don’t want them to feel bad. An example of a role strain as a college student may be that in a classroom I might know the answer to a question, but be hesitant to raise my hand in fear of making my fellow students look bad.

Apply functional analysis to "Mass Media in Social Life, You Can't be Thin Enough: Body Images and the Mass Media." How is the extreme emphasis on attaining a nearly impossible standard of body shape both functional and dysfunctional?

Answer: The functionalist approach to analyzing this article is seen within the article. Functional analysis will consider the large scale features of social life (macrosociology), such as social class. Thinness is associated with “good-looking”, and according to the research thin people make more money which raises their social class. Also, thin women are more likely to marry wealthier men. The extreme emphasis on body shape can be functional because it serves to motivate people to eat better, be healthier and to exercise. While at the same time it can be dysfunctional because not everyone has the access to good diet and gyms. These people are left out and looked upon differently through no fault of their own.

Compare and contrast the traditional society with the nontraditional society in reference to production, relationships, and evaluations of each system.

Answer: Production in traditional societies is less because there is less need for it. Importance is placed on personal relationships and not on material things.  In contrast, a nontraditional society people will consume more and the production is higher.  Nontraditional societies place more importance on self-interest and material things and people’s lives don’t center on family and friends as in a traditional society.  A traditional society is a close knit community; more importance is focused on family, lifelong friendships and long term relationships. There’s less need for long term relationships in a nontraditional society because things move faster and there’s less time to develop those close personal ties. In a nontraditional society much of our time is spent with strangers and short-time acquaintances. Both types of societies have advantages and disadvantages. An advantage in a traditional society is that everyone knows what they are expected to do and does it. One disadvantage though is that a traditional society is slow to change when new technologies are introduced. An example is the farming equipment of the Amish. A nontraditional society accepts change faster and invents new technologies allowing diversity among people, but at the same time it creates new problems associated with progress. An example is industrialization and the pollution it causes.

How do bureaucracies perpetuate themselves through goal displacement?  Provide an example of  a bureaucracy that used goal displacement and how they did it.

I think he was dead in the 1930’s as he was shot and killed in 1919.

Answer: Goal displacement is adopting new goals once the main objective is completed. This allows the bureaucracy to continue. A good example of this is with the March of Dimes, originally founded by Theodore Roosevelt in the 1930’s to find a cure for polio. Once the vaccine was found in the 1950’s they didn’t claim victory and close the doors, but instead found a new cause to pursue. This allowed them to continue and today the March of Dimes fights for the health of babies and against birth defects.

SOC 100 - Formal Organizations

Here's the assignment: Look on the internet at several different large companies or organizations and find how they try to use the environment to cut down on the routine of everyday work for their employees.  In other words how do company policies encourage the employees to personalize their work and work space.  Write a one page essay on what you find and evaluate your findings as to what you think is the best way to personalize the bureaucracy. And here's my paper. For some reason the references at the bottom don't want to stay in the correct format and the original paper is double spaced. I received a 43/45 on this one.

Personalizing the Bureaucracy in the Workplace

I was able to find a few articles on companies that have flexible policies pertaining to office work space. The first article I found mentioned that J.C. Penny in 2004 stopped the strict policy it had. The new CEO found that employees were still calling managers “Mr.” and “Ms.” and that formal business attire was required. The new CEO felt this was keeping the employees from expressing themselves individually. He also found that this policy was causing a high turnover and keeping talented people from joining J.C. Penny. He recruited a new Human Resources officer to help change the strict policy and in addition the company began allowing employees to decorate their work spaces ("Uniqueness,"). Relaxing the dress code is an excellent way to allow employees to feel more like individuals, instead of feeling like cogs in the wheel. Here in Pierre, South Dakota our state government employees have casual day where they can dress in jeans and other more casual attire one day out of the week. I’ve also noticed in our state offices that workers are allowed to do a little decorating in their work space. I’ve seen family photos and plants on and around desks. I think management has found this increases morale and makes for happier employees. In a couple of other web documents I’ve seen that a lot of the technology companies, especially those that hire people right out of college, have a much more relaxed approach to company policy. Google is known for being very relaxed and quite a bit out of the old norm. Staff at Google even has their laundry done for them (McEntegart, 2010). G5, a company in Bend, Oregon, allows employees to bring their pets to work. I’ve seen where there are a lot of tech companies that allow pets at work. That’s really relaxing company policy.

It’s definitely not as it once was and I think the very best ways to personalize the bureaucracy is to let employees have some freedom and maintain some individualism. Family photos, plants and decorations in the work space are the best ways I can see to personalize the bureaucracy. It allows workers to show some individuality and gives them freedom to be themselves. I think doing so relieves stress and makes for a happier workplace. Having a relaxed dress code or at least a casual day is another good idea.  It’s more comfortable for employees and gives them a way to feel more like individuals. Allowing pets in the workplace is probably not one I would recommend, but it’s really fun to see. I guess it just depends on the company or organization and what clients or customers it has. The old strict policies are losing ground and the new flexible, personal policies are becoming the norm. It’s nice to see.

 

References

Uniqueness. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.omworkspace.com/insight/uniqueness.htm

McEntegart, J. (2010, October 29). Google staff can get laundry done for them. Retrieved from                 http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Googlers-Employee-Perks-Work-at-Google-            TaskRabbit,news-8515.html

SOC 100 - Social Groups

Assignment: The text defines, describes, and explains Aggregates, Categories, Primary Groups, Secondary Groups, Voluntary Associations, In-groups, out-groups, Reference Groups, and Social Networks. . With the rise of Facebook, myspace, Linkedin, texting and other such electronic communities these groups have gone through change and now need to be redefined or drop out of use.  Select 3 of these groups and redefine these groups and give examples of your definition. Also, the text discusses three types of leaders.  How do you see these leaders being played out on the internet?

I got a 45/45 n this one. It must have been pretty good.

Redefining Social Groups and Assessing Leadership Styles on the Internet

In our textbook Cooley defines primary groups as, those characterized by intimate face- to- face association and cooperation (Henslin, 2011).  With the rise in instant messaging, e-mail, web forums and social networking sites on the Internet I think his definition needs revision. How could he have foreseen these new leaps in technology in 1909? People do have intimate face to face relationships over the Internet using instant messaging, e-mail, web forums and social networking sites. They don’t have to meet face- to- face to become intimate. Social dating websites like Match.com are a good example. I think an updated definition would be using the term person- to- person. So we could say, those characterized by intimate person- to- person association and cooperation instead of face- to- face.

Also in our textbook it says, an aggregate consists of people who temporarily share the same physical space but who do not see themselves as belonging together (Henslin, 2011).  As with Cooley’s definition earlier, the definition of aggregate leaves out the Internet. What about people on the Internet watching a live video broadcast or people joining a chat session? Instead of saying “physical space” we could broaden that to say “physical or virtual space”. I think that adding the term “virtual” gives us a better definition for today. An example of an aggregate would be people who join a Tweet to see what their favorite athlete is saying or people who just happen to be viewing the same YouTube video.

In our textbook the term social network is defined as people who are linked together (Henslin, 2011). It defines a social network including family, friends, acquaintances, people at work and school, and “friends of friends.” It doesn’t mention people who are linked together over the Internet or who have joined a social networking site like Facebook or Twitter. Now that the Internet is so widely used in our society and at the forefront of almost everything we do, I think we should specifically mention it. It sounds as though the old definition is using old ideas or concepts. I think a better definition of social network would include social networking sites.  So in addition to family, friends, acquaintances, people at work and school, and “friends of friends” we could add users on social networking websites. I have a social network of people on Facebook and Twitter. After all, Facebook and Twitter are called social networks (Nations).

Our text discusses three leadership styles and each is played out on the Internet by various people, organizations and countries. The authoritarian style is seen when countries (governments) block Internet usage.  For instance, China blocked Twitter and hundreds of thousands of other sites (MacKinnon, 2010).  It’s common for dictatorships and socialist regimes to block what they don’t want their people to see. I can see an authoritarian style of leadership being played out in our schools and libraries. The school administrators and library officials have put in place software to block or filter certain Internet websites and the users don’t have any choice in the matter. Spam could be seen as another authoritarian style on the Internet. Spammers send out millions of e-mails to unwitting people.

The democratic style can be seen when users voluntarily block websites that are offensive to them. There is free software available that can do this automatically and filter out the offensive sites even before a user is connected to one. I think another example is users having the ability to opt out of e-mail newsletters and advertisements.  Legitimate businesses that advertise using e-mail don’t want to be seen as spammers. Also, good social networking websites give users a choice of security or anonymity. Users can choose a level of security which determines who is able to view their personal information and postings.

I agree with others that the Internet in itself is seen as laissez- faire capitalism, because there isn’t much control over it and governments are letting things alone (Zombiehero213, 2010). In our own country state sales tax is usually not collected across state lines. I can buy a product in Utah and not pay any sales tax.  We don’t see special Internet taxes or fees imposed by governments either. I don’t have to pay a separate fee or special tax to view a website in another country. People worldwide can buy and sell on E-bay freely. There’s no government regulation on online auctions. Our existing federal and state laws still do exist so you can’t sell automatic machine guns on E-bay, but for the most part the government goes unseen.

                                                                                

References

Henslin, J. (2011). Essentials of sociology: a down-to-earth approach. (Ninth ed., p. 112,                116). Pearson. Retrieved from                                                                                                                            http://www.coursesmart.com/9780205841141

MacKinnon, R. (2010, October 11-12). Networked authoritarianism in china and beyond:                        implications for global internet freedom. Retrieved from                                                                                  http://iis-db.stanford.edu/evnts/6349/MacKinnon_Libtech.pdf

Nations, D. (n.d.). What is social networking?. Retrieved from                               http://webtrends.about.com/od/socialnetworking/a/social-network.htm

Zombiehero213. (2010, March 23). The internet is laissez-faire [Web log message].                                                     Retrieved from

                             http://zombiehero213.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/the-internet-is-laissez-faire/

SOC 100 - Social Interaction

This was a fun assignment. We were told to break a background assumption and then record peoples behavior towards us. I dressed differently with a tie and sweats. I'd like to go further next time if I ever have to do it again for a class. I got a 45/45 on this one. Here's the assignment.

Assignment for Micro-Sociological Approach

And Social Interaction

1. What were your feelings of yourself when you were doing this experiment?

I was apprehensive about going into a casual meeting wearing a shirt and tie. Everyone there has known me for many years and I’ve never worn a tie, except to funerals and church. I was wearing black sweat pants, a green striped shirt and a red tie. I thought this would get reactions from people, which it did. I felt nervous going into the meeting and was cautious entering. I was thinking that the people were going to size me up and judge me. I was a little embarrassed at the way I was dressed. I felt self-conscious as if everyone was looking at me and at the same time I felt isolated.

2. What was the initial reaction others had of you?

The first reaction I noticed from people was their facial expression. It was one of surprise. One smiled and said, “You look nice today”.  I’m sure she was sincere, but ignoring the unmatched colors. One girl got a really big grin and said hi, but only after I said hi to her first. One man just smiled and looked down. He made no eye contact with me. Nobody came into my intimate space. After we were all seated I noticed a man made eye contact with me and then looked away with a little smile on his face. Most kept their distance and were silent. At the end of the meeting, a close friend of mine tugged on my tie and smiled broadly. He was in my personal space but not close enough to be in my intimate space. He was surprised at the way I was dressed, but said nothing to me about it. Another close friend sat on a counter top talking with me and I noticed his arms folded across his chest. I thought that was different body language, because we’re close friends and his arms are usually in his lap or down by his side. Overall my attire seemed to be ignored. Maybe ignoring me was the face-saving technique called studied nonobservance (Henslin, 2011). 

3. What means did the people around you use to get you to do, act behave as they expect you to be?

I think it was quite obvious to them something was different about me. I can’t say for sure, but I believe that their studied nonobservance, making no eye contact and silence was a subtle way to get me to change. They could have been unconsciously isolating me in an attempt to get me to conform too. Also, maybe unconsciously the isolation was a negative sanction because I was breaking a norm and they wanted me to change. The last guy that tugged on my tie is a very close friend and maybe that was an action he used to try to get me to change. No one made any comments or prodded me to at least take off the tie. There wasn’t any harassing either, most likely because I knew everyone pretty well and they aren’t very judgmental in my opinion.

4. How does personal space, eye contact, body language, impression management, and role performance help explain your reaction to your behavior and others’ reaction to your behavior?

My behavior was different and my reaction at first was just due to my anticipation of what they might do.  I unconsciously wanted to fit in as I always do, but knew I wouldn’t this time because I was changing my normal behavior. The distance zone between us was probably greater than usual and I reacted to that by being self-conscious as if I was the center of attention. Maybe they were embarrassed like me and that explains the lack of eye contact. The body language (arms folded across the chest) of one friend caused me to feel isolated or distant. I was playing a role and front stage in my role as a student.  There was a role conflict between my role as a student and one as a friend. I felt as if I was being deceiving, but no harm would come from it and they would get a kick out of it after I told them. The role performance I gave was sufficient enough and they behaved differently because I was not acting like my normal self. In summary, I broke the background assumptions and doing so caused them to act differently towards me. 

 References

Henslin, J. (2011). Essentials of sociology: a down-to-earth approach. (Eight ed., p. 102). Pearson. Retrieved from http://www.coursesmart.com/9780205841141

SOC 100 - Transhumanism and Biotech

This assignment was in one of the videos I watched. Our professor is pretty cool about making his own video lectures. Since I'm an oline student at least I get to hear his voice. No video of him yet, just power point presentations. They are all about 45 minutes long and pretty interesting. The only annoying part, honestly, is when he sips tea. It's pretty loud in the audio portion. Just one of my pet peeves I suppose. The lectures are very good though and I like him as a professor. I don't exactly remember what the assignment was but we were reading about transhumanism and biotech. It's in chapter 4 of Essentials of Sociology, Ninth Edition. So here's what I wrote. I got a 42/45 on this paper so it must have been pretty good. Acceptable for a 49 yr. old freshman anyhow.

Altering The Human Condition and Influencing Biotech’s Future

            According to Bostrom (n.d.), "Transhumanism has gained currency as the name for a new way of thinking that challenges the premiss that the human condition is and will remain essentially unalterable”. We can alter the human condition, but do I really want a lab to grow a new kidney for me if mine fails? I suppose at the moment I think that’s an acceptable solution. However, there are many other things to consider and where do we stop with the new biotech society and nanotechnology? Uploading my conscience to a virtual reality isn’t what I want.  I don’t want to live forever in a virtual world.   I wouldn’t have wanted my DNA changed to make a perfect me either. I think nature does the best job.  However, I would accept tiny robots going through my body to destroy cancer cells if I ever got cancer or if they could open my arteries if I ever got arteriolosclerosis. The innovations that are for curative purposes are acceptable to me and I don’t see them crossing any moral or ethical lines.

 I see avatars and virtual worlds as entertainment. I don’t want to live out my life in a virtual world and I don’t want to send in a robot to do my work. That’s crossing the line for me. I like reality and I like having face to face relationships. If society were to go completely virtual I don’t know who would control it, but it’s probably the same class who control many things today.  It's the people in the upper social class who have power, prestige and wealth.  I think human interaction is vital and necessary, but I can see benefits to virtual worlds and things we can learn from them. Scientist can study these massive online role playing games and use the data to learn more about society. According to Ayshford (2009), “In many ways it’s a microcosm of our existence in the general social world”.

            Juma states (2005), “Advances in biotechnology continuously lead to adjustments in social institutions (defined here as the perceptions, practices, and rules that govern the relations and interactions between individuals and groups). In turn, social institutions influence the pace and direction of technological innovation”. Regarding the six social institutions we discussed, I see science/technology influencing biotech to move forward and push the limits. Government/politics influences the biotech future because it makes the rules that regulate the innovations that science/technology makes. Economics certainly plays an important role in all new technologies because there’s money to be made with the new products and services. Economics influence will be where the profit is. Our religions will want to see biotech adhere to the rules of morality and ethics. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean that we should. Also, religion holds the principle players accountable, influencing just how far they’ll push the limits. In our country and many others, religion has a strong influence with the government and politicians when making laws. The educational institutions educate and influence the students who are the scientists of the future. They can also influence what research is pursued. That brings us back to government. Government funding is important to research and politicians decide how much funding is available and what it can be used for.  Finally, the family wants to procreate and be safe. The family as an institution desires health and security. The family as an institution consumes, creates demand, and pays for the new products and services made by biotechnology, leading back to economics. What it comes down to is that every institution is connected with each other. From the family to science/technology, each plays a significant role in the biotech future.

References

Ayshford, E. (2009, July 23). What virtual worlds can teach us about reality. Retrieved from            http://scienceinsociety.northwestern.edu/content/articles/2009/research-      digest/contractor/what-virtual-worlds-can-teach-us-about-reality

Bostrom, N. (n.d.). What is transhumanism?. Retrieved from            http://www.transhumanism.org/resources/transhumanism.htm

Juma, C. (2005, March 1). Biotechnology in a globalizing world: the coevolution of technology      and social institutions.. Retrieved from http://business.highbeam.com/411908/article-   1G1-130777729/biotechnology-globalizing-world-coevolution-technology

SOC 100 - My Socialization Timeline

Our 2nd assignment for socialization was to do our own timeline. I got the idea of doing my timeline by visiting a few other websites. Evidently it isn't exactly what the professor wanted as I only got a 39/45 score. His comment was "What agents of socialization influenced you in each of these eras?" I thought it was clear what I put in the second column, but I should have specifically listed the agents (family, peers, mass media, neighborhood, school, religion, etc.)

So here it is.

My Socialization Timeline

            My social location (Amanda, 2009) can be defined as a Caucasian, heterosexual, male, born in the United States.  I’m 49 years old, middle class, divorced and have two grown children who are in college. My educational level is some college, but mostly specialized training. I’m not really associated with any religion or political party today, but I was raised Catholic in childhood and my parents were republican. Below is my timeline.

Timeline
Childhood (12 and under)	·         Born the youngest of three siblings. ·         Born and raised in the South. ·         Born into a middle class family. ·         Raised Catholic. ·         Father worked, mother stayed at home. ·         Attended kindergarten, public and some private school. ·         Many good childhood friends. ·         Celebrated all major holidays. ·         Played golf, baseball, football and basketball. ·         Enjoyed fishing. ·         Enjoyed shooting BB guns with friends.
Adolescence (13-17)	·         Got my first real gun. ·         Went hunting and fishing. ·         Attended a good public high school. ·         Got my driver’s license at 16 years of age. ·         Got my first job at Denny’s bussing tables. ·         Started dating. ·         Started going to parties. ·         Started listening to rock and roll. ·         Grew long hair. ·         Experimented with alcohol.
Transitional Adulthood (18-29)	·         Started going to bars and clubs. ·         My friends changed from high school to work buddies. ·         My father died. ·         Moved away from home and to Wyoming. ·         Started working as a fast food manager, but not making a living. ·         Became an outdoor enthusiast. ·         Got married, divorced, and married again. ·         Had two wonderful children. ·         Watched more TV and especially 24 hr. news. ·         I joined organizations. ·         I discovered spirituality.
Middle Years (30-49)	·         I moved to South Dakota. ·         My kids were attending school. ·         My mother died. ·         I settled into a career. ·         Internet starts dominating media. ·         Started watching less 24 hr. news and more movies. ·         Received more education. ·         More income became available. ·         I bought a house and went into debt. ·         Got divorced again. ·         My kids moved out and went to college. ·         My spirituality deepened. ·         Yoga and meditation became important. ·         Started going to the gym and exercising. ·         I joined different clubs.
Later Years (50-65)	·         I’m anticipating AARP membership. ·         I’m anticipating owning a business. ·         I’m anticipating more income. ·         I’m open to the possibility of marriage. ·         Hoping my children will marry. ·         I’m anticipating grandchildren. ·         I’m anticipating traveling. ·         I’ll be evaluating the past.
Older Years (65-70)	·         Anticipating semi-retirement. ·         I’ll probably be open to religion. ·         I may be unable to physically do what I’ve done in the past. ·         I’m anticipating a second home. ·         I’m anticipating more travel abroad. ·         I’m hoping to spend more time with my family.
Oldest (75 and older)	·         I’ll be anticipating retirement. ·         Health concerns will be an issue. ·         I’ll be physically growing frail. ·         Close family and friends will be passing. ·         There’s constant change in living environment, life and lifestyle. ·         I’m anticipating retirement homes or assisted living. ·         I hope to reach the century mark. ·         I’ll be making funeral plans.

References

Amanda. (2009, October 28). My social location [Web log message]. Retrieved from             http://wearethewave.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-social-location.html