Fall-2015 Sociology III

WELCOME TO SOCIOLOGY

The Study of Society

Sociology focuses on identifying, explaining, and interpreting patterns and processes of human social relations. This introductory course is designed not just to teach you some of the major findings of sociology, but to help you master fundamental sociological skills, including the ability to think with a "sociological imagination" as well as integrate "technological fluency" with "informational literacy" utilizing basic computer-based data analysis—skills which have broad applicability in a range of educational and work settings.

Our goal in is class is for you to gain a different perspective of a diverse world often taken for granted and to gain new insight into the ways that society shapes people and the way people shape their society. Our objectives are directed at building competence as a critical thinker and change agent so that you will better able to raise relevant questions about the direction in which society is moving, interpret social trends, and examine significant social problems.

It is my hope that this hands-on experience of "doing" sociology will both enliven your interest in sociological analysis and help you develop practical skills that you can use in other contexts as well. We can best understand the process of social interaction when we understand the person in place and in time. Our syllabus sets the place, time and process of this course for you the person.

Welcome to my world, your world, our world.
Dr. Michael Thompson

(not a picture)
Lynzee Zeigler
Michael Thompson
Intro to Sociology
11.18.15

Thinking in a New Light
This article tells about two scientists and how they think sociologically. “Bauman and May's way of thinking sociologically is to consider our individual actions as part of webs of interdependency between people. They conceptualise an interplay between our actions and what, at one point, they call the structure of the world. The book starts with social action and webs of interdependency and works towards concepts of social structure, social order and social boundaries. As it proceeds, it considers the questions that this way of thinking raises in particular contexts.”

When I read about this article it really made me think. How do you think sociologically? Well this is how it is explained in text. “Lateral Thinking can be a useful technique to apply to the sociological interpretation of events and ideas, since it is evident that, in the social world, whenever people view something they make certain assumptions about the nature of the event being viewed. In other words, the assumptions we bring into a situation necessarily colour our interpretation and understanding of what we are seeing.

An obvious example here might be the use of two different concepts ("terrorist" and "freedom fighter") to describe the same thing - someone who uses violence to try to achieve certain political aims. From one point of view - the people who are victims of the violence, the act may be seen as one of terrorism (and hence unjustifiable). To the people responsible for inflicting the violence, on the other hand, the act may be seen as justifiable in the context of the political aims being pursued…

In other words, how we view something involves assumptions about how something does or should behave. It follows, therefore, that if we change the assumptions on which our interpretation rests it is possible we will see a different outcome - we will view it differently…” I have started to realize how to think sociologically because of these very factual articles.

My sources: http://studymore.org.uk/ybaumay.htm
http://www.sociology.org.uk/ylgmain2.htm

Thinking Sociologically

Shelbie Day

Sociology is the study of groups and the interactions between those groups and societies. It is the study from small groups and social interactions to very large social interactions. The ability to recognize and interpret these interactions with one another is thinking sociologically. Sociological thought is based on the social context that it comes from, which may seem a bit contradictory. When thinking sociologically, we not only recognize social change, but each of our sociological thoughts are influenced by their individual social context. With sociological thoughts being based on the social context, this leaves a good amount of different perspectives up for grabs. Also, because these differing perspectives are based on their own social context there is no perspective that is an absolutely correct sociological thought. This can be extremely beneficial as each has their respective views and insight that can further develop the event being observed.

Sociological thinking is the ability to try to understand and recognize what has been transformed or reproduced. Thinking sociologically leads to finding connections from social observations and making links that provide us with insight about our changing world. Thinking through social events and interactions with a perspective that allows us to pick up on patterns and relations between social creatures. This ability to think and process can help society identify and find solutions to so-called social problems. Allow there are many different perspectives within sociological thought, the insight that they give does almost always seem to create some sort of a norm in social creature, a norm that is created by habit and patterns. It is said that when thinking sociologically, a social problem is recognized when it is something that is given a negative or bad judgment.

Karl Marx is responsible for a good portion of the strategies used to think sociologically. A large portion of sociology is making assumptions about the patterns we see and the results we find. To be able to think sociologically we do not just need to have common sense we need some kind processing, analyzing, and developmental thought to draw conclusions make assumptions. Some sociologists study the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, and customs of a culture that contributes to the social changes of these cultural interactions. Social patterns are created by individuals making decisions; however, cultural patterns and social forces pressure these individuals to make a decision and chose one thing over another.

Sources
https://modernsocieties.wordpress.com/2007/09/30/what-do-we-mean-by-thinking-sociologically/
http://thesocietypages.org/sociologysource/2015/02/02/why-dont-we-teach-students-to-think-sociologically/

Thinking Sociologically

Emily Purvis
11/19/15

What do we mean by thinking sociologically? Well, I believe Sociological thought is located within some form of social content. Social change plays a huge role in dealing with thinking sociologically, it is something we are influenced by our own relevant social content. People often wonder how you would even begin to start thinking like a socialist? Thinking sociologically includes repetition, trail and error, and inferred meaning. Most undergraduate sociology education majors could be described as a teacher saying to the class, “watch me as I sociologically analyze this aspect of society.” Then as soon as the teacher reached the conclusion they then would say, “See? Did you see how I came to that conclusion?” If the whole class was still lost the professor would pick another topic and sociologically analyze it. Thinking sociologically is sort of like your own personal opinion, I mean there are right and wrong answers, but its more of a figure it out your self kind of thing. For example you cant really study for Sociology its more of a deep thinking, you go through many objectives and studies just to figure out a simple answer that you'll feel stupid for not knowing when you first read the question. It involves a lot more concentration and analyzing than any other major.

A lot of people relate thinking sociologically to common sense. This is somewhat true, but they actually differ in a lot of ways. Common sense thinking refers to more of a day-to-day truths that we tell ourselves. It is not based in evidence and are uncritical. Common sense thinking usually makes reference that we make based to our experience, we make assumptions towards what ever it is we are referring to. Sociologically thinking is more responsible, it accounts for its claims and points readers towards the sources that are actually true claims. Sociological thinking does not appoint to the world at face value, where common sense does. Common-sense suggests, just for example that people contract HIV/AIDS because they are irresponsible. This makes the issue an entirely individual one. Sociologists develop deeper thoughts and are critical of "easy solutions". We find, that, in many contexts, people are unable, for a variety of reasons, to negotiate safe sex, owing their economic dependence on their partners. The problem is that one of gender inequality, not personal irresponsibility. Sociological thinking is more of a drawing connections between the individual and the society around that individual. As C. Wright Mills stated its connection between history and personal problems. This exploration is referred to as the "sociological imagination." The sociological imagination acknowledges the complexity of life, and resists attempts to understand phenomena as either strictly social or strictly personal.

One thing you have to understand about thinking sociologically, is that Social structure is a pattern of arrangements in which guides that way to social institutions for example like education and government. The second lesson you must understand is that Symbolic Interactionism possesses meaning about how social life is created and distributed through our relationships with others. Socially isn't just simple answers, these rarely help solve complex issues. If you pursue the common solutions you will note that few of them are properly solved.

Sources
http://www.howardluksmd.com/public/Sociology-of-medicine-social-media.jpg
http://sociologywithcandee.blogspot.com/2012/11/how-does-sociological-thinking-differ.html

Tyriq Gunnels
Dr. Thompson
Sociology

Social Creatures

The definition of socialize is interacting with other people or making someone behave in a way that is acceptable in their society. Humans are social creatures and naturally people pleasures, we crave interaction and attention with things. These days social media has taken things to an whole other level. People can be social with one another behind a computer screen making the anti social or socially awkward wanting to be more social. Humans are naturally born to talk and socialize with other people. As we grow and get older everyone craves to be around people more and more. Just think about it. When you are younger you are all about yourself, the older you get you learn to communicate with other people. By just watching TV you can learn different ways to act, react, and dress in different situations. Believe it or not TV gives a lot of people guidance through life.

As humans we are impacted by many different things. We grow up to become who we are by either genetics or the type of environment we were raised in. I believe that our genes have very little to do with the type of person you become. I believe it is more of your environment than anything else. As human beings we learn to do things better when we do them hands on. We need other people to help us survive which makes us have to become a more social. We learn and develop about our surroundings through other people. You see from birth you are leaning on your parents for survival.

Talking or interacting with people face to face is the oldest form of communication in the world. We have used it to pass down stories, daily activities, and ideas. Now sometimes the things people say is just stupid shit falling out of their mouth that it just makes you angry to hear it. Then there are some of the cool ideas and stories that have been gathered over the years and told around campfires. Either way talking face to face with someone is something none other, like a high from a drug or buzz from the alcohol. Talking is the greatest form of social interaction that we as humans crave. When you are out in the real world, you will make decision that affect you. Sometimes you will decide for yourself or you will go ask your parents for some advice. People will make all kinds of decisions that can either hurt them or help them. Along the way, you will meet all kinds of people and become more social. You will become more social because you will have went through the journey of life because we will have people help us along the way to become successful.

At the most basic level, human beings are drawn together for reproduction, built into every human being is the need to reproduce other humans. This need, and the means to do it, is not taught. Such a built in need to reproduce others of ones own kind is basic to all living things, be it a flower or a dolphin As their young grow, they become more aware of themselves as individuals and also of their place among other humans. As individuals, they are aware, through their own senses and thoughts, of their needs and feelings.

There was this girl in high school that would sit by herself at lunch every single day and I always noticed. She did not have very many friends. Whenever people would try and talk to her she would always freeze up and act all shy. Soon after we graduated I heard that she was beaten during her childhood and that explained it all. We are a product of our environment and that makes up your social life.

http://www.aipmm.com/anthropology/2010/05/humans-are-social-animals-1.php
http://www.threeleggeddragon.com/writings/simply/simple.social.html

Ethan Masterson
Dr. Thompson
Sociology
11/18/15

Social Creatures

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Humans are highly social beings. We like to be surrounded by friends and share our personal experiences with others. The recent appearance of various social networking tools, and their adoption at a virtually explosive rate, nicely illustrate the strong and fundamental human desire for social belonging and interpersonal exchange. Not surprisingly, there is emerging evidence that evolutionary processes have favored the development of complex social behaviors in humans, along with the brain architecture that supports them. The human brain, and particularly the neocortex (which constitutes its outmost layer), is much larger in humans as compared to other primates and mammals of similar size. This is particularly interesting because the neocortex comprises many of the brain areas involved in higher social cognition, such as conscious thought, language, behavioral and emotion regulation, as well as empathy and theory of mind — the ability to understand the feelings and intentions of others. We are, so to speak, biologically hard-wired for interacting with others, and are thus said to be endowed with a "social brain."

In a nutshell: if the father stuck around long enough with his partner, and vice versa, the common children had a higher chance of survival, which in turn increased both the female's and the male's reproductive success. And that is what ultimately counts in evolution: promotion of survival of the fittest.

In terms of brain development, the emergence of socially monogamous pair bonds and bi-parental care imposed unprecedented needs for extensive social coordination and synchronization between the two partners and parents. For example, who is responsible for which aspects of childcare? Or how can both partners optimize the time used for searching food versus providing shelter to their offspring? These newly appearing requirements are thought to have laid the foundations for human social evolution as reflected in the development of advanced social cognition and skills.

Sources
https://edge.org/response-detail/25395
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pascal-vrticka/human-social-development_b_3921942.html

Garrett Kirkwood
11/18/15

The Media Taking Over

In today’s society we are going through a big change in communication. This change is because of the media. The media has made it easier to do jobs, and to communicate with each other. Old people say that it is destroying our ability to talk to one another face to face, and that may be true… but it has brought many positive changes with it. We are going to look at the good things and the bad things that social media has brought to our society in modern times.

The good. Immediate Access to Information, connectivity to others worldwide, globalized voices, and a level playing field for businesses. Social media has made it possible for global information, including what we see on the news, information in the community, and our own research for school and whatnot. Social media has made it easier to connect with others that aren’t right next door, and keep up with what is going on in their lives. Also, any business can advertise freely on social media, and that might give smaller companies an advantage to become bigger and to grow.

Now for the bad. Amplified ignorance and deceit, all talk no action, no face to face communication, fake identities, no privacy, political tirades, easy access to cyber-bully. Even though social media is a great thing, there are still things that make it imperfect. People can ignore others easily because it is easy to ignore and lie to others when you aren’t face to face. People can talk all they want, but don’t necessarily have to have a commitment. People can fake who they are and create cyber-worlds because they have no life in the real world. Last but not least, idiots can easily stalk, cyber-bully, and get vital information on social media.

All in all, the media has its ups and downs just like anything else. Many people believe that it will destroy our society and everything in it… but the funny thing about being human, or being social creatures, is that we adapt easily. We are able to sift the good and the bad and make it better. We are able to create good things, and destroy the bad. Also, if somebody isn’t okay with social media, they don’t have to have a facebook account, problem solved. Regardless of how you interact with your friends, consume your news, or participate at work, there can be little doubt that social media has changed the world. Whether it’s for better or worse is up to the individual.

http://www.business2community.com/social-media/social-media-changed-us-good-bad-01000104#coCuFjpY5U1jxSM6.97
http://www.socialnomics.net/2013/12/20/how-social-media-has-changed-us/

Anna Leigh Whitham
Dr. Thompson
Sociology
November 18, 2015

Humans as Social Creatures

Naturally humans are social creatures. But we humans aren’t the only living things that are social, all sorts of animals are social too. When I think of of the the word social I see someone not afraid to talk to anyone and can hold a conversation well with others. The true definition of social is “of or relating to society or its organization”. So what are social creatures?

Social creatures, such as humans need other humans to be able to live. Imagine never seeing another human being ever again. This would cause disillusion and even depression. We need social interaction to live.

It may seem silly to some people that we can not live with out interaction, but there have been many experiments to prove that we do indeed need interaction to live. One experiment that comes to mind is “nature vs. nurture”. One baby is held and loved on while the other was only given the necessity’s, such as food and a change of diaper. Without getting their “social time”, he or she will never learn from their care giver. Humans and animals only have so many instincts to live by. With out being social they will never learn how to live the best they can.

In todays world there are many social norms within our society. We seem to always be told “you can do this, but not that”, yet we can only learn these social norms by being social with one another. It’s only nature to be social, even if some of us aren’t as social as others, but this is perfectly normal. Overall humans and any living creature is naturally social and need to have social interaction in order to live a healthy and normal life.

Sources-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social
https://edge.org/response-detail/25395

Daniel Rogers A.
Dr. Michael Thompson
Sociology
November 11, 2015

Humans as social creatures

Humans are social creatures, we crave interaction through all means of sources whether its through face to face contact or through the phone or mail or anything we crave it. Being social is a virus it spreads and spreads with nothing to stop it after all we can all see everyone is always talking, watching tv or on their cell phones.

Face to face communication has been around for a very very very long time. Its our oldest form of communication. We have used it to pass down information such as stories and just daily activities and ideas along with sometimes crucial thoughts and points. Now sometimes the things people say is just stupid shit falling out of their mouth that it just makes you angry to hear it. Then there are some of the cool ideas and stories that have been gathered over the years and told around campfires. Either way talking face to face with someone is something none other, like a high from a drug or buzz from the alcohol. Talking is the greatest form of social interaction that we as humans crave.

The next form of social interaction I the most popular and is the most used and widely known next to oral communication, the internet or social media. That’s right our favorite the drug we cant get enough of, the constant texting and typing, the snapchatting and selfy taking, the twittering and instagraming. Its all there everything all the power is in that little phone and or tablet. Your whole life is on that little device and it can make you the most popular or most hated person on this whole planet. Litterally in the blink of an eye anything you say or post thousands of people have already read. It can help or hurt us and make or break anything in your life.

As creatures that have many different ways to communicate we love to do so even the people that say they hate actually love it and cant get enough of it like the rest of us. Its like its programed into us that its integrated into our dna and just its apart of us if we don’t get any hman interaction for awhile we start to die off and become depressive and just everything goes wrong we start to shut down and lock ourselfs away which then in return becomes near impossible to open back up to. As humans we are social creatures.

Sources
https://edge.org/response-detail/25395
Only 1 source
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Humans As Social Creatures

Nosike Obanya
Social Creatures
Michael Thompson
11-19-15

Humans are social animals. Our lives feeds off of other humans. Human infants are born incompetent to carry or take care of themselves. Their lives lean on other human's efforts. We develop and learn about the world around us through the eyes and teachings of other people. Our connections to others are key to not only our survival, but also to our happiness and the success of our careers.

As competition continues to be fierce in the job market, we have many applicants fro one factor that can set all of us apart is your professional social network. An extensive network is a resource where you can draw at will. Consider these people as your eyes and ears on the ground. Whether you meet in a terrestrial based regional group, or expand to connect globally via the internet, the will have an impact on the sum great universities with advanced degrees and experience,to help the succcess of you.

Even though we possess capacities far beyond other animals to consider others' minds, to empathize with others' needs, and to transform empathy iur selflessness is not unlimited, it is narrow minded. In support of this statement, the hormone oxytocin, long considered to play a key role in forming social bonds, it has been shown to facilitate affiliation toward one's in-group social skills, but can increase defensive aggression toward one's out-group social skills. Other research suggests that societies who most value loyalty to each other tend to be those most likely to endorse violence tow, moral concern, and cooperation primarily toward an out-groups.

Even arguably our most important social capacity is theory of mind and the ability to adopt the perspectives of others which can increase competition as much as it increases cooperation, highlighting the emotions and desires of those we like, but also highlighting the selfish and unethical motives of people we dislike. Furthermore, for us to consider the minds of others in the first place requires that we are motivated and possess the necessary cognitive resources. Because motivation and cognition are finite, so too is our capacity to be social. Thus, any intervention that intends to increase consideration of others in terms of empathy, benevolence, and compassion is limited in its ability to do so. At some point, the well of working memory on which our most valuable social abilities rely on will run dry.

At the same time, the concept of humans as "social creatures " has lent credibility to numerous significant ideas: that humans need other humans to survive, that humans tend to be perpetually ready for social interaction, and that studying specifically the social features of human functioning is profoundly important.

Resources
https://edge.org/response-detail/25395
http://www.aipmm.com/anthropology/2010/05/humans-are-social-animals-1.php

Alec Hager
Dr. Michael Thompson
Sociology
16 November 2015

Humans As Social Creatures

Humans are impacted by two different factors. We become who we are based on either genetics or environmental factors. People who believe we are who we are based on genetics think that our parents genes create us sociologically. This can be held true when dealing with health issues such as diabetes, heart problems, cancer, etc. I believe that our genes have barely anything to do with the way we act as social creatures. Those who believe we are impacted by environmental factors base our social interactions on how we behave as an individual. In society we grew up learning how socialization is a the key role in the real world. Socialization is where we learn to fit into the world and understand the cultures around us and what they are doing. As young children we are basically striving to be like are role models which are a parent's and we are basing our actions on there every move. As humans we tend to learned better when we are doing stuff hands on.

These experiences make us who we are as an individual. Most of us did not learn right or wrong by our parents telling us what was right and wrong to do. We all learned it the hard way by being punished or by learning the right way by being rewarded. As we get older we continue to learn by observing others. The people we observe then impact the way we act as an individual. For example, Drew, my step father has had more of an impact on me rather than my real father’s genes have. He has taught me everything I need to know in life in order to succeed. I have learned this by watching how he does things and listening to what he tells me. This is the one example that caused me to believe we are impacted more by environmental factors rather than our genes. Parents are not the only factor that impact our social behavior. Coaches, such as my wrestling coach, made a huge impact on who I am as an individual.

Because of him I am very disciplined due to the fact that he never let me give up and constantly encouraged me to keep working harder. This was shown at state wrestling and continues to show in my life now. Close friends can also determine the way you act socially. They are the ones you spend most of your time with causing you to be more like them. Which why most parents encourage their children to hang out with good people since they know that it will benefit their child later on in life. Grandparents are another great example of role models that can affect the way you act. We look at grandparents as having great knowledge, therefore we seek their opinions throughout life. If you have grandparents that work hard you will be more likely to do the same because that is what you have learned while observing their actions. The people we surround ourselves with will almost always affect the way we act. Which is why we always hear how important it is to surround yourself with positive people. Based on these various examples it is clear that the way we act as individuals is based on social and environmental interactions rather than genetic factors.

Resources:
http://www.mutualresponsibility.org/science/3-ways-the-environment-shapes-human-behavior
http://www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html

Travis Cressler
11.19.15

Humans as Social Creatures

Humans are social creatures because we need other people to help us survive. We start being social creatures when we are born because we need our parents to helps with everything to survive in the world. They have to make sure that we are taken care of when we are babies because we are unable to care for ourselves at that age. When we are that age, we need our parents and other people to watch out for us and to help feed us. Also, we need other people to help clean ourselves at that age.

When we get a little older about the age group of 2-4, we can start doing some things for ourselves but we still need our parents and other people to most of everything for us. They start teaching us how to speak and how to count. Also, at that age group, our parents help us learn to walk. They still have to help us eat by cutting our food up but by this age we can start eating food by ourselves. Kids are getting trained to use the restroom instead of having their parents change them. They sometimes start to become more independent at this age group.

Then they move onto kindergarten and then to grade school where they start to make friends. At this age, they make friends by liking the same things and by being in the same class room. This is the starting point of them becoming independent of their parents but they will have a long road ahead of them before they are ready to become completely independent. They still need their parents to help them with things like their homework and can start to teach them life skills. Kids start to participate in sports and other activities at the end of this age group. Sports and other things start to become a big deal because its helps kids become more social.

Once in junior high, it is a weird time for a lot of kids. Kids start puberty and start growing and changing into the person they will later become. They start becoming more social will the other sex and might start dating them. Kids learn what kind of person they are at this age group. Some kids are popular at this age but others are quiet and unsociable at this time in there life. Kids start to find their group of friends and people they like to hang out with. There are lots of different kinds of group so most kids will find a group that will they can be sociable with.

In high school. you are almost independent from your parents. Some high schoolers will say that they don't need their parents at this age but you can always need your parents for something. Kids start to fall in love will people and become very sociable in the world. They start to think about where they want to go to college or what they want to do in life. They start to go on their separate paths then they parents and have to make their own lives. However, some people do make there own lives but some stay with their parents for a little bit longer.

When you are out in the real world, you will make decision that affect you. Sometimes you will decide for yourself or you will go ask your parents for some advise. People will make all kinds of decisions that can either hurt them or help them. Along the way, you will meet all kinds of people and become sociable. You will become more sociable because you will have went through our journey in life because we will have people help us along the way to become successful.

Sources
http://public.wsu.edu/~taflinge/culture1.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pascal-vrticka/human-social-development_b_3921942.html

Bilal Abdur-Rahim
11.19.15

Humans as Social Creatures

Man is by nature a social animal, an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual. Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to, and therefore does not partake of society, is either a beast or a god. Human beings are birth individuals and they are members of a group. It is imperative that they be both, the human race can only survive if its individual members survive, and the individual needs the group to enhance its own odds of surviving. It is tightly interwoven connection. It defines all that they, and all else depends upon it. They need each other to produce new members of their species, to protect new members and themselves, to help provide food, to add diversity to the gene pool, to provide companionship, to pass on information. They depend upon each other for their survival and their growth as a people. At the most basic level, human beings are drawn together for reproduction, built into every human being is the need to reproduce other humans. This need, and the means to do it, is not taught.

Such a built in need to reproduce others of ones own kind is basic to all living things, be it a flower or a dolphin.. As their young grow, they become more aware of themselves as individuals and also of their place among other humans. As individuals, they are aware, through their own senses and thoughts, of their needs and feelings. They also discover that they are part of a unit of other humans. In fact, as they grow, they learn that they belong to many groups of people, some small, some large, some chosen, some without choice. Who you are comes not only from your own senses and memories, but also from the groups you belong to, some cultures and societies may emphasize one over the other, but neither identity can be denied. More of their individual identities comes from being connected to groups of one sort or another. A group can based on family, gender, an occupation, a physical characteristic, a geographic location, or even a certain philosophy, Its because we are primates. And primates are social by nature. Unlike solitary animals like the cat, primates rely on each other to live and prosper.

All apes live together in groups like humans do. Its bred into us stick together. About 30 years ago an experiment was done on rhesus macaques to see how social they and we are. There were three experiments. One monkey was raised in complete isolation with only a bottle of milk and a soft carpet to act as its mother to hold onto while nursing. One day they removed the carpet from the bottle and then put the carpet about 5 feet away from the bottle. The monkey wanted the feeling of its carpet mother so it stayed from the bottle and went to the carpet and held onto it unite it got hungry enough to leave the carpet to get the milk. This will tell you how much primates in general need to have the feeling that something is there for them in order to feel safe. When it was done nursing they put the rhesus macaque in a room with about 20 other rhesus macaques, because the monkey was raised in isolation, it stayed away from everyone and was putting its arms around its face to shield itself from the other monkeys. When a monkey would would come close he would freak out and try to scare away the monkey that tired to get close to him. This is how humans also work. You will see this every day in high school. You will see humans that will stick to themselves, stick to small groups, and you will see humans that freely wander the halls getting to know everybody. Its just the way we and the other primates are mentally programmed. Finally human beings are social animals. Our lives depend on other humans. Human infants are born unable to transport or care for themselves. Their survival depend on another human's efforts. We develop and learn about the world around us through the filter of other people. Our connections to other are key to not only our survival, but also to our happiness and the success of our careers.

(No References)

Garret Otter
Dr. Michael Thompson
Sociology
18 November 2015

Humans as Social Creatures

Humans are social creatures because they interact socially with others since the day of birth. When a baby is born it usually is taken care of by their parents. So right from the beginning humans are interacting with others. As they get a bit older their parents try teach their children how to interact with others and behave. By doing this is going help them a lot later on in life. When the kid goes to daycare that’s when they first experience interaction with others their age. Going to daycare I think is a really good experience because it lets the children interact with peers and others. Also it makes them listen to someone else besides their parents. Making the young humans socially interact is a good way to prepare them later on in life.

As the young child enters grade school it faces several social challenges. For example who are they going to hang out with, sit by in the class, and who they play with? Also what activities in school are they involved in. If they participate in sports they are more likely to interact with those type of kids. But not always do them not, like for example when I was younger lots of kids in my school had an Xbox. It didn’t matter what are social status was in grade school we all played together. Which is weird because when it came to school we all didn’t hangout. Being young and finding your social status can be quite the obstacle. As we enter Junior High everything gets bent out of shape. We all can have different classes making us interact with others. Usually the athletic kids hung out and the nerd’s together and so on so forth. About that time most kids had a cell phone and could talk to each other very easily. Boys and girls starting interacting more and more together. Most boys didn’t think of the girls as much as friends anymore. So then began dating and all that other bull. Junior high is a being social change for a lot of people.

Now enter High School, most freshman are very nervous on their first and so are the seniors on their last day. In high school the social creature comes out in us to find out who we really are. At this point most kids are trying to find their friends and you might have the same ones or you might not. Which friends you had most likely gave you your social status in the school. Who you interacted with is what others thought you did or do. Also some friends would get in fights and never be friends again. Your parents could have a big influence on who you hung out with also. If your parents didn’t like another kid they would tell you but it was ultimately your choice on who you associated with. I’ve had the same best friend since 5th grade and in high school we did opposite things. I was the one who played sports and was involved in school. My buddy didn’t do anything in school but go to school and work. We always hung out together at school and outside of school. Were one of those examples that we both come from different directions and still can be friends? I never regret one minute of it.

As we grow up to be adults and get out of school most of us will find our way and start interacting with others. Most of us will just interact with our coworkers. Either at work or outside it depends if you socially connect with them or not. There will be a few of us that interact with the same old friends from school. Basically it just depends who you are.

Resources
http://www.stuartduncan.name/autism/humans-are-social-beings-so-if-youre-not-social-what-are-you/
http://danerwin.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/04/american-hellhole-humans-as-social-creatures.html

Humans as social creatures

By: Demi Briegel

Could you imagine a life where you were alone and had never heard any other voice than your own? Neither could I because since the day I was put on this earth I have heard nothing but other human’s voices. The moment we opened our eyes the first thing we saw were other humans, they were talking and we were listening unsure of what they were saying but we were still looking and listening, we did not know this but this was our very first social interaction. Since the time we can remember we have always had someone interacting with us, there has never been a day go by where you didn’t hear or talk to someone. So as you grow older it is only normal to want to talk to someone and interact with another human.

We like to stay close to each other when we live alone, you rarely see someone living out in the middle of nowhere by themselves, this proves that humans need each other to live, we can’t survive without each other, we need that daily interaction to have a satisfying day. Just like the article Social Animals by Harry W. Yeatts Jr. states that “As individuals, we could survive living all alone, but if we did, our species would not. We must mate with each other to create more of our kind. And we stay together to protect and teach our young so they might become useful members of our species. And we are responsible for what they will face when they get here.” I feel like the most unhappy people I know are the ones that don’t have friends, they don’t have anyone to interact with they are lonely or they simply just don’t feel like they need that interaction although I think all humans need interaction with each other.

Although the way we Socially interact with each other has definitely changed over the time we still continually are sociable creatures, I think that the newer generations are very much more sociable we have so many different ways to talk to other people we don’t just have to talk to people we see every day since we have the internet we can interact with different humans. Just like the way they stated in the article you are a Social human, I think that the way we interact with others may have a negative effect since we aren’t getting that face to face time with each other we are just texting one another.

I think that our world has evolved so much because of humans being social creatures, we bounce ideas off of each other we invent new amazing things because we use more than one brain to complete a task, it is in our nature to work as a team although some don’t work as well as others in a group setting but this is where the most amazing things are created and demonstrated. Just think how many surgeons it may take and social interactions is takes them to complete a massive surgery and have it be successful.

I am, you are, we all are social creatures, we were put on this earth to be social creatures without the human interactions we would be lost and it would be a pitiful world to live in. It would be dull there wouldn’t be any new inventions we wouldn’t have as much knowledge and success in our world as we do today. I couldn’t imagine living a life where I never had interaction with another human, and I also never want to live a life not being a sociable creature.

www.threeleggeddragon.com/writings/simply/simple.social.html
www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-would-aristotle-do/201009/you-are-social-animal
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Conform or Rebel?

Taylor Thomas
November 19, 2015

We often ask ourselves “is it better to conform to something rather than be different?” It is almost like life is all about two views and you have to choose between one or the other. To conform or rebel is usually in the action of what others think, not your own choices or what you think or believe in. It is not who you really are. Things change everyday. New trends are set, new music is made. People have to choose whether they want to keep up and conform with those new trends, or rebel against it just because it is what every one else is doing.

When you rebel, you are not on your own schedule because you are always rebelling against what is new. Changing your own “norms” just to be different. It is like an act of deviance. Deviance being a behavior that violates the social norms. Deviance is relative in time, a behavior that is considered deviant in one time period but acceptable many years later. Example being when Rosa Parks would not give her seat up to the white man. She knew she was not supposed to be sitting in that seat at the front of the bus, but she rebelled the rules and went against the social norms of what was acceptable during that time period, or how in the 1800’s, many americans used drugs such as cocaine and marijuana because in that time period they were common over the counter products for symptoms like depression, migraines, and toothaches. Today, they are illegal drugs.

Conformity or social control involves changing your own behaviors in order to “fit in” or “go along” with the people and things around you. This means you agree with or act like the majority of people in a specific group. Many people conform for the simple fact that they do not want to look foolish to others. If we are unsure of a correct response, we look to others for their information and their knowledge and use their lead as a guide for our own behaviors or even behaving a certain way to get people to like you. Group pressures is something that I am sure everyone has experienced. If you go to a movie with your friends and you did not think it was that good but your friends thought it was great, you might be tempted to conform by pretending you agree with their opinion rather than being the odd one out.

A type of conformity is called compliance. It means you change your own behavior due to the request of another person. Buying something after being pushed by an assertive salesperson is one example, or doing something you really do not want too, but someone asked you too, so you do it anyways. People are more likely to conform if they feel that they share something in common with the person making the request or if the other person has done something for them before. We have all been taught that if someone is kind to us, then we are supposed to return the favor.

Experiments have been tested and in Solomon Asch’s conformity experiment, a few people were brought in, set up and asked to judge which line was the longest out of three lines. When other members of the experiment picked the wrong line, the participants were more likely to choose the same line. It is okay to conform to things that you agree with and it is okay to rebel when we think something needs to change in our life and those around us. Conform or rebel? They are both questions that you want to ask yourself. Which path do you want to follow?

Sources
http://lewisjbh.expertscolumn.com/article/if-better-conform-or-be-different
http://www.sociologyguide.com/social-control/

Mallory Mueller

Animal Cruelty & Abuse

11-17-15

What is animal abuse? Animal cruelty is any act of violence or neglect perpetrated against animals are considered animal cruelty. Examples include overt animal abuse, dog and cock fighting and companion animal neglect where the animal is denied basic necessities of care such as fresh water and food or shelter.

Many people don’t think that animal cruelty is an act of rebellion, but it is. In fact, Intentional cruelty to animals is strongly correlated with other crimes, including violence against people. It’s way sad to think that hurting people isn’t enough for these people, they attack animals who can’t fight back. Who are these people that hurt animals? The humane society of the United States that serious animal neglect (such as seen in cases of animal hoarding) is often an indicator of people in need of social or mental health services. Other surveys suggest that those who intentionally abuse animals are predominantly male and under 30. It is interesting that men need to this to animals… and it honestly just makes me mad that they need to take out their aggression on innocent animals. The animals whose abuse is most often reported are dogs, cats, horses and livestock. Undercover investigations have revealed that animal abuse abounds in the factory farm industry. But because of the weak protections afforded to livestock under state cruelty laws, only the most shocking cases are reported, and few are ever prosecuted.

So what does this have to do with rebellion? In one survey, 71 percent of domestic violence victims reported that their abuser also targeted their animal. In another study of families under investigation for suspected child abuse, researchers found that pet abuse had occurred in 88 percent of the families under supervision for physical abuse of their children. These surveys don’t lie. Criminals who have a problem with violence, assault, or battery in domestic relationships also have violence problem towards their animals.

I assume the kind of people who aren’t confident in themselves hurt other people and animals to make themselves feel more powerful. I understand that some people just get mad at their animals sometimes and they take it out on them. But most animal abuse is undeserved, along with domestic violence in the home.

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/facts/animal_cruelty_facts_statistics.html
https://www.petfinder.com/helping-pets/animal-cruelty/aspca-animal-cruelty-fact/

Why Commit Crime?

Celeena Holt

Why do our young people want to commit crime? Do they even want to? Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs illustrates why juveniles act out. It is a pyramid split into five sections, each with a list of factors that juveniles need. At the base of the pyramid is the “physiological needs” portion, meaning air, food, water, shelter, clothing, and sleep. Coach Edwards stated that kids will steal because their home situation does not provide food, water, or clothing. They steel to survive, not for fun. Kids in the system are most likely getting less than half of the physiological needs that are necessary to survive.

The next portion is labeled “safety and security”. This includes health, employment, property, family, and social stability. Youth in broken or poor families have no sense of safety or security. They will act mindlessly to gain this security, like carrying a gun or a knife on the street. They aren’t carrying that gun because it makes them feel cool, they are carrying it to feel safe from all of the other guns on the street.

The next level is “love and belonging”, which includes friendship, family, intimacy, and a sense of connection. This is a huge contributor to teen crime. In homes where a kid does not feel loved or appreciated is a home where delinquency originates. When a kid’s mom spends all of the welfare money on her next hit of cocaine, the kid gets left with nothing. This is when they join gangs on the street, or any group, so that they can have a sense of belonging. So that they can be noticed for once in their life.

The level above that is the “self-esteem” bracket. This includes confidence, achievement, and the respect of others. Honestly self-confidence it almost out of reach for a kid that falls into all of these other portions of Maslow’s pyramid. When we feel comfortable in our own skin we don’t feel the need to impress other people, or fear their judgement. Every kid with a low self-esteem is more likely to act out for an image, for friends, or even for an accomplishment they can call their own.
The tip of the pyramid is called “self-actualization”. This includes morality, creativity, spontaneity, and acceptance. Delinquents don’t have this portion at all. Each level builds on each other, and if a kid lacks in the beginning stages, he or she does not have a chance at the top of the pyramid.

It is sad to think that our youth act out because of basic needs and belonging. This is a huge lesson to every parent out there. A child will be ten times more successful if he or she has been taken care of with love. That doesn’t mean just with money, but to actually spend time with them and let them know that someone cares for them is what every child needs.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/crime-and-deviance/why-do-people-commit-crime/
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/important-theories-in-criminology-why-people-commi.html

Media and Technology

By: Rilee
Mr. Thompson
19 November 2015

Technology is a body of knowledge devoted to creating tools, processing actions and extracting of materials. The term technology is wide and everyone has their own way of understanding the meaning of technology. We use technology to accomplish various tasks in our daily lives. We can describe technology as products, processes or organizations. We use technology to extend our abilities, and that makes people as the most important part of any technological system. Technology is also an application of science to solve a problem. But technology and science are different subjects that just work hand in hand to accomplish a specific task or solve a particular problem.

We apply technology in almost everything we do in our lives, we use it to extract materials, to communicate, transportation, learning, manufacturing, creating artifacts, securing data, scaling business, and so much more. Technology is human knowledge that involves tools, materials and systems. If technology is well applied it can benefit humans, but if wrongly applied, it can cause harm to us. It is dynamic, it keeps on improving because our needs and demands for technology keep on changing. We have moved from the industrial age to an information age. During the industrial age, companies with large sums of capital had the potential of employing expensive technological tools to gain competitive advantage, small businesses had less potential because they could not afford expensive manufacturing or processing technological tools. The advancement in technology has created a new economic environment which depends on information age provides a different work environment and this has helped small businesses gain position in highly competitive markets.

In 100 years it is predicted that machines will roam the earth, toiling in factories, taking our children to school, delivering babies, cleaning the streets, and other such tasks, which will make them seemingly indispensable to us. The increasing sophistication of technology from the steam engine and discovery of electricity to telecommunications, the Internet and biotechnology can be seen as a haphazard confluence of the breakthroughs of geniuses or it can be seen as an evolutionary pattern. Machines started as disparate pieces of seemingly unconnected technologies, but like humans, they also have an origin and a process of evolution.

Technology spawns new generations of products by using existing components, a phenomenon called combinatorial evolution. The change in ‘species’ can be quite radical in a short period of time. The greater the number of components we have at our disposable, the larger the number of new technologies that can be created, and the faster the evolution. The technology eco-system becomes alive with increasing possibility with the passage of time.

Sources
http://www.useoftechnology.com/what-is-technology/
http://bigthink.com/hybrid-reality/the-evolution-of-technology

John Peden
11.19.15

Conform or Rebel?

Many times in a person’s life they will be given the choice to either conform to what others are doing or believing, or make the choice to be different or rebel from the “norm” that those other people have set. These choices begin early on in childhood. A child chooses whether or not to listen to what their mother or father is instructing them to do. It continues and sometimes occurs more often as the child starts going to school when they are thrust into a new environment with other children from many different cultural backgrounds and various upbringings. The child will then have to decide who their friends are and will be given a choice to conform to what those friends are doing or rebel from their friends and join a new group that is more fitting to what they want to do or what they belief.

These choices will continue throughout the person’s life when they have to choose a political party, religion, education and even a career. People choose whether or not to stay in the background that they grew up in or rebel from it to choose a new path for themself. Even within their individual social groups a person must choose to conform to or rebel from the groups beliefs and actions. The beliefs that the person’s parents raised them in may not be the beliefs that the individual still agrees with when they are older and have a better personal understanding of the world. They then come to a point that they either conform their new understanding to fit into the beliefs they had originally grown up in or rebel from them and follow the new view that they have found.

When making the choice to conform or rebel, one of the biggest challenges the person faces is the worry of what the people they’re leaving behind will think of their new decision. If a child chooses to rebel from their group of friends they may suffer some consequences by being bullied by the group or by their class for being different from the rest of them or not fitting into what the other children think is normal or cool. This may cause the child to become too scared to rebel and they will then choose to stay in the group and just change their opinions or actions instead of facing the consequences. Making these choices becomes slightly easier the older the person gets because they do not rely so much on what others think of them and it is easier to find others who share their personal beliefs when they are not so limited to just the other kids in their school. When the person leaves school they have a much better chance of finding these people who agree with their beliefs and it will not be as necessary to just conform.

The choice to conform or rebel can sometimes be very difficult for someone depending on the situation that they are in. In some cases conforming may be better for the individual in the long run or will be easier for them to do than rebel. But for other situations, choosing to rebel is the better choice for them and can sometimes be easier than conforming the beliefs they have found for themself. Knowing yourself and having self-confidence can make the choice to conform or rebel even easier because you will be confident in your decision and the opinions of other people will not affect you.

Sources
http://www.newswithviews.com/Masters/roy121.htm
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1002/cjas.100/asset/100_ftp.pdf?v=1&t=ih6qtx59&s=f7667df57d2fa8fdbe90048b97f50c9535feabac

Ben Ramsey
11.19.15

Conform or Rebel?

Conform or rebel? Conforming means to respect and except the statues quote. And most of the time not changing is reasonable action. Why change if there is no need to change? Or is that a back world belief? Belief like marriage is changing, what a man’s responsibility is or is not, and what a woman’s responsibility has gone through a monumental change. From the man being the soul bread winner, to the stay at home dad.” the fastest-growing group among stay-at-home fathers is men who say they are home specifically to provide child care. Five percent said that in 1989, and 21 percent say it today”.(LUDDEM June 30,2014 All things Considered)Know in some cases it is the wife making the money for the family! Is that right or is it wrong? Conform or rebel?

Conform to it and you are moving along with the world in an ever changing social expiations . Rebelling makes you are back woods country pumpkin.

We expect that the norms are being challenged and even changing in are every day life’s even as we move through are every day life’s. So when is it a good time to rebel, that is a question that is assured every day by the questions and choices we make in are every day life’s. We make a choice to either go along with what we see or listen to whether it be music on the radio, a news cast or on tv and what we view on the net.

Rebelling is not always protesting in the streets. It takes many forms. The forms of rebellion can be as simple as the photo above or the streets can run red with blood. Which is more effective conforming to the status quote or to rebel, that is up for debate… “a person who rises in opposition or armed resistance against an established government or ruler”(oxford Dictionaries)

As things go, life and are social norms are in a constant state of change some time the change is so small and so slow we don’t see or register the change has happened. When the change happens to fast or to extreme is when things are publicly approved or are publicly rejected. When the rejected change refuses to go quietly in to the night is when we call it a rebel act or a rebellious act. Is this right or wrong that is all in how we view change. Some people thank that change is happening to slow and this slow change is hurting us as a society.

The fast change can be gust as harm full as the slow change according to some people. By changing to fast and the changes can be to broad sweeping this broad stroke change can lead to a rebellious act itself defeating the need for change or the want for change.

With all that I brought up it is a personal choice of when to conform to the norm or to rebel to the norm.

Sources
LUDDEM June 30,2014 All things Considered
Oxford Dictionaries

Should We Conform or Rebel?

By Kelsie Jolly
11/19/2015

social-issues-odd_one_out-square-sphere-conform-nonconformist-tcrn987_low.jpg

Should we conform or rebel? This is a daily battle that we all face. While conformity ideally creates world of harmony, often rebellion is the spark of needed social change. Society is the standard by which we all live. It controls our actions and thoughts like an unseen force. It dictates what is acceptable and what is deviant from "normal" social behavior. No one truly can define what society is and who determines what is normal; however, it is one of the most powerful forces we face as human beings.

There are different levels of social standards that we are expected to follow. It dictates things such as hygiene, styles, and behavior. Depending on your personality, you are either a trend setter or a follower, but ultimately they both conform to basic standards. For instance, if an individual chooses to not bathe, the consequences would mean that you may not be included with other people. If you dress in a particular way that is considered deviant, you may be denied a certain job. Other things such as unconventional lifestyles and religions might lead to community ostrasization. As the offense begins to become more deviant, the punishment gets more severe. Though oppressive, conformity is ultimately what holds society together. There must be a general sense of accepted right and wrong in order for a group to survive. Each society uses conformity in order to maintain peace and harmony within itself whether the accept norm is morally right or wrong.

Rebellion, like conformity, can either be used as a good thing or a bad thing. Often those who choose to lead a divergent lifestyle are often labeled. Rebellion changes over time with society. Things that were considered rebellious 30 years ago, may now be part of normal society. For instance, tattoos (especially on women) were viewed as scandalous. Now every girl's pinterest account is full of "inspirational" tattoos. In order to maintain some sense of rebellion, people take things to extremes. Now only tattoos that are on the face or covering the entire body are considered rebellious. Rebellion is most often looked at as a bad thing, but in reality it is most necessary. The greatest heroes throughout history are those who have not been afraid to question the social norms, and fight for what they believe is right. The Founding Fathers were really only a group of rebels who got ticked off over taxes; however, if they had not rebelled, the United States would not exist today. Rebellion, if done in an organized manor, can be a leading force in making the world a better place.

In conclusion, it does not matter if you are a natural follower or leader. We each have a choice to make regarding whether we will conform or rebel to the social standard of our societies. It is more important to focus on what the morality is behind the social code, rather than what the people around us are doing. Conformity and rebellion go hand in hand in order to create a world that we can all live in.

sources:
https://new.edu/nodes/conform-or-rebel-adapting-in-an-unequal-playing-field
https://conformorrebel.wordpress.com/

Jetta Smith
11.19.15

Be Who You Are

egyptian-women-protest-in-tahrir-square-photo-reuters.jpg

The age-old question, conform or rebel? While many see rebellion as a negative form of expression, conforming to society is often much more detrimental to individuals. Conforming to societies norms and expectations leaves individuals without a complete sense of self and pressures them into fitting into the crowd.

We live in a world filled with preconceived notions about those around us. If you appear to be of a certain race, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status you are expected to fulfill the standards that society sets for that group.

The teenage years are when this decision is most prevalent, to follow the crowd or pave your own path. The typical teenager often makes decisions based upon their peers and friend group. If people who have the same interests or participate in the same activities surround them they will most likely have the same ambitions and make decisions accordingly.

Not only do peers and friend’s influence decision making, but parents do as well. A study recently published in the British Journal of Political Science, based on data from the U.S. and U.K., found that parents who are insistent that their children adopt their political views inadvertently influence their children to abandon the belief once they become adults. The mechanism is perhaps surprising: Children who come from homes where politics is a frequent topic of discussion are more likely to talk about politics once they leave home, exposing them to new viewpoints—which they then adopt with surprising frequency.

From a young age, individuals are convinced to believe there is only one correct way to live life: go to college, get married, have kids, and work a monotonous job for the rest of their life. Until recently, many didn’t rebel to this proposition as it was seen as the “American Dream”. Nowadays people are celebrating individuality more than ever. Conforming to societies norms is no longer mandatory and people are beginning to live their life by their own terms and conditions. If someone wants to be an artist, a basketball player, or a comedian then they are encouraged to pursue their dreams instead of getting a four-year degree.

Rebelling is important because it allows individuals to express their inner desires and follow their heart instead of following society. People are standing up for their beliefs, and changes are being made. Children are starting to rebel from the social norm we see things like children abandoning the church and their parent’s political choices to form their own opinions on things happening in the world. We see more children waiting longer to get married, to finish school, and starting families. The age of women on average first getting married was 22-24 in the 1970’s where now we are looking at women waiting till almost 26 to get married.

Ultimately, it is most important to live a life where you achieve your own individual goals. Conforming inhibits people’s opportunities and sets up restraints for that individual’s success. Rebelling allows people to find their own way and learn through experience instead of listening to cautionary tales or word of mouth.

Sources
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/05/parents-political-beliefs/361462/
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/02/teen-girls-stop-commonly-getting-married/

Walking in Another's Shoes

Andrea Browne
Dr. Michael Thompson
Introduction to Sociology
19 November 2015

Patrolling up and down the unchanging aisles of Walmart along side my just as annoying twin sister, my eyes focused on something peculiar near the vegetables. Although it did resemble a piece of asparagus, the creature stood, not a bean, but a being, shyly avoiding eye contact. From afar, I squinted my pupils to crystalize the fuzzy image browsing the broccoli. When the subject _, I realized the broccoli _ hands belonged to Brewster’s, Brielle Mckee! Although we’d previously met, the veggie girl remained somewhat foreign to me. Rachel and I suddenly craved vegetables more than ever before. We raced to the asparagus-like girl faster than Bugs Bunny would run to a carrot. We strolled through aisles of the store making delightful conversation. I’d never admired a girl who had recently touched vegetables so much in my life! At this point, the only obnoxiously logical thing to do was to invite her over to stay the night, no matter how little we knew her. “I’ll go ask my mom,” she quietly remarked. We anticipated a thrilling “YES!”

But, when the veggie girl returned, she bowed her head of lettuce a whispered, “She said no.” Like draining a can of peas, disappointment flooded my being. “Ask again, ask again,” we insistently pleaded. “I guess. but I have a feeling she will say no,” she, once again, quietly exclaimed. You know what they say, “the asparagus is always right!” Not really, but in this case, she was. Her mom said no again! Rachel and I sadly departed from the girl and returned to our mother. She was ready to check out. When we approached the shortest line, my eyes feasted upon something within it, the asparagus girl and her lean, green bean mom. I begged my mom to ask the green bean if her offspring could sleep in our house full of fun foods and Mother agreed. Surprisingly, the green bean agreed this time. Ever since then, I developed a passion for vegetables and Brielle McKee became my bff. Just recently however, Brielle admitted that she never once asked her mom if she could stay the night; she didn’t want to come. With every swallow, shock slithered down my esophagus, and I suddenly despised the taste of asparagus. But then I put myself in her position. A fifth grader from Brewster, charged by a duo of cuckoo Colby cows who she barely knew. Of course she didn’t want to stay the night; she probably thought we would eat her for goodness sake! This situation correlates to the topic of walking in another’s shoes.

In today’s world, race, gender, and age are constructed socially.The significance of these topics are determined by society. Being a part of what could be considered an “inadequate group” could be the root of of a detrimental tree. Human beings are born to judge, but should fight the urge. The people that don’t are those that water the detrimental tree. They fuel the fire that burdens those who undergo constant punishment from the branches hung from this tree.

Although countries like Norway who have come a long way on the issue of gender inequality, countries like Japan still withstand great concerns. It seemed surreal when the country conjured up a law stating the equality between women and men in 1985, but now the law is almost a joke, for the only penalty regarding this law is the name publication of who broke the law. Norway on the other hand has moved grounds in gender equality, ranking in the top of the UN’s Gender empowerment measure. The United states have yet to reach the degree Norway has, but have still made improvements. One major issue needing improvement is the difference in income. For instance, in 2009, the average female with a Bachelor’s degree made 51,834 while the average male with a Bachelor’s degree made 71,471. Along with that issue in the workplace stands the issue of sexual harassment. Men can be sexually harassed, but women are more often targeted. Often times, people view women as a man’s arm candy to be used however they desire. Along with that, men can be depicted as sexually assertive. Women who are sexually assaulted tend to remain silent in fear, while when who embody this generally keep it to themselves so they can continue doing it. With that said, in 2009, 40-65% of respondents to an anonymous, female survey admitted to being sexually assaulted in the workplace. These issues are just some of the many involving gender inequality. Along with that, household inequality, sexual orientation, and gender segregation remain grand problems.

Considering everything stated, a man must take a step in a woman’s shoes to visualize the obstacles she must hurdle over on an everyday occasion. Similarly, each race must peek through the eyes of another to understand hindrances thrown upon the other and same with age. If one closes his eyes and listens to the world, he sees no gender, no race, and no age. Why can’t it be the same when one opens his eyes? Just like walking in the shoes of every race, age, and gender, Brielle should have allot Rachel and I a chance to be her friend, but even more, I should have walked down the vegetable aisle in her shoes to fear her fears, just as everyone should do with everyone.

Sources
https://new.edu/nodes/walking-in-another-s-shoes-understanding-diversity-in-race-gender-and-age
http://www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/2011/developing-empathy-walk-a-mile-in-someone’s-shoes/

Walking in Another's Shoes

Rachel Browne
Dr. Michael Thompson
Introduction to Sociology
19 November 2015

Junior year, for nearly all high school students, is undoubtedly tough. Forced to compile what little motivation the previous two years have left them with, students bear the harsh reality that they are only half way through the tempestuous adventure of high school. Although most all students experience this turbulent journey, my personal flight was pretty severe, as I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. This definitely proposed many rigid obstacles, all of which I conquered, but I certainly could not have done it without the compassion and consideration of my generous teachers. Throughout the course of my diagnoses accompanied several, undesired appointments and hospitalizations. Accordingly, my teachers allowed nearly all the time I felt necessary to complete the assignments I missed, constantly offering their undivided assistance. The moral of the story is that my teachers stepped into my shoes for a moment, experiencing my abhorrent adversity along with me, causing them to graciously provide the leniency my circumstance required.

Fortunately, my teachers emanated sympathy as they considered the view from my perspective. Many people in similar situations, however, are, unfortunately, not endowed with this generosity. In fact, in numerous circumstances, people’s perspectives are not even considered. For example, in today’s society, people tend to judge and categorize human beings based on race, gender, age, and other demographic variables, completely disregarding their feelings and situation, almost as if they exist as a supernatural entity. The mentality of said discriminators is fueled by the concept of regulating social divisions with the intention to reflect unequal positions of power within the society. These divided groups that are given less or more influence tend to mirror the culture’s political, economic, and cultural interests relevant at the specific time. The inequality that accompanies this separation prevails especially prominent; for instance, the individuals forced into the less powerful category must endure numerous consequences concerning their opportunities and outcomes in life, while those who are granted the fortuitous blessing of living as a “powerful” individual are bestowed with the proper, appropriate freedoms and opportunities that all should obtain.

These unfair circumstances prevail especially conspicuous among diverse racial and ethnic groups. In fact, the injustice that accompanies the discrimination of particular groups dates all the way back to America’s birth. The oppressive circumstances commenced as Christopher Columbus sailed to the eventual America, which was, at the time, inhabited by countless Native Americans. Unfortunately the inhabitants’ group traumatically decreased in number as white settlers and U.S. troops initiated a mass killing of the race, which scholars have sadly concluded amounted to genocide. A similar brutality existed, and admittedly, still does, amongst African Americans. History proves the obvious, cruel treatment that blacks encountered daily. The fact that they were sold and abused as slaves, attacked by white mobs, and even executed in the South clearly exhibits the complete ignorance and lack of compassion that most Americans manifested. In fact, African Americans were not the only subjects that these white groups targeted, as several immigrants and religious groups suffered similar mistreatment. Although the racism occurring in Germany throughout the 1930s and 1940s somewhat awakened Americans to their own evil conditions, it, by no means, annihilated the unrelenting prejudice happening; the ratification of the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery, did not even do that entirely.

Overall, discrimination has obviously endured throughout the history of time; people habitually judge and categorize people based on predetermined variables that should not even pertain to the their analysis. Instead, one must consider the perspective of the victim, rather than conforming to society’s acquired standards. It’s important to develop empathy for people, replacing whatever negative inquiry they have made with optimism and compassion. In the past, people referred to blacks and other victims as if they were not even human; thus, it has become absolutely crucial that people recognize that everyone is entitled to the same rights, and, similarly, endures several of the same hardships. Through all of the diversity amongst races, genders, ages, etc., people all strive for the same happiness, tranquility, and love. Therefore, instead of acknowledging that intuitive judgment, one should accept and recognize the similarities. All in all, people should channel the compassionate mentality my teachers exuded throughout the course of my diagnoses because they truly walked in my shoes and graciously accepted my situation.

Sources
http://www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/2011/developing-empathy-walk-a-mile-in-someone’s-shoes/
https://new.edu/nodes/walking-in-another-s-shoes-understanding-diversity-in-race-gender-and-age

Chizoba Nzeama
11.19.15

Being Black in America

Some people may argue that action speaks louder than words. In my case, I believe it goes both ways. Racial discrimination can be best defined as “the practice of treating individuals differently because of their race or color” of their skin –excerpted from the dictionary. Every now and then in the news, one hears about a shooting of a minority by a white cop in the “land of the free” reminds people that this society we all live in is failing people of colored skin for every reason possible. According to The Blog, “In the eyes of many white police officers, being black and male in American makes you a potential criminal, a suspect, a trouble maker, and a dangerous person. Being a black male means that white police officers should “fear” you and “protect” themselves and society from [one] in a most violet manner” (Stan Chu llo).

I personally have encountered a lot of racist people at Colby KS, keeping in mind that the majority of the population at Colby are white did not stop me from coming to Colby to get an education. An example of the discrimination I went through while working at my job here at Colby was when I was courtesing for a family, and the little boy in the car-cart came up to me and said, “You’re the bad word”. Well of course am the bad word. I’m black. I’m a n. I wasn’t particularly upset at the boy, but because his parents are the ones teaching him to have the mentality of distinguishing a colored person from his kind and pointing it out without respect.

Just as the personally story I mentioned earlier, “racism is a learned behavior; just like terrorism or hatred and other inhuman vices which hold the world in perpetual bondage” (Stan Chu llo). I believe that no one is born being a racist. Racism has been in the U.S and the rest of the world for a really long time and:

It is even made worse by the veneer of civil rights and liberties in the American constitution which give a false ideal of liberty and pursuit of happiness for all Americans. Unfortunately, many blacks in the U.S. suffer a painful cultural and existential alienation which have left them in a ghettoized world of pain and on the marginal sidelines of the so called American dream. Racism in America is also the result of the white social construction of identity and the jaundiced narrative of the "otherness" of the Black man which emerges from this narrative. The so called manifest destiny which America claims for herself has remained for many black males only an unflappable peripheral destiny in the throes of police brutality, violence, incarceration, joblessness, and constant surveillance.

On the other hand, there are a lot of stories that have been brought up in the media about black lives matter. Now, some people are arguing about reverse racism and how black lives matter should not be the spot light because it is “racist” and because it is only putting the spotlight on “one race”, rather, all lives matter should be on the spot light. This is false because the only reason why it is black lives matter, instead of all lives matter is because “there are many things going on in the lives of Africa-American [that needs attention], and [that] this isn’t a TV show, it is a real life matter” (Pres. Obama).

As Chris Rock once said, “"Being Black in America is like walking through an ice storm: It's cold, isolating, and exhausting. You're not sure if you're gonna make it and you can't see what's coming for you."

Sources
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/12/04/the-exhausting-task-of-being-black-in-america/19894223/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stan-chu-ilo/being-a-black-male-in-ame_b_7035468.html

Kaelyn Van Eaton
11.19.15

Stop Being Judge-Mental

People always judge “the book by the cover,” before actually getting to know a person. Not everyone has gone through the same things and what we go through has shaped us into the person we are today. I believe that we shouldn’t judge a person before we get to know them. Everyone will always be judged for what they wear, who they hangout with, and what college they go to, but how can we change that?

Harper Lee in her book To Kill a Mockingbird quotes “you never really know a man until you understand things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” This quotes shows empathy. Empathy according to the Webster Merriam Dictionary, is the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions. It will always be difficult to understand what a person is going through, unless you have experienced what they are going through. If you can understand what a person goes through, if you can relate to them and know what is must feel like to be in their position, then you can form an opinion about them.

How can we become less judge-mental? Judgment is a natural instinct and everyone needs to try to catch themselves before they do anything that could harm another person. If you understand where that person is coming from though, then you can rephrase what you were going to say to a positive or neutral comment. People are hard-wired for survival, so we go into fight mode when someone gets aggressive with us. This is a normal first reaction for most people. People need to try to notice that they are getting worked up before they get into fight mode, so that we can stop judging people for asking a question. There are various things a person can do to help themselves not be so judge-mental. The last major thing a person can do is to look at their own behavior. An example is yelling at someone for being a bad driver, but then asking yourself “Have I ever driven poorly?” Of course, everyone has their bad moments driving.

The next time you go to judge someone, stop and try to except them for being different and actually try to get to know them. I always try to tell myself that judging a person does not define who they are, it defines who you are. Thinking this helps me to stop judging others. You never know what judging can do to a person, so think before you speak.

Sources
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/living-the-questions/201410/10-reasons-stop-judging-people
http://www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/2011/developing-empathy-walk-a-mile-in-someone’s-shoes/

Monquez Townsend
11.19.15

Walking in Anothers Shoes

Before you criticize this person, think about what maybe happen to them at home. What they been through. What's going on in their head. What emotion are they feeling. What if you changed the way you viewed them. Instead of seeing them through your spectacles and your schedule. What if you saw them through their needs and their schedules? How much impact could you have if you simply treated people from their perspective rather than for your friends laughter. There should be more empathy in people mind. Surprisingly, the ability to empathize with others is relative to a person’s capacity to identify, feel and understand their own feelings and thereby being able to project one’s feelings onto others. This means in turn that it becomes complicated at times to understand what a person is undergoing, if you haven’t undergone it for yourself or at least felt similar feelings. The outcome of this can be seen in our day-to-day lives; it’s relatively easy to laugh about someone who is not as tall as you, dresses like you, talk like you or as rich as you when you have never been a minority. But once you experience for yourself what it feels like to be teased about your body height or being poor, your point of view might change drastically and also how you feel about those who are facing a similar situation.

Sources
http://plantofsuccess.com/blog/2011/developing-empathy-walk-a-mile-in-someone%E2%80%99s-shoes/
http://www.entreachitct.com/2014/09/29/walking-in-the-shoes-of-others/

Kiana Springfield
11.19.15

Walking in Anothers Shoes

We’ve all heard the saying, “Walk a while in my shoes; see what I see; hear what I hear; feel what I feel; then maybe you will understand why I am the way I am.” Another is “Until you have walked a mile in my shoes don’t judge me.”

We might think this would apply to perhaps kids being bullied at school, drug users, prostitutes or any number of other groups that are treated badly. Any minority group would probably feel this way at some time in their life, because of their race, ethnicity, or other prejudices.

Race is the physical differences that a certain society would think are significant, and ethnicity is a word used to describe a shared culture, such as language, religion or traditions. A minority group is a group that is inferior or that lacks power in society without regard to their skin color or ethnicity. It is a group that is not the dominant group, but one that is thought of being less than the so called dominant one.

A good example of a dominant group is the white population. They have many privileges that other groups don’t. However, the black community has affirmative action that has tried to get them on the same playing field as the whites. This has not been as successful as they had hoped. The Black-white group relationship is the most problematic relationship in America. There has been a view held that blacks are naturally inferior. This started with the slavery era and true equality still does not exist today. There is still strong inequality between blacks and whites in America, especially in unemployment, housing, health and education.

The ever growing Hispanic group is another that is considered a minority. The main issue today that causes strike between the Hispanic group and the white population is the illegal immigrants. Another group that experiences stereotyping and prejudices is the Arab Americans. With the events of 9-11, a deep hurt, anger and hatred was left on many Americans, which in turn has brought about prejudices towards that group.

I personally think we tend to label certain groups of people as “races”, when in actuality; there is only one race, the human race. I am from Irish and Italian ancestors, but they were all just human. All human beings in the world today are classified as Homo sapiens according to Ken Hamm in his article “Are There Really Different Races?” He says that scientists today admit that there is only one race and that is the human race. ABC News said that scientists believe that “race” is more cultural than racial. We should call the differences people groups, not races. The so called racial differences in people are so trivial that it is in the range of about 0.1 percent. In Hamm’s article, he states that “there is more variation within any group than there is between one group and another.” It’s pretty simple; the differences are because of our DNA and melanin. Melanin determines our skin, hair and eye color and DNA controls the basic shape of our eyes. We are all descended from one man and one woman, period.

Because racism is so much a part of our everyday lives including where we live, go to school, our job, who we interact with, and our treatment in the justice and healthcare systems, we just assume there is such a thing as race. We have been told lies for a very long time. We have been told that “race” is related to intelligence, birth rates, crime, work ethic, life span and brain size. We have been told that some “races” are better than others. Robert Wald Sussman in his article “There Is No Such Thing as Race” affirms what Hamm says by stating “given current scientific data, biological races do not exist among modern humans today, and they have never existed in the past.” Even though races do not exist, racism still does. Human “races” are real in our culture, not our biology. Race and racism, discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes still exist simply and unfortunately because it has been deeply rooted in our history and we haven’t been told any different.

I am so thankful that my family is a mixture of white, black, brown(Hispanic) humans. We are a human family with different hair color, eye color, skin color, but one thing is the same among each of us and that is we are all human and we all love each other deeply. I wish our country and our world would see things this same way.

Sources:
http://answersingenesis.org/racism/are-there-really-different-races/
http://newsweek.com/there-no-such-thing-race-283123

Brook Bahe
11.19.15

Happiness

What is happiness? Happiness according to the dictionary is “The state of being happy”, but is it really that simple? Your happiness is affected by yourself and by others at the same time. In this life a persistent happiness is not as easy as it really sounds. Happier people are more likely to live longer and tend to be healthier, more successful, and more socially engaged than people who describe themselves as less happy. But what causes happiness? And can we change how happy we are? We think if only we had more money, or a better job, or fell in love, that we would be happier. Sometimes we underestimate how much control we have over our own happiness. Your state of mind and the way you look at things make a huge impact on how happy you are at the end of the day. Positive emotions are the fuel for happiness. They help people find meaning in ordinary and difficult events. Finding meaning in life events leads to more positive emotion, which in turn leads to a greater ability to find meaning and purpose.

People with social ties with friends and family are genuinely happier than people without any social ties. People who are optimistic, or look at life in a positive way usually have a higher self-esteem and will then be a happy individual. Your state of mind makes a huge impact on how you feel about the world. Thinking positively more than you do negatively will obviously lead to a happier person. It seems simple and it really is. No matter what life throws at you nothing should keep you from being happy overall.

If your life isn’t as good as you want it to be right now, you are the only one that can change it for the better. You have to become clear about what you want in life, and who you want to be. You do not have to settle for mediocrity. Almost every limit in our lives is set by ourselves. Most of the negative beliefs you have, you have learned from your parents, society, and friends. We can’t control everything in life, but you certainly can create a happy life if you choose to. Just look at the people all around you that are already living the life of their dreams. Use happy people around you as an example or goal of what you want to be. If you change your state of mind it can do wonders to changing your happiness.

Be appreciative in all aspects of life. Replace the habit of spotting the things that annoy you about people with one where you make small or big positive observations about them. It could be their great sense of style when it comes to clothes, or how they always make you laugh when you need it or simply that they are always on time. Little things can make the most impact. Let someone order in front of you at a restaurant. Hold open the door or hold the elevator for a stranger. Not just because that you tend to get back what you give in some form. But for yourself too, these little things add up and make you feel better about yourself. Being a better person overall leads to a happier individual.

So many things can make you a happier person or lead to a happier life. Stay positive no matter what life throws at you. Be kind to others. Wake up, look outside, and smile because you have seen another day. Change your state of mind and outlook on life and it will become a better life. Be happy, it is so much easier than you think.

Sources
http://www.livescience.com/7059-keys-happiness.html
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/emotional-fitness/201204/10-simple-ways-find-happiness

Jetta Smith
11.19.15

Don't Shoot!

image.adapt.960.high.6Protest_121314.jpg

In this day in and age, we still have the constant struggle of ignorance regarding race and skin color. Many still believe that they are inferior to others because of how they appear on the exterior. According to US News almost 90 percent of white people in America who take the Implicit Association Test show an inherent racial bias for white people versus black people; that means something. On the daily, there are young, black teenage men who are being shot and killed by white police officers and trigger huge mass media controversy about racial tensions in communities like Ferguson, Missouri. It means we haven’t solved the equation yet. We have had incidents like Eric Harris, an unarmed black man, in Tulsa, Oklahoma who was fatally shot in the back when officers tried to arrest him.

The officer was being charged with second-degree manslaughter when he “tried to reach for his stun gun but instead retrieved his firearm.” Racial tension is not getting better. It’s just getting worse since we keep having incidents like Sandra Bland, a black women, who reportedly “committed suicide” after being arrested for not signaling when moving over for a police car. We need to have a national conversation about what it means when nearly every white person in America carries around an implicit racial bias that subconsciously prefers white people over black people in social, professional and educational settings. It’s black and white. It’s that simple, and we need to start on that conversation as soon as possible. So why aren’t we addressing the giant elephant in the room?

Why do we as a society refuse to acknowledge that when walking down the street and you see a black man you clutch your purse tighter? When interviewing for jobs are you surprised when an educated black woman walks in with a normal name that has no hyphen or apostrophe in it? According to the Journal of Higher Black Education, more than 4.5 million African Americans now hold a four-year college degree. Yet the racial gap in degree attainments remains large and it does not appear to be shrinking. Another serious blemish on this encouraging news is the fact that a large and fast-growing majority of these degrees earned by African Americans have been earned by black women. So why is that instead of changing our outlook on stereotypes of African American men and women we just keep on acting like were stuck in the 60’s first addressing the issue. People want never want to address the topic of racial tension or the fight against racism. So as you refuse to address the topic, I will. Being African American is not a limitation. For me, it’s a conversation starter. I can’t tell you how many times I have walked into scholarship interviews especially for African-American women and had to explain who I am and why I belong there. I mark African-American on all of my paperwork, and rock my natural hair proudly even in todays society. I don’t judge those because they want to fly the Confederate flag or tattoo swastikas on their bodies I pray for them because African-American is not ignorance.

African American is not welfare checks; it is not food stamps or section 8 housing. African American is not unemployment, or DHS offices. African-American are a lot of things and one is opportunities, opportunities to change the status quo, break stereo types. African-American is opportunities to celebrate cultural diversity and to explore the entire American experience. African-American is a cultural experience that can contribute to the greater whole of what it means to be an American.

Sources
http://www.jbhe.com/news_views/64_degrees.html
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/21/oklahoma-deputy-bates-pleads-not-guilty/26119863/

Madeline Gibson
November 19, 2015

Marriage

The concept and definition of marriage has changed many times and continues to evolve. My idea of the ideal marriage is completely different from those who are of a different religion, or who have had a different upbringing. Some unions that have been rejected in the past are becoming more popular and now are accepted. This causes us to redefine our concept of marriage, challenging our former beliefs and causing us to form new ones.

Throughout my life, I have had a very specific idea of marriage, however those ideas have been challenged, and are being challenged all the time. I grew up in a LDS (Mormon) home where I was taught that marriage was to be between a man and woman who loved each other. Divorce was tragic, unless the relationship was abusive, otherwise any and all problems should be worked through. Because of my religion, I was taught that God should be at the head of every marriage; if so, the union would be successful.

Early in the LDS religion, polygamy was practiced for four years. Polygamy is often something people associate with being a mormon, and I having grown up in Utah, was always aware of this practice in the church. There were a few families I knew of growing up who attended my high school, who came from polygamist families. Other than this shallow exposure, I didn’t really understand or pay much attention to polygamy. I knew why my church had practiced it in the past, and I knew we no longer practiced it. Presently if you practice polygamy, you cannot remain a member of the church.

Somewhat recently, homosexuality and marriage have gained popularity and attention. Since Latter Day Saints do not support gay marriage, it has often been debated in my area. My church has declared their stand on the issue; while the government has legalized gay marriage across the country, the LDS religion does not recognise these unions within the church. This, along with other declarations, has raised much controversy. Many people have voiced their discontent and have removed their membership.

This puts active, practicing members of the church in a tough spot. We are taught to love unconditionally, but not to support practices contrary to the church. I have friends who would like to stay members of the church, but who have chosen an alternate lifestyle. The government recognises these unions. Are we to treat these people differently who want to worship with us?

Another concept of marriage I find hard to comprehend, is the marriage age. Fortunately for us, and anyone who lives in a developed country, we cannot get married until we are adults. Unless given permission by a parent or guardian, the decision cannot be made until we are a little older. What I find scary, is in developing countries there is really no law guiding the age. In Africa, a man may claim his bride when she is newly born, and they may be married as early as the girl is eight or ten. In these countries, marriage really is not about love, but rather convenience, duty, and money. For someone growing up in the states, this challenges everything we know about marriage.

Marriage is a much more complicated topic than just the union of two individuals. There are many different definitions of marriage around the world. It is important to open our minds and take into account how each person may view it differently. We need to be accepting of different practices. It is important to look into our past as well in order to understand how far we’ve come. The fact that marrying for love is only a recent practice, introduced in the last 200 years, may help us understand practices around the world. Marriage is a flexible topic that will continue to change as the years progress.

Sources
https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-and-families-in-early-utah?lang=eng
https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200505/marriage-history

Markayla Hicks
November 19, 2015
Mr.Thompson

Walking In Another Shoes

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Life is full with so many thoughts and opinions. Everyone is entitle to their own opinions and thoughts but are they entitle to feel the way they feel? Every day every hour every minute one person is taking life for granted. We live in the world where everything and everyone is judge mental. Not looking at their self and their issues. They rather make people feel bad for being who they are, because they are insecure of their own ways. We all are different from each other in many ways. From gender, race, color, and other unique styles.

A lot of people don’t want to learn the difference between each other race. They focus on what they see and not knowing information on, why they that color, why they look the way they do, or their physical characteristics. People will never understand how a person feels about their self personally. It’s more than a physical thing. You can never tell how a person is feeling by just looking at them. It’s actually people that smile every day and laugh like nothing’s wrong. But feeling like they have been hit with a ton of bricks. It’s deeper than that. People are afraid to be their self in this generation. You have ones that insecure with their sexuality. They are living in another world, a world that they are acceptable. Instead they feel and think another way just to please other. If one man say he haves love for another man, right away he is judge and punish for being himself. That leads to something more serious as him not accepting himself.

Thinking he’s not good enough, hating the skin he’s in, and most importantly suicide thoughts. Living in a shell to protect others feelings. Most people will say keep it a secret, why? Because life will be much easier living a lie. They will never know how it feels waking up knowing you feeling another way than you living. People get judge by their sexuality all the time. I know because I have a cousin who have feelings for the same sex. Only his friends and I know about his secret. The feeling can be painful because you just want to be accepted. No one will ever know how you feel into they walk into your shoe’s. You have people that understand and support but don’t know the feeling is unbearable.

Color tone and nationality can be an issue in this world. Being a certain race or color you can be treated differently. Just because you’re Caucasian you suppose to not like black people. They are known for being racist towards black people. If you’re African American you are not as educated and smart. You from a ghetto area and in a state of poverty. Most people will say its hard being a black men, yet along a black person. You will never understand how a black person feel unless you walk in their shoes daily. Why? Because of slavery and how the media make things look. Well it’s vice versa because it’s actually Caucasian that’s still being punish for something that happen years ago. Do people actually ever think about how they feel? Walking in another one shoe’s is deeper than the saying “Can you walk a mile in my shoes?” Will you replace your life with someone else? These the major things that effect people life every day. You will never know or understand, it’s more a mental thing than physical. You really how put yourself in another situation and maybe their whole life to actually walk that mile in their shoes.

(No Sources)

Drake Kirkwood
November 18, 2015

Religion

Religion is an important thing for many people, and for others it doesn’t matter. Even though not everyone is religious, it is classified as a social institution. So what is religion? Religion is the set of beliefs and practices regarding sacred things that help a society understand the meaning and purpose of life. There are many different religions in the world, and we can find most of them here in the states. Religion is something that is passed down through families and culture. Sometimes people convert to other religions, however. When families attend religious services or put up decorations in honor of a holiday, they are teaching their children about their religion and how to observe it. By engaging in these activities and traditions, children are united with others of the same religion around the world. In this way, families teach their own culture as well as the culture of the society at large.

Religions based on the belief in a single deity are monotheistic. Those that encompass many deities are polytheistic. The main religions in the world are Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hindu, and Buddhism. Some of them are monotheistic, and some of them are polytheistic. Christianity derived from Judaism. It is based on the belief that Jesus Christ was the son of God and the redeemer of mankind. There are many different Christian denominations. Followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims believe that the true word of God was revealed to the prophet Muhammad around 570 a.d. God in Islam is the same god as the Christian and Judaic deity. Judaism is a monotheistic religion that predates Christianity, built on the belief that they are the “chosen people” of God. Hinduism is the oldest major world religion, dominant in India.

Hindus do not worship a single person or deity but rather are guided by a set of ancient cultural beliefs. They believe in the principle of karma, which is the wisdom or health of one’s eternal soul. Karma can be strengthened with good acts and harmed by bad acts. Hindus believe that karma plays a role in reincarnation, a cycle of continuous rebirth through which, ideally, the soul can achieve spiritual perfection. The state of a person’s karma determines in what form he or she will be reborn. Buddhists, most of whom live in Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, and Burma, follow the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, a spiritual teacher of the sixth century b.c.e. Buddhism, like Hinduism, does not feature any single all-powerful deity but teaches that by eschewing materialism, one can transcend the “illusion” of life and achieve enlightenment.

These are only the main religions in the world, there are many more to be found in smaller numbers. Religion is a social institution because it gives society morals, a sense of belonging, and an idea of what happens after this life.

http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/social-institutions/section4.rhtml
http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/sociology-comprehensive-edition/s20-01-religion-as-a-social-instituti.html

Social Institutions

Aziza Kibet
11/19/15

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Social institutions refers to social organization, common to all societies and dealing with some of the basic universal problems of ordered social life. Discrimination against women and girls carries a high development cost and it measures gender based discrimination in social institution which involves social norms, practices and laws. However, social institution can be a source of social empowerment and transformation which evolves and reflect society priorities. Eliminating discrimination in social institutions requires long-term political commitments and investments combined with community-wide action and dialogue, involving men and boys as partners in the campaign for equality.

Discriminatory social institutions have a domino effect on a woman’s whole life cycle and has a linked association with development outcomes such as education, employment and empowerment. Discrimination against the girl child, such as early marriage, limits her education, increases her chances of adolescent pregnancy, and restricts her decision-making authority within the family and her ability to make informed choices about her income or her family’s well-being. Future development goals, targets and interventions must take into account how discriminatory social institutions interlock and overlap throughout a woman’s life and thus compound women’s and girls’ inability to break the cycle of inequality.

Gender equality needs the united voices and actions of a cross-section of actors. Public infrastructure, institutional mechanisms including justice systems and support structures often fail women and girls due to low prioritization on political agendas and in public budgets. Some of the example from across the world have revealed that women’s networks, supported by social media, have called for greater public accountability to tackling discriminatory. Involves social institutions whereby these efforts have raised the visibility and importance of gender equality and women’s rights on the public political agenda. Keeping gender equality issues on the policy radar requires strategic coordinated alliances and actions between a cross-section of actors, including women’s rights movements, the media, and men and boys, in collaboration with decision makers and the private sector.

Increasing gender equality has enormous benefits in establishing culture of human rights as well as more immediate material benefit through its effect of productivity and the human capital of the next generation. Paths to gender equity involves giving men and women equal rights under the law, equal access to health care and education, and services related to income generation. All this efforts results to greater citizen participation in public life and monitoring state institutions. Economic inequalities reinforced by social barriers make it especially difficult for poor people to move out of poverty.

When social distinctions between groups are used to perpetuate inequalities in access to material resources, they generate rigid sociopolitical hierarchies, which constitute powerful social barriers explicitly aimed at preserving the status of the better-off. They place crippling constraints on individuals. For poor people, naturally risk averse because they live close to the margin of survival, the prospect of incurring the wrath of powerful elites by challenging these barriers is intimidating. Rigid stratification also creates obstacles to collective action: if the distribution of power in a community is too skewed, prospects for trust and cooperation are low.

Many argue that the existence of injustice and oppression in established power structures must be recognized and confronted. If violent conflict and revolution is to be avoided, inequities in political and economic power cannot be ignored. Malfunctioning social structures can sometimes be reformed through nonviolent protest and peaceful political mobilization. History provides many examples of political and social movements that aimed to radically change existing political and socioeconomic structures. Many of these structural changes altered the balance of power between social groups, led to increased political participation and corrected systemic forms of injustice.

Increasing the participation of the poor in development and reducing gender based social barriers are important complements to creating an environment in which they have greater opportunity and security. This empowerment is enhanced by scaling up social institutions, increasing the capacity of socially disadvantaged to engage society’s power structure and articulate their interests and aspirations.

Sources
http://www.codesria.org/spip.php?article303
http://www.oecd.org/dev/development-gender/BrochureSIGI2015-web
http://www.oecd.org/dev/poverty/genderinequalityinsocialinstitutions.htm

Miranda Geist
11/16/15

Prison As a Social Institution

The purpose of the prison system in the United States is to serve as a safeguard to the public. Prison sentences are supposed to punish offenders and create a safe atmosphere for society. It makes sense to punish a criminal in hopes of changing their mind about committing crime in the future, but does prison do this effectively? Many people think the prison system is effective, while others disagree, but when both arguments are taken into consideration, it allows us to decide what stance we will take concerning the punishment of those who cross the boundaries of their civil rights.

The first stance on criminal punishment regards prison as a worthwhile expenditure of funds. Many people claim that it is plausible to spend the amount of money needed to cage these animals. A portion of society says criminals can be dangerous and deserve to be put in a cell for the things they have done. Also, the same amount of money, if not more, would be spent on alternative forms of punishment, and the prison facilities already built would be for nothing if we did away with them.

People that promote the prison system also argue that the facilities keep our society safe. Common sense tells us that if we lock up dangerous people, we are safer. Not only do advocates say this is true, but they have statistics to prove it. From 1980 to 1986 the incarceration rate more than doubled, and the crime rate went down 31 percent. Another study showed that when the incarceration rate skyrocketed in 1990, the robbery and burglary rates dropped 25 percent. These studies convince many that incarcerating criminals does in fact work by removing them from the streets, so they can no longer afflict society for the length of their sentence.

Switching to the second stance on the issue, critics claim that prisons are an ineffective form of punishment. In the article, “The Prison System Does Not Work”, by William H. Rentschler, the testimonies are against prison. Rentschler states, “To cage a human being represents a cost of $12-30,000 per prisoner each year from tight state and federal budgets”. From this statement, the public can infer that there is entirely too much money being delivered into the prison system. Taking into consideration the number of prisoners in our nation, we know that millions and millions of dollars are being spent each year because prison crowding is a reality, and we are always building more facilities to house a steady influx of criminals. People that are against the system believe that their tax money should be used towards cheaper, alternative ways to punish criminals.

Prisons are a social institution for criminals. Is it more taxing on society to keep them running with money, or do they do society good? The argument comes down to whether you are worried more about money or safety.

http://seankerrigan.com/five-stunning-facts-about-americas-prison-system-you-havent-heard/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sean-mcelwee/incarceration-america_b_3528901.html

Alexis Andersen
11/17/15

Education

Education is one of the most important social institutions in the world because every other thing is connected back to it. It is where society learns, and understands what our own needs are. There are many definitions of education in the dictionary. One defines education as the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. Another defines the term as the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills, as for a profession. Education is also known as a degree, level, or kind of schooling. The last definition is the result produced by instruction, training, or study. As we can see, there are many types of “education”. Our education differs greatly with the education of ancient civilizations.

Education is not a new concept, all though it has advanced in our times. But in ancient times there was education. Most education was only offered to boys, because it is a source of power, and women weren’t allowed. Also, much of the education was correlated with their religious beliefs and doctrine. The very first educations in the world belonged to the Egyptians. The humanities as well as such practical subjects as science, medicine, mathematics, and geometry were in the hands of the priests. Vocational skills relating to such fields as architecture, engineering, and sculpture were also taught. The next civilization to have an education was in the Middle East at Mesopotamia. As a civilization contemporary with Egyptian civilization, Mesopotamia developed education quite similar to that of its counterpart with respect to its purpose and training. Formal education was practical and aimed to train scribes and priests. It was extended from basic reading, writing, and religion to higher learning in law, medicine, and astrology. China was right there with the Egyptians and Mesopotamians, but their curriculum differed greatly. Chinese ancient formal education was distinguished by its markedly secular and moral character. Its paramount purpose was to develop a sense of moral sensitivity and duty toward people and the state. Even in the early civilizational stage, harmonious human relations, rituals, and music formed the curriculum.

The middle ages had more education than in ancient times. Greece and Rome had huge empires and education flourished. In Greece there were two different systems. The goal of education in Sparta, an authoritarian, military city-state, was to produce soldier-citizens. On the other hand, the goal of education in Athens, a democratic city-state, was to produce citizens trained in the arts of both peace and war. In Rome, they studied reading, writing, and counting. At age 12 or 13, the boys of the upper classes attended a "grammar" school where they learned Latin or Greek or both and studied grammar and literature. Grammar consisted of the study of declensions and conjugations and the analysis of verbal forms. Both Greek and Latin literature were studied.

The new world offered its own educations among the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas. The Maya, being a highly religious culture, regarded the priesthood as one of the most influential factors in the development of their society. The priest enjoyed high prestige by virtue of his extensive knowledge, literate skills, and religious and moral leadership, and high priests served as major advisers of the rulers and the nobility. The Aztecs, cultural preservation relied heavily upon oral transmission and rote memorization of important events, calendrical information, and religious knowledge. And the Incas focused on vocational education for common Incas and highly formalized training for the nobility.

As we can see, there was some form of education throughout history in the world. Why? Because people’s lives depend on it! Other social institutions surround education, but none can function without it.

http://www.britannica.com/topic/education
http://history-world.org/history_of_education.htm

Outsourcing: A Cause of Workplace Polarization

By: Olivia Wetter

Recently, high-income nations have begun struggling with the effects of polarization in the workplace. This is a result of many things including outsourcing. Outsourcing is the process of transferring jobs that can be filled internally to outside providers. According to an article published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, this occurs either domestically or internationally. Domestic outsourcing occurs when a business contracts a part of itself to a different location still within the same country. For example, a Detroit car company may produce some of its parts in different locations in Ohio. International outsourcing occurs when a company gains goods or services from international labor. This type of outsourcing is the most popular. Overall, outsourcing comes with its fair share of advantages and disadvantages.

In recent years, our country, being the biggest culprit of outsourcing according to the NBER, has outsourced jobs more and more. This is done mainly to save money for the company. Companies are only concerned with paying lower wages, not the lives of capable local workers. Companies take advantage of global inequality, and subsequently, only pay workers limited wages. Of course with this change, many citizens may find themselves hunting for a job. For those lacking a college degree, the job search may prove to be incredibly difficult. Even college graduates may have trouble finding a job with the degree they have recently obtained. Contrary to this, large companies may find that outsourcing creates jobs. If outsourcing is done properly and efficiently, businesses can successfully expand production and thus expand employment as stated in a study by the NBER. An article on Articlesbase.com explains that another pitfall of outsourcing is that foreign workers often only speak their native language fluently. This creates a language barrier that can lead to conflict especially for workers in customer service call centers.

On the other hand, outsourcing comes with a few benefits. Outsourcing provides jobs for those in poverty stricken countries. Individuals are able to bring home wages—-even if they are meager in size. These people are desperate for any pay and can easily complete tasks such as accounting, supply management, and customer relations. These jobs are quickly becoming the top outsourced jobs according to Articlesbase.com. Aside from the creation of foreign jobs, the prices of goods can be drastically lowered as well. Companies are paying less for a larger amount of workers and they are completing the job more quickly than with a lesser amount of workers. Production is focused more on specific tasks as well.

Outsourcing has contributed substantially to polarization in the workplace. An article published for The Center for American Progress and The Hamilton Project written by David Autor states that “employment growth is “polarizing” into relatively high-skill, high-wage jobs and low-skill, low-wage jobs.” There is great separation between those with minimum wage jobs, and those earning significant million dollar salaries. This fulfils a common cliche that says, “the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.” No one ever considers the middle man however. In this case, polarization has drastically reduced the number of jobs in this area. Sadly, this is the area where most citizens find themselves. Worse yet, this phenomenon is not strictly an American problem; it is happening in economies all over the world. In this day in age, our country’s businesses needs be aware the problems outsourcing can cause within our society.

References:
http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/outsourcing-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-outsourcing-536182.html
http://www.nber.org/papers/w10808.pdf
http://economics.mit.edu/files/5554

Lexy Meyer

In today's world family can mean many different things. Family structures vary depending on one's culture and individual circumstances. The US Census bureau defines family as people living together and related by birth, marriage, or adoption. Data from the 2010 United States Census reported that 59% of children under age 18 live with two parents and 27% live with one parent only. Of that twenty-seven percent, 77.2% of children under the age of 18 live with a single mother. Four percent live with neither parent. Of that 4%, 59.4% live with a grandparent. According to Princeton University, children from two-parent homes are more likely to stay in school, further their education, obtain better paying jobs as adults, and not become teenage mothers. Changing family dynamics create a need for differing support services for families.

To ensure positive outcomes for all family structures varying levels of support will be needed. The support provided would be based on individual situations and available resources. Providing adequate support to all families in need is a challenge due to large geographic area, the diverse needs of families and the varied availability of resources. Child care costs have nearly doubled in the last quarter century. Increasing child care costs place a heavy burden on single parent families and grandparents. Grandparents providing child care for grandchildren may be retired with fixed incomes. An additional fact is as the population ages many middle age parents find themselves raising their children at the same time they are caring for aging parents. This is referred to as the "sandwich" generation. From a sociological perspective a support system needs to be in place to facilitate healthy family relationships at all stages of family life.

There has also been the rise in blended families of both heterosexual and same-sex couples. In the United States it has become more common for couples to live together before marriage, or to choose to cohabitate without marrying. The number of cohabitant couples has jumped from 2.9 million in 1996 to 7.8 million in 2012. When heterosexual or same-sex couples choose to add to their family, modern science provides options for the growth of families. Couples might grow their families with birth children, surrogacy or adoption. A surrogate is a women who carries the baby and delivers it for the parents to raise. Usually this is done when the mother of the child cannot carry and deliver a baby for a variety of reasons. Adoption is when a birth mother and a birth father give up their parental rights and the child is adopted. Usually it is for the child’s well being because the birth mother and birth father are unable to take care of, and provide for the child.

Also the birth parents have made a decision to place their child through adoption as a part of a plan to give them a better life than what the birth mother or birth father could provide at the time of the child’s birth. There are also multi-generational families that live together. Some families live with extended family members for financial reasons, because of medical issues, or because of cultural practices. Fifty-one million Americans are living in multi-generational homes, according to AARP. Multi-generational families living together provide a great deal of support to family members. They can also serve as a safety net when individual family units experience difficulties. On the other hand, there can be situations in which multi-generational families have higher amount of stress and discord. Since the family dynamic has changed over the last century, meeting the needs of families has become a challenge. We can help these families with the adequate support needed if we devote more resources to this challenge. To have a successful nation, we need successful, healthy families.

http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p70-125.pdf?cssp=SERP
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/health/families.html?pagewanted=all

Cole Smith
Dr. Thompson
Sociology
11/19/15

Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events (including disease), and the application of this study to the control of diseases and other health problems. Various methods can be used to carry out epidemiological investigations: surveillance and descriptive studies can be used to study distribution; analytical studies are used to study determinants.
Public health professionals analyze and develop programs that protect the health of individuals, families and communities in the United States and abroad. Using education, development of healthy lifestyles, research and program implementation, public health professionals are agents for disease prevention and health promotion.

The United States is placing a high priority on building up the nation's public health workforce. A career in public health opens the door to diverse opportunities in a variety of sectors such as federal, private and non-governmental organizations.
When food poisoning or an influenza outbreak attacks a community, the "disease detectives" or epidemiologists are asked to investigate the cause of disease and control its spread. Epidemiology is the study and control of disease or injury patterns in human populations.

Epidemiologists do fieldwork to determine what causes disease or injury, what the risks are, who is at risk and how to prevent further incidences. They understand the demographic and social trends that result from disease and injury. The initial discovery and containment of an outbreak, such as avian flu or mad cow disease, often comes from epidemiologists.

Professionals in this field use statistical analysis, but their approach and methods are distinctly different than what biostatisticians use. Epidemiologists must take into account various hereditary, behavioral, environmental and health care factors; they also must make extensive use of the contributions of biological, clinical and other sciences, including techniques derived from biochemistry and molecular biology.

While most molecular epidemiology studies are still using conventional disease diagnosis and classification systems, it is increasingly recognized that disease evolution represents inherently heterogeneous processes differing from person to person. Conceptually, each individual has a unique disease process different from any other individual, considering uniqueness of the exposome which is a totality of endogenous and exogenous exposures and its unique influence on molecular pathologic process in each individual. Studies to examine the relationship between an exposure and molecular pathologic signature of disease particularly cancer became increasingly common throughout the 2000s. However, the use of molecular pathology in epidemiology posed unique challenges including lack of research guidelines and standardized statistical methodologies, and paucity of interdisciplinary experts and training programs.

Furthermore, the concept of disease heterogeneity appears to conflict with the long-standing premise in epidemiology that individuals with the same disease name have similar etiologies and disease processes. To resolve these issues and advance population health science in the era of molecular precision medicine, molecular pathology and epidemiology was integrated to create a new interdisciplinary field of molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE), defined as epidemiology of molecular pathology and heterogeneity of disease. In MPE, investigators analyze the relationships between; environmental, dietary, lifestyle and genetic factors; alterations in cellular or extracellular molecules; and evolution and progression of disease. A better understanding of heterogeneity of disease pathogenesis will further contribute to elucidate etiologies of disease. The MPE approach can be applied to not only neoplastic diseases but also non-neoplastic diseases. The concept and paradigm of MPE have become widespread in the 2010s.

sources
http://www.bmj.com/about-bmj/resources-readers/publications/epidemiology-uninitiated/1-what-epidemiology
http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/career/45/epidemiology

Brianna Einspahr
November 19, 2015

Epidemiolgoy

Epidemiology is the study of the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in certain populations. It’s a very important part of public health. Epidemiology shapes policy decisions by identifying risk factors for diseases to provide preventative healthcare. Epidemiologists even help with study design, collection of data, and the reading of results.

The major studies of epidemiology consist of etiology, transmission, outbreak investigation, disease surveillance and screening, biomonitoring, and comparisons of treatment effects like during clinical trials. Epidemiologists study other scientific disciplines like biology to better understand disease processes so they can understand statistics to draw conclusions on information they gather. They also study social sciences and engineering.

The term epidemiology comes from the Greek language meaning “the study of what is upon the people”. The Spanish physician Villalba first used it to describe the study of epidemics in 1802. It is now based upon how the power of disease changes the function of everyone around it. In the middle of the 16th century a doctor from Verona was the first person to come up with the theory that very small, not visible particles caused disease instead of an imbalance of the four humors (air, fire, water, and earth). They now knew there was something that could travel by air and get people sick. They also noticed that if they promote environmental hygiene, the sickness spread less and could be contained more easily.

Now in the 20th century, we have advanced in biomedical sciences and the epidemiology research has increased. We can now examine the relationship between biomarkers at the molecular level, which is named molecular epidemiology. We now know that each individual has a unique disease process different from any other individual. Epidemiologists study the relationship between environmental, dietary, lifestyle, and genetic factors. They also find alterations in cellular or extracellular molecules. They even study evolution and progression of disease to get a better understanding.

An important aspect of epidemiology is the identification of casual relationships between certain exposures. In observational studies, nature is allowed to “take its course” and the epidemiologists observe from the sidelines. In experimental studies, the epidemiologist is the one that controls all of the factors entering the study. Epidemiological practice and the results of epidemiological analysis make a big contribution to emerging population-based health management frameworks. Population-based health management has the ability to focus on a certain population and see the needs of their health state, implement ideas on how to improve the health of that certain population, and provide care efficiently for members of that population in a way that is still with the community’s cultural, policy, and health values.

To be an epidemiologist in the modern world, you need lots of skills such as medical, political, technological, mathematical, and even management science. All of these things provide that person with the ability to provide health care and good guidance to a certain population. This being said, the epidemiologist then has to look forward and decide what needs to be done next-they need to look at health risk factors, incidence, prevalence, and mortality statistics that have been gathered by other epidemiologists. After that, they then think of ways to improve these issues and guide how a health system can be managed and how it can be improved when it responds to a future potential population health issue. These populations can then use these population-based health management ideas and know the impact that a disease can have on their community. Epidemiologists are very important because they help control disease and prevent further incidents in a certain community or population.

Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology
http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/career/45/epidemiology

Marci Glennemeier

Our Generation

Our generation vs. generations of the past has many differences like every other generation. Some of these differences are; the priorities that we set for our selves, educational goals that we have, and also marriage and family are different.

Our priorities from generation to generation change with each new generation that comes along. With this generation young people are more about finding themselves as individuals instead of caring for other people and creating our own families. This was uncommon in previous generations as most women were married out of high school or even as young as fourteen years of age. With this generation we are also all about finding independence for ourselves and finding a higher self worth as a person. We also have more of a desire to explore the options that we have as individuals rather then settling down and starting a family right away out of high school.

For our generation education is more important than it was in past generations simply because most families can not make it with one income per household. Today people need a degree in higher education to get jobs that can support a family and have comfortable living situations. Also, more women today are obtaining a higher degree of education like doctors, lawyers, and business degrees. This was not something that women could do in the past. Most women didn’t go to college; and if they did it was for jobs like teaching or nursing as the higher degree of education was only for men. Also, being able to get a college education is easier for people as there are online classes that can fit into everyone’s schedule. This opens the door to single parents who can’t get day care for their kids or they can take the classes around their work schedule. This can also work for older people who didn’t go to college right out of high school. They can get an education and still continue to work. This is also an easy option for people who are in the military.

Marriage and family are different in today’s society. There are many variations of what we now call a family. Today the term family can mean a single parent with children, a same sex couple with children, or even the traditional family. The single parent is becoming a more acceptable role that parents can take on and it is not as looked down upon by society. Now, if a woman has a child there is not the extreme pressure to be married before the child is born. It is more acceptable to have the child and raise it on her own. Even the same sex marriage is openly accepted as a new norm. This was something that just didn’t happen in past generations. It is also more acceptable to get married and have children at an older age. It used to be that you married young and started a family early in life, this also contributed to larger family sizes unlike today’s average family size of two children per couple. The roles of the family have also changed some as there is more stay at home dads with working mothers, or for the single parents there are babysitters or even the grandparents watch the children as the parent works. The mom is no longer required just to stay at home with the children and stick to the household chores.

In summary, as the generations change, the way we look at the social norms also change. This changes our culture to be more accepting of the way things are. The changes in generations develop along with the changes in society and technology.

sources
http://cnx.org/contents/02040312-72c8-441e-a685-20e9333f3e1d
https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-14.pdf

Brianna Slipke
11.19.15

Variations in Family Life

Households with single-parents are rising. In 2010, twenty-seven percent of children lived with a single parent. Up from 25 percent in 2008. Of that percentage, twenty-three percent live with their mom and the remaining three live with their father. Ten percent of the children that live with their single mother, also have a boyfriend living with them, and twenty percent of children living with their single father also have a girlfriend living with them.

Stepparents are an additional family element in “two-parent” homes. Nine percent of the children living in two-parent households live with a biological or adoptive parent and a stepparent. Seventy percent, which is the majority, of those children live with their biological mother and a stepfather. Family stricter has been shown to vary with the age of the child.

However, in some families, a parent is not present at all. In 2010, three million children lived wit ha guardian who was neither their biological nor adoptive parents. Of these children, 54 percent live with their grandparents, twenty-one percent live with other uncles, cousins living in the same home. Foster parents account for one quarter of non-relatives. The practice of grandparents acting as parents, whether they are alone of in combination with the child’s parents, is becoming widespread among today’s families. Nine percent of children live with their grandparents. In over half of these cases, the grandparents remain primary custody of the child.

Often times when the grandparents gain primary custody of the child, it is because of prenatal drug abuse, incarceration or abandonment. Changes in the traditional family structure raises questions about how society shifts the effect of children. Parental marital status seems to be a significant indicator of advancement in a child’s life. Children living with a divorced parent typically have more advantages than those that live with a parent who was never married. This is particularly true of children who live with divorced fathers. With this being said, this correlates with the statistic that never-married parents are typically younger, have fewer years of experience in school, and have lower incomes. Studies show that six in ten children living with only their mother live near or below the poverty level.

The number of same-sex couples has grown rapidly in the past decade. The U.S. Census Burraeu reported 594,000 same-sex couple household in the United States, which is a fifty percent increase from the year 2000. This increase is a result of more coupling, the growing social acceptance of homosexuality and an increase in willingness to report it. Same-sex couple households make up one percent of the population. There is some concern from socially conservative groups regarding the well-being of children who grow up in same-sex households. Research has reported that same-sex parents are as effective as opposite-sex parents. In a study, research proved that of 81 parenting studies, sociologists found no quantifiable date to support the notion that opposite-sex parenting is any better than same-sex parenting. Children of lesbian couples, were shown to have slightly lower rates of behavioral problems and higher rates of self-esteem.

Cohabitation is when a man and a woman live together with a sexual relationship before being married. This “Living together before marriage” is an option that is continuing to grow for many couples. Couples may choose to live together in order to spend more time together or to save money on living costs. Many couples view this as a “trial run” for marriage. Today, approximately twenty-eight percent of men and women cohabitated before their first marriage. Eighteen percent of men and twenty-three percent of women married without ever living together. Only fifteen percent of men and women cohabitate only and do not marry and about half of cohabitators transition into marriage within three years.

American’s concepts of marriage and family are changing daily. Increases in cohabitation, same-sex partners, and singlehood are altering of our ideas of marriage. Single parents, same-sex parents, cohabitating parents and parents who are unmarried are changing our notion of what it means to be a family. Children still live in opposite-sex, two-parent, married households.

Sources
http://cnx.org/contents/afe4332a-c97f-4fc4-be27-4e4d384a32d8@7.16:64/Variations-in-Family-Life
http://family.lovetoknow.com/about-family-values/types-family-structures
http://study.com/academy/lesson/family-structure-variations-in-the-united-states.html

Challenges Families Face

Garrett Krueger
Abuse is a common challenge many different families face. Abuse injures the mind, body and a persons’ spirit. Victims of abuse can seek many different kinds of help. They can turn to different counseling groups, a priest, friends or a hotline. In abuse its children who are the most helpless. In 2010, there were more than 3.3 million reports of child abuse involving an estimated 5.9 million children. Child abuse may come in several forms, the most common of them being neglect, followed by physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological maltreatment and medical neglect. In some cases the child doesn’t just suffer from one of these different kinds of abuse, it can often times be multiple. Children under one years of age were the most victimized population. Some parents do not purposely neglect their children. Cultural values, standard of care in a community and even poverty can lead to hazardous level of neglect.

Domestic Violence is another one of the biggest problems in the United States. Often times domestic violence is characterized as violence between household or family members, usually spouses. This type of violence is usually physically and includes things such as punching, kicking, and any other type of physical violence and even sexual violence such as rape or other forced sexual acts, threats and intimidation that imply either physical or sexual abuse and emotional abuse, like harming another’s sense of self-worth.

Divorce and remarriage can be another big challenge that many families have to face. During a divorce not only does it effect the parents mentally and emotionally but if there are children involved than they are too effected, and usually they are hurt more than the parents. Children of divorced parents are fourty percent more likely to divorce than children of married parents. When we consider children whose parents divorced and then remarried, the likelihood of their own divorce rises. Divorce and remarriage can be stressful on partners and children alike. Divorce is often justified by the notion that children are better off in a divorced family than in a family with parents who do not get along at all. However, long-term studies determine that to be very untrue.

Today’s families face a variety of challenges, specifically to marital stability. While the divorce rates are still decreasing, many family members, mainly children, will still experience the negative effects of a divorce. Children are negatively impacted by violence and abuse within their home with six million children abused each year alone.

In today’s world, the top ten challenges families face are; anti-Christian culture, divorce, business, absent father figure, lack of discipline, financial pressures, lack of communication, negative media influences, balance of work and family and materialism. An absent father figure and lack of discipline may often go hand in hand, but the root cause of this usually begins somewhere else. The same is true for materialism, which is undoubtedly a problem for marriages, but only symptomatic of the deeper issues.

Another big challenge many families are known to face is communication and trust. Two of the biggest leading causes in a relationship and family. A lot of times the spouse and children do not know the full extent of the family wealth and can even be at a big disadvantage initially in making decisions. There are always numbers of unresolved family issues that keep complicating the giving until things are on the table an talked about thoroughly. The assumptions about the children and grandchildren’s are not always correct, and it is always shared that the values make a families foundation work.

Time is another big complication with families. The most frustrating for giving families is the lack of time to commit to the giving process. Good giving is work and takes a whole lot of commitment of time and energy between everyone in the family. Most have not put much thought and do not know what their focus needs to be. Because of this lack of direction and the time to create it many opt it out.

http://thegathering.com/fredsblog/five-challenges-family-philanthropy/
https://providentliving.lds.org/lds-family-services/common-challenges-facing-families?lang=eng

Samantha Stewart
Dr. Thompson
Sociology
19 November 2015

*Future in Medicine

The way we use healthcare and medicine now is going to completely change. With how much things have been changing already with technology, I wouldn’t be surprised if more and more technology starts being introduced in the health care field. The introduction of technology into healthcare is accelerating. With the new technology healthcare systems and facilities is trying to find new ways of raising the money by either selling different products or simply just raising their prices. For example, a consumer technology company such as Facebook, the capital required is generally less than for a heavy R&D endeavor such as a life sciences company. The time to market also differs based on the type of company. A life sciences company has a much longer investment period than a hospital or healthcare facility. For a hospital, the risk capital is much more expensive than growth capital in terms of required returns.

Most of the money that is raised for a healthcare facility either goes to getting new equipment for the facility or remodeling the facility its self. The way a facility can use its money that they have raised are appreciating their staff. The staff are really the heart of the builiding, they keep that place up and running, they allow it to stay a happy atmosphere and for patients or residents to keep coming in. Appreciating staff is a way to broden the future of healthcare reform. Showing appreciation can help a building with the raising of the money.

The future of health care really depends on the money that is coming in to the corperate offices. If they dont have any money then they dont have the new technology that they are needing. With out that they will not have a facility to run. Without a facility or hospital those sick or injuried or elderly people will have no where to go and those healthcare workers that have worked so hard to earn that license will have no job to be able to support them or their families. So, think about healthcare workers before you say anything about their job being to easy.

(No Sources)

World Religions-Christianity and Islam

Laura Schroeder

Egyptian-Muslims-and-Christians-protecting-each-other-during-prayers-in-Egypt-2.png

“Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths.” This quote by renowned boxer, Muhammad Ali encompasses all the different religions while still remembering that they are different. Religion holds the most controversy of almost all other subjects today, but also people seem to find the most happiness in religion. There are five religions today that are considered to be the major religions. They are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Of these five, Christianity and Islam claim the most followers. According to Adherents.com, Christianity has about 2.1 billion followers while Islam has about 1.5 billion followers which makes them larger than any of the other religions.

Christianity is monotheistic, meaning that it recognizes only one God. It was started based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, who was Jewish prior to starting his own church. They believe Jesus was the Messiah, or Savior, come to open the gates of heaven. To Christians, Jesus is the Son of God and all people on Earth are also God's sons and daughters. The life of a devout Christian is spent following God’s teachings to achieve the ultimate reward of Heaven. However, they don't just do good works to get a reward. They want to please God out of love and reverence. If they die with any serious sins, they go to a place of eternal suffering called Hell. Their holy book that gives them most of their information about Jesus’ life and other teachings is the Bible.

Muslims have five pillars, or basic principles, that they keep in mind throughout their life. They include the declaration of faith, daily prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during their lifetime. The declaration of faith is made when the individual person chooses to accept the Muslim doctrines and becomes officially Muslim. They pray five times a day, always facing the Kaaba in Mecca which is where they will one day make a pilgrimage to. They give a portion of their money to the poor, also called a Zakat, which is put into the treasury of Muslim countries and distributed to the poor and needy as seen appropriate. The fasting is done during the month of Ramadan when they do not eat or drink anything during the day. This fasting is for all Muslims to be able to empathize with other Muslims who don't have enough food or water. Their holy book is the Quran which they believe to be only truly correct when untranslated.

Both Muslims and Christians believe in a Heaven and a Hell where they will spend eternity. Also, even though Muslims call their God Allah and Christians don’t, they worship the same God and both strive to get to Heaven. However, Christians believe that God is their Father and all people are God’s sons and daughters but Muslims say that “God is God and cannot be people’s father or anything.” Muslims have a set time for prayer each day while Christians just believe that prayer is very important and that each individual person should pray when they feel is appropriate. Regardless, followers of both religions look to God for guidance and do what they feel God wants. Another similarity is the fasting performed each year. Christians fast during the time of Lent which is the 40 days prior to Easter when they are preparing for Jesus’ death and resurrection remembered on that day. Muslims fast shortly after that during the month of Ramadan. They want to be able to feel for other Muslims who don’t have the means to truly have food and water whenever they want it.

Resources
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_religion.html
http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
http://www.religionfacts.com/islam
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity

Rachel VanGulick
11.19.15

Human Dependency

Human instinct is to follow. We follow our parents, teachers, leaders, friends, coaches, and other family members. We follow social patterns such as trends, fads, and styles. We follow the media and try and make ourselves what it portrays is “normal”. We follow our religions and our traditions. We create our own image by who we follow.

Humans are labeled dependent when we depend on our parents. As babies we are very dependent, as we couldn’t take care of ourselves. But we slowly grow more and more independent the older we get. At a certain age we consider ourselves dependent, choosing our own life, own career, own people to associate with, own place to live. But the truth is, even though it seems like we are independent we still depend on others. We will always be sheep in this society, following each other, and getting the things we need from each other. As adults we depend on our lawyers, bankers, doctors, farmers, mechanics, construction workers, and many more people so that we are able to live.

It is rare to see people, in this day and age, live completely independent of society. There are some who live in the remote areas of the world who do not depend on anyone else to live. But like I said it is rare. Our society is a spider web of dependency. It is scary to think about, but it is also really cool that we can trust each other, and trust each other’s work in their career.

Humans never stop following each other because we depend on each other. By following certain friends, family, religion, or anything else, it provides us protection. Most people can get this protection the good way, some do not. Gang members are an example of followers who need protection, an image, and a living, but fall short of reaching the glorious web of society. But they still have that natural instinct to follow.

The natural instinct to follow can get us into trouble if we aren’t careful with it. It can also bring us a world of peace and joy and comfort. It depends on what types of things we follow. Humans are sheep, and even though some are smarter than others does not mean that we don’t all have the natural instinct to follow and depend on each other.

http://www.nationalrighttolifenews.org/news/2015/04/dependency-is-one-of-the-beautiful-aspects-of-human-life/#.Vk4dpberTIU
http://www.andywhiteanthropology.com/blog/the-dependency-ratio-in-human-evolution

Brooke Woodward
Sociology Wiki Essay
19 November 2015

Are We or Are We Not Sheep?

When it comes to the topic of “are we or are we not sheep”, we can decipher this through several different aspects. Aspects such as the way we both think and act socially. Although humans and sheep are clearly two different species, our social ways of thinking and how we act are found to be very similar. Humans thrive more to conform within a group rather than think on their own. We tend to follow each other rather than be independent.

These behaviors often show in times of disaster. For example, when a building is on fire we typically see everyone following each other in the same direction. Rarely ever do we see an individual go off on their own in times of disaster. It as though our brains instantly go in shock during these times and we must all go together in order to function. Although it’s obvious we need to just quickly get out of the building and it truly does not matter which way we go or if we follow everyone else. Studies show that it takes just five percent of the people in a group to do something for the rest to follow. Proven not only in times of tragedy but even throughout day to day life. An example would be walking along a sidewalk. No one ever tells us which side we need to walk on. Yet when others see one person walking on one side of sidewalk we naturally do the same thing. Is this because we urge to conform to the norm or because we fear of being an individual?

Conformity for humans is one of the most important aspects in one’s life. For conformity is much more simple than thinking as an individual. We all know it is much easier to work in a group simply because there is room for more slack. It is rare for humans to actively want to change and recreate society so that it is responsive to our desires at that point in time. The reason for this lack in drive for change is that change is not always liked. Most humans like to get in a rhythm and have a set schedule rather than making changes even if these changes could be beneficial towards them. All of these aspects from conformity to lack of drive among humans is similar too among sheep. Sheep survive in a herd. Never once will someone see a sheep on its own doing something completely different from all the other sheeps.

They will always be found doing the same thing. Whether it be walking around together, eating and even drinking at the same time. They do these activities together because it’s easy. Less thinking is involved when all they have to do is just watch what the other sheep are doing. Humans and sheep both thrive for conformity, making our lives much easier when we don’t have to be independent. This then leads to the fact that neither one of has the drive to want change within their lives. Even when this change could be beneficial neither will want to do it. Being that change means having to be an individual in order to make these changes. With these similar aspects among humans and sheep it is safe to say that, sociologically, humans are sheep.

Resources:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Humans-Really-Behave-Like-Sheep-in-a-Herd-78913.shtml
http://www.differencebetween.net/science/difference-between-human-and-sheep-brain/

Jetta Smith
11.19.15

Be Who you are

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/05/parents-political-beliefs/361462/
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/02/teen-girls-stop-commonly-getting-married/

Shadows or Sheep

Mandi Cottrell
Dr. Thompson
November 19 2015

Since we were born we have always had someone to rely on. Young kids necessarily need someone to rely on. They simply would not be able to survive without the help of another. Always needing someone to feed them, change them, and just flat out defend them from everything. From the start we are utterly helpless with just about everything.

As we grow our dependence on elders continues on but slightly decreases. Being able to walk, dress ourselves, and feed ourselves starts to give us more independence. Our parents raise us up and teach us to speak and understand more to the point when we’re ready for school. We go through the elementary school years without a care in the world. It’s when we hit the middle school and high school years where things start to change. The rebellious teen years occur here. Being out on your own giving you more independence and a feeling where you know and can control everything. Only to learn you’re wrong.

These rebellious years are when the most socializing occurs. You start to find your place in which you stand amongst everyone else. The only thing you want is to fit in and be thought of highly by everyone. In which teens won’t speak their true minds. They’ll do anything, or even be anything just to be “cool”. The phrase “go with the flow” matches these actions perfectly. At this age no one has the courage to stand up and speak their true feelings. They’re merely just trying keep their reputations up.

As we continue to grow older we still have a great dependence on our parents. Needing money, shelter, and excess help, we still depend on our parents greatly for. When we start to branch out on our own we still have dependence on others for many things. We have to follow more rules from the government and less from our parents.

It takes a lot of courage to stand up to something you believe in when everyone else believes differently. A great percentage of people never really state their different opinion. In this we can ask, “Are we or are we not sheep?”

Most people form their opinions by listening to their parents comments. You are most likely to follow what your parents believe b
based on their beliefs and opinions. Growing up and listening to the way that they view the world almost plants the same thoughts in your head. For example, if your family follows the Kansas City Chiefs, that will be the team you will follow. You’re not going to have a passion for the Denver Broncos.

It depends on what you follow and believe and for what and why. You are what your parents made you to be. It is honestly all about how you were raised. If what you were raised to believe is what you believe, and you stand up for it, then no you are not a sheep. Every single person in this world is different in their own ways. Cultures’ beliefs and customs all vary greatly. Not everyone shares the same beliefs, which will always cause problems throughout the world.

In adulthood independence is at its highest stage. When friends don't matter quite as much and all that matters is your own family. You pass on a mix of both your own beliefs and the beliefs of your parents to your children. In which the cycle starts completely over again. So are we just shadows of our past generation or are we sheep.^^

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_values
[http://www.thefamilyinternational.org/en/about/our-beliefs]

20Creatures/Social%20Creatures%20icon%20thumbnail.jpg

Makaela Hedberg
Dr. Thompson
16 February 2016

Shepherds or Sheep?

Every mammal comes from another mammal or every child comes from two parents. Who will this child grow up to be? Will this child be a boy or a girl, a red-head or blondie, a leader or a follower? Many parents wonder who their child will grow up to be, but, most of the time, as kids grow up they find themselves acting like their parents. From the beginning, we are dependent on these two adults to feed us, cloth us, and provide for our needs. We are around these adults quite a bit from day one up until anywhere from age 18-23. So does this mean we are completely dependent on these two people? Does this mean we are hopeless sheep always looking towards our shepherd?

Many times we find ourselves, even as adults, looking to someone else for leadership. We have ranks that go from the President all the way down to a title as small as your boss. Movements are always led by a set few people. Decisions are always made by, it seems, someone above your rank in the hierarchy.
The first time we find ourselves making our own big life decisions is when we turn 18 and either go off into the work force or go to college. Many times, a person decides where to go to college mostly on their own. A person can also decide what they want to be or not be as far as what job seems interesting. So does this mean that we aren’t sheep because we can decide who and what we want to follow? A person can also end up being the leader of a group or movement or being the CEO of a company. Does this mean that some of us are destined to be sheep and others are destined to be more than that?

Most of the time, we as humans find ourselves trying to fit in and form our opinions by who we spend our time with and where. As we grow up our parents teach us the beginnings of talking, reading, learning, walking, and many other essential skills. Our parents instill in us a beginning that is most likely a beginning they also obtained from their parents. Habits they have formed over the years may run off on their children. When we are young we are taught how to eat. Habits such as eating healthy may be instilled or eating candy and drinking pop may also be an option to your everyday diet. Manners and how children act in public is also instilled in them by their parents. If children begin to mirror their parents, does this mean each generation down is just a flock of sheep to the generation up? If we find ourselves always following the leader, then how can we ever be considered anything other than sheep?

A very age-old question is, “Are you a leader or a follower?” Many can answer the question right away. To the people who answer “leader”, is that really what they are considering their beginning and how they became who they are today? It seems as though every aspect of life around a person is controlled by a higher power or a leader who is chosen to make decisions or us. It is human nature to from groups and be around other humans who can relate to you. It can also be human nature to want to look to someone else to ask questions or to find out what to do next. With all of this considered, I believe humans are shepherds because of the many decisions we make every day that are solely made by each human. I feel as though I make many decisions that many others wouldn’t agree with and also say things many others wouldn’t agree with. Humans are shepherds and that’s why we have the world "rebel".