Category: Sociological Perspective

Introduction

It is a known fact that sociology is one of the most essential aspects which may have significant influences on the service providers as well as the service users. In order to extend appropriate care to the clients, it is necessary for any social service provider to be able to understand the perspectives of the clients. With the consideration to the numbers of theories introduced over the years, it becomes easier for any practitioner to have clear comprehension concerning the different lenses that may be applied to evaluate any particular case in context (Roberson and Wallace, 2016). Thus, most suitable care plan can be drafted by understanding the criticality of any situation through varied lenses of sociological perspectives. In this specific essay, a detailed discussion of two such perspectives in regards with sociology has been given. The perspectives have been linked with a given case scenario for clear understanding of how the same is needed to be applied in practical context. With the purpose of understanding the

Discussion

The specific essay is focused on case study of Ms K, who is of 35 years age and is resident of social housing and receives benefits from community social services. She is pregnant with her new partner and wishes to keep the child. However, there has been previous case of neglect while she had a child earlier. The child was subsequently placed for adoption. Furthermore, she has been also diagnosed with serious mental health condition like schizophrenia. In order to ensure that appropriate care decisions are taken by social care professionals, it may be stated that application of relevant sociological perspectives may be assistive. Therefore, two perspectives of sociology, one macro level and one micro level theory would be applied in the specific case scenario in order to understand varied aspects influencing the condition.

Structural-functionalism perspective

One of the widely known sociological perspectives is that of structural functionalism. The approach to the mentioned perspective is based on the view that the nature of any individual is passive and society is external. Socialisation has been identified strictly as a one way process. It can be seen that the society has been reflected in a positive manner in this mentioned perspective. It is recognised to be stable and all the parts are functional together (Nomaguchi and Milkie, 2017). Furthermore, it is also believed that there is a contribution of every single social aspect in survival of the society. If there is not substantial contribution for the survival, the aspects are generally not passed to the next generation.

Putting in simple words it may be stated that every society have specific needs within which multiple activities are required to be carried out in order to ensure consistency in survival and there is a scope of further development. For instance, there should be appropriate order that is needed to be initiated by a specific administration of justice. Additionally, there should be a political system prevalent in the society in order to provide necessary guidance to the participants (Frieze, 2018). Continuous production and availability of goods and services are necessary to address numerous needs of the society as well. In order to maintain a social life, most of the individuals are expected to follow a structural model. In accordance with the mentioned perspective, the society is generally studied on a macro-social level. The society is studied as an entirety and on a large scale. Thus, it is often believed that the steps and actions undertaken by any individual is due to the social moulding which compels them to act a certain way, rather than forcing them to perform the expected roles.

In regards with the mentioned explanation, it may be stated that Ms K is one of the participants of the society. Her role in the society is depended on the social models which are being followed. However, it may be stated that the structural perspectives are not appropriately followed in her case. She has been obtaining assistance from community social worker and residing in council flats. It may be assumed that the social moulding on her part is responsible for her current situation. It may be inferred that due to the interactions with other social participants, or the lack of it, her current situation has been synthesised (Lawler, 2015). She has not been appropriately suiting the social norms. It is needed to be understood that there is a specific interconnection between the structures which are prevalent within the society. Therefore, it may be assumed that the current condition of Ms K is heavily depended on the economic, legal and even educational structure. It may be assumed that Ms K is comparatively on the lower side of all these structures which have limited her access to high end care services that would have effective. Due to her mental state and diagnosis of her schizophrenia, it was seen that the prevalent social structure of an apt legal system was applied. She had been detained previously as per the section 2 of Mental Health Act, which can be advocating towards the fact that for maintenance of social order and equilibrium, application of these structures are generally done.

It is also largely stated under this perspective that in order to maintain stability and system within any society, it is essential that there is a substantial cooperation from the part of the members of the society as well (Dunlap and Brulle, 2015). The social changes are recognised as predictable by the functionalists. The fundamental reason for maintenance of social order is recognised to be consensus which is learned through socialisation.the base for any social order is heavily dependent on the shared norms and values between the members of the society. As per observation of Durkheim, any society tends to develop a ‘collective conscience’ (Turner, 2017). This conscience is responsible for enhancing the bond between the members in a specific society. The individuals tend to have shared thinking. In addition to this, the ascribed status is one of the major drivers of the roles that the individuals may have to undertake within the society.

In regards with the current case scenario, it may be stated that there are particular issues that can be seen. As a parent to her previous child, there were certain specific roles and responsibilities needed to be undertaken. It may be stated that on the basis of the collective conscience of the members of the society, the specific duties needed to be conducted for overall well-being of a child are generally set (Hunt et al. 2016). The intervention of the society is expected to be normal if the standard set by the society as a whole is not met. This can be regarded as one of the major reasons that her first born was subsequently put for adoption, since she was unable to fulfil the expected roles and address her child’s needs in an effective manner. The moral regulations are set by the members of the society. Hence, disruption of the same is majorly responsible for the social disapproval. Therefore, her neglect towards her first child was majorly disapproved and intervention from the specific institutions within the functional structure was witnessed. In addition to this, it may also be stated that her condition of paranoid schizophrenia is also a major lookout for the social institutions. Since it may be assumed that her financial condition is not strong as she is unemployed and is dependent on the receipts, it may be difficult for her to access private services.

Two types of functions have been identified by the sociologists which are manifests and latent. Manifests are regarded as the consequences which are commonly recognised and are intended. On the other hand, the latent are unintended functions which are often hidden (Hofmann and DiBartolo, 2014). The same situation may be applied in her case as well. As per manifestation, it may be stated that the council flat availability and receipt of benefits are manifests functions. As per the societal structures, these services are accessible to her (Manninen et al. 2016). On the other hand, within her locality she has found a new partner and currently is pregnant with his child. This may be regarded as latent since these interactions were unintended and not commonly recognised.

In regards with the structural-functionalism perspective it may be stated that the social interaction of Ms K should be enhanced in order to mould her behaviour accordingly. The consequences and necessary steps needed to be followed for bringing up the child in most effective manner should be taught to her. In addition to this, she should be encouraged to overcome her mental illness, so that appropriate care is provided to her child. Additional support is needed to be available in case she needs assistance to cope with her condition or to effectively address the needs and requirements of her child properly.

Symbolic interaction perspective

In contrary to the broad approach of social functionalism, symbolic interaction is one perspective which is largely focussed on understanding the shard relationship between the individuals and the society. The basic notion in regards with the said perspective is that the actions and interactions of any individual is justified or comprehended with the establishment of meaningful communications between the participants of society. In this specific perspective, the humans rare recognised as major actors (Carlson et al. 2016). Thus, more attention is given towards interaction of individuals in smaller groups rather than the society as a whole. With the help of interactions within a limited group, understanding of society at large is accomplished by individuals. Thus, the individuals are studied and their reactions and behaviour towards different aspects of the surroundings are observed to comprehend the characteristics.

Thus, it may be stated that in order to understand the situation of Ms K in most effective manner and ensure that a suitable care plan is being extended to her, it is important to pay appropriate attention towards her shared relationship with individuals associated. In addition to this, it may also be noted that how she is accessing available materials and reacting to certain symbols as well. There are numbers of labels associated with her current condition. The psychological dynamics are needed to be understood while she is reacting with her care providers, her partner or in a specific surrounding (Dunlap et al. 2015). In addition to this, it is also needed to be analysed in details that why she has been unemployed for a while and what is restricting her. This would provide the care providers a better understanding of her psychological position in an effective manner. The symbolic interaction with other can provide a clear reflection of her condition in an effective manner.

As per the symbolic interaction theory, it has been suggested that any individuals tend to interact with any aspect or thing depending on the meaning that the aspect may hold for that individual. The meaning for anything tends to be developed based on the ongoing interactions and individual interpretations. By fitting together the lines of actions by individuals, the social actions are generally channelized in most influential manner.

Thus, it may be stated that whether the current relationship is secure for her or not, whether she is capable of taking responsibility of her soon-to-born child or not and many such aspects can be observed and analysed in order to understand the deeper perspectives of her lives. The observation of one-on-one interaction would also be effective in judging whether her partner will be willing to share responsibility of her child or not (Gerstel and Sarkisian, 2015). Through the help of counselling, the mental impact she had to go through during her first breakup when she was pregnant with her first child can be effectively determined as well. Thus, the interlinking of the symbolic interactions would be easier if her previous experiences are also evaluated with appropriate attention. Thus, depending on the given situations, it would be comparatively easier to determine how she might in a certain situation. For instance, whether she will be able to take full responsibility of her child even though she has been diagnosed with severe mental health conditions can be effectively emphasised with the help of evaluation of her interactions and exchange of symbols in different situations.

It is also suggested by many sociologists that as per the symbolic interaction suggest that it is through the interaction with the society that the sense of identity in any individual is dependent. It may be suggested that the self-conception is largely depended on how other individual tend to interact with any specific person and how they label them (Schlesinger and Namir, 2014). The perceptions of other individuals regarding any individual may be stated to have substantial effect on the self-perceptions as well. Thus, the person may act in accordance with the same.

In regards with the mentioned case study, the same may be applicable. It is evident that there are numbers of labels which may be imposed on Ms K. The foremost is the fact that she dies not have contacts with any of her family and has been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. In addition to this, she is financially unstable and is largely dependent on social care services for residence as well as for a living (de Boise and Hearn, 2017). Additionally, she had former experiences of neglecting a child. In lights with such conditions, it may be assumed by the society that she might lack the necessary requirements needed to bring up a child in an effective manner. Letting her keeps the child without proper intervention may have high chances of the child getting neglected like the previous one. It may be assumed that there are high chances that the thinking of the other members of society are reflected in her perception as well. She may find it difficult to cope with the pressure (Cairns et al. 2014). Therefore, it is suggested that the care provider deals with her in a proper manner and provide her with necessary support and suggestion so that she is able to get better grip on her life. It may be assumed that it might not be easy for her to bring up the child due to the social inequality which is deep-seeded. However, with proper assistance from healthcare service providers, it would be easier for her to manage her child. It is needed to be ensured that the labels which might have been internalised by her are moulded in more positive manner in order to provide her with better sense of direction

Conclusion

On the basis of the above mentioned discussion it might be concluded that in order to understand any situation in a proper and comprehensive manner, majority of the social service professionals rely heavily on the sociological perspectives. This can provide any professional a better direction to understand prevalent scenario better and take more suitable decision. While the structural functionalist theory can provide the idea of the society on a macro level, with the help of symbolic interaction, it will be easier to focus on individual interaction. Thus, a thorough analysis can be witnessed that would provide any professional a better comprehension of different situation and most suitable care plan can be developed accordingly.

Reference List

1. Cairns, S., Harmer, C., Hopkin, J. and Skippon, S., 2014. Sociological perspectives on travel and mobilities: A review. Transportation research part A: policy and practice, 63, pp.107-117.
2. Carlson, M.J., Wilkinson, L. and Woo, H., 2016. Letter from the co-editors of sociological perspectives. Sociological Perspectives, 59(1), pp.6-6.
3. de Boise, S. and Hearn, J., 2017. Are men getting more emotional? Critical sociological perspectives on men, masculinities and emotions. The Sociological Review, 65(4), pