Sociology Of Law Essays (Examples)

In Chapters 5 and 6 of Law, Justice and Society entitled, "Crime and Criminal Law," and "Criminal Procedures," we find out what actually constitutes a crime and how criminal procedures are handled. oth of these chapters are relevant in the case of drug abuse. According to Chapter 5, there are five elements of criminal liability that make up a crime and must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The first is the criminal act itself and in the case of drug abuse, this would be the actual use of illegal drugs. The second is criminal intent meaning that the abuser intended to use the drugs. The third is concurrence which is the combination of the criminal act and criminal intent. The fourth is causation which factual and legal and the fifth liability is harm which can be to the person or to someone else.

Chapter 6 of the textbook deals…

Wallace-Wells, B., & Magnuson, E. 2007. "How America Lost the War on Drugs." Rolling Stone (1041): 90-119. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Stohr, M. (2008) Women and the Law. Walsh, A. And Hemmonds, C. (Eds.) Law, Justice, and Society. A Sociological Introduction (269-291). Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press.

On the surface the subjects of these readings are very different. Wallace-Well and Magnuson provide a detailed history and account of United States policy towards the enforcement of drug control policy. The reading in Law, Justice, and Society gave a brief summary of women's rights and representation in American law. Both subjects are highly contentious and highly important, and but most importantly, both mention the legal discrimination against marginalized groups. The Rolling Stone article discusses, among other subjects, the disproportionate negative effect the war on drugs had an against minority communities. The reading from Law, Justice, and Society gave an account…

While in Durkheim's concept of moral density, competition is a pre-existing condition, rationalization and social change in Weber's terms is determined by the enhancement or development of humans in their ability to adapt to their social environment. Competition, although a factor in the individual's social environment, did not become the focus of Weber's process of rationalization, as compared to Durkheim's conceptualization. Marx's dialectical materialism is likened to Durkheim's concept of competition in that through this concept, human society is illustrated to be part of an ongoing history of social change premeditated by class conflict, which emerged out of the unequal control of the mode of production or technology. The relationship between the forces (elite and working classes) and mode of production determine the existence of a class stratification and conflict in the society. This class conflict led to differentiated roles in the society, resulting to formal rationality, and ultimately, after…

The third reason that I chose Marx is the apparently cyclical nature of change and restriction. The last century has seen some tremendous social changes. The 1960s Civil ights Movement and the Sexual evolution changed the face of modern America. However, there seems to have been a pendulum swing back to more restrictive behavior. It is now considered more appropriate to be openly sexist and racist than it was in the 1980s. In fact, propaganda has promoted the idea of the white, middle-class, Christian male as being the target of discrimination, even though this group still maintains almost all of the status-related privilege that it had prior to either of those movements, still getting more opportunities and greater benefits, as a group, than racial minorities, women, or religious minorities. One example of this is a chain e-mail I received that said something along the lines of "Dear God, why is…

Instead, the welfare system encouraged perpetual social dependency and provided a reason for poor people not to work at all when the most reliable method of achieving financial independence (besides continuing education) is precisely, to begin working at minimum wage jobs while gradually learning skills and establishing contacts and a record of regular employment that are essential in the long- term goal of qualifying for better work in time (Healey, 2003 p56).

The Need for Welfare Reform:

While elements of government assistance programs are still subject to epidemic abuse (Schmalleger, 2007 p104), the reconfiguration mandated by Congress in 1996 are designed to rectify some of the most glaring problems plaguing the federally administrated programs previously. First and foremost, the new state-run welfare programs must, by federal law, establish caps limiting welfare eligibility to discourage perpetual (even permanent) reliance on public funds as a substitute for making the necessary effort and…

Individuals who never come into contact with other societies may live their entire lives without the slightest idea that other societies exist, much less that other social norms and practices besides the ones to which they are accustomed as their reality are possible.

This element of human reality is also responsible for some of the worst recorded human behavior. On one hand, certain parts of human moral thinking is inherent as a natural part of us (Kluger 2007). On the other hand, so much of human morality is determined by subjective social constructs, that practically anything is acceptable to us, even to those of us who are inherently inclined to be good people.

History has shown many times that if the social construct within a given society presents cannibalism, or slavery, or the sacrifice of virgins to volcanoes, or even the systematic mechanized mass-murder of millions as acceptable, few individuals…

11).

Perhaps the most major and identifiable sociological theorist is Emile Durkheim. He literally helped formulate the ideas and theories of modern sociology, and many of the criminal justice theories are based on his ideas. Durkheim developed many of the modern theories of criminality, such as cultural disintegration, which can lead to an individual's gradual disassociation from society, with no bonds or commitments to a society that is dissolving around him or her. Durkheim felt this could help lead to deviant behavior and even suicide (Geiger & Fischer, 1995, p. 72). He also felt crime in society is normal, and it can even lead to desirable social reforms, ideas that were very revolutionary when he lived and worked in the late 19th century. Many later theorists used Durkheim's models, including social theorist Travis Hirschi, an expert in social control theory and delinquency.

Travis Hirschi is not the father of the…

It is this struggle to maximize benefits that leads to such movements of social change in both politics and social revolutions. Conflict theory exists in direct opposition to the tenets of functionalist theory, arguing that instead of a society where everyone plays are particular part, society instead exists as a pyramid structure, with a group of elites that dictate the rules to the masses. Thus, all major societal institutions, including laws and traditions, exist for the sole purpose of maintaining this structure. Thus, according to the conflict theory, colleges and universities exist in order to perpetuate this status quo. On the one hand, colleges ensure that the elite become educated and thus capable of carrying on their leadership roles. On the other hand, students at the college are indoctrinated with the traditions of society.

Finally, the theory of interactionsim is based on the idea that nothing in society is determined…

QUESTION THREE: "Is inequality of social classes inevitable?" The conflict theory put forward by Ralf Dahrendorf begins with a discussion of Marxism and the fact that in industry, the conflict between classes - the capitalist and proletariat (worker) - the worker had a natural inclination to be in conflict with the capitalists who were the authority, the bosses. The same kind of conflict carried over into the political realm as well, sometimes violent. The problem was that there was no system whereby conflicts could be resolved. But Marx's analysis, Dahrendorf goes on, was tainted because of his obsession with proletarian revolution.

At this point in his essay, Dahrendorf, though rejecting Marx in that context, asserts that since there are "interest groups" and "quasi-groups" those must then be considered "classes." And if there are classes, it is then logical to assume there will be groups, and quasi-groups that will always have…

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…

Sociology Take Home Final

Unequal Power Relationships and Laborers

The unequal power relationship that characterizes many employment relationships is characteristic of industrialized capitalism. Capitalism itself is defined by the manufacturing division of labor, which systematically divides the work of economic production into limited operations. The result is that no one man in the Capitalist system would know how to produce a good from start to finish, destroying the traditional notion of occupations, e.g. artisans or craftsmen.

ecause each worker is only qualified to perform a particular, often narrow, task which creates no value in itself but must be combined with the fruits of other tasks by the Capitalist, the worker is at the mercy of the Capitalist who owns the means of production. The dominant mode of employment arising from the manufacturing division of labor is wage labor. In wage labor, a worker does not work to improve his own…

Sociology Discussion Responses

Response to Post #1

While I agree completely with your sentiments and your long-range goals and the values they represent, I am not so sure that providing the resources you mentioned is as realistic a solution as it may have been in prior years. In my opinion, there is actually a fundamental barrier to the goal of increasing the availability of social programs in the current political climate. Specifically, there seems to be a complete disconnect between the appreciation of the importance of social assistance programs and the stated policies being promoted by the Right Wing Conservative representatives currently in office in Washington. Across the nation, republican members of the House of Representatives (in particular) have been exhibiting a continual failure to appreciate the relative importance and social value of the very types of programs that are so desperately needed in so many impoverished communities.

Instead of…

Sociology Discussion Responses

Response to Post #1

I agree with you completely about the moral travesty of the continuing social and political inequality in many African nations as well as the continuing detrimental effects, even today, of European colonialism on the African continent. Likewise, it is inexcusable that racial inequality still persists today. However, the inability of many African societies to overcome the challenges that still bar significant social reform and progress today are, unfortunately, also largely attributable to the degree to which the government authorities in some African nations have ignored the needs of the population and even diverted international supplies sent by Western nations intended as relief for the impoverished masses.

As you point out in your post, South Africa serves as a model of how much progress can be made under the leadership of individuals like Nelson Mandela, although local culture, practices, and customs also present significant…

Sociology of the Workplace

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAHY

Gender Inequality at Workplace

Annotated Bibliography

Dixon, S. (2001). Work Experience and the Gender Earnings Gap. New Zealand Economic apers, 35(2), 152+. Retrieved March 27, 2012, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/M.qst?a=o&d=5002436019

In this article, Dixon reviews and presents the information about the work experience profiles of men and women working in New Zealand. The author uses two methods, which were introduced by Zabalza and Arrufat (1985) and by Filer (1993) for adding the women's actual paid work experience into the house hold survey databases. By using the imputed experience values and other skills, Dixon determines the components that are responsible for gender wage gap in late 1990s. This article is useful for research because it investigates that the shortfall in average hourly earnings of women is due to women's lower average level of skills which are needed for productivity. Moreover, it also discusses briefly the…

Sociology Politics and Economic Life

Over the last several years, the political and economic system has been experiencing tremendous amounts of turmoil. Part of the reason for this, is because of the implosion in the asset prices related to the housing crisis and deregulation. To fully understand how this contributed to the current situation requires looking at the current state of democracy and equality in the United States. This will be accomplished by looking how the social elite manipulated these areas and the practices that have contributed to the current situation. Once this occurs, is when we will be able to offer the greatest insights as to how these factors are impacting the economic and social balance inside the nation.

Discuss how elites manipulated the political and economic systems to advance their interests and how these practices contributed the current economic crisis.

The way that social elite manipulated the political…

Sociology

Correlation is where there is a relationship between two variables. An example would be that there is a relationship between baseball season and an increase in beer consumption. This may be true, but baseball seasons is also summer, so it is unclear whether baseball is legitimately a causal factor in the increase in beer consumption. Causation is when there is a causal relationship between the two variables. Causation means that one variable is the cause of the change in the other. This is harder to demonstrate. But for example, high temperatures can be found to have a causal relationship with air conditioner use.

Critical sociology is a technique based on the idea that intellectual analysis or interpretation of works can be conducted, so in other words studying in a more structured way. It is basically bringing a more dogmatic approach to the study of certain sociological elements. Structural functionality…

everal authors like ullivan (2001) point out the hypocrisy in drawing arbitary lines around certain classes of drugs. In fact, all drugs are potentially harmful. Even caffeine is bad for health when abused. Legally acquired pharmaceutical drugs can be lethal, whereas marijuana has no known cases of overdose. The discrepancy in laws and sentencing policies should be eradicated in order to create a more just society. As Walsh & Hemmens (2008) point out in the chapter on "Law and ocial Change," the prohibition on drugs is no different than the prohibition on alcohol. Both have caused the proliferation of organized crime and neither solved the underlying issues related to mental and physical health. One of the main reasons to legalize drugs is to reduce the market power of organized crime syndicates. Prohibition of alcohol "literally kick-started organized crime in the United tates, and ushered in a decade of gang wars…

Sociology -- Human Services

Governance and Leadership

Steven Ott (2001, p.1) defines governance as an "umbrella term that includes the ultimate authority, accountability, and responsibility for an organization." However, literature and several case studies have identified that leaders play a significant role in supporting governance (Lord et al., 2009) and there is a two-way link between leadership and governance. Leadership not only provides the direction for governance by promoting a shared understanding but also clarify the roles between the local and national actors (Craig, 2005). It also encourages interagency collaboration, team working and commitment at all levels of governance (obinson et al., 2008).

According to ANAO (2003, p.15), "Leadership sets the 'tone at the top', and is absolutely critical to achieving an organization-wide commitment to good governance."

This paper discusses the case of "Tainted Blood Scandal" in result of which public lost trust in the Canadian ed Cross. This trust…

Some feminists argue that all pornography is bad for women because it is degrading to women (Peterson, 1998). The "victims" need protection, they claim, which, ironically, they say comes in the form of laws restricting what women legally can and cannot do with their own bodies.

While it can be argued that pornography reinforces negative male attitudes towards women in society and it increases the incidence of sex crimes, these are unfair claims (Peterson, 1998). While men may bring deep-rooted attitdevelop negative attitudes towards women. Even if pornography were banned, negative attitudes towards women would not disappear. In addition, there is little evidence to suggest that widespread distribution and use of soft-core pornography increases numbers of sex crimes.

In addition, it is important to note that many men who support feminism and women's rights enjoy pornography (Peterson, 1998). In addition, many successful heterosexual couples in committed relationships use soft-core pornography…

Sociology of Crime

It was argued by Greek historian, Herodotus, that there are no universal ethics and that all ethical systems were somehow relative to factors concerning the population (Ishay, 2008). The historian argued that different cultures had different perceptions about what is acceptable behavior and what constituted the moral norms in the societies. Herodotus illustrates this argument by comparing burial rituals that were used by two different cultures -- one culture used a cremation ritual while the other used a cannibalistic practice. The same argument could also be extended to the sociology of crime -- different societies place different values on behaviors in a criminal justice system.

Globalization is steadily working to change the environment in which crime can be committed. When Herodotus was alive up until the recent present, most crimes were limited to a geographic area. However, with the rapid development of technology and communications, people and…

Business ethics is a division of ethics that pertains to the interaction of business and ethics and applies ethical analysis to the business area. It is both expressive and normal. The five activities within business ethics can be delineated as follows:

1. Using general ethical principles to specific practices in business.

2. The analysis of whether moral terms related to individuals' actions may be applied to combined entities such as firms.

3. Analysis of presumptions of business.

4. Analysis of other related areas of information as guided by embedded problems in business.

5. Describing morally commendable and exemplary actions of firms (Barrett, 2009).

Corporate social responsibility (CS) entails any activity that encourages the interests of any stakeholder of a business corporation. Occasionally CS refers to philanthropic programs that target communities or employees. In other instances it refers to obligations to promote the welfare of suppliers. It also refers to an…

The recent trend in international law and state practice has shown that in today's mobile world, the incidents of dual citizenships are only going to increase. It is felt that banning it in the United States will only continue a faulty notion, because if other countries are willing to issue passports there is nothing that can be done about it.

Another question that seems to get a lot of discussion is that of whether Americans are doing enough to ease the transition of new immigrants into our society. It appears that several things are being done across the country to ease the transition of the new immigrants. For example, in New York City, where 90% of cab drivers are foreign born, the Taxi and Limousine Commission boosted the industry by increasing the number of licensed cabs in the city. In the hotel industry, Marriott has done their part by offering…

Sociology

Introducing Alexa Madison

Basic facts from her childhood

Basic facts from her adolescence

Basic facts from her young adult life

Issues related to race

Detailed analysis of race-related issues in Alexa's life

acial identity in a multicultural society: the factors that help create an individual's racial identity and membership in a specific social group based on race or ethnicity.

Implications for social status; in particular, the self-perception of African-Americans vs. The expectations placed on African-Americans

Stereotypes

Institutionalized racism

Link to external sources to present Alexa's life in the broader context of African-American culture, life, and history.

The 2008 film Crips and Bloods: Made in America is about gang warfare and violence in Los Angeles, but the underlying message is that problems impacting black communities in the 21st century have their roots in institutionalized racism.

(a) Alexa might not have had any interaction with gang members, but her experiences reflect…

Sociology

(Needs to be specified by the writer)

When referring to the mechanisms of life and society, one can assume that the most trustful key for understanding the given world with all its issues and particularities is the scientific Sociology, based on research which further leads to elaborated theories. With no intention of underestimating its importance, the current paper work focuses on an alternative method of providing a complete view over social facts: movies.

Along with literature, movies represent a projection of the real world in the fictional area. y presenting an issue from an artistic point-of-view, a good movie not only provides a good understanding of an issue for the large masses of citizens, but it is also a very efficient method for drawing attention to a particular problem that the society faces. A well done movie uses symbolism in order to highlight relevant points, together with an intense…

Punishment as such is viewed as a form of personal engineering, designed to produce better people through a process of re-education. (Curan and enzeth, 1998)

Davey in relation to the theory of rehabilitation argued that during the past twenty years, we have seen an unprecedented move in the direction of massive incarceration of those convicted of crime. Davey reasoned that the approach prevalent at a particular time depends largely on the social and political climate. For example, in the early 1970s, the declared goal of incarceration was rehabilitation but as crime rose, support for this liberal position diminished. (Davey, 2002) as criminologist Kevin Wright has pointed out, "Federal, state and local governments have reacted to public sentiment by passing legislation that provides for longer sentences for violent crimes and legislative, executive and judicial bodies are streamlining due process rights to protect the innocent rather than the guilty" (Wright, 1985: 95)…

However, the dual relationship may still violate the purpose and policy of the NASW Code of Ethics as pertains to dual relationships, if only because it may be unrealistic to restrict the definition of exploitation so literally.

Dual Relationship Ethical Issue #4 - Harming Clients, Colleagues, and 3rd Parties:

As pertains to the client(s), there is not necessarily an issue of harm, except perhaps by virtue of the circumstances identified with respect to the exploitation issue.

However, if the State qualifies as a third party, the proposed arrangement is harmful to third parties because it perpetuates a violation of employment law and laws defining illegal immigration. In that sense, the arrangement violates the dual relationship provisions of the NASW Code of Ethics.

Conclusion:

The employment arrangement proposed by the social worker raises ethical issues that may violate the NASW Code of Ethics. The logic of the arrangement is understandable and…

Sociology of Youth

The Structural Arrangements

The class view using the Social-Psychological perspective precipitates a point-of-view in the context of society as the dictator to the actor, the environment perpetuating the role that young individuals play in contemporary society. The social interaction is engaged through the environmental variables that lead to the psychological parameters to which the youth operate within. This approach is ostensibly akin to Ethnomethodology that views humans as a rule ridden species predicated on acting within a given societal or moral framework.

The identity formation of bonded child laborers in India is an example of youth that have no control over their environment and to where their environment or social paradigm shapes their individual thought process. These youth become a function of their environment. Essentially, a product of their environment that is based on exploitation and abuse of the children of the society. The structural arrangements for…

Social norms are occasionally explicit or even codified into law: we are not supposed to walk around naked; talk to ourselves; or show up an hour late to a meeting. When we break any one of the explicit social norms we pay, either by being criticized, ostracized, or penalized. Breaking a subtle social norm by standing around doing nothing is more difficult to target. No one can point a finger and say, "You shouldn't be doing that," even though some people might think I look funny.

The concept of the sociological imagination as well as Cooley's "looking glass self" illustrate how identity and self-image are sociological constructs. When standing around doing nothing, I felt like an outsider because I was not participating in the normative behavior of the crowd around me. Being alone is in itself not a problem but without at least appearing to have a purpose in standing…

Sociology of Work

It has become a generally acknowledged fact nowadays that a new global economy is coming into view. This innovative international economy is distinguished "by the transnational flow of capital, goods, services and labor; by greater national specialization and increased competition across borders; and by the use of new technologies" (O'Toole & Lawler III, 2006). Moreover, it has completely disturbed the long-established ways of business responsibilities and operations.

The United States of America has aimed a position for itself at the zenith of the world market in order to seek a competitive advantage. This paper discusses the changes in the American workplace, the practices and policies that are required by the United States to ensure the continuation of being the world's leading economic power. It also discusses how the contemporary adaptations in the American workplace have affected the employees and their families.

Changes in the American Workplace

The…

Both what make up a race and how one recognizes a racial difference is culturally determined. Whether two individuals consider themselves as of the same or of different races depends not on the degree of similarity of their genetic make up but on whether history, tradition, and personal training and experiences have brought them to think of themselves as belonging to the same group or to different groups (Spickard, Fong and Ewalt, 1995).

Prejudices, stereotypes, insults, pejorative labels and other things are usually articulated in racist communications. Explicit racism helps to legitimize individual and collective action that creates and sustains inequality and oppression between social groups. The history of mankind provides thousands of examples of racist violence: genocide, colonialism, repressive immigration policies and all kinds of discriminatory behavior. This kind of racism is explicit and visible. Unfortunately, racism can also be invisible. acism is totally embedded in the social structures…

Sociology- Social Work

Aboriginal Social Work

Why does Judge Murray Sinclair note that the legal concept of innocence/guilt is not granted by Aboriginal societies as it is in the Canadian Justice System?

In Aboriginal communities, guilt is typically secondary to the main issue: the main concern is that something is erroneous and it has to be corrected. Since the main purpose is the reinstatement of accord rather than the imposition of reprimand, the accused is more likely to confess bad behavior. Judge Sinclair proposes that possibly this explicates why so many Aboriginal people plead guilty when in court. The Canadian criminal justice system is founded on Euro-Canadian principles and, as a consequence, frequently clashes with Aboriginal values. High levels of imprisonment, augmented focus from law enforcement, language hurdles, conflicting values and theoretical frameworks concerning crime and punishment, as well as certain issues faced by youth, all add to the breakdown…

Sociology of California

Department of Finance reported that California had 532,000 more people at the end of 2003 (Fulton 2004) than at the start of the said year. Nothing was new about population increase in the state since the Great Depression and World War II, during which the population added half a million people every year, growing from 6 to 40 million today. There are no indications that the increase would be halted or altered.

ut the noticeable changes have been in the locations and the way California's people live. Some go back to the old suburban style, while the rest of the trend shows California as continuing to grow into an urban society (Fulton). The ay area's nine counties account for less than half (3.3%) of the entire state's average growth at 6.7% and places like Contra Costa and Sonoma counties have chosen the suburban style of growth. In…

In its current form in the U.S., prostitution is associated with high rates of criminality, but that is likely a function of its illegal status more than of anything inherent in prostitution. Prostitution is also associated with high risks of STDs, but a closer examination of the specific factors to which that is attributable strongly suggest that legalizing prostitution can effectively eliminate that negative element. Ultimately, prevailing negative attitudes about legalized prostitution are much more reflective of the persistence of irrational social stigmas and antiquated definitions of social deviance that originated in the Victorian Age, if not even much earlier.

eferences

Ainsworth, M.. (2000). Breaking the Silence: Setting ealistic Priorities for AIDS Control in Less Developed Countries the Lancet (Vol. 367: 55-60) Baleta, a. (1998). Concern voiced over "dry sex" practices in Africa; the Lancet (Vol. 352:1292)

Dershowitz, a. (2002) Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age. New York:…

eber made appoint of recognizing that, even something so seemingly objective and abstract as the law, was, in reality, a substantive tool in the hands of judges and politicians. Judges are not "automata of paragraphs' (eber) because they are of necessity implicated in the values they are compelled to adjudicate. Substantive judgments and discretionary, extra-juristic evaluations are smuggled in under the camouflage of formal legal rationality." (Baehr 2002) the law, as it was printed on the page, was objective - it always said the same thing. However, it was the various judges, each of whom brought to the bench a unique collection of experiences, who necessarily interpreted those words in different ways. All of this was thus, a completely natural and "scientific" process. Each part of the machine performed as it was supposed to - it just depended on how you assembled the machine.

One sign that is frequently taken…

Even some police still view the partner in domestic violence as "asking" for it in some way. In addition, even though laws in the United States and many other countries have become stiffer, there are still many countries around the world that subscribe to archaic and violent practices against women, often with the approval of their religion or beliefs.

The questions that remain unanswered about domestic violence and its long history are many. How has it been allowed to continue so long unchecked? How do men rationalize violence against family members they supposedly "love?" Why did it take until the 1960s and 70s in America to acknowledge there was a problem, and that men ruled the criminal justice system and the prevailing attitudes about domestic violence? Unfortunately, some of these attitudes still exist. Another writer notes, "The law and order movement has attained stringent warrantless arrest rules in the domestic…

"In the Nordic countries multitasked family policy system helps families to reconcile family life and employment" (Forssen, 2000, p.16). The stresses and strains of the Canadian system are; therefore, largely absent from the Nordic system. Canada's system of social welfare, being largely after the fact, does not possess the same prescriptive effect as Scandinavia's program's of paid family leave, paid childcare, income redistribution, and so forth. The Nordic nations seek to prevent the problems arising by altering the fundamental situation of children's upbringing and family life.

Naturally, physical and mental health play major roles in relative rates of poverty. Canada is lucky, at least, to have a system of universal free medical care that ensures that children, as well as adults, receive a wide range of health services regardless of income. The system provides Canada's children with a safety net that is largely absent in the United States, and which…

Thus the argument over whether prostitution should remain illegal or whether it should be decriminalized or made lawful, focuses principally on ethical and realistic considerations. Those opposed to legalized prostitution tend to underscore the horrors associated with the profession. They point to the trafficking in women and children, and the physical, sexual, and economic abuse of these same individuals. Prostitutes are thought to engage in a profession so reprehensible that no person would possibly choose to participate in it unless forced to do so by the most extremely adverse of circumstances. Law enforcement has failed to make much of a dent in prostitution despite an enormous amount of time, effort, and money. In fact, high-ranking officials, such as Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York have made their names breaking up prostitution rings while at the same time patronizing prostitutes themselves. The conflict reveals the very real conflict between desire and…

Youthful offenders especially, are subjected to negative influences and damaging treatment while in prison. Rehabilitation can be arranged so as to meet the needs of individual women and men, allowing them to come to terms with the reality of their transgressions, and to see and understand how they affect those around them. Mandatory participation in rehabilitation programs as an alternative to prison can give these insights to offenders even if they do not, at first, or even a second or a third time, accomplish their desired goals. Mandatory prison sentences for relatively minor or consensual drug and alcohol offenses have swelled the nation's prison system. Vast numbers of otherwise productive persons are kept locked away from society, doomed for perhaps making ill-advised decisions, denied proper treatment and consideration. The system should be changed to emphasize the inclusiveness of society. Individuals who offend should be helped with their problems and welcomed…

ociology Discussion Responses

Response to Post #1

The issue your raise in terms of the long-term negative consequences on the lives and well-being of caregivers is an extremely important one. As you mention, there are various sources of significant emotional strain associated with the responsibilities of providing life-sustaining healthcare to others. Likewise, you mentioned the fact that patient and elderly abuse are problems that becoming increasingly apparent, particularly in the long-term care facility and in home healthcare scenarios. Obviously, this is a problem that demands immediate attention to identify the specific causes and ways of identifying and preventing its occurrence.

The social issue you raise might be one of the most important problems facing contemporary Americans. pecifically, healthcare is becoming increasingly expensive and correspondingly unavailable to many people based solely on their financial circumstances. Moreover, at the current rate of increase analysts predict that healthcare costs could reach forty percent…

Sociology Discussion Responses

Response to Post #1

I agree entirely with your explanation of the way that the two leadership approaches you discussed operate. However, I am not so sure that I would necessarily consider situational leadership and transformational leadership to be mutually exclusive or limiting. Instead of choosing between one and the other, I might consider them both as contributing simultaneously to effective leadership within social service organizations. In my opinion and experience, many social services professionals are highly motivated by philosophical idealism and a desire to contribute positively to various causes. Even among those not primarily motivated this way, most of them are partially motivated by the types of causes that lend themselves to transformational leadership. At the same time, situational leadership would seem to be essential within social services organizations, and it would seem that would apply equally whether there was a simultaneous emphasis on transformation-based employee…

Sociology Discussion Responses

Response to Post #

While I agree with all of your concerns, I would argue that education about racism in school is the most singularly deficient of the three issues you raised. That is simply because the only philosophy currently driving the response to racism is based on the notion that racial identity is meaningful in the positive sense. In my opinion, it is not possible to eliminate racism as long as race is promoted as being an appropriate component of personal identity. Instead of honoring all races and cultures equally, public education should promote the idea that race is both arbitrary and an artificial construct in the first place and that it is not an appropriate source of personal pride or identity.

Response to Post #

I agree with you completely that addressing poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa should be the most important focus of international aid…

60.2% of white inmates were executed that had initially been removed from being under a sentence of death versus 38.9% of blacks that met these criteria as part of the sample. While this cross-tabulation shows there is not a statistically significant relationship between blacks vs. whites having their sentences commuted, Hispanic Origin will prove to have statistical significance when bivariate correlation analysis is used to analyze the data. Additional research into the strength of relationships between those receiving commuted sentences and race need to be completed however, before a statistically significant conclusion can be reached across all ethnic groups in the sample. More in-depth analysis techniques including factor analysis to either accept or refute these findings as they pertain to this data set.

The third analysis is based on bivariate correlation matrices using both Pearson's correlation coefficient for parametrically-based analysis and Kendall's Tau_b and Spearman's ho for non-parametrically based analysis.…

Sociology Discussion Responses

Response to Post #1

I agree completely with almost everything in your post about the importance of preventing and responding to instances of domestic violence. However, I think it might be s slight exaggeration to characterize domestic violence as the single greatest societal challenge facing our society. That is not to suggest that it is not crucial, only that various other problems may be equal to or even greater in magnitude. In fact, I would suggest that child abuse and other forms of bad parenting are more important issues, particularly since those issues are directly causally related to the domestic violence problem. In general, domestic abusers suffer from some aspect of low self-esteem and were probably subjected to some degree of parental abuse that predisposes them to becoming abusive as adults. In that sense, I would suggest that domestic partner abuse, while an extremely important problem in…

We allowed them to popose a mutually fai distibution of choes and eve since, thee have been no aguments ove choes, wheeas pio to this solution, it was a constant and epetitive souce of pepetual conflict.

Obviously, this paticula solution could just as easily have been esolved much ealie, saving eveyone involved the fustation of having to pefom hated choes, not to mention the geneal esentment odinaily associated with the choe schedule and the malaise that often pesisted within the family afte dawing us in to calm them down.

Pesonal Intevention: My pesonal style of expessing ange is to become quiet initially, eteat to compose my thoughts and esponses, and then seek esolution in a calm manne by discussing the issues without ange. My patne tends to espond to conflict by escalating his level of intensity in eal time, pefeing to "have it out" as soon as the issue aises.…

Sociology Discussion Responses

Response to Post #

I agree with you completely that racism is one of the most significant social problems in contemporary society at every level from local communities to the international global community. As your post illustrates, racism occurs both overtly such as in the case of explicit acts of prejudice and discrimination, as well as covertly, such as within institutionalized settings. Combating racism requires addressing the most obvious manifestations such as the violence you describe as well as the less obvious but equally prevalent manifestations, such as systemic prejudicial and unequal treatment of minorities within governmental or quasi-governmental institutions.

At its most fundamental level, racism is a social problem that is largely attributable to social learning and other aspects of socialization. Therefore, the most effective approach to addressing it requires intervention at this level to prevent the formation of biases in the first place. Unfortunately, by…

Within my own community, I have seen this as more and more people travel farther and farther away for college, and settle far away from their parents. Access to expanded opportunities motivates the individual to break his or her existing social ties.

A third and final sociological concept manifested in the McMinden example is seen in the prevalence of drug addiction in the town. As noted by Manuel Mendoza, a Hispanic police officer who has made some inroads into the once almost entirely white town's law enforcement hierarchy, drug use crosses all racial divides, as the town's economic condition has worsened, so has the prevalence of addiction. Individuals who feel they have been denied the opportunity to fully enjoy the American Dream, particularly when confronted with increasingly unrealistic expectations of material success in the media, often experience what obert K. Merton called anomie, or alienation. One of the ways individuals…

Then, there are sites like Just Answer! In which actual lawyers answer basic questions for under $50. hile their advice is not legally binding, it nevertheless can steer a person onto the right course. The Federal Government even agrees that there are divergent needs within the legal profession -- simple legal documents, and then the services of a lawyer for more complex litigation, trademark law, complex housing or personal agreements; really anything that requires litigation or is complex and contentious (United States Department of Labor, 2011).

Just as with any group, lawyers are individuals. Some have different sets of ethics than others. The term ambulance chaser, for instance, portrays a lawyer that is more interested in recovering sums from accidents or medical issues and taking a large percentage than the individual needs of clients. Similarly, quick divorce or quick bankruptcy specialists have learned the "system" and offer a way for…

The death penalty should exist as a deterrent but only in a society where the criminal justice system is aligned with social justice—i.e., in a state where there is no deviation from the way the community views justice and from the way the criminal justice system views justice. Criminal justice and social justice must be in accordance, as Bazelon asserts, in order for a system of law to work, to be fair, to be equitable, and to be effective. In a society where social justice is at odds with criminal justice, the death penalty may not be prescribed as a deterrent to murder because the two systems—social justice and criminal justice—are out of alignment. When social justice and criminal justice are in harmony, the death penalty may therefore be appropriately administered as a deterrent for murder. In this harmony, it is acknowledged by society that the criminal justice system, that…

W.E.B. Du Bois was a premier American sociologist, whose contributions to social theory strengthen the philosophies of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. Du Bois studied formally in America and Germany, where Du Bois developed his core philosophies. By interjecting the issue of race into the prevailing sociological discourse, Du Bois showed how to apply concepts like structuralism, functionalism, identity formation, and systems of power to social problems. Concerned particularly with racism, Du Bois showed that racism serves a distinct sociological function and is embedded in social institutions. In particular, racism upholds social structures and institutions that perpetuate hierarchies and power imbalances. Thus, Du Bois revealed the intersections between race and power and encouraged the application of social theory to racial conflicts. Unlike Marx, Weber, or Durkheim, Du Bois grappled with issues related to racial identity formation and especially how to reconcile an American identity with an African one. This is why…

FIGHT AGAINST TEOISM

A similar crime was witnessed on September 11, 2001. The United States of America saw the sad death of thousands of innocent people just because some people wanted to acquire their goals. This followed an economic crisis and many innocent civilians faced unnecessary loss of jobs. The political environment has ever since been changing constantly and the United States went into war against Afghanistan. After Afghanistan there was a pre-emptive action on Iraq against the regime of Saddam Hussein who was accused of possessing weapons of mass destruction.

With terrorism becoming more organized, the law enforcement bodies try to formulate more laws to provide security to their citizens. There have been many congressional debates on the Antiterrorism and the Immigration policies of the United States. The immigration laws have been made stricter with a better screening of who comes in and who does not. ecently the citizens…

Sociology, one of the biggest areas that are receiving continuous amounts of focus is the inequalities that exist. Recently, disparities in income levels have become much larger. This is because the top 1% (who controls the majority of the wealth) is earning more at the expense of the other 99%. These are individuals that have to work every day (often controlling little to no amounts of personal assets). Throughout history, this conflict has often been the focus of different labor disputes and social revolutions. (inship)

However, globalization is having a dramatic impact with these divisions becoming even larger. In the article that was written by iniship (2012), he is talking about how these disparities are evolving. Evidence of this can be seen with statistics that were uncovered from the Congressional Budget Office. They found that the income levels of the ultra-wealthy increased from 8% in 1979 to 18% in 2007.…

Communications and Sociology

Communication

The speaker could lose the audiences' support by talking over their head or making everything sound boring. For example, during a financial seminar many people are discussing ideas that are helpful the individual. However, they will use industry related jargon and terms. This causes everyone to become confused and bored with the topic. Once this happens, is the point they will lose interest. (Pauley, 2009)

Emotions are important in helping the speaker make a direct connection with the audience. This occurs by using them, as an avenue to help the audience to feel a sense of excitement and listen to what they have to say. These feelings encourage the individual to become interested in what they have to say and want to learn more. The speaker needs to think about the audience, their experiences and the topic. The combination of these factors will have an influence…

Problem, Puzzle, Research Questions
The author critically examines all types of social controls on women, but focuses on laws related to the hejab in Iran. Neghibi (1999) claims that the Shah’s law that forbade the hejab and the Ayatollah’s mandatory hejab law had an ironically similar overall effect of controlling women’s bodies through a patriarchal state. The main difference is that the former aligned national identities in Iran with Western norms, and the Ayatollah/revolutionary approach created a national identity based on anti-Western and fundamentalist Muslim norms.
Theories and Concepts
The author works within several related theoretical frameworks: namely feminism, post-colonialism, and critical theory. Related concepts include the differentiation between the public and private space, the construction of gender norms, oppression, and the failure of feminism to find a universal voice. Another core concept is symbolism and symbolic-interactionism: the way the hejab can represent identity, rebellion, and subversion depending on how…

sociology in indigenous populations. Specifically it will discuss what the terms ethnicity and racism mean, and critically examine how these terms apply to Indigenous Australians? Ethnicity and racism apply to Indigenous Australians (Aborigines) throughout their history, sad but true. Since the English first settled Australian in the 1700s, the Indigenous population has suffered greatly, and it is one of Australia's greatest shames that it went on so long.

The Indigenous people of Australia (Aborigines and Torres Straight Islanders) are one of the oldest cultures on Earth. Archaeologists believe their lineage goes back at least 50,000 years, and some believe it could go as far back as 65,000 years ago. They were the original occupants of Australia, and have a deep and abiding respect for the land and its many different environments. An Aboriginal Web site notes, "For Indigenous Australians, the land is the core of all spirituality and this relationship…

law and society are intertwined, and how social conflict can actually aid in creating criminology. I also have a much deeper understanding of the many different theories on criminology and society, and how each of them has merit, at least in one form or another.

Just about all of this information was new to me because sociology is not my strongest interest, and yet the information here was informative and interesting. I did not know there were so many different perspective theories pertaining to the legal and criminology community, and I did not know the ideas of each one. I knew that Marxist philosophy and criminology had many commonalities, but I did not know the extent of them until I read this chapter. I also did not know about "radical" criminology.

It was surprising to me that so many criminologists have studied these social causes of crime, and made such…

Elijah Anderson's "The Code of the Streets," he introduces the idea that violence, aggression, stealing, and other socially deviant behaviors are not perceived as infractions of rules, but rather conforming to a different standard, a different set of rules. (Anderson, p. 154) Anderson does an adequate job of setting forth his ideas, along with providing sufficient evidence to support them. However, it is Anderson's detailed description of "decent" and "street" families that were most insightful. (Anderson, p. 154-157) He takes on the touchy subject of inner-city family life, which is often overlooked, and describes in vivid detail the stark differences that poor black families, coexisting within the same inner-city community, are faced with culturally. (Anderson, p.154-157) He misinterprets street families, however, when he proclaims that these mothers do love their children. (Anderson, p. 157) By calling it love, Anderson belittles the physical, and emotional abuse these children are exposed to,…

Health and Illness

acism's ole in Health Service Inequalities

acism's ole in Health Service Inequalities

Healthcare has been a divisive topic in the United States for the past two decades in the public and private sectors. This has brought the entire subject to the fore in the eyes of most Americans. Whether an individual is one of the people who has been denied equal access to health care or not, it can be very trying to receive good, fairly priced healthcare in a lot of areas in the United States.

Among the many questions that populate the debate, one is becoming more and more central. There is a divide in the United States that has been present as long as this country has been a recognized nation. That divide is caused by the inequities that do exist, and have existed. This divide is racial in nature and seems to work…

Schools of Criminology

Schools of Thought

Classical School introduction: This approach to criminology holds that basically, people will do things based on whether it is helpful to them and they will look after their own self-interest first. In other words, if a person is penniless and hungry, he will steal food because it is in his own self-interest to eat and stay alive, notwithstanding his crime

Classical School summary: In the 18th century philosophers like John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued that existing theories of crime (God or the devil determine what humans will do) were not relevant. They put forth the alternative idea that because humans have free will, they choose which behavior they will follow. Most humans respond to pleasure and pain, and if crime brings a person pleasure, that's what he will do; but being hungry can bring pain so a person will commit a crime to…

sociological debate between scientific knowledge and religious knowledge has been occurring for most of the last few centuries (Anesi, 2003a). While the concept of "knowledge" is broad, and the definitions for "knowledge" even more broad (Meja & Stehr, 2000), this paper will only examine the concepts of religious and scientific knowledge, and the debate among modern sociologists between the two. This paper will present a definition of religious knowledge, present sociologists on both sides of the debate, and will examine how religious knowledge is used in Western society. This paper will attempt to show, based on the sociological views discussed, that the use of religious knowledge in today's world is warranted, in some cases.

As stated, the concept of a working definition of "knowledge" is difficult. In the broadest sense, "knowledge" can be thought of as awareness and understanding of facts, truths, or information (Gettier, 1963). According to modern sociology,…

Lord of Flies

The film Lord of the Flies is entertaining, and also illustrates core concepts related to sociology, social psychology, politics, and human behavior. Few films address group formation, group structures, group identity, and group dynamics as overtly as Lord of the Flies. The film is about a group of military cadets whose plane crashes, and who find themselves fighting for their survival. Yet the boys are inexperienced with leadership and unable to successfully create group cohesion. What could have been a group committed to shared goals becomes a fragmented, chaotic, and loose network of alliances with deadly outcomes.

Lord of the Flies demonstrates the most fundamental and early stages of group formation. Because the boys already knew each other from school, they had already formed a group identity. As a group, the boys are loosely connected with one another based on their shared backgrounds. Soon it becomes apparent…