Category: social problems

Introduction

Juvenile drinking can be defined as underage drinking. It is drinking by young children under age 21. It is known as juvenile drinking since it involves young children who have copied the behaviors of the adults and started drinking. It is also against the law by these young children to start drinking. Many factors are said to have influenced the children drinking and one of the biggest examples is the urban and the rural areas. The problem of underage drinking has continued to plague most of the nation’s young people. This is because most of the young people have not been left behind and have also engaged themselves in drinking habits of which is quite centrally against the law. Most of the countries have enacted the law to ensure that the young can be controlled from drinking. The pervasiveness of juvenile drinking places not only the Americans youth but all over the citizens in many countries especially the developed countries.

This issue has put the youth at a risk due to the consequences which are associated with these drinks. But in order to facilitate a coordinational and also a comprehensiveness enforcement and alcohol prevention, programs have been established by at least every state. A good example for this case is the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention (OJJDP) which is one of the programs which is administering the new combating underage drinking program. Underage drinking is evident in many states and this is according to a report by the office of the national drug control policy which during the year 1996, it reported that approximately 9.5 million drinkers during that year were between the ages 12-21. This report also includes that out of this number, 4.4 million were binge drinkers while 1.9 million were heavy drinkers. So, you can imagine how young children have abused themselves with these drinks. (Susan, 2001).

Contrasting juvenile drinking in New York and Venice Florida

One of the major contrasting factors in juvenile drinking in both the New York and Venice Florida is the cost of these drinks. You find that children in the small cities will be forced to drink so much because most of the drinks at the small cities are usually cheap as when compared to the price of drinks at the big cities. As a result, you find that the prices for the drinks at the small city will be sold at a cheaper price hence encouraging these children to drink.

A good example with this is drinking by the school children. You find that most of the students in the small towns don’t usually have a lot of money since most of them are from the poor families and hence it’s due to the cheapness of these drinks that most of the students will snick out of school and go drink. Also at the small towns, you find that there are local brewers for these drinks. These drinks are usually sold at a cheap price at the small towns. As a result, you will find that the children at the small town since they don’t have any source of income will be forced to buy the cheap drinks. At the end of the day, you will find that they have become addicts of these drinking hence the increasing rate of juvenile drinking at the small town. (Susan, 2001).

Another contrasting factor in this case is the different ways of life which is different in New York and Venice Florida. In New York, you find that it’s a big city which is already developed as when compared with the Venice Florida town. As a result, you will find that drinking in New York will be high as when compared to juvenile drinking in Venice Florida. This is because most of the children at that place come from the rich families. This is because of the economy of New York. You find that New York is one of the industrialized cities in the United States hence many people at this place are very rich as when compared to those at the Venice Florida. Also you find that most of the young people in New York belong to the rich tycoons. As a result, most of them due to their bad ways of living since most of them are usually given a lot of money by their parents will engage in juvenile drinking and other engage in criminal activities. It is out of these criminal activities that the young will be forced to engage in drinking. So, it is due to the economic stability in New York that most of the underage drinking can be found.

It is also argued that most of the recreational facilities are the well known places for these young children to drink. This is because the recreational places are usually established so that people can make use of them during their free times. So, in this case, you find that recreational places in the big cities say in New York are highly developed and many as when compared to the recreational places which are found at Venice Florida. So, you find that most of the youth say from ages 12-21 usually spent their free times here especially during weekends when they are not attending classes. So, it is in these places whereby the young meet with their friends and start drinking. This is because this is a public place and none could question them. Example of these recreational places includes clubs, hotel beaches among others. So, you find that these children usually carry the portable drinks and use them in these places. So, when compared to the Venice Florida, you will find that recreational facilities in New York have led to the heavy drinking by the youth of which some of these facilities are not found in the small towns like Venice Florida. (Susan, 2001).

Another contributing factor in this case is the many institutes of higher education which are found in New York. You find that in New York, there are so many institutes of higher education so you find that most of the students are forced to go and learn here. It is out these institutes that the students in this case will be forced to drink. This is because they usually copy the behaviors from the rest of the students. So you will find that due to the many students in this case, they usually spent most of their times drinking. Unlike in Venice Florida whereby there are few institutes since most of the students usually seek for good education in the well developed cities like New York. So when you compare drinking in new York and the Venice Florida, you will find that juvenile drinking will be more in new York than in Venice Florida and the difference is found in the number of schools and the institutes which are found in the two cities. (Bu Huang, 2001).

New York is also seen to have the highest percentage of students from the urban disadvantaged areas like Venice Florida. So, you find that most of the students from the disadvantaged areas usually go to New York so tat they can get good education. This is because New York has professional schools so these students are forced to go there to learn. It is in these schools that these students will be involved in drinking. This is out of the social influence they get from the rich students. They are then forced to copy these behaviors hence leading to juvenile drinking. (Bu Huang, 2001).

Another difference with drinking in New York and Venice Florida is the cultural norms and believes which are found between these people. You find that in the big cities, many people usually meet there from different backgrounds and there is no known culture which is supposed to bind these people together. For example in New York, you find that it is an industrialized city and hence many people meet there from the different backgrounds and cultures. As a result, you will find that there are no norms and values which dictate the behaviors of these people hence leading to juvenile drinking.

In comparison, you find that in the small cities say in the Venice Florida, it is a small city which is found at the rural areas. So, here you find that mostly is based by a single society and hence there are norms and values which are supposed to bide these people together. So, you find that due to the fear of becoming a deviant in that society, you tend to find that most of the young people don’t engage in drinking. They also have a strong culture whereby most of the families are living at the extended families and these children usually get counseling from a variety of people unlike in the big urban cities. It is out of this that most of the young are not associated with drinking as when compared to the young children in new York since this is a big city whereby people from all communities usually meet. (Bu Huang, 2001).

Comparison

In both New York City and Venice Florida, there are set programs which are supposed to prevent these children from drinking. A good example in this case is the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention (OJJDP) which is one of the programs which is administering the new combating underage drinking program. It is in this program that laws have been enforced by the state to ensure that underage drinking has been prohibited and also there are laws to ensure that there is no sale of these drinks to the young. So in both these cities, you find that there are laws to ensure that the young children have been prohibited from drinking and if one is got drinking, there are laws which are supposed to be followed on this person. (Highson, 1996).

