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

SOC 100 - Role Taking

This assignment is on socialization. We were to pick one of the theory discussed in the text.  Understand the different stages, concepts or whatever the theorist is using to explain how we come to be human. Take at least two photos that depict the stage or concept of the theory.  Write a good paragraph explaining how we see the two or more photos depict the stage or concept. This was a tough one. I took photos and had to ask for permission before taking them. I won't post the photos here because I told the adults that the photos wouldn't be shown anywhere, just used in my assignment. So here's my paper on Role Taking.

Role Taking

According to George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) playing is very important in human development because it teaches us to take the role of the other. There are three stages of role taking, the first stage is imitation. The two photos below were taken at the public library. See the child with her mother? The little girl is imitating what she has seen her mother doing in the past, pushing the stroller. She is learning by imitating her mother, who is also her significant other. Next there’s a photo with a small boy in the foreground imitating his older brother next to him. (If you look closely you can see the headphones on the boys and the older brother sits a little taller in the chair.) Both have headphones on and are in front of a computer playing an electronic game. The young boy is learning by imitating his older sibling. According to Mead this first stage is not actually role taking, but mimicking what they see others doing.

[PHOTO GOES HERE]

The second stage of role taking is play. I took the two photos below at a daycare center. The first photo shows a three year old boy playing in a toy police car. He hass seen police officers riding in police cars before. He even makes the sound of a siren as he plays. This young boy is learning by pretending to be a policeman. The other photo shows children three and four years old playing in a toy bus. One young boy is leaving the bus and inside the bus there is a child pretending to be the bus driver. Also, there are other children seated in the bus pretending to be passengers. These are very good examples of how children play and pretend to be role models they’ve seen. According to Mead, taking the roles of others is essential in learning how to become members of human groups.

[PHOTO GOES HERE]

The third stage is team games or organized play. In the photos below are high school boys playing football. Playing organized games like football involves taking on other people’s roles and learning to play multiple roles. The first photo shows a player punting the ball and two other players getting ready to catch the ball. One player will eventually catch the ball and the other will block for him. When the ball is initially punted they don’t know for sure who will be the receiver and who will be the blocker. They have to anticipate and know both running and blocking skills. Knowing how to play multiple positions in high school football is very important. Anticipating what other players on your team and on the opposing team will do is also very important in football. According to Mead, the third stage helps us learn to anticipate the reactions of others and modify our own behavior accordingly.

[PHOTO GOES HERE]

SOC 100 - Subcultures

This is our second assignment in the Sociology 100 class. Our assignment was to define the characteristics of a subculture and to choose three subcultures that we are aware of and to justify why they are subcultures. This was a fun assignment but I only got a 39 out of 45 on this one. Our professor uses a writing rubric to grade these papers.

Back to CourseSmart. When reading the book online it doesn't highlight very well. I find it difficult to highlight on my laptop, it wants to highlight in another column or not at all. I'm finding it to be a real problem. Saving the book to read offline is a joke too. If I wanted to make things more difficult for students to read their e-book I don't think I could have planned it any better than CourseSmart did. What a joke!

Anyway, here's my paper on Subcultures.

Subcultures

Subcultures are groups of people that have different ways of looking at things. They can come together because of a common occupation or an activity they have in common. These subcultures develop their own talk. They have their own norms, values and gestures.

In Pierre I’m familiar with three subcultures, Alcoholics Anonymous, Bikers, and Ham Radio Operators.  In Alcoholics Anonymous it’s the devoted members who make up the subculture. They use sayings such as, “One Day at A Time”, “Live and Let Live” and “First Things First”.  Newcomers may not understand what they mean.  Also, AA members have their own common values. They value sobriety and freedom from alcohol. They also value honesty, service, humility and the coins they receive for their length of sobriety.  A norm in AA is their personal introduction. They do it by first name only and then say they are an alcoholic. A gesture in AA is for new comers to receive a beginners chip and for members to receive chips at significant anniversaries in their sobriety.

I’m a Ham Radio Operator and know the subculture well. They have abbreviations for phrases when they speak on the radio called “Q” signals. QTH is a person’s location, QRN is trouble with noise and QRT is to stop sending or speaking. Hams value their radios, antennas and the technical knowledge to use them effectively. They also value radio communications over other forms. In an emergency or disaster they know they can communicate with the outside.  One norm for Hams is to have radios and antennas on their vehicles. You may notice large antennas sticking above a vehicle on the highway. That could be a Ham. A gesture used in CW (Morse code) operation is for the last operator signing off to give a “dit dit” with the CW key. That just signifies that he or she heard the last transmission of the other operator.

I also happen to ride a motorcycle and have recognized the biker subculture for years. The clothes they wear are a good example of how they differ. Black leather jackets and chaps are used for riding, especially long distances. Bandannas, riding gloves and custom boots are the norm. They also have biker rallies to come together and have fun.  At a rally they break or bend the norms of mainstream culture.  It could be considered a moral holiday as with Mardi Gras.  Bikers value their motorcycles and riding. They also have a unique gesture they use when riding. As two bikers pass each other in opposite directions they stick their left hand out. It’s usually with the index finger sticking out and the other four fingers closed.

Each of the above subcultures is well known and people, like me, sometimes belong to more than one subculture at a time. We live in a pluralistic society, made up of many different groups.

SOC 100 - Forgotten Sociologists

Our first assignment was to write a one page paper on the forgotten sociologists we read about in the first few pages of our textbook. I might mention that I got the e-book for this class through CourseSmart and it seemed like a great idea at first, but later I realized it's not that great. For one thing, when you leave the book and then go back to it later, it doesn't pick up where you left off. It's not near as nice as Kindle. Another thing, there isn't a way to bookmark where you do leave off. Now that's just crazy. That'd be like the first thing I'd have my developers do. Have it leave off where you left off and have a simple bookmark tool. You can make notes but it's not quick and easy like a bookmark. I've found other things about CourseSmart that I don't like and maybe I'll mention those later. So for now, here's my first assignment. I titled it "Forgotten Sociologist".

Forgotten Sociologists

Alice Paul (1885-1977) founded the Congressional Union (CU) in 1913 which sole purpose was to lobby for the rights of women. In 1916 the CU changed its name to the National Women’s Party (NWP) with a new emphasis on protesting and marches. The NWP demonstrated at the White House. Standing in silence holding their banners, the women became known as the “Silent Sentinels”.  Protestors were eventually arrested and Alice Paul was sentenced to 7 months in jail where she was given bread and water and eventually put into solitary confinement.  When she was moved to the prison hospital she was force fed with a tube shoved down her throat.  Many women protestors were beaten by men. This was a cruel time. Eventually President Woodrow Wilson and congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment, but it didn’t end there for Alice Paul. She continued her fight for women’s equality.

Beatrice Potter Webb (1858-1943) was a self-educated woman born in Gloucester England. She came from a wealthy family and was taught by a governess in her home but never completed a full term. She studied in her father’s library and talked with friends. She worked with her father for years and learned about business.  She was married to Sidney James Webb who was a member of the Fabien Society.  In 1887 she wrote her first book on working conditions and later wrote on the working conditions of the poor. She eventually became well known in Chicago with Edith Abbott and Jane Adams.  The Chicago Women’s School of Sociology described Webb as an "English socialist leader".

                I believe both Alice Paul and Beatrice Potter Webb were forgotten partly because they were women. Sexism made them unnoticed at the time. They were considered non-academic activists or merely social workers, not sociologists. What they stood for and worked towards also contributed to their unpopularity. Unlike the prominent sociologists we read about on pages 6-8, their sex, the era they lived in and the causes they stood for made them less important. They weren’t taken seriously like the academic sociologists. They were pushing for reform. Even though the sociologists we read about had different concepts about sociology, they didn’t fight the system or public. They were academic sociologists emphasizing research and theory. Paul and Webb wanted to change society.

  

Source (s):

Nickless, K. (n.d.). Alice Paul and the fight for women's equality. Retrieved August 29, 2011, from

http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/diversity/womens-history-in-preservation/profiles-from-the-past/alice.html

Bettice, N. (n.d.). Beatrice Potter Webb. Retrieved August 29, 2011, from

http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/webb.html

In the Beginning there was Culture

Okay, that's kinda of a crappy name for my blog, but it's my first so give me break. I'm taking a Sociology class at a state college and since I'm writing all of these papers, I thought I'd post them and see if anyone is interested. Whether you're a sociology student or not it's pretty interesting stuff, sociology that is. If you're a student maybe you'll benefit from my mistakes and get a better grade. BTW, this is a 100 level course, hence Sociology for Dummies. We're using the book, Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, Ninth Edition by James M. Henslin. The first chapter is on Culture and I'll be posting my papers later. I've got to go.