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Sociology

Wk-1 DQ-1. One problem in the workplace is drug abuse, both of legal and illegal substances. There are many possible causes of this problem but there are a number of impacts that can be easily identified. Productivity is reduced and both accidents and absenteeism is increased. At its worst, drug abuse in the workplace causes people to lose their jobs, which again also hurts the company, costing money in hiring and training replacement workers. One of the easier solutions to implement is drug testing that would prevent people with drug problems from being hired. In addition, zero tolerance policies and a clear set of stages for dismissal can help companies eliminate problem employees and/or help them overcome their addiction problems.

Wk-1 DQ-2. Group norms affect patterns of alcohol and drug use because group members often prefer to adhere to norms. If the norms are forgiving of abuse, then the group members are more likely to adopt abusive habits, but if the group norms run against abuse, then group members are less likely to use alcohol and drugs. The use of these substances affects the workplace by lowering productivity, increasing turnover, increasing accidents and increasing absenteeism.

Wk-2 DQ-1. The prison system can have a strong role in helping to rehabilitate criminals, especially those on shorter sentences and with less traumatic pasts. The prison system can, if used effectively, help criminals to overcome some of the roots causes of their criminality and also can help to provide them with an education and job skills that can help aid the transition back into free society. The family plays a strong role in helping to prevent criminality, by providing children with strong role models and a set of social norms that precludes criminal activity. Poverty is one of the root causes of poverty, and if social stratification is reduced, poor youth will find themselves with greater sense of opportunity. It is this opportunity, and the sense that they can find social justice, that will help prevent criminality at a root level.

Wk-2 DQ-2. Social institutions contribute to the poverty in many ways. Low levels of education and ingrained prejudices about the possibilities of youth in certain strata of society perpetuate the barriers to opportunity and success that many youth face. These barriers make it more difficult to escape poverty, perpetuating the problem. When social institutions such as law enforcement, the education system, the health care system and other elements of government fail to provide equal opportunity and treatment for all members of society, barriers to success again are perpetuated.

Wk-3 DQ-1. Gender inequality is perpetuated by both passive and active attitudes and ideologies. Active attitudes sometimes engender distrust between members of different genders, creating active barriers to opportunity. Passive attitudes can lead members of different genders into specific roles, with those roles themselves playing a role in inequality. Both genders can create the social norms that perpetuate gender roles, because they set the values by which people not only live their lives, but also the values that are passed to the next generation.

Wk-3 DQ-2. Racial, gender and income inequality contribute to the problems of government and politics. The political system is designed with the needs of particular powerful stakeholders in mind, and inequality means that not all members of society have the same influence on the political system or the way in which it works. These problems can hinder the development of a high quality of life for all Americans by creating structural barriers to success. Some important steps would be to increase political participation at the roots level of all underrepresented members of society and to lend a voice to those who currently have little say in the governance of the nation.

Wk-4 DQ-1. The political-economic system is generally set up along the lines of specific economic ideology that helps to define the role of government in the development of American society. The nature of work is in part defined by economic principles as well, for example the prevailing view that low-priced labor is key to competitiveness. This ideology intends to promote maximum economic development but it differs from the reality of work, in which economic distribution fails most Americans while benefiting few.

Wk-4 DQ-2. Some of the major causes of illiteracy are inadequate education and a societal attitude that allows for illiteracy. Education can be addressed both at the school level and the home level, where students can be regularly tested for literacy and steps taken to help improve literacy levels in early education. In addition, society fails to adequately stigmatize illiteracy -- a public education campaign could help to encourage Americans to become literate because it is considered unacceptable to be illiterate in this day and age.

Wk-5 DQ-1. The family creates an environment in which behaviors both healthy and unhealthy are developed. The economy impacts health because America relies on private health care, which is dependent on both rising profits and demand for workers. Polity impacts health by setting the policies by which our health care system functions. Some innovations that could help to ameliorate the health problem are a greater emphasis on preventative education (with respect to diet, exercise, healthy habits and prescription drugs), combined with financial incentives such as "fat taxes" on relatively unhealthy products to convince Americans to consume less of these products.