Another comparison in juvenile drinking in both cities is the urban influence. You find that most of the young are usually carried away by the urban way of life. So, in this case, you find that if one was from the rural areas, this person will likely fall a victim of juvenile drinking since most of the young in the urban areas are well known for drinking. So, it is out of these behaviors that most of the young will fall victims of juvenile drinking since they will be influenced by the children from the rich families.

Another similarity with juvenile drinking in both New York and Venice Florida is that the children here lack parental guidance and counseling. This is because most of the parents for these children don’t usually have enough times to stay with their children and advice them on the best way to go. It is out of this that you will find that these children from the two cities will be lacking the correct way of live since you find that most of the children never even see their parents. So, these children will then become juvenile drinkers since they usually find that they are doing the correct thing. (Highson, 1996).

Another similarity in the two cities is the freedom these children usually have. You find that these children in these cities are usually idle. They are idle most of the times since they live most of their lives in the urban places. So, you find that these children are likely to result to juvenile drinking since they are usually free as when compared to the children at the rural areas whereby they have to go farming and other areas. So, since their lives are usually urbanized, they have to spend their free time in drinking. (Bu Huang, 2001).

Conclusion

Juvenile drinking is one of the rising issues in most of the states. This is because the young children have abused themselves so much out of drinking. It is against the law for the young children to start drinking. It is due to this that many programs have been established to ensure that the young have been prevented from drinking. This is because there are a largest percentage of children who are started drinking as young as 12 years old. It is the same children who shall later become criminals and we expect these children to become the next leaders tomorrow. So, if not controlled early in advance, then you will find that there are an increased number of young children who will have engaged themselves in to juvenile drinking. It is the high time that nations organize themselves and try to curb this behavior.

Reference

Highson, R. (1996): Prevention of drinking. Alcohol health and research world 20.

Susan, E. (2001): Alcohol, youth and the justice system: Underage drinking. Handbook of youth and justice, pp 159-189.

Bu Huang, H. (2001): Developmental Associations between alcohol and interpersonal aggregation during adolescence. Journal of research in crime and delinquency.

Mankind has experienced problems of varying magnitudes over a long period of time now. These problems have been viewed to originate or to be caused by various factors. A number of sociological theorists have attempted to provide explanations concerning the occurrence of the realities faced by human beings.

Examples of sociological theories of knowledge focusing on the development of social phenomena include social constructivism and social constructionism (Loseke, 2003). Although the two theories consider how the social problems develop, they are unique in that social constructivism is considered individual or psychological while social constructionism centers on describing phenomena as social constructs.

The paper seeks to describe the term “social problems are constructs” in relation to the social constructionism theory. It will also use President Obama’s State of the Union speech to describe the ways he proposed concerning the solution of problems facing the people of the United States.

Social constructionism as a theory refers to the description of social phenomena in terms of the associated social context. The proponents argue that most common knowledge is developed through social interactions and hence the understanding of reality is perceived as being mutual within specific social contexts (Loseke, 2003).

The term “social problems are constructs,” therefore, implies that most social challenges have a direct relationship with the context in which they occur (Lefcourt, 1993). They are generated or shaped by the people within the given setting. Since the mid twentieth century, constructionism has spread across the states of America following the publication of several books and articles on this theory.

Apart from explaining the ordinary reality, the theory also seeks to explain extraordinary conditions that may occur. In the United States, for instance, such morally shocking events like the terrorist attacks, and the Columbine High School massacre have been explained from the constructionist perspective (Loseke, & Best, 2003). There are levels in which social problems can be categorized as constructs.

In describing social problems, constructionists attempt to respond to the audience’s concerns. These include the explanation of what the condition is and providing facts as well as giving meaning to the mentioned facts.

When it comes to the provision of facts, the constructionist has to state what the condition is, the consequences of the condition and the number of victims in the given phenomenon. Additionally, the meanings to the facts need to be provided by constructing a social frame with a number of components.

First, the diagnostic frame provides the meaning of the condition at hand which includes both the type and the cause of the problem. Secondly, the motivational frame supplies the reasons why the condition is of great concern to the people and hence requiring immediate response. The third, which is the prognostic frame, constructs the remedial steps of handling the condition by outlining the actual actions to be taken (Loseke, 2003).

When a number of speeches made by great and eloquent men and women are analyzed, especially in the United States, most if not all contain the components outlined under the constructionist theory. The American constitution for instance, dictates that the President should from time to time deliver a speech to the Congress in which the progress of the nation is described. The address, for several years now, has been popularly known as The President’s State of the Union Address. The paper will analyze the speech delivered by President Barack Obama on the 27^th day of January, 2010.

In his speech, the President identified several problems and conditions facing the American people. He successfully employed the three steps discussed under the constructionist theory. Besides pointing out the challenges, he proposed very clear actions that he deemed necessary in addressing the mentioned social problems.

President Obama identified the general conditions under which all the people of America have been subjected to in the past. He pointed out that the United States has been able to withstand the test of time despite the major differences that have existed among its people.

With an aim of describing the situation more vividly, the President focused on the conditions within his tenure in office, which is a period of one year. Just as proposed by constructionists, he started by stating the facts.

He said that when he took over power, there were two major concerns for America; an economic crisis resulting from the harsh recession period which almost led to the collapse of the national financial systems and then the highly indebted government. He notes that had it not been for the quick and insistent response his government gave to the situation, the entire nation would have been plunged into another historic depression.

Furthermore, he states that in spite of the great triumph witnessed in addressing the two problems, the number of Americans who still face various problems is still significant. The major difficulties mentioned included lack of employment, closure of several businesses, decline in home values, and continued severe poverty for those who were already in it.

Insufficient income for the families, as the President identified, has been additional consequences of recession. In trying to emphasize his understanding of the condition at hand, the President cites first hand experience as well as the fact that the situation was a major motivator for his vying for the highest office.

He outlined partisanship, politicking, and the seeming disregard of hard work by those in power as some of the main reasons why the nation is caught up in the condition it is in today. President Obama clarified the fact that it is the unity among the Democrats and Republicans that will play a central role in alleviating the problems facing American people.

Here, the president implied that social problems are constructs. The President emphasized that he is very much concerned with solving the problems especially for the sake of children and future generations.

The speech went ahead to elaborate the details of specific problems. Firstly, the President singled out the economy of the United States as being one of the major challenges to be addressed. He said that ensuring economic stability was the major task when he took office a year ago.

Banks were identified as being the cause of economic crisis that rocked the country yet they were the ones that had to be revived through bank bailout. If the crisis had been allowed to persist, according to the president, then unemployment would have been on the rise, more families destabilized, and a number of businesses terminated. This demonstrated how urgent the condition had to be dealt with.

Embracing the idea of rescue program, Obama’s administration made it more transparent and more accountable. The president reported that the progress has been promising since most markets have regained their status as well as the recovery of most of the funds used for the program.

Relying on this positive trend, the President proposed the imposition of a fee on the dominant banks in order to ensure the recovery of the remaining taxpayers’ money. This idea of mutual relationship between taxpayers and big banks was notably embraced by the members of the Congress.

The urge to stabilize America’s financial system was considered a key step towards ensuring the continuing growth of economy, and to create and save jobs. Furthermore, millions of unemployed Americans received increased benefits, significantly reduced health insurance cost for most families getting their coverage through COBRA, and the cutting down of taxes. This was clearly crafted in the Recovery Act, also referred to as the stimulus bill.

The President, however, noted that recovery success has not been universally felt, especially by the yet to be employed Americans. In response to this issue, he proposed the creation of more job opportunities in the following year, 2010. The introduction of a new jobs bill to address the problem was proposed by the president.

The bill would be instrumental in creating conducive conditions for increasing American businesses that in turn result in more job opportunities. However, the president identified another problem when it comes to the running of small businesses. Financing such businesses has not been easy since the bigger banks have developed a habit of lending only to big businesses.

To address this condition, President Obama proposed the use of $30 billion of the recovered money from Wall Street to assist community banks so that they can be able to lend to small businesses. Besides, new tax credit for small businesses and tax incentives for bigger companies were also proposed by the president. A number of other convincing measures were proposed to address both the short term and long term problems of the United States of America.

Secondly, difficulty in accessing health insurance especially by some families was identified by the president. He emphasized that he did not take on health care during his campaigns because of political reasons but because of the concern he had for the uncovered Americans.

The president said that many successive administrations have attempted with minimal success to secure the lives of Americans. According to the president, lack of proper insurance cover affects most families and small businesses.

President Obama has continually agitated for the enforcement of the health insurance reform which will ensure the protection of all Americans from the most awful practices of the coverage-issuing industries. The reform will give uninsured Americans and small businesses an opportunity to select an affordable health care plan that will include preventive care in the highly capitalistic society.

This move will result in the reduction of premiums and costs for several American families and small businesses. In fact, the reform approach, according to the speech, will ensure the reduction of future deficit.

With this motivation, the president urged the Congress to ratify the health insurance reform for the sake of the American people especially at the stage it has reached. President Obama went ahead to point out other problems facing the United Sates of America that need to be addressed accordingly if the nation is to retain its global first place.

The paper has explained the term “social problems are constructs” from a constructionist theory point of view. It has emphasized that most social problems are caused by men and the context at hand.

This work has also elaborated the key steps used in describing problems and ways of solving them. Furthermore, the paper has used President Obama’s State of the Union Address to bring out the problems identified by the president and the corresponding solutions as proposed by Mr. Obama.

According to the president’s arguments, the state of the nation can be determined by the people themselves rather than other natural and uncontrollable forces. We can therefore conclude that the president’s speech contained all the components of the social constructionist theory as discussed above.

References

Lefcourt, H. M. (1993). Research on Social Constructs: Development of social problems. Academic Press.

Loseke, D. R. (2003). Thinking about social problems: A constructionist perspective (2^nded.). Aldine Transaction, New York.

Loseke, D. R. & Best, J. (2003). Understanding social problems: Readings on constructionist. Aldine Transaction.

The White House, (2010). Obama’s State of the Union Address. The New York Times. Web.

Unemployment

Contextualizing Responses

Pioneer Advocate Society intends to illustrate impacts of unemployment in American society. The institute has a responsibility of presenting its finding and possible interventions for corrective measures toward solution to social problem in the society. This proposal is based on responses from two hundred New York citizens who are employed or jobless.

Problem Formulation

According to Engel & Schutt (2005), sudden population increase causes social problems such as unemployment, hunger, and low economic growth (2005). Indeed, unemployment is a situation whereby people are not able to get satisfactory jobs. In the past, unemployment was presumed to be intentional. Hence, redundancy was reprimanded by rules and regulations. However, currently, unemployment has been triggered by issues beyond people’s capability to endure.

Dolch & Peck assert that unemployment arise because of seasonal discharge (Dolch and Peck, 2001). For instance, agricultural occupation and technological revolution in industry improves computerization but triggers racial intolerance and economic inflation. Besides, unemployment is frequently used to explain situation of people who perform job on part-time basis since full-time occupations are inadequate and hardly available.

In developing countries, unemployment is frequently brought by city migration that exceeds industrial growth required to provide work for these migrants. Thus, unemployment is mainly the consequence of economic decline and recession (Engel & Schutt, 2005). The results of job loss are social.

Often, transgression rate increases when individuals are incapable of acquiring their needs due to unemployment. Moreover, divorce rates rises because individuals are unable to resolve their financial crises. In addition, homelessness situation has increased besides physical and psychological illnesses. Some homes are deserted and friendships compromised. Consequently, competence of the government to offer support to citizens deteriorate.

Unemployment has tremendous impacts tax since individuals disburse smaller amount of money in income taxes. This reduces disposable income per household. Consequently, purchasing power is likely to drop. Dolch & Peck asserts that unemployment negatively affect government commitments in provision of public services to citizens (2001).

For example, unemployment affects police commitments towards reinforcing law and order, security, municipal programs, and garbage collection services. Furthermore, unemployment is a detrimental issue to every person in a society. For instance, individuals who are working undergo great challenges due to effects unemployment as dependency level increases.

There are significant theoretical discussions concerning the cause, effects, and resolution of unemployment. For instance, classical economists viewed that market systems are dependable means that may be used to eradicate unemployment cases. Indeed, the theory opposes intervention enforced on labor market structures such as taxes, unionization, minimum wage, and other regulations. These have discouraged employment rate for workers (Caputo, 2007).

Furthermore, classical economists perceive unemployment as a result of excess supply that is influenced due to elevated price level of work labor. According to Engel and Schutt, demand and supply, political, and social factors influence wages negatively. As a result, supply would exceed demand (Engel & Schutt, 2005).

Excessive supply leads to joblessness. Moreover, classical economists argue that economy would change to attain equilibrium net for employees, when it operates on its own naturally without human modification. Such kind of economy meets demand for employment rate. Classical economists also believe that unemployment occur when labor wages are adjusted higher than market payment level.

For instance, Wage congress and Trade Unions are organizations that have contributed to unemployment because they set high minimum wages that market demands cannot accommodate (Caputo, 2007). Classical unemployment also occurs due to establishment of minimum wage for workers that cause high wage beyond market payment level, hence causing excessive labor supply.

Developing Research Questions

State a theory that justifies causes of unemployment?

Actually, there are many theories that justify possible causes of unemployment. Theory of classical economists attempt to explain causes of unemployment. Independent variable is the object(s) that a person actively adjusts, while dependent variable is object(s) that modifies as an effect.

For example, wages of workers relies on the time used to perform a particular work. Time is therefore an independent variable which fluctuates according to work performance of workers. In fact, wages are derived directly from the overall time used. Indeed, wages are reliant (dependent) on duration used in working. Unemployment is actually influenced by dependent and independent variables in human activities.

Measurement

• Nominal variable: How many numbers of sex-gender subjects were randomly selected in the sampling method? Gender is nominal variable.
• Ordinal variable: how many jobless people were subject sample of the selected population? Jobless people are ordinal variable; they can be orderly arranged.
• Ratio variable: suppose three workers earn income of: $10,000, $15,000 and $20, 000. Hence the ratio variable is $5,000.

Sampling

Engel & Schutt asserts that probability sampling is a technique whereby the models are collected in a process which allows all the people in the gathered population to have equal opportunity to be selected (2005). A researcher would only attain equal chance to choose people in the sample through randomization. Indeed, the advantage of using a probability sampling technique is that it minimizes chances of sampling bias.

When selection is carried out appropriately, the sample is consequently a reflective of the total population. On the other hand, Non-probability sampling refers to a method where the sample collected in process that does not provide all people in the population equal possibility to be selected.

Simple random sampling is a popular technique used in sampling. Actually, each individual of population has equal opportunity to be chosen. Moreover, there are several methods that are used when conducting simple random sampling. The method is simple; for example lottery technique (Engel & Schutt, 2005).

ccording to this method, every individual of population is given a distinctive number. Every number is positioned in a designated place and thoroughly assorted. A researcher who closed his eyes then picked any numbered sample from the region. The sample picked by the researcher would represent the subject of the examination.

Designing Intervention Study

Experimental Study Design is the best method to adopt since it inquires to establish whether an intervention had the proposed reasoned-impact on planned participants. “Three important components in the Experimental Study Design are: a treatment and control group; pre-post design; a random assignment of study participants” (Engel & Schutt, 2005).

Question of Ethics

National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is a benevolent association formed to improve the well-being of people, families and societies through the development of social effort.

According to Engel & Schutt, the aim of the institute is to build up social work strategy and practical matters, provide rapid support to social problems, sustain research programs to offer relevant resolutions to social crises in communities, hold up growth through promotion of education to tackle crucial life matters, and advance suitable relevance of new technology for performance of social work (2005).

References

Caputo, R. (2007). Social Theory & its Relation to Social Problems: an Essay about Theory and Research with Social Justice in Mind. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 34, 11-14.

Dolch, N., & Peck, D. (2001). Extraordinary Behavior: a Case Study Approach to Understanding Social Problems. London: Praeger.

Engel, R., & Schutt, R. (2005). The Practice of Research in Social Work. California: Sage Publications, Inc.

Introduction

The term alienation in its broader sense means separating or disassociating a person from his attachments in unfriendly manner. In social perspective, it means eliminating the harmony that a person has with his social being. Alienation according to Karl Marx’s theory means separating the man from his social or human nature brought about by the capitalist nature of labor (Wood. 1987). It is a more political as well as economic and social approach that describes the challenges of man in losing control of his life through capitalism. On religious perspective, Karl Marx describes alienation as God’s seizure of human life such that man has no control of himself, yet man seeks to find happiness from religion which is just illusionary and incapable of solving human suffering.

Discussion

Contemporary sociologists have expressed alienation as the loss of control in life of the individual, making him becomes powerless, socially isolated and self estranged. In labor context, the person losses control of his work, see his work as meaningless and he fails to understand himself well as a worker. This means that the social aspect of the human nature is violated making an individual view his work as meaningless.

Marx’s theory of alienation tends to express division of labor as problem that usurps man control of his human nature. Under this division of labor, Marx notes exploitation of man by the capitalists and identifies four elements that encompass economic alienation namely; alienation of man from product of his labor, alienation of man from production, alienation of man from the species human, and alienation of man from other men (wood, 1987).

In alienation of man from product of his labor, the case of objectification comes in with the objects being produced by man being taken away from him by the capitalist, sold and the benefit goes to the capitalist. Thus man has no control on what he produces or application of his labor, which is viewed as a commodity. Alienation of man from production process means that man denounces himself and immerses his whole self into production activity with no fulfillment of his human creativity. In other words, man just works to eke a living and he only feels being himself when not working.

The alienation of man from species-being according to wood (1987), is the basis of all other forms of alienation as production of objects/commodities through a production process and in association with other human being proves the man’s human potential. Deprivation of this species-being leaves man working in a robotic form as the only way he can be viewed important by the capitalist and his human nature is ignored. Alienation from other men means that the relationship of man with other social beings is only related to the work but social human part of it is taken away by the capitalist.

Conclusion

The solution to this problem according to Karl Marx is communism. He suggests removal of the private property ownership and stresses the creation of universal freedom. in this communism, social planning should be enforced whereby all individuals have jointly participate in planning and decision making about production and distribution of products with a more community oriented perspective. He argues that communism brings about humanism, and negation of private property ensures human emancipation and rehabilitation leading to a human society (Lowy, 2003). However, on religion alienation, Karl Marx calls for atheism as a humanism solution that allows man to have more control of his life.

References

Lowy, M. (2003). The theory of revolution in the young Marx. Bolton: Brill.

Wood, J. C. (1987). Karl Marx’s economics: critical assessments. New York: Routledge.

Section I

Institutional power refers to all those social, cultural or environmental milieu under the influence of which we are liable to perform our day to day activities. For example, Hughes and Ferguson (2004, p. 8) points out examples including upbringing of children in a particular culture, work place management in a large organization, exercise of judicial power in court, and so on. Contemporary trends in institutional power leads us to anonymous directions where institutional power is experienced without even knowing who owns the authority to rule such power. Such power may be witnessed by considering an example of a closed-circuit camera.

Closed-circuit camera is less directed towards us and more directed towards our acts. It indirectly captures our deeds and performances and is more than being impersonal mode of receiving our actions even in a public place (Hughes and Ferguson 2004, pp. 8-9). It is an indirect example of how our behavior is being monitored irrespective of our contention and how it scrutinizes our attitude.

Provocation is the freedom to govern our lives in accordance with our likes and dislikes. Foucault has referred this provocation to a paradox with which we unconsciously rule our lives but in a particular contradiction. We are not governed by any structure of power, in fact we are only subjected to have multiple choices that rule our lives. Such choices indirectly lead us to be influenced by situations and directions.

Provocative power acts as a source to lead people’s lives but in an unconscious manner. People have no options other than to choose from among multiple choices and it is their selection of a particular choice whose consequences or aftermaths they experience. We are never free-floating bodies, but are bounded by the actions we take and the consequences we suffer. That means we are never free, but are bound to make choices to experience and celebrate our victories or failures.

Political ideologies are those individual understandings about our social structures and institutions that when combined together in our ideologies take the form of powerful perceptions about institutions (Hughes and Ferguson 2004, p. 59). It is our vision of power that makes our institutions powerful, otherwise no political ideology possess its own identity. It is us who shapes them, transforms into powerful institutions and associate social values to them.

Power is what we acknowledge and political ideologies is the acknowledgement of our power. Political ideologies concern about travailing power, power that when appears on a conscious level bounds us to act in a social milieu. This power when reacts within our inner subconscious, acts like a closed circuit camera that monitors and records our each and every action. Similarly political ideologies govern our conscious power to be influenced by social values and judgments. While taking an example of ‘conservative’ political ideology, it is clear that the way we respect and acknowledge this conservatism provides capability to our conscious to grasp this conservatism to influence us to the extent that it seems that conservativeness rules us.

Section II

New divisions in the domestic living family arrangements are no doubt a result of the diversified values, values that have changed over the period of time. This is evident from the fact that the way domestic families used to survive once under a single roof is getting vague. Except for the Arab families traditions have changed. Arabs despite having a large number of family members, manage to live under one shelter.

Arab families are immensely bounded by each other through strong social ties, and this is evident from the fact that Arab male members unlike other cultures, are more dominant in nature. Arab families are portrayed by one male dominant man under the authority of which are other female members, who are only meant to raise their children. This unit which Arab comprises of what we call as family are comfortable in living under one roof while at the same time managing their personal and interpersonal relationships.

As a point of comparison, Arab societies are inverse of the Western societies in many ways. In UK, it is hard to support a family, despite the fact that both husband and wife works in order to raise their children until they are adults, whereas in Arab societies men keep the entire family in which women are not supposed to work. Arab women do not have to work in order to keep their living standard high. Since it is the sole responsibility of the men to provide their women with every thing, there are no rivalries among the relationships. All are comfortable as soon as they are provided with necessities or even luxuries of life. This also indicates another dimension of their economical strength. Inequalities in Arab family exists as long as divisions between men and women are witnessed inside and outside their home.

Initial Marxist and liberalist groups criticise social democracy as ‘political’ ideology so as to introduce socialism and democracy in undemocratic countries. They perceived while being the majority of socialists at that time, that there is a need to change the system.

Though they did not reject Marxism but wanted to reform it in ways that molds capitalism. They hold the opinion that socialism must be acquired through development of a welfare state and not through an overnight revolution. If we discuss the Marxist critics in context with Arab families, we see that there are continuous risks and uncertainties of envies and rivalries because of profound differences in family’s abilities according to their wealth, status and individual freedom and since Arab families survive under one roof, the risk of such threats increases (Hughes & Fergusson 2004, p. 61).

Democracy can never be introduced under capitalist economies, and since Arab countries lack democracy, it would be wrong to say that the region is not divided into classes. Social idealism unlike economic oppression is the ultimate source of all subjugation, the imminent elimination of the former eliminates the need for an extended analysis of the latter. And to those who view economic liberation as liberation, traditional questions about the social class like Arabs concerns about the specifically political expression of human freedom as more or less irrelevant.

Critics claim that Marxists when speculating on the perfect social order, conflicts with the rhetoric about the people controlling their own destiny or the self-government of the producers. Therefore, in order to set out what Marxists would put in place of so called social democracy, we are necessarily obliged to impose system and order on criticising remarks not on the basis of revolution but evolution.

Critics suggest that Marxism and liberalism have failed to produce a coherent and convincing theory of democracy, because it is not been enforced for the reason that Marx made it clear by himself that it can be hoped for some societies of participatory democracy. If politicians and bureaucrats are to convince upon this notion, it would only serve as a hope to settle his preference for a centrally regulated economy.

Later Marxist groups while acknowledging the impossibility of reconciling the inconvincable theory, chose to rediscover the liberal political system from a new dimension, whose structure appeared compatible with the realities of socialist production. What we assess from Marxist social thoughts is that societies can learn self-control and authority even if the function of every social institution remains irrational, so the best approach is to avoid significant change until the effects are completely understood.

Reference

Hughes Gordon & Fergusson Ross., 2004. Ordering lives: family, work and welfare. 2^nd ed, Routledge: Open University Press.

Discrimination is not a recent concept but rather an inherent aspect of human history. Discrimination is a violation of fundamental human rights, and this has influenced the development of policies and frameworks designed to protect the interests of the minority. Regardless of such developments, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how discrimination is deeply rooted in culture (Devakumar et al., 2020). This paper is a reflection of the complex social problem that has been emphasized by the COVID-19 pandemic and how the knowledge acquired throughout the term has impacted my perception of social identities, communities, and potential solutions to the problem.

The increase in prejudice against immigrants and people of color across the globe influenced the selection of discrimination as the issue for discussion. The pandemic evoked fear and despair due to the high mortality rates reported across different nations and the lack of a vaccine. People adopted practices such as self-isolation and social distancing to protect themselves from the pandemic; however, this became the basis for discriminatory action against people from the Asian region (Addo, 2020). Since the pandemic emerged from Asia, misconceptions have developed and encouraged prejudice. According to Marshall (2020), discrimination against people of color has had adverse effects on their health during the pandemic.

Reports on physical and psychological abuse of immigrants and people of color have changed my perspective on discrimination. I now understand that discrimination is not about race or color but misinformation that creates social beliefs and norms which justify the differential treatment of minority groups in society. Before taking the course, I believed that discrimination was a factor of race and economic status. My questions then were, why can’t we have laws and penalties for those found guilty of discriminating against others? Why can’t we educate people to eradicate this social norm? The knowledge action made me realize the multi-dimensional nature of discrimination, and now my questions are, do we even know every basis for discrimination? Can laws and policies on human rights adequately address discrimination?

My identity and social community influenced how I perceive discrimination. I believed that social bias was overrated since it was a means for people with better socio-economic backgrounds to emphasize differences in society. For instance, unlike the poor, the rich can buy comfort and respect. The different cultural practices and beliefs influence how we deal with unfamiliar experiences and the resulting social groups. According to Khatatbeh (2020), restrictive measures employed to curb the pandemic have become an excuse for discriminatory actions. Therefore, addressing such a challenge might be impossible since discrimination is inevitable as it is rooted within our cultural practices.

After the class, I intend to take part in actions designed to address discrimination. Knowledge of the social and psychological effects of discrimination has made me realize the need to eliminate this spiteful norm. According to Wu et al. (2020), prejudice is associated with psychological disorders such as depression, stress, and anxiety. I have gained adequate knowledge throughout the course to help me decipher social issues such as prejudice. For instance, I learned about the multiple identities within communities and how they influence social clusters and differential treatment. Additionally, I have learned that social systems define power dynamics, politics, and even the control of injustices and oppression against minority members of society.

Discrimination is a complex social problem that has been the center of debates for ages. This course has helped me recognize the relationship between identity and discrimination and how new challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the multi-dimensional nature of this problem. Discrimination is not an issue about race, economic status, or gender; it is about identity, which encompasses multiple factors. I intend to use the knowledge acquired throughout the term to create positive change and eliminate discrimination.

References

Addo, I. Y. (2020). Double pandemic: Racial discrimination amid coronavirus disease 2019. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 2(1), 1-4. Web.

Devakumar, D., Shannon, G., Bhopal, S. S., & Abubakar, I. (2020). Racism and discrimination in COVID-19 responses. The Lancet, 395, 1194. Web.

Khatatbeh, M. (2020). Efficacy of nationwide curfew to encounter spread of COVID-19: A case from Jordan. Frontiers in Public Health, 8, 394. Web.

Marshall, W. (2020). Why is COVID-19 more severely affecting people of color? Mayo Clinic. Web.

Wu, C., Qian, Y., & Wilkes, R. (2020). Anti-Asian discrimination and the Asian-white mental health gap during COVID-19. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1-17. Web.

Racebending

The current socio-political landscape greatly concerns issues of ethnicity and race. One of the problems that have come to light because of it is a problem of racebending or racial masquerade in the media and entertainment industry. These terms refer to such manifestations of institutional racism as whitewashing, blackwashing, and xenoface (Russel 267). Whitewashing is defined as casting white actors to play roles of black or ethnic people, and blackwashing is defined as the opposite: casting people of color to play traditionally white roles. Xenoface is the practice of casting people of color in parts of alien or robotic life forms which requires concealing their natural features. Given that the entertainment industry significantly influences today’s society and reflects its movement, research in this area is essential.

Research Design

In order to thoroughly and earnestly investigate this issue, the research would be designed using methods of both quantitative and qualitative nature. Before determining the methods, several steps would have to be taken. First would be defining the aim of the work, which would be to investigate specifics of racebending in the current society. The research design would be descriptive since it will underline characteristics, trends, and averages. The data collection methods would include the employment of secondary data, such as databases of surveys and other studies. It would also include the literature review, a method that is both qualitative and quantitative. This method enables the evaluation of trends within a certain topic.

Conclusion

In conclusion, racebending represents a social issue that stems from institutional racism. It is highly prominent in the entertainment industry, which influences the world and its people. Several methods need to be employed to investigate this phenomenon and its impacts on society. These methods include secondary surveys and literature reviews, which allow us to discover and comprehend trends and characteristics within the subject matter.

Work Cited

Russell, John G. “Trading Races: Albescence, Staining, Xenoface, and Other Race‐Switching Practices in American Popular Culture.” The Journal of American Culture, vol. 41, no. 3, 2018, pp. 267–278.

“Food insecurity” is the uncertainty that a person could buy food in the near future (Galer-Unti, 2019).

Factors that perpetuated the problem are:

• the income gap,
• race discrimination,
• poverty in rural areas
• the COVID outbreak

Income Gap

Income inequality: the country’s wealthy and multinationals obtain the benefits of economic growth.

The largest share of revenue in all economic segments (except for the 1% of wealthy citizens): labor income.

Other factors are:

• the high cost of nutritious food
• the low financial sufficiency
• the most inexpensive healthy diet costs five times more than eating fast-food (Galer-Unti, 2019)

The most expensive food groups:

• dairy products
• fruits and vegetables
• high protein foods

Race

In 2016, in three thousand counties, African Americans made up the majority of the population.

96% of these territories had a high level of food insecurity and poverty (Galer-Unti, 2019).

In 2020, the food shortage crisis reached

• 36% of African American households
• 32% of Hispanic households (Feeding America, 2020)

Location

The highest rates of food insecurity

• Mississippi 33.5%
• Alabama 27%

Food deserts: residents live more than one mile (urban areas) or ten miles (rural regions) from a grocery store.

20% of the population of Dallas and Tarrant.

Covid Outcomes

Before coronavirus outbreak

35 million Americans (11 million children) experienced food security problems (Trends in U.S. food security, 2020).

In 2020

numbers reached 54 million (18 million children).

Unemployment rates : 2.4% rise in poverty (Schanzenbach & Pitts, 2020)20 million people without a job Many U.S. states such as California, Nevada, Maryland, Pennsylvania imposed restrictions to restrain the pandemic’s wave.

Solutions: History

Types of poverty alleviation measures:

• “Community action” programs run by local authorities
• Special assistance programs for rural areas and small businesses
• Soft loans to farmers and agricultural workers (Galer-Unti, 2019).
• The 1960s – the War on Poverty
• 36.4 million poor people (20% of the country’s population) in 1964.

Community action programs (CAPs) aimed to increase the effectiveness and better coordination of various programs to help the poor (Galer-Unti, 2019)

The term “food insecurity” came into widespread use after the 2008 economic crisis.

Actual Solutions

Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT)

Federal food assistance programs: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

4.2 billion free meals in 2020 (up 50% from last year) (Feeding America, 2020)

Solutions:

• Healthy products price lowering
• Reducing expenses at the stages of production, storage, transportation, distribution, and marketing of food products
• Additional measures:
• local small-scale farmers support
• Food advertising
• promotion of healthy lifestyles

Conclusion

There is no significant increase in the population’s well-being.

Racial discrimination, income gap, outcomes of the economic crisis of 2008, COVID-19 outbreak has a considerable impact on the problem.

The methods for resolving the situation should be comprehensive and affect economic, political, and socio-cultural aspects.

References

Feeding America. (2020). The Impact of the Coronavirus on Food Insecurity in 2020. Web.

Food Security Status of U.S. Households in 2019. (2020). United States Department of Agriculture. Web.

Galer-Unti, R. (2019). Hunger and food assistance policy in the United States. Routledge.

Schanzenbach, D., & Pitts, A. (2020).Estimates of food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis: results from the COVID Impact Survey, week 1 (April 20–26, 2020). Institute for Policy Research Rapid Research Report. Web.

Trends in U.S. food security. (2020). United States Department of Agriculture. Web.

Personal and corporate welfare by meritocracy is an incredibly multi-layered issue. As a rule, corporate welfare aims to achieve goals for the entire team, maintain positive emotions, constant involvement in company processes, and improve the atmosphere of the working place (Mooney et al., 2016). In positioning meritocracy as a regime in which power goes to the strongest and most capable, there is reason to believe that wealth reflects a person’s standing in society. However, in public life, cause-and-effect relationships are not unambiguous, which is why meritocracy has not been implemented anywhere in the world at the state level. Moreover, aspects of well-being that transcend wealth are part of the corporate culture of many organizations. The principles of meritocracy inherently ignore the importance of means of obtaining an end, so they allow violations of corporate culture for the sake of personal welfare. Wealthfare, in turn, reflects a set of measures with which the state helps the upper and middle classes (Mooney et al., 2016). In a meritocracy, such assistance, on the one hand, contradicts the power of the strongest; on the other, it can be part of its political program.

The structural-functionalist perspective raises the question of the separation of society and wealth. Personal wealth should be considered in the context of the average well-being according to the determinant criterion. Corporate welfare will contribute to wealth among the people employed in various enterprises. Meritocracy, in turn, can create an aggressive environment at different levels of social strata of society, thereby “blurring” the lines between them. On the one hand, it opens up opportunities for the lower strata of society to succeed (Mooney et al., 2016). On the other hand, it endangers security and harmony within society since the power of the most capable people is far from an ideal one. Wealthfare is a manifestation of this division – support activities strengthen the upper classes of society, creating a gap from the lower classes. As a result, wealthfare contradicts the ideas of meritocracy from this point of view.

The prospect of conflict always exists as long as there are wealthier people and poorer people. For the latter group, especially in a meritocracy, there is always an opportunity to achieve the heights of the first group; just as for the rich, there is always a threat of losing everything. In this regard, constant conflicts encourage society to fight, creating a durable dynamic. Under the conditions of meritocracy, this fact would threaten a permanent change of power, resulting in an unstable political situation in the state, which confirms the lack of implementation of this regime at the global level. Wealthfare in certain situations can contribute to conflict by undermining the relationship of power with the lower classes deprived of support place (Mooney et al., 2016). In this perspective, personal welfare is equated to the level of influence in society, which makes this category contrary to the principles of meritocracy. The ability of companies to implement corporate welfare testifies to their adherence to modern trends in society and more comfortable working conditions for employees place (Mooney et al., 2016). From the point of view of the conflict, on the contrary, tries to smooth it out by its very nature, excluding its possibility.

From a symbolic interactionist perspective, personal welfare can be displayed through various signs or hidden by people. Corporate welfare primarily consists of assessing interactions with other employees. Wealthfare can and does improve the personal relationship between two people, but in general can have negative consequences for society as a whole (Mooney et al., 2016). In a meritocracy, an aggressive environment is created where wealth is used as a mechanism to achieve goals and in itself is not a goal.

The central myth about welfare is that it can be interpreted without considering many side criteria. In the theoretical analysis in this work, the fundamental principles of meritocracy can be compared with the aspects of wealthfare and corporate welfare. However, in the absence of a pure meritocracy globally, these conclusions are devoid of practical significance (Mooney et al., 2016). Personal welfare is different for each person, as well as corporate welfare complies with the requirements of social responsibility in each company in different ways. Consequently, in reality, assessing these categories is possible only in conjunction with the context of each specific case, even about such large-scale regimes as a meritocracy.

Reference

Mooney, L. A., Knox, D., & Schacht, C. (2016). Understanding social problems 9^th Edition. Cengage Learning.

Introduction

In sociology, deviance refers to any action or conduct that violates societal norms. It also refers to a state or condition noticeably different from the norm (Dotter, 2004, p.26). Sociologists examine how society forms its norms, imposes them, as well as how they transform over time.

Norms refer to rules and regulations in a society that guide the behavior of people. Social norms vary because of the different cultures in the society (Dotter, 2004, p.29). This means that a deviant act in one society can have a different explanation and meaning in another society. Sociologists have identified various explanations of deviance in the context of social norms.

The first explanation identifies deviance as anything that members of a social group consider being against their values (Dotter, 2004, p.34). The second explanation identifies deviance as a contradiction of standards set by a group or society. The third explanation describes deviance as behavior that contradicts the agreed meaning of allowed and disallowed behavior followed by members of a group (Dotter, 2004, p.39).

The fourth explanation identifies deviance as any behavior that ceases to apply in norms of a social unit due to losses of any kind. The final explanation argues that deviance is any conduct intolerable by a social unit beyond certain limits (Dotter, 2004, p.44). Deviance occurs in the form of behaviors such as crime, discrimination such as racism and conditions such as dwarfism.

Youth Gangs

A youth gang refers to a group of young people who engage in illegal activities and as a result, collide with law enforcement institutions (Covey, 2010, p.45). Gangs establish themselves in vacuums identified in the society and the economy. Youth gangs are usually large, organized in a complicated manner, have access to weapons and most members fall below the legal age (Covey, 2010, p.50).

Young people join gangs due to various reasons that mostly relate to social and economic factors. Some of the factors that influence young people to join gangs include lack of cohesiveness in their families, peer pressure, economic needs, need for friendship and the psychological needs (Chaskin, 2010, p.30).

Natural role models like parents, grandparents and older siblings are usually absent from the lives of these youths who end up with no one to guide them (Covey, 2010, p.54). Factors such as poor social skills and unfriendly attitudes influence significantly on the emergence and development of youth gangs. Most young people who find solace in gangs have a history of unfulfilling relationships prior to joining the gangs (Covey, 2010, p.57).

Youth gangs have three diverse divisions. The first division is the corporate gangs whose main aim is to make money (Chaskin, 2010, p.42). The main features of corporate gangs are division of labor, a vertical hierarchy of command and group violence.

The second division is territorial gangs that focus on possessing territories (Chaskin, 2010, p.45). The main features of this gang include good organization and a flat hierarchy of command that has limited control over individual members in the gang. The third division is the scavenger gangs with little organization (Chaskin, 2010, p.49).

They engage in unprecedented crimes since the desire to have an identity is their only motivation. This means that the gang operates with no clearly defined leadership and objectives. Gang membership entails commitment, trust, secrecy and the spirit of unity (Chaskin, 2010, p.53). Youth gangs are usually targets of terror groups that recruit and use them to perpetuate social injustice in the society.

Gangs operate mostly in urban areas due to high number of people and harsh economic conditions (Short and Hughes, 2006, p.34). However, due to pressure from law enforcement forces, gangs are also developing in rural and semi urban areas. Another factor that encourages gangs to move their operations to rural and semi urban areas is expanding markets for drugs and other illegal substances (Short and Hughes, 2006, p.39).

Street gangs are slowly introducing their operations in colleges and universities as they target students in need of quick money. Gangs usually target each other when expanding their territories and distribution channels. Gangs apply violence to ensure that all members in the gang adhere to their rules and code of conduct (Short and Hughes, 2006, p.43). This makes it hard for any member to leave the gang. Most gangs lose members in line of duty through shooting or arrests by police.

Social Problems of Youth Gangs

Social problems caused by youth gangs have attracted the attention of many people in the society. Many strategies apply towards getting solutions to this problem. Youth gangs are causing congestion in prisons (Spergel, 1995, p.103). This results in the government apportioning more resources to prisons and security services in the country.

Another problem is lack of respect for humanity as shown in their violent activities (Spergel, 1995, p.108). Gang crime has led to disruption of cohesion in families and society. Families break up every time through deaths and migration due to security threats from gangs (Spergel, 1995, p.114). Youth gangs have influenced culture in societies in a negative manner. Some youth gangs form and operate within racial lines.

This influences the culture of their society negatively because members from different races despise each other. Another problem associated with youth gangs is loss of potential (Spergel, 1995, p.116). Some of the young people who involve themselves with youth gangs have potential to achieve enormous things in the corporate world. However, due to numerous challenges in the society, they fail to fulfill their potential.

Youth gangs also instill fear of experiencing crime among citizens (Spergel, 1995, p.120). This affects the working environment in the country, and as a result, many investors fail to implement their projects. Gang violence has ripple effects on a country’s economic prosperity.

Youth gangs deny people their right to freedom of movement. Most neighborhoods experience gang violence, and people find it hard going to some areas for fear of victimization by the gangs. People who witness crime experience psychological problems that affect them throughout their lives (Spergel, 1995, p.129).

Conclusion

Youth gangs pose a serious threat to development in societies and countries that accommodate their activities. Crime is one of the deviant activities in a society that affects collective harmony and social development.

Gangs establish themselves in vacuums that they identify in the society and the economy. Some of the factors that influence young people to join gangs include lack of family unity, pressure to fit in, economic needs, social needs and the psychological needs. Solving the problem of youth gangs is extremely challenging due to the manner of their operations and organization.

However, the most effective way of handling the social problems caused by youth gangs is to counter the strategies that they apply to recruit new members. This is possible if young people receive good guidance and mentorship from a young age. This will give them more options to succeed in life and fulfilling their potentials. Helping the youth to identify and develop their talents can effectively solve the problem of youth gangs.

References

Covey, H. (2010). Street Gangs throughout the World. New York: Charles C Thomas Publisher.

Chaskin, R. (2010). Youth Gangs and Community Intervention: Research, Practice, and Evidence. New York: Columbia University Press.

Dotter, D. (2004). Creating Deviance: An Interactionist Approach. New York: Rowman Altamira.

Short, J., and Hughes, L. (2006). Studying Youth Gangs. New York: Rowman Altamira.

Spergel, I. (1995). The Youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach. California: Oxford University Press.