Sociology of Education

Parents always wish that their kids excel in schools, especially the primary so that at a later date they would get enrollment into a better elementary school, which in most cases promises them a chance to the university (Henderson et al., 2020). Overall school performance is attributed to good management of the school, teacher kid closeness, and the learning environment. This paper presents a situation where Karla has a stressful experience, which she needs to critically think of before she makes the decision. Karla, born in a multicultural working-class neighborhood environment, is forced to do her elementary learning in an overcrowded and under-resourced school, in this institution she struggles to learn how to read (Marlow, 2010). Years later they get an assignment letter for their young daughter Maya to Newbury School, a poorly underperforming school. The dismal performance force the district to replace the principal, with a young energetic leader, who would help turn the school into a better learning place.

Although, the replacement was done and the new principal has been doing better in another school, to turn around tables and get a good institution will take some time. This is because the institution needs renovation, new teachers, which cannot be achieved in a fortnight. Karla is scared of the delay and thus opts to take her daughter to a private school, which has been doing well in recent years, and their 6^th graders earning admissions to schools, later feeding the selective universities. Karla should share this with Maya to make sure that she is also willing to find herself in the new school, without which her efforts might go unrewarded.

Perhaps, if Maya leaves the local school for the private one, there is a problem with those without option but study in the Newbury School. These students are affected psychologically and when they see other students leave they might even force their parents to seek transfers as well since the old school seems no longer the best for most of the students. However, the parents might not be capable to meets the educational desires of their children, due to the existing social condition, thus they must cope with the condition in this local school. In case the performance does not improve or takes couples of years then the students come out disadvantaged and might even miss a chance to higher levels of education it is for this reason that those belonging to the poor social class would get low quality education, while those from higher social class have potential to attend prestigious schools, giving them more opportunities to receive higher education (Reay, 2010).

However, for the wellbeing of other students Karla, Mother to Maya, and her husband would have decided to stay in this local school. Now, after the stay, they join hands as the community to work towards supporting the new leadership, develop the school amenities for the greatness of the entire group of students who cannot afford private institutions. This effort would help minimize the inequalities between the educational system and social class, which is a major issue affecting the sociology of education (Reay, 2010). Although this effort might work, it is not guaranteed that other parents are willing to support this development, despite the promise for improvement in academic affairs.

In general, the education obligation for every child belongs to individual parent efforts. They have to ensure that their children study in the best schools, achieve the best grades, and earn a good living in the future. Thus the decision of transfer should be based on academic success and not on the community's ideas. Although community participation is good, parents should take charge of their kids take them to the best schools of their choice and give back to the community. More so, it would not be pleasing to Maya if at a later date other parents decide to withdraw their kids from this local school. It would affect her performance and eventually her entire life.

References

Henderson, M., Anders, J., Green, F., & Henseke, G. (2020). Private schooling, subject choice, upper secondary attainment and progression to university. Oxford Review of Education, 46(3), 295-312.

Marlow, M. L. (2010). The influence of private school enrollment on public school performance. Applied Economics, 42(1), 11-22.

Reay, D. (2010). Sociology, social class and education. The Routledge international handbook of the sociology of education, 396-404.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF ROBERT MERTON TO SOCIOLOGY.

Introduction

Sociology is the study of social life, social changes, and social causes and outcomes of human behavior. Robert Merton’s passion for sociology made him have an interest in the interactions and significance between social and cultural structures and science. Merton contributed to sociology by developing the self-fulfilling prophecy, the middle-range theories, manifest and latent functions, and crime. He also made contributions towards social consequences, culture and structure, theories on deviance, and the strain between culture and social structure.

The self-filling prophecy concept is a type of process through which a belief impacts the outcome of a situation or the way an individual or a group will behave. Sometimes a belief brings out consequences that make the reality match the belief. Individuals who are at the center of the self-fulfilling prophecy do not understand that their beliefs were the cause of the consequences that they expected or feared (Stukas & Snyder 2016). These prophecies can involve intrapersonal and interpersonal processes meaning that a person’s belief affects their behavior and a person’s belief affects another person’s behavior respectively. An example of an intrapersonal self-fulfilling prophecy is the placebo effect; expecting a spouse to cheat contributes to the spouse cheating. Self-fulfilling processes can manifest in many ways but Merton’s interest was understanding how it plays out in racial bias and discrimination. He noted that people with racial bias were likely to treat people from other races in a manner that confirmed their bias. An example of this is, the people who thought that people of color were less in terms of intelligence avoided talking to them and gave no opportunity to prove the racist individual wrong. Unfortunately, the whole group is considered to be intelligently inferior and is denied the same opportunities as the others which would allow them to build their knowledge and improve their capabilities.

The middle-range theory is an approach that is aimed at integrating theory and empirical research. It is used in sociology to guide empirical inquiry (Kaidesoja 2018). They involve abstractions but are close to observed data which is incorporated in propositions that allow empirical testing. Middle range theories deal with restricted factors of social phenomena as shown by their labels. They are intermediate to universal theories of social systems that are too remote from specific classes of social behavior, organization, and change to justify what is observed and to the organized descriptions of specifics that are not general.  The empirical raw materials of social inquiry change with time due to the vigorous social mechanisms. People tend to be familiar with social regularities and are therefore capable of changing them. Through the intended and unintended mechanisms, these transformations happen frequently.

The manifest and latent functions can be defined as an outcome of people’s actions. These actions could either be a latent function or a manifest function in any social association. Latent functions are those functions that are not intended or are not recognized outcomes of any social pattern. Manifest functions are those functions that are intended, cognizant or thoughtful functions of the social guidelines which are developed for the society’s advantage (Mathieu 2018). Manifest functions are normally anticipated to be satisfied. An example is, it is expected for a hospital to take care of the sick. A latent function example can again be that in a hospital when doctors somehow save a sick person who is ailing from an incurable disease by discovering a way to treat the patient. In the manifest function, the actor knows of the outcomes of their action whereas, in the latent function, the actor does not know the outcome of their actions.

Manifest functions are beneficial since the actor is aware of their actions. On the other hand, latent functions could be beneficial or harmful to society mainly because the actor is not aware of the consequences. Latent functions tend to turn into dysfunctions in some cases. Dysfunctions are the latent functions that cause damage to society, creating social chaos and conflicts (Mathieu 2018). They are often not noticed unless they are functions or dysfunctions that result in negative consequences. The latent dysfunctions are of more concern because they are unpredictable and not known which makes them more harmful to the society which is often irreversible.

The unintended or unanticipated consequences of actions include those that are functional for a designated system, those that are dysfunctional for a designated system, and those that are not relevant to the system because they do not have functional consequences. An unanticipated consequence could influence future actions (Zwart 2015). They are important at the micro-level as social actors are mistaken in interpreting the situation and their action result in unanticipated consequences. Anticipating the outcomes of purposive action is significant for policymakers but they frequently fail. A change in the real world shows that the ability for people to anticipate the impacts of purposive action has improved with time. Policymakers now have more facts and theories to work with. Merton maintained that if unintended effects are anticipated, they are a different phenomenon because they follow from purposive choice unlike the unanticipated effects from ignorance, mistakes, and conceptual blindness.

The strain theory according to Merton argues that crime happens when there is a lack of opportunities that are legit for individuals to accomplish the goals in a society (Bernburg 2002). In this case, there is a strain between the goals and the way of achieving them which makes individuals turn to crime for them to accomplish these goals. Merton maintained that the cultural system in America was made to provide equal opportunities to each person despite their class, gender, or ethnicity. It encouraged the people to follow a goal of success through a legitimate way which is education and employment. Not everyone was able to attain these goals because of the structural organization which did not distribute the means to achieve the goals fairly.

Merton developed the concept of anomie to explain this imbalance between cultural goals and institutionalized means (Bernburg 2002). He maintained that such an imbalanced society generates anomie whereby there is a strain between the goals and the means which generate unfulfilled goals. When people are faced with a gap between their goals, mostly finances, and their current status there is an occurrence of a strain. To adapt to this strain, people adapt through conformity whereby they pursue cultural goals through socially appropriate means. Others adapt through innovation by using ways that are not socially approved to obtain culturally approved goals. Another adaptation is ritualism which is done by using the same means that is socially approved to acquire less elusive goals. Other people adapt through retreatism whereby they reject the cultural goals and the means of achieving it and then find a way to escape it. Other people adapt by rebelling whereby they reject the cultural goals and means, then work towards replacing them.

Merton observed that a higher proportion of acquisitive crime is committed by people who are from minor social classes. He outlined that American society encouraged material achievements as a legitimate objective and focused on self- discipline and putting more effort as the means to achieve that goal. This was with the notion that anyone regardless of their social class could acquire material success. Merton argued that the people who were from the lower social classes could not achieve this dream because the legitimate opportunities were not available to them (Bernburg 2002).

Those that did not acquire success legitimately were judged for not working hard. These circumstances force people to succeed illegitimately to avoid the brand of a failure. He maintained that America was an imbalanced and divided society that encouraged accomplishments that could not be realistically achieved by every person. Many people desired to achieve material success but they could only commit a crime for that to be possible. So it’s not about the imperfections of a person that make them commit a crime but relatively anomie in the society which is caused by the pressure to have material success and the lack of legitimate opportunities to acquire that success.

Conclusion

Merton’s contribution to sociology enlightens us more about society, changes, consequences, and social structures. Among the contributions he made was through the self-filling prophecy concept which shows how a belief impacts the outcome of a situation. The middle-range theory which is used to guide empirical research is another concept. He also contributed by the manifest and latent functions which explain the intended and unintended functions and their impact on society. He used the strain theory to show how unequal society is when it comes to achieving their goals and how they adapt when they are faced with this gap

References

Bernburg, J. (2002). Anomie, Social Change and Crime. A Theoretical Examination of

Institutional-Anomie Theory. British Journal of Criminology. 42. 10.1093/bjc/42.4.729.

Kaidesoja, T. (2018). A Dynamic and Multifunctional Account of Middle-Range Theories.

British Journal of Sociology. 70. 10.1111/1468-4446.12621.

Mathieu D. (2018). The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331306068_Merton_Robert_K/citation/download

Stukas, A. & Snyder M. (2016). Self-Fulfilling Prophecies. 10.1016/B978-0-12-397045-

9.00220-2.

Zwart, F. (2015). Unintended but not Unanticipated Consequences. Theory and Society. 44.

10.1007/s11186-015-9247-6.

Origins of Behaviourism

Introduction

            In the field of psychology, there are tremendous observations as well as innovations by different researchers. Psychoanalysis was also deliberated to be among the earliest medicines. Even though there were limited experiments undertaken in this field, studies were done in a bid to upsurge the limpidity of this subject. For that reason, numerous observations were done in the field of psychoanalysis, with one of them being Behaviorism. Behaviorism refers to the facet in which learning is observed which to some extent relies on the characteristics of an individual based on the environment within which they live and the way the environment shapes their lifestyle. Likewise, it centers on the supposed aspect which is responsible for monitoring how human beings, as well as any other living organisms, tend to operate through discerning how their different mental activities function. 

1. Trace the Origins and Behaviourism and the Impetus for its Development

            Behaviorism started a long time in early 1897 a period when researchers such as Pavlov were able to carry out some experiments to find out the reasons why human beings tend to behave in a specific manner (Skinner et al., 2010). For instance, Pavlov used a dog and a bell as a means of studying the reaction of the dog when the bell rang. On the other hand, in the early years of the 20th century, Watson who was also a behaviorist carried out his experiments where he used a little boy whose name was Albert in the year 1913 to gain knowledge regarding classical conditioning (Watson, 2017). Watson placed a rat in front of the 11-month-old child but the child looked at the rat with a lot of curiosity and did not seem to fear it. Watson would then make a loud noise while behind the baby either by knocking a steel bar with a hammer making the child cry due to the noise. After some time, Watson would then bring the rat and on seeing the rat Albert would cry because of the noise that was made when initially saw the rat, even though at this point Watson did not make any noise. This experiment was significant for depicting the impact of criticism and ethical issues in human life. 

2. Discuss behaviorism as the 2nd major force in psychology.

            Behaviourism as the second major force of psychology is used in the revelation of the areas of nature lying deep in the human insentient that serve to dismiss one’s full capacity. In concept, when one develops consciousness of the location and nature of such insentient hurts, they can be able to resolve them cognitively and logically. This force has consequently made major advancements in the field of psychology because it is currently adopted in psychiatry, and is used with people suffering from addiction as well as those with psychiatric issues. 

3. Why is behaviourism a “better” alternative than the first power of psychology which was the Freudian psychoanalytic theory?

            The Freudian psychoanalytic theory is the primeval practice of therapy in the history of medicine (Thorndike & Bruce, 2017). On the contrary, behaviorism which is the second significant force in the field of psychology has attested to be a very stout method of detecting the major aspects contributing to the behavior of human beings. Psychologists like Watson presented some concepts behind human behavior by carrying out experiments to ascertain the rationality of the theories. This makes behaviorism a more significant option concerning psychology as opposed to the psychoanalytic theory which focused on the edifice of the human mind (Skinner et al, 2010). Behaviourism is reliable in the psychological facet of human behavior since researchers were able to undertake their own research to ascertain the validity of their theories and positive results were also established. 

            On the other hand, behaviorism is centered upon behaviors that can be observed, hence making it easier to compute and gather data when conducting research. This is so because experiments together with research are critical components in the provision of explanations and clear suggestions about a particular phenomenon. Watson and Pavlov essentially believed in initiating the studies of discernible behaviors as opposed to those which cannot be measured or otherwise observed such as the insentient and inhibited sexual desires which are the basis for Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Also, actual therapeutic techniques like behavioral intervention rely on behaviorism, unlike psychoanalysis, which relies on the human mind and consequently tends to blame a specific individual for the mistakes of another person. For instance, according to Feud’s psychoanalytic theory, the behaviors of a child are determined by early childhood experiences. The theory does not put into consideration the effects of the environment which surrounds the child, the people who play with the child, and how the society itself makes the child develop certain behaviors (Skinner et al, 2010). The behavior, therefore, relies on how the parent treats the child at the oral stage of development, which is a period when the child is not able to comprehend whatever is happening. Through living out the main factors which affect the behaviors of a child, this weakens the whole concept of psychoanalytic theory. 

            Also, Freud’s analytical theory is established on the unconscious mind, which in itself is hard to test and to define (Thorndike & Bruce, 2017). Besides, no scientific evidence has proven the significance of the unconscious mind. In other words, the unconscious mind is still an unknown phenomenon in psychology, thus it is not realistic to make assumptions out of it. Also, the theory depends on the current mindset of a person, without considering other factors that surround the person. The theory is limited in its research, due to the reason that it does not focus on the wider area which surrounds the person and how the locality might impact the behaviors of the person. However, behaviorism focuses on the underlying factors which affect the person thus coming up with reasons as to why the person develops a specific behavior. The assumptions made by behaviorism can also be proved, but Psychoanalytic assumptions cannot be proved.   

            According to psychoanalytic theory, psychic energy is only produced by the libido. The energy is then released via biotic means which are commonly known as drives which have two dissimilar parts, which are biotic need as well as psychological need (Thorndike & Bruce, 2017). For instance, when a person feels hungry it leads to a physical need for and also the desire to eat which is a psychological need. The two forces are dependent on each other hence they work together. In as much as this approach seems good, it cannot be proven, nor has it ever been tested. For this reason, the approach becomes less reliable, as opposed to behaviorism, which proves the reasons why a person would develop certain behaviors because of a punishment (Skinner et al, 2010). For example, if people are arrested for committing crimes and sentenced for a certain period, the fear of being arrested discourages most people from indulging in evil deeds. This consequently explains why most people observe the rule of law. The punishment approach is applicable in different fields and is also relevant in explaining the reasons why behaviorism is much better as opposed to the psychoanalytic theory which does not provide empirical evidence thus its application is limited, making behaviorism the best approach. 

            In behaviorism, learning may occur through relations, for instance, in Pavlov’s conventional experiments, dogs associated the appearance of food. Food is something that makes one salivate, thus the dog linked the bell with food, making it salivate, therefore whenever the dog hard the bell, it started salivating. The same applies to human beings, who are accustomed to taking lunch at a specific time, and at lunchtime, they would feel hungry or crave food, which also explains the importance of Pavlov’s experiment in real-life situations (Skinner et al, 2010). Behaviourism can thus be measured and explained based on the experiments provided, making it a far better approach as compared to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. 

4. Major Contributors in the Development of Behaviourism Theory

           Multiple psychologists have majorly contributed to the development of behaviorism theory, through offering advancements to the works of their predecessors. In this section, this paper will focus on Frederic Skinner, Edward Thorndike, and Edward Tolman as the major contributors to the development theory. 

Fredric Skinner

            Skinner as a psychologist was influenced by the works of his precursors such as Watson, Pavlov, and Edward Thorndike. In a bid to enhance the works of his predecessors, Skinner conducted research that was based on determining behavior through negative together with positive reinforcement and established operant conditioning (Skinner et al, 2010). Operant conditioning is a behavior alteration practice which he developed in distinction to conventional theory. The psychologist conducted an experiment whereby he placed a rat in a unique cage which was named the Skinner box. The box consisted of a bar or pedal on one wall which causes slight machinery to discharge a food pellet into the confine when pressed. The rat occasionally moves through the cage, and when it presses the pedal unintentionally a food pellet is released. The operant, therefore, represents the behavior just afore to the reinforcer which is the food pellet. After a short period, the rat can understand to step on the foot pedal whenever it feels hungry. This, therefore, results in one of the principles of operant conditioning which is conduct followed through a reinforcing inducement leading to an increased likelihood of that behavior befalling in the future. 

            The behavior will continue, however, if the rat presses the pedal and it does not get food, the behavior will stop since the food pedal will no longer release the food. In so doing, this results in a different principle of operant conditioning, which basically means failure to reinforce stimulus consequently leads to a reduced possibility of that behavior happening in the future. Nonetheless, if the pellets machine is turned back on whereby pressing the pedal releases food, the rat will adapt to the behavior quickly as compared to the initial period when it was put in the cage. This is so because the reoccurrence of the reinforcer takes place in the setting of reinforcement antiquity which goes back to the period the rat was initially reinforced into the cage, resulting in what is popularly known as Schedules of Reinforcement. Operant conditioning can, therefore, be applied in psychology and in real-life situations whereby people are rewarded for good deeds, hence encouraging them to continue doing better (Skinner et al, 2010). 

Edward Thorndike 

            Edward Thorndike was a dominant psychologist who is credited with the creation of contemporary psychology. He developed the law of effect, after undertaking the puzzle box experiments using cats. His principle submits that a response followed by a successful result is more probable to recur. The law of effect, therefore, proposes that behavior which is met by a negative result is less likely to occur in the future (Thorndike & Bruce, 2017). For instance, if an employee arrives at work early then the boss notices and rewards the employee this action of rewarding the employee will motivate the employee to arrive at work early an action that will be most likely to occur more often. 

            To realize the law of effect, Thorndike conducted an experiment whereby he places a cat inside a puzzle box with a small lever leaving a piece of outside the box. He would then sit back and observe the efforts made by the cat to obtain the meat while recording the duration it took the cat to find its way out of the box (Thorndike & Bruce, 2017). Ultimately, the cat would press the lever and the door would open allowing the cat to get the meat. Because pressing the lever occurred unintentionally, the cat was most likely to do the same thing soon. The law of effect influenced operant conditioning by Skinner since Skinner based operant conditioning on the dictates of the law of effects. 

Edward Tolman

            Tolman introduced latent learning a type of learning which is not obvious in the behavior of the learner at the time when the learner is learning. Nonetheless, this learning is manifested when an appropriate inspiration and situation appears. This idea had been earlier on introduced, but Tolman advanced it further. According to Tolman, human beings are involved in latent learning every day as they either walk or travel the same route daily and study the localities of different buildings and objects. This learning becomes obvious only in situations when one is required to find a specific building. To understand latent learning, Tolman conducted the following experiment (Skinner et al, 2010). 

            Tolman built a maze, where three groups of rats had to find their way out of the complex maze (Skinner et al, 2010). At the end of the maze, there was food and some rats ate the food while others did not, to other rats they only found the food ten days later. The first group was rewarded every time they got to the end of the maze, the second group was taken out of the maze when they reached the end, and later on, placed back to the maze and given food when they reached the end. Finally, the third group was not rewarded every time they got to the end of the maze, hence it took them a longer period to get the food box since they were not motivated. This explains why one may not be interested in something since it may not be of importance to the person while another person may see its importance since getting such a thing may earn the person a reward. 

References

Kline, P. (2014). Psychology and Freudian Theory: An Introduction: Routledge.

Skinner, B. F, Pavlov, I., Watson B. J., Bailey B., M., Bekhterev, V., & Tolman E, C. (2010).      Behaviourist Psychologists. Amazon.

Thorndike, E. L., & Bruce, D. (2017). Animal intelligence: Experimental studies.

Watson, J. B. (2017). Behaviorism. Taylor & Francis.

Question 1

1. Pierre Bourdieu once said, ‘The function of sociology, as of every science, is to reveal what is hidden.’ Utilizing the readings posted for Weeks 10 through 12, as well as at least one theorist read for this course, discuss the ways in which you understand sociological theory’s role in revealing the hidden aspects of social life.

Social Theories are analytical frameworks or paradigms that serve to study and interpret social phenomena. They are tools used by social scientists. Throughout this paper, I will show how conflict theories, symbolic interactionism, and social constructionism play a role in revealing the hidden aspects of social life using the works of Weber (1997), Buchanan (2010), Scott (2014) and Jiang (2009).

Conflict Theory is a perspective to studying society that focuses on the inequalities between groups of society. It concentrates on how society changes and adapts over time with conflict. In any society, there are two groups, the oppressed and the oppressor (Collins, et al., 1986). Karl Marx famously studied the class struggle that occurred in 19th century Europe, where the formation of two classes rose, the bourgeoisie ruling class and proletarian working class, in simple terms owner and the worker. Feminist Theory is a perspective used to shed light on gender inequalities. Focuses on patriarchal societies that have men occupying the governing positions within both the public and private spheres (Weber, 1997, p. 218). Women are marginalized, objectified and suppressed. Women and men are both often forced into socially acceptable roles with the basis of traditional ideologies.

According to Marx society exists in a perpetual state of conflict as a result of competition for the available limited resources.  According to this theory social order is maintained through domination and power (Collins, et al., 1986). Marx emphasizes that the wealthy and powerful try and hold on to power by all means necessary including suppressing the poor. The basic premises of this theory is that individuals and groups in society will work to ensure that they maximize their benefits.  This theory emphasizes that economic institutions are the tools of the struggle between societal groups, classes and are also used to maintain inequality and enhance the dominance of the already ruling class (Collins, et al., 1986).

Symbolic Interactionism is a perspective that examines how individuals of a society give meaning to something as a collective and is a major framework of the sociology theory.  This perspective traces its origin to Marx Weber’s assertion that the acts of individuals are based on their understanding of the world (Reynolds, et al., 2003). For example, an engagement ring, society has deemed a symbol of love, happiness, and commitment. These are all characteristics that society has agreed upon. Our reality is a product of our interactions. The more experience an individual has, the better understanding of society and things that individuals will possess. Cultural capital leads to individuals having more opportunities and better experiences, giving them a better understanding of the world around them.  Symbolic Interactionism can also be used to further understanding of fundamental aspects of individuals’ social experience and identities, these two are social constructs that function based on what individuals believe to be true concerning another judging from what they look like (Reynolds, et al., 2003). 

Social Constructionism is a perspective that focuses on explaining the development of a jointly constructed understanding of the world from the basis of a shared assumption. We create everything through our mind, and members of our community agreeing upon value for things. Society members construct the world around them; they decide something to value and importance. Individuals seek comprehension of the world in which they live. Social constructionism aims to give meaning to reality and the things within it. Money is a social construct; it is relevant to us because we have deemed it valuable. We, as a society, have given importance to a 25-cent nickel or a 100-dollar bill. Without the significance society assigns to them, they are just metal and pieces of paper. ‘Race’ is a socially constructed classification of persons that is tied to beliefs about differences in the physical and genetic composition of individuals (Buchanan, 2010). It defines individuals as lesser than based on biological characteristics that the person possesses, without sound evidence. The creation of races is used as a means to justify maltreatment (Burr, 2015)

Gender is also a socially constructed concept (Scott, 2014). Traditional stereotypes and ideologies aid to configure societies' perceptions of gender. These stereotypes and ideologies act as binary outlines for how individuals of each gender are ought to act. They pose characteristics that are conventionally linked to male and female. Traditional masculine stereotypes generally expect men to me robust, assertive and bold where female stereotypes usually expect women to be polite, accommodating and nurturing. Our perceptions of maleness and femaleness are commonly how we express our gender.  Religious teachings emphasize traits that men and women should adhere to (Jiang, 2009).

In conclusion, Social theories have been used as a framework that is used to explain social phenomena.  Conflict theory focuses on explaining the inequalities that are rooted in the societies, these inequities divided the society into different groups the oppressor and the oppressed.  Symbolic interactionism is a perspective that examines how individuals in society attach meaning to things.  Social constructionism focuses on explaining jointly constructed understanding of the world, aspects to include money are as a result of socially construct.

Question 3:

To what extent are anticolonial theories able to escape from the racializing logics that lie behind colonialism? (Three theorists)

Throughout this essay, I will argue that anti-colonial theories aid to escape the racializing logics that lie behind colonialism.  Using the work of Firmin, Colman and Du Bois.  Anticolonial theories have contributed to the justification of the global and European imperialism and colonization of indigenous people. These theories have been based on the perception of superiority and inferiority.

Colonialism is defined as a practice of domination, which involved the subjugation of one people by another. Throughout colonialism, racism was utilized to further along the Europeans economic ideals and gains. Race was used as a means to justify the harsh maltreatment that was conducted towards black individuals. Race is a socially constructed classification that was used to make some members of society inferior to others.  Biological differences were thought to be in correlation with skin color, making the notion that black individuals be less intelligent are less capable. (Colman).

These assumptions were concluded through flawed scientifical evidence. It was thought that through comparing cranial measurements and brain weight differences scientists believed that they could accurately measure one’s cognitive capacity (Archer, et al., 2000). However, constructed ideas concerning race remain as scientifically unsound since they have always been grounded in white superiority. For the longest time, the idea of white superiority has been viewed as common sense instead of being recognized as constructed.

Anticolonial theories were able to escape from the racializing logics that lie behind colonialism by not constructing new ideas, they furthered the ideas about differences on paper by giving and suggesting ideas that support the existence of a primitive society that s inferior.  Nevertheless, the idea of race did not exist before the categorization of human beings as biologically and racially apart (Ashcroft, et al., 2013).  The ideas of colonialization were furthered by the socially constructed notion of race. Most of anticolonial theories do not racialize the logic behind colonialism.

In conclusion, anti-colonial theories aid to escape the racializing logics that lie behind colonialism, theorists to include Firmin, Colman and Du Bois have explained how the racialization concept was behind colonialization. gains. Race was used as a means to justify the harsh maltreatment that was conducted towards black individuals. Anticolonial theories were able to escape from the racializing logics that lie behind colonialism by not constructing new ideas instead they furthered the ideas about differences

Question 5:

Using Mignolo and Fricker’s works to show the importance of thinking about hermeneutical and epistemic injustice, show how it is that one theorist exemplifies the ways in which knowers and knowledge are formed in modernity. (Mignolo, Fricker, and one additional theorist of “race” or gender)

Throughout this essay, I will argue that gender and racial minorities have experienced unequal opportunities to construct and gain knowledge due to Hermeneutical Injustice and Epistemic Injustice. I am focusing on the work of Fricker, Mignolo, De Beauvoir, and Simmel. Hermeneutical injustice refers to having a notable area of one’s social experience hidden from a collective understanding (Fricker, 158). Individuals in positions of power in society can impact society members' social understandings. They can sway the resources in their biases resulting in the reproduction of their desires through the knowledge that is produced. 

Racial minorities have faced unequal access to social and economic capital. Racial Stereotypes play a significant role in establishing prevailing ideologies. Individuals that were not Anglo-Saxon were considered socially inferior. Historically there have been false accusations or correlations between the color of skin and characteristics of the person. Formally blacks have been deemed dishonorable and untrustworthy. These qualities have made them inadequate candidates for positions of authority and power within society. In addition to people in positions of power abiding by stereotypes, employers developed biases into hiring individual races to oppose to others. These hiring practices further translated into Historical Hiring Traditions. Those in the position to hire were likely to hire workers that embodied characteristics similar to themselves—reproducing the long-standing tradition of individuals in power predominantly being white males. Western Europeans created orientalism as a way to ‘other’ the people of Eastern Asia. A term intended to exoticize a group and construct an outgroup. Europeans were fascinated by the people of Eastern Asia, by their art and culture; however, they still viewed members of this society as less than them. Due to hermeneutical injustice, Eastern Asian individuals did not have a say in how their own identity was constructed. For that reason, a whole portion of their culture was lost through how Europeans in power were identifying them (Migonolo, 51).

Discriminatory treatment among different genders commonly was found both in the workforce and inside the home. Males traditionally occupy more dominant positions in the workforce. Holding these positions of a higher power, they obtain the ability to influence the control and construction of the knowledge that is available to society, including the societal norms that stand for the standard in society. Males in positions of authority historically engaged in degrading behavior toward female employees, making them feel uncomfortable or ‘lesser than’, however at the time this was viewed as the norm. Individuals frequently did not recognize the injustice within the circumstances because they were not aware of any other wat. Terms such as ‘sexual harassment’ have not yet been termed at this time though such incidents were already occurring. The lack of understanding served as a disadvantage to all; it was a consequence of the inability of knowing. (Fricker, 151).

Formally, women were unaware that they had the opportunity to engage in work outside the household. As far as their understanding, their job was the responsibility for the housework and the family. Traditional Gender Ideologies play a crucial role in producing and reproducing segregation. Traditionally, men were viewed as being ‘more able’ and ‘more evolved’ than women, making them a better candidate for work. Men were also customary thought to be better suited for the public sphere while women were thought to be better suited for the private sphere. This allotted men the opportunity to serve as the ‘breadwinner’ of the family, working in the community.  The women were then subject to the home where they had the responsibility to manage the house and the family. Traditionally men were thought to be rational and independent. In contrast, women were considered to be caring, emotional and dependent. For this, the division of the public and private sphere in such a way seen as ideal. Social systems of cultural beliefs such as patriarchy are created by men to maintain superiority over women. Men with this value and belief system attempt to legitimately secure their dominance within the public and private frameworks, including obtaining jobs with positions of a higher power. Aged traditional writings acted as a means to justify the superior treatment of men. Roman Law has scripts limiting the rights of women (De Beauvior, 204). Other traditional writings lack the equivalent representation of both genders also impact hermeneutical injustice, showing how women’s culture has been lost throughout teachings and documents that are to be significant (Jiang, 203).

Historically individuals of minority groups, including women and members of different races, have been facing social inequality due to hermeneutical and epistemic injustice. These groups have tremendously been overlooked in the development of resources that produce society's knowledge. There has been a lack of representation of their culture that has affected how these groups have been viewed historically and within modernity.

References

Archer, M., and Jonathon Q. T., (2000).  Rational Choice Theory: Resisting Colonization,            Routledge, London.

Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. (2013). Post-colonial studies: The key concepts.   routledge.

Burr, V. (2015). Social constructionism. Routledge.

Collins, R., Randall, C., & Collins, R. A. (1986). Weberian sociological theory. Cambridge          University Press.

Reynolds, L. T., & Herman-Kinney, N. J. (2003). Handbook of symbolic interactionism. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

Impacts of social media and television on human interactions

Communication has evolved with advancement in technology and people keep finding new ways to interact with one another as well as learn about the world they live in. with the introduction of computer technology, the world has been reduced to a global village where people from different parts of the world can interact for various reasons like business, trade or for learning. The existence of social media and television for instance has a major impact on the knowledge that people possess as well as how they go about their daily activities. Through television, people get entertained, educated and gain a better understanding of the events that take place around them. Social media on the other hand acts as a tool for sharing information, interacting with friends and also informing the public. Due to their popularity, television and social media has a significant impact on the views and opinions that people have as well as the type of interactions.

Television serves the interest of the general public by keeping them informed, entertained and educated. People consider television an informative tool especially because of some of the programs aired. Various news channels collect information on events that take place both locally and international (Boukes, 2019). The information is collected by trained reporters and edited by trained professionals to ensure that any information broadcasted is factual and relevant. As such, members of the community have grown to consider television as one of the various tools that can keep them updated about events taking place around them. The importance placed on television gives it a significant level of control over the views that people have over events reported and therefore influences their public opinion (Boukes, 2019). The reporting further influences the views that people have through the way in which the news is broadcasted. If the reports are biased, there is tendency that the public will share the same opinions aired through the media and in so doing, mislead the public.

The content aired through television can also affect how people interact. The content aired on television often becomes a topic for conversation when people meet up. Colleagues and friends are likely to discuss the shows they watch or news reporting especially when they have a big impact on how members of the public go about their daily activities (Eysenbach, 2018). If, for example, the news reports focus on politics, the discussions held by the public are likely to revolve about political issue not only those reported but other general information regarding the state  of the nation (Eysenbach, 2018). The power and influence that television has over the people makes the influence even more intense as people rarely doubt the information aired especially by news channels.

The impact that television has on people’s opinions, views and every day interactions is further intensified by the nature of content shared. On a daily basis, there are various events that take place in different regions that are worth reporting. The information collected is however too large and those in charge of programming have to decide on what information to broadcast and which to do away with (Hemsley et al, 2018). This gives television the power to sieve information and in so doing, determine the type of content that is made available to the public. The shows aired are therefore a small reflection of the information that the television could showcase. Since people rely on television to get the topic for debate, the television’s ability to filter information also means that it controls what people talk about. 

Social media on the other hand is able to direct people’s views and opinions as it is used as a tool for interaction. Unlike in the past where people had to meet in person in order to interact, technology has brought convenience and people can communicate even when in different parts of the world. Social media serves the role of helping people overcome geographic barriers (Hemsley et al, 2018). Through it, people post updates about their daily routines; share information about a product they are using, and helps people to meet ad interact. The exchange of information creates the platform needed to discuss issues that occur in society (Hemsley et al, 2018). While people are free to share whatever pleases them, the topics tend to focus on what is popular on social media and therefore limits the possible discussions that members of the public could have.

When used correctly, social media also improves interactions between people as it makes it easier to plan meetings. Since communication is often instant, people can meet through social media, discuss ideas on possible places for meetings and then meet in parson. The ease and convenience in planning such meetings helps to improve interactions as people can make plans more conveniently (Flecha et al, 2018). To some extent, social media improves human interaction by making it easier for people to plan how to meet and even choose the best locations. It also makes it possible for those planning to show up for the meetings to enquire about details like time, directions and other information regarding the meeting. Although most of the information shared occurs before the actual interaction, the exchange among the members planning to meet increases the chance for the interaction to be successful.

When used correctly, social media and television are important tools used to keep the public informed. There are however negative outcomes that could result from using the two forms of technology. For both, there is the risk that people will spend more time using the devices than they do interacting at a personal level (Liggett & Ueberall, 2016). While communication through television and social media is just as effective as face to face conversations, the use of technology takes away the human touch in people’s interaction. This creates scenarios where people are more concerned about delivering their messages and pay little attention to the impact the message has on its intended audience. When people interact on a personal level, it becomes easier to identify traits that determine how the message is being received. Such an approach ensures that the message is received as intended and therefore has the desired impact (Flecha et al, 2018). Since people rely on information from the various social media sites and various news programs to form a basic understanding of their environment, having factual information ensures that the ideas and opinions they have are also factual. In such a scenario, television and social media helps to develop positive opinions and the views of the people are free from bias.

From a biblical worldview, television and social media comes out as tools that pull people away from the church. This is especially because the bible cautions believers against indulging in things that take their attention away from the church. “I will send no wicked thing before mine eyes; I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me” (Psalms 101:3, New International Version). For Christians, the bible verse instructs believers not to pay attention to wicked things. This however becomes difficult when such content is aired on television in the form of news. Reporting on issues such as war, rape, corruption, murder and other crimes that may be considered as wicked expose the public, including believers, to the same information cautioned against by the bible (Arias, 2016). Since the news reports are informative and shine a light on what evils exist in society, it becomes difficult for the intended audience to avoid such content and therefore go against the biblical world view.

The bible verse further instructs believers to hate the work created by people against the biblical world view. This is however difficult especially in the case of social media. Most of the content shared originates from sources that are difficult to trace. In order for believers to abide to the biblical world view, it would require them to stay away from any content broadcasted by non-believers (Enikolopov & Petrova, 2017). This is however difficult because a significant number of posts, including religious discussions, are carried out by people who may only want to share information but do not necessarily agree with the message. In the case for television, secular shows are often aired before or after religious shows. While sharing the same platform does not take away from the religious content and purpose, the biblical worldview strongly discourages association with non-believers. The impact that television and social media could have on people’s opinions and beliefs is therefore challenged by the biblical worldview especially due to the different types of content shared.

The last section of the bible verse requires believers to refrain from developing attachments to things that are not of God. This is however difficult to determine especially for television and social media because they are only tools. The message communicated is therefore determined by the individual using the tool and the purpose intended. If believers are to abide to this biblical world view, it would require them to avoid the television and social media altogether. This is however difficult as people have become dependent on television and social media for information about what is going on around them.

In today’s society, television and social media has become a major factor in people’s lives. The general information shared helps to shape up the public opinion and beliefs that people have. The two not only inform the public but also guides them on what to talk about and what issues to address. Although the public does retain significant control over what can be broadcasted or shared on social media, the content is designed to suit the needs of all members of public. With the various religious groups existing in society, television and social media cannot abide to only a biblical worldview as doing so would create religious bias. In order to fully benefit from the use of social media and television content, one must learn to discern which topics are ideal to follow and what shows can be watched without pulling one away from their religious beliefs. Rather than being controlled by the two modes of communication, people must learn how to use social media and television to meet their own interests.

References

Arias E, (2016) “How does media influence social norms: A field experiment on the role of          common knowledge” UNESCO

Enikolopov R and Petrova M, (2017) “Mass media and its influence on behavior” CREi

Flecha R, Marti S, Paulido M and Sama R, (2018) “Social impact in social media: A new method            to evaluate the social impact of research” PLOS ONE, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203117

Hemsley, J., Jacobson, J., Gruzd, A., & Mai, P. (2018). Social Media for Social Good or Evil:      An Introduction. Social Media + Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118786719

Liggett R and Ueberall S, (2016) “Social media impacts behavior and norms” Citizens Crime       Commission

Mark Boukes (2019) Social network sites and acquiring current affairs knowledge: The impact    of Twitter and Facebook usage on learning about the news, Journal of Information     Technology & Politics, 16:1, 36-51, DOI: 10.1080/19331681.2019.1572568

Yeung D. (2018). Social Media as a Catalyst for Policy Action and Social Change for Health and             Well-Being: Viewpoint. Journal of medical Internet research, 20(3), e94. doi:10.2196/jmir.8508

Theoretical Perspectives

             Sociological theories have different perspectives on the social world or in other words they view the world and explain a particular phenomenon using different perspectives. Focusing on social problems, the structural perspective, and the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionist understands the social problems using different perspectives.

• Structural Functionalist

            The theory states that society is made up of several parts and all these parts work together to make society as a whole and more importantly maintain internal stability and meet the social needs (Mooney, 11).  In traditional societies, society had small groups that had shared values and performed similar tasks. Today, groups in contemporary society have weaker bonds and perform different tasks. Social Pathology states that since the small groups do not function together, society becomes ill. In other words, the family, religious, political, and economic institutions have been broken and as a result, individuals and institutions are not adequately socialized (Mooney, 12). This leads to sick social conditions including weak social norms. The weak norms allow people to engage in physical abuses, drug abuse, rape, among other deviant behaviors.

• Marxist conflict

 The conflict theory suggests that social problems arise in institutional levels due to material inequalities.  It claims that in a capitalist society, there are two primary classes; very wealthy people and very poor people (Mooney, 12).  The two classes compete for limited resources.  Very wealthy individuals have more power and influence and this enables them to have more resources than very poor people. There is also social structures in the capitalist system where the elite benefits from the resources. On the other hand, the very poor are alienated in places of work, classroom, and other institutions (Mooney, 13). They develop a sense of powerlessness and inequality and failure to meet their needs makes them suffer from physical and mental illness.  Therefore, the core factors that lead to social problems according to Karl Marx are power, wealth, and authority, and social structures that lead to inequality in the distribution of resources.

• Symbolic Interactionist perspective

            The theory is concerned with human behavior and states that people develop a sense of self by interacting with others. In other words, people interpret symbols such as verbal conversations to make the meaning of the world. On social problems, the theory states that individual interaction leads to social problems. For example, through interactions, individual may learn antisocial behaviors related to crime and drug use and as a result, the individual is motivated to commit the behaviors. Another example is that social interaction shapes perception and this means that individuals learn that some things are recognized, legitimized, and mobilized within the society (Mooney, 14).  For example, sex harassment and, drinking and driving are recognized and labeled as a social problem.  In general, individual in society understand a problem through shared meaning. Since the theory concentrates on micro issues,  the labeling theory or viewing a certain action as problematic intensifies social problems in that individuals  may  engage in antisocial behaviors with respect to how the society define the act.

The elusive concepts of culture

 ‘Elusive' concept in culture means that culture is hard to define or in other words, every group has a set of meaning derived from material and symbolic practices (Child et al, 328).  It is important to note that people learn culture during early childhood and it is shaped by nonmaterial objects, material objects, and artifacts.  Since culture is manifested in these elements, it is hard to define (Child et al, 328).  Each social group has a pattern of behavior and people do not inherit these behaviors but they learn them.

 Elements of social structure

• Social class- in society, people come from different social classes based on income and education. Social class is important as it influence behaviors (Henslin, 78).
• Social status- members of the social group occupy social status which is either assigned by the society or achieved (Henslin, 78). Some people have numerous status such as a parent, a female, a college graduate, among other status.
• Roles- individuals in the society have roles and they must meet the society expectations. For example, nurses, prison inmates, prison guards, teachers and students know their roles and must comply with regulation and meet society expectations (Henslin, 80). Individual occupy different status and their roles in the status make the society.
• Social groups- society has social groups that have a common identity. Social groups are divided into two; primary groups (small groups such as families) and secondary groups (such as employers and employees) (Henslin, 81). Members of these groups interact with one another and share values and norms.
• Social institutions- institutions in society create a social relationship. Society has institutions such as family, political, education, mass media, law, among other social institutions. Inadequacies in these social institutions lead to social problems (Henslin, 81).  Note that each social institution has values and norms that shape behaviors.

Globalization and health

 Globalization has influenced biological and social factors that have increased the spread of infectious diseases. For example, the globalization of the food industry has brought changes in dietary habits. Many countries have shifted from local food to generic food (Saker et al, 11).  There is a little control over agricultural production as well as processing and packaging and this increases the risk of foodborne disease.  For example, poor regulation and food contamination have resulted in the outbreak of Salmonella Poona in the U.S as a result of eating contaminated melons from Mexico (Saker et al, 11).

 Crime comparison

There are no similarities between crime in the U.S and other countries. This is because the U.S has more crimes than other nations. For example in the 1990s, the U.S had higher homicide rates and robbery rates than countries like Canada, Netherlands, Sweden, Wales, among other nations (Cole et al, 34). Note that the U.S has more firearms and it is socioeconomically developed. This enables criminals to commit murders than other nations.

Work cited

Mooney, Linda A. Understanding Social Problems. Toronto: Nelson Education, 2012. Print.

Child, John, David Faulkner, Stephen B. Tallman, and John Child. Cooperative Strategy.

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print.

Henslin, James M, Adam Possamai, and Alphia Possamai-Inesedy. Sociology. , 2014. Internet

resource.

Saker, Lance, et al. Globalization and infectious diseases: a review of the linkages. No.

TDR/STR/SEB/ST/04.2. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2004.

Cole F. G. Smith E. C., & DeJong C.  The American System of Criminal Justice. Cengage

Learning.

Vygotsky’s learning theory and Maslow’s theory of motivation to evaluate learning outcome

The case study shows effective learning taking place from the method that the teacher uses to teach the students all the way to the way that she interacts with the students during the lesson. When the lesson begins, Miss Afra the teacher in the case study establishes the class behaviour goals and expectations, which helps set the mood of the class. It is important that students’ needs are met to help them reach their full potential as Maslow’s motivation theory advices; it is hence the role of the teacher to understand their students’ needs in order to fulfil them (Onchwari et al., 2008). Miss Afra clearly understands the background of her students given that a number of them like Hami are struggling with the English language which is their second language. These are students that are suffering from self-esteem being in a new country and given that they cannot effectively express themselves in English either verbally or in writing.

Setting the class goals is one of the ways that the teacher ensures that the need for love and safety of these students are met. The class goals and expectations make it very clear that every student is safe and is a valued member. Miss Afra unites the students by establishing that she understands the challenges that they face with the outside community and they would work together to overcome the challenges. This was very effective and Hami for instance who was very nervous about the assignment of the day changed his attitude and he felt confident and ready to take up the task knowing that he was in a safe environment and did not need to fear. Setting the classroom goals, help set an accommodating mood for the class, where every student felt valued and ready for the lesson of the day.

Vygotsky’s social cultural theory describes defines learning as a collective course and also illustrates that it is the initiation of human intellect in the social order (Nye, 2007). The theory points out that one of the important elements in the development of cognition is social interaction. The theory argues that the development of children is highly dependent on their interactions with other people around them (Nye, 2007).  In the case study, social interaction is evident in the system used where Miss Afra gives the students a chance to discuss ideas about the assignment in the class. These discussions help the students to interact with one another and hence helping the students to get comfortable with one another thus motivating positive learning mood.

The Vygotsky theory further illustrates that the capacity for intellectual growth is restricted to zone of proximal development (ZPD) (Nye, 2007). This is the zone where students are cognitively prepared but they still require assistance and social collaboration for them to fully develop. A teacher in this case is expected to afford students with framework to help support the development of the students’ understanding of knowledge spheres or even the growth of some of the multifaceted abilities that they struggle with. Miss Afra effectively follows Vygotsky theory when it comes to the concept of scaffolding; she begins by making an illustration of her own experience for the class. She makes the lesson and the task interesting, by using the whiteboard to demonstrate each of the task sections for the students to see. She demonstrates every step of the assignment starting with the brainstorming, selection of the topic and lastly to the writing of the letter all on the board; making it very easy for the students to follow and understand.

The Vygotsky theory supports collaborative learning as a means of supporting the intellectual skills as well as the skills of the learners and ensuring that intentional learning is facilitated (Nye, 2007).  Miss Afra effectively engages the students all through the process by speaking out her ideas loudly allowing the students to ask questions and this makes the lesson much more interesting and collaborative. She creatively uses circles, different colours for different ideas and a timer for each of the section which is effective because it makes it much easier for the students to understand every step of writing an effective essay. Miss Afra in this case creates a good learning mood where the students are excited and ready to understand the writing process for their assignments.

 By allowing the writing lesson to take place section by sections, makes it easy for the students to understand where they have a problem understanding and they freely ask questions. Hami for instance does not understand the five Ws (what, where, who, when, why) and he is not scared to ask for more explanation for the teacher. The way that Miss Afra answers his question is effective in that she does not mock him but rather gives him some simple examples which help him understand the concept better. This is an effective learning element and it fulfils the arguments Maslow’s motivation theory, which illustrates the need for positive feedback from teachers in order to motivate self-esteem of the students (Onchwari et al., 2008).

Another effective method that is utilized by Miss Afra is the use of group work. Group work is important because it allows the students a chance to interact with one another as they brain storm ideas to help complete their tasks. It is often common for group works to negatively impact on some of the students especially the ones that have poor social skills (Nye, 2007). Miss Afra was able to deal with this issue by advising the students to have individual roles within the group which ensured that every student participated in the group task. This worked effectively and it allowed all the students to participate and concentrate on the group tasks which made the lesson more interesting and successful.

Giving the students a chance to read each other’s task at the end of the lesson was equally an effective strategy in helping improve self-esteem for the students. Maslow’s motivation theory illustrates that self-esteem is an important element that affects goal achievement (Onchwari et al., 2008). When individuals are given powerful positive verbal feedback, they get motivated to do better because they understand their strength as well as their weakness. In this case, the exercise allowed the students to get feedback on their tasks either positive or negative, which helped them to understand their strengths as well as their weaknesses in writing. It also acted as a good motivation cue for the students to practice more in order to improve on their writing skills.

            This case study shows that learning effectively takes place, the students are able to reach their full potential as the Maslow’s motivation theory advice in the writing skills lesson. Every step of writing was clearly explained and demonstrated by the teacher ensuring that the needs of the students were met. The teacher created a good learning environment for learning and incorporated creative as well as collaborative learning techniques that allowed the students to feel safe and motivated, hence better understanding of the elements being instructed.

References

Nye, C. (2007). Dependence and Independence in Clinical Supervision: An Application of

Vygotsky’ s Developmental Learning Theory. Clinical Supervisor, 26(1/2), 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1300/J001v26n01_07

Onchwari, G., Onchwari, J., & Keengwe, J. (2008). Teaching the Immigrant Child:

Application of Child Development Theories. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(3), 267–273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-008-0269-9

Application of the concepts of Henslin on learning the ideas of physical space in Anderson’s work

According to Henslin’s concept of physical place social place and psychological space, learning educators should grasp that the surrounding they develop possess the power to impact quality of acquiring information within the space and framework of sharing ideas (Henslin et.al, 2015) . More over the space should have a plan, functional and adaptability. Consequently, Henslin permits us to learn more about Anderson’s work, ‘A place on the corner’ where he deals with stratified systems. No matter an individual’s skin color, internally all the people are equal.

 Yes Anderson’s categorization of people reflect on social stratification

Because most of the times sociologists use the terms social stratification to demonstrate the structure of societal standing. Anderson also makes use of the same ideals on socials stratification by categorizing black men and their interactive traits together with their traditions.

 The ideals of Simmel on symbolic interactions

Simmel’s sociology does not differ from other classical writers and it is similar various ways even though most of the times, he speaks less on structure and its dynamism compared to the rest of the writers who had a more vivid approach on everything (Rock, 2016). In terms of symbolic interactions offers both different and variety of extensive concepts and vital theories and according to Simmel’s perspective, considers it a personal and societal concepts while other pragmatists connect it with primarily ancient universities. One of the main things of the concepts is human life lived within the confines of symbolic domain.

 Anderson’s work

Yes, Anderson’s wok centers on the life of black men and their culture hence generally, he isolated a cultural group and studied it separately through the process of socialization, which facilitates the culture of the people sampled for study (Anderson, 2003).

 How Jelly represent a society

 The Jelly are social creatures and has more than one social aspects. Therefore, they can represent a study for the sake of keeping off the means of surviving. This issues correlate with Anderson’s thesis as they define culture practiced within the society and humanity as a social species.

References

Anderson, E. (2003). A Place on the Corner. University of Chicago Press.

Henslin, J. M., Possamai, A. M., Possamai-Inesedy, A. L., Marjoribanks, T., & Elder, K. (2015). Sociology: A down to earth approach. Pearson Higher Education AU.

Rock, P. (2016). Making of symbolic interactionism. Springer.

 Feudalism developed in both the Western European and Japanese worlds in the middle Ages. Compare and contrast the two similar institutions, looking at politics, society, and military affairs.

                                                            Introduction

            Feudalism is basically regarded as being a combination of military and legal customs which flourished during the Middle Ages. Ideally, this was one of the means used by nations, especially Western Europe and Japan for the purpose of restructuring their society around some relationships that were obtained through land holding in exchange for labor or other services. Despite that, the extensive use of this feudalism and its associated system was not ultimately used by the society as being the mechanism of improving their political system during Middle Ages (Smith, 2008). 

            Later, it was understood that the significance of feudalism was to aid in describing a set of military and legal obligations that existed amongst the warriors’ nobility revolving around fiefs, vassals, and lords.  Furthermore, since it includes the nobility of clergies and peasantry who are bounded by manorialism, it makes this system to be termed as being a feudal society. This in return has enabled people to understand the role played by the medieval society (Wallech et al., 2012). 

                                                            Comparison

            Regardless of the fact that the feudal system of Western Europe and Japan had differed greatly, they shared common key elements. The first one is that the Japanese and the Western Europe feudal systems were established on rigid hierarchy or chain of command that in return restricted people from moving from one class to another. It means that in both states, nobles were the top most class, followed by warriors and lastly farmers. Secondly, both of these systems depended on peasantry for the purpose of boosting their agricultural activities as well as defining the classes of warriors who were absolutely committed in maintaining their military powers (Wallech et al., 2012). Likewise, the political and social systems of Western Europe and Japan had similar structure that is having same habits, garb, skills, and ideals.

            Basically, there existed little societal mobility that is to imply that the peasants’ children were to remain peasants while those of the lords were to be lords and ladies.  The only exemption of this scenario is that of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who was born by a peasant, but later rose to power as the ruler of their country (Powelson, 2000).

            Nonetheless, the feudalism of Western Europe and Japan had extensively enabled warriors to depend on constant warfare as a means of maintaining the military class. Ideally, the samurai of Japan and the knights of Western Europe had the responsibility of serving their lords. Furthermore, the warriors of both nations were meant to serve their lords with accepted code of conduct or ethics. From this perspective, it implies that the duty of the knights of Europe was to conform to the concept of chivalry while those of the Japanese samurai were to be bounded by the way of the warriors or the precepts of bushido (Upshur, 2012). 

                                                Differences

            Feudalism in Western Europe was built in the late 800s CE while in Japan it was established in the late 1100s CE as the Kamakura Shogunate rose to power and Heian era drew closer. In the 16^th century, feudalism in Western Europe came to an end as a result of the establishment of stronger or better political states while Japanese feudalism continued to flourish until in came to an end as a result of the Meiji Restoration.

            In both states, the samurai and the knights wore armor, used swords, and rode horses to the battle field. The armor that the European knights wore was made of plate metal or chain mail. The armor that the Japanese samurai wore incorporated lacquered metal plates or leather with metal bindings or silk. Despite that, the knights of Europe were almost immobilized because of their armor hence requiring extra assistance while riding their horses. The reason for that is because that could give them an opportunity of knocking their opponents off the mounts of their opponents. On the other hand, the armor that the Japanese samurai used to wear was light in terms of weight hence enabling them to maneuver quickly. This means that they required little protection while attacking their opponents in the battle field (Wallech et al., 2012). 

            During the Middle Ages, the feudal lords of the Western Europe used to built castles made of stones. The reason for that was to offer protection not only to them, but also to their vassals in the process of being attacked. On the contrary, the castles that the daimyo or the lords of Japan used to build castles were made up of wood.

            The Japanese feudalism was absolutely based on the ideas that were initially developed by their philosopher Confucius or Kong Qiu. The reason for that is because such ideas were meant to ensure that filial piety or morality has been maintained, especially for elders and not for any other superior. Likewise, one of the main responsibilities of the daimyo and samurai was to ensure that they have provided protection to their villagers and peasants. As a reward for their duty, the villagers and peasants were required to pay them taxes as a way of honoring them (Upshur, 2012). 

            On the other hand, instead of the Roman regal customs and laws, the feudalism of Western Europe was supplemented by the Germanic traditions. In return, it was important to ensure that such a system has also been supported by main authorities of the Catholic Church. Conversely, the relationships that the vassals and their lords had were perceived to be contractual. For instance, the lords used to offer protection as well as payments while vassals were to remain loyal to them (Smith, 2008). 

            Land ownership was also another key distinctive factor. The knights of Europe used to acquire land from lords as a means of paying for their military services. They also had direct and full control of the serfs who used to work on their land. The samurai of Japan, in contrast, did not have the opportunity of owning land. The daimyo instead used a certain percentage of the returns they obtained as taxes from peasants to pay them salaries in terms of rice (Classen, 2010). 

            Gender interactions are also another factor that used to distinguish the knights of Europe and the samurai of Japan. For instance, samurai women were regarded to be stronger as their men. They were also expected to have the courage of facing death without cringing. On the other hand, the European women were perceived to be delicate flowers hence requiring constant protection from the chivalrous knights. Furthermore, the samurai of Japan were expected to be artistic and cultured. They were supposed to have the ability of writing or composing poetry in beautiful calligraphy. On the other hand, the knights of Europe were usually illiterate. They have would have had the likelihood of being scorned that time in favor for jousting or hunting (Powelson, 2000). 

            When it comes to death, the samurai of Japan and the knights of Europe had different approaches. For instance, the European knights were ultimately bound by their catholic Christian laws against strove and suicide. The reason for that was to enable them to avoid any form of death. In contrary, the Japanese Samurai did not have any religious reasons that could have compelled them to avoid death. In order to maintain honor, they could commit suicide once defeated (Upshur, 2012). 

                                                            Conclusion

Despite the fact that the Japanese and the European feudalism have vanished, still few traces of this system still remains. For example, monarchies still thrives in European and Japan though in ceremonial or constitutional forms.   The Japanese samurai and the knights of Europe have been demoted to horrific titles or social roles. Although nearly becoming extinct, the divisions of their political and social as remains.

                                                            References

Classen, A. (2010). Handbook of medieval studies: Terms - methods - trends. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter.

Powelson, J. P. (2000). The moral economy. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press.

Smith, B. G. (2008). The Oxford encyclopedia of women in world history. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Upshur, J.-H. L. (2012). World history: The age of global integration. Boston, MA: Wadsworth.

Wallech, S., Hendricks, C., Negus, A. L., Wan, P., Daryaee, T., & Bakken, G. M. (2012). World History, A Concise Thematic Analysis: A Concise Thematic Analysis. New York: Wiley.

                      Title:

                    Name:

                        Professor:

                       Institution:

               Date:

                                                            Architecture

Thesis statement

The extent at which equity as well as human rights end up sustaining economic security, social strengthening, and diversity is what end up determining the progress of the society.

Synopsis with response

1. “Firm owners want to profit from their fees while staff want those fees to go toward higher wages and more benefits. The lack of homogeneity reduces the AIA to a brand protection agency since all players can agree on basically only one thing: the AIA should show the world that architecture is a worthy endeavor”

            Architectural designs fundamentally comprise of a complex between voids and solids, movement through, the development of, the relationships and connections between, function, light, and refinement of space, use, and construction. I agree with this statement because in architectural constituencies, there are various opposition that exists between organizations that work for societal development as well as those firms that are solely profit oriented. Business organizations which are always driven by the public interest end up becoming non-profits as well as having few workers.

2. “Either the AIA believes that there is no problem beyond that of the emerging professionals, or it does not know how to address this crucial issue in any direct way”.

            The connection that exists between those who have and does not have a chance of airing their views in the AIA mainly results from the absence of principled idealism. In reality, it is one of the problems that result to Ivy procurement. I strongly agree with this statement because some of the members who comply with the ADPSR’s (architects/designers/planners for social responsibility) 2014 petition and other bodies are the one that restricts its members to design execution spaces and chambers for private. This is what makes it difficult for the AIA to solicit all its members through the poll. As a result of that, they do not make any huge impact to the AIA.

3. “It’s very important for the emerging architects to get paid because it really puts a sense of value on what we do.”

            Taking into consideration the payback period, it implies that to a large extent, architectures do struggle to attract as well as retain minorities. I agree with this statement because a large percent of the young generation are left behind just because of the lack of continued access to education. Such a scenario also arises from the naive assessment of professional impediments. Thus, the truth is that there is the need of scrutinizing the role played architectural firms within their neoliberal state. Legally and practically, it is important to ensure that the value architectural firms bring to the society have been promoted so as to enhance better remuneration their workers. 

Introduction

It is true that finances influence choices. Economic experts speculate that by observing the actions of individuals, rather than listening to words spoken may reveal peoples’ happiness. In other words, economic growth equals happiness, which translates into actions. To illustrate further, Gross Domestic product is an indication of a country status of living. A higher living status implies accessibility to leisure due to a high income, which affords citizens material benefits. However, some countries defied odds and proved happiness does not rely on monetary factors. This essay will carry out an exhaustive research on the underlying reasons that make Bhutan ranked among the happiest countries yet it is not a wealthy nation.

Reasons why Bhutan is or is not the happiest place on earth

One factor stands out once an individual lands on Bhutan, that is, the simplicity of the nation, and people are warm and friendly in all regions (Boyce et.al, 89). Yes, poverty exists especially in the rural regions but the tranquility of the area indicates happiness and an extended sense of fulfillment.

Critics argue that Bhutan is not a happy place due to the evident challenges within the area. The early democracy was once under monarchy and faced with numerous challenges especially unemployment among the youth (Boyce et.al, 112). However, outside influence eroded its culture slowly giving room to urbanization and adjustment from rural life and farming. In fact, the country had numerous social challenges such as drug abuse and gang violence. For example, law enforcers faced harsh violent from gangs. In summary, critics cement their argument against the happiness of Bhutan.

 The concept of national happiness came from Bhutan’s monarch leader who once appeared in the foreign press and claimed that the nation not only cared about the economic condition of its citizens but also happiness of the entire nation (Boyce et.al, 101). Decades later, the leader’s sentiments rippled over time remaining relevant and strong among Bhutan.

 After the king’s statements, the nations integrated the happiness rhetoric into four sectors of the nation that is social, traditional, conservation of natural surroundings and accountable leadership(Buncombe, 191). More so, aiming at upgrading the happiness of its citizen, the government end up giving free health care and education. In summary, the happiness principle formulates policies and allocates resources based on the essential needs hence hindering factors that may cause unhappiness.

From personal experience on America a person has to buy happy meal at McDonald while in Bhutan, visitors forget to check their phones. Furthermore, law enforcers and legislators believe that they contributed in making Bhutan a happy place (Buncombe, 191). This shows that society is not under the rushed pressure from the outside world to accomplish tasks

Accumulation of wealth does not automatically turn a country into a happy one (Boyce et.al, 101). United Nation statistics shows that people can free themselves from the love of money and focus on basic concepts hence resulting to happiness.

In short, In terms of ranking, United States ranked dropped and landed in the 18^th place. I recent times, government utilizes happiness data to formulate policymaking and creation sound decisions and strategies. Each time happiness ranks drops, it should indicate failure of dealing with societal challenges such as drug abuse and obesity. It is rare not to attain happiness on Bhutan, a Buddhist Kingdom situated between India and China. Portraying happiness and designating it as a tourist destination gives people a chance to share in the happiness.

Reference

Boyce, Christopher, And C. C. By-Nd. "Why I quit my day job researching happiness and started cycling to Bhutan." (2018).

Ura, Karma, et al. A short guide to gross national happiness index. The Centre for Bhutan Studies, 2012.

 Buncombe, A Is Bhutan the happiest place In the world? The independent. (2012, Jan 14).

Introduction

 Culture constructs and shapes issues that later affect perceptions aligned to personal identity. It is hard isolating culture from personal identity due to the extensive intertwining between the two aspects. Culture facilitates knowledge acquisition, opinion on natural phenomena, belief systems, character, and social relationships between various people in the community. Therefore, culture communicates ideas that later dictate the flow and influence identity of an individual. The motives, behavior, reactions, and intentions of people most of the times manifest in cultural practices. This paper will discuss how culture affects family values, social behavior, and ethical standing of individuals in the community.

How culture constructs family values

Although the general perception is that culture automatically affects family values, Rodriguez’s argues that a specific group of people or person cannot have total control over another’s identity through imparting cultural values and practices (Kidd, and Alison 13). For example, a father cannot dictate the direction his son will take even after he teaches him to adhere to certain cultural norms. It is vital to note that Rodriguez’s observations suggests that people who emerge from Christian families but are homosexual in nature took their own path despite the cultural norms drilled from childhood to adulthood. On the other hand, Rodriguez asserts that weak cultural values can make a child stray from them when he or she grows up. In short, the extent to which culture influences identity and personal values relies on the manner in which parents impart the culture in question.

It is evident that family values embodies all basic principles which later influences identity and shapes the entire value system of a person. The family is the most basic unit encompassing culture practices across various demographics, education, and social aspects all along considering the economy’s overall influence. Families shape culture into an entity that can drive change and establish a new value system with outside systems. For example, when a child leaves home, he or she has to use cultural values taught within the family domain in the outside world. The assurance from family assists a person explores the world through the cultural norms practiced at home (Kidd and Alison 28). Therefore, when a person meets an outside culture matching his or her own, he readily embraces the foreign culture. In short, a person cannot easily overturn their culture and even if they do, the traces remain rooted in various daily activities of the child. For further illustration American society  believes in independence from family members, each person needs to fend for themselves and cater to their basic needs and to achieve this culture, ac child leaves home at a certain age. In addition, Americans term dependence as a feebleness that might amount to failure in the society. Hence, leaving behind, a parent’s home signifies power and progress in life.

 Richard reshapes the boundaries associated with family value cultures. Holding a different perspective from what many families confirm and believe is a bold statement. For instance, the manner in which a family receives an announcement from their son when he confirms he is gay indicates a lot of things about the culture of that particular family and also the role of a mother in the family reveal the cultural norms of the family (Pack, and Jay 78). Hence, culture affects roles and relationships formed by the family members in the future, which then go on in molding the belief system further. Every family’s beliefs on various issues pronounce cultural ideologies that accompany the subject at hand. According to Rodrigues, there are two types of family; a family, which nurtures no matter the direction a child takes and the family unbent by the direction taken by a child or relative. Some families may reject a member who does not abide by their cultural norms of identity. These demonstrate the essential part played by cultural practices. In summary culture, influences decision making and the underlying meaning of functioning.

How family values and culture affect attitudes and behaviors

As stated earlier, family culture substantively affects behavior and attitude through beliefs and values learned in a person’s life. The belief system formed may affect an individual either positively or negatively (Bhattacharya, Utpal, and Veronika 109). Researches reveal that family relations affect a person from the individual level to the personality especially at the early stages of their lives. Children often imitate parents and other older people in the family and society in general. In the process of imitation, they pick up values and thinking processes that match their parent’s cultures and values without any effort. Political and social cultural surroundings influence attitude and overall personality of a person.

Conclusion

In summary, culture has a significant effect on people’ perception of life. Culture contains values and practices that affect various issues such as homosexuality and polygamy. Therefore, culture is an integration of various values and core beliefs hammered in the minds of people over time and materialize through traits and attitude toward different aspects in society. In the end, values, behavior attitudes sum up an individual’s identity and elements family values.

References

Kidd, Warren, and Alison Teagle. Culture and identity. Macmillan International Higher Education, 2012.

Bhattacharya, Utpal, Jung H. Lee, and Veronika K. Pool. "Conflicting family values in mutual fund families." The Journal of Finance 68.1 (2013): 173-200.

Pack, Robert, and Jay Parini. American Identities: Contemporary Multicultural Voices. , 1994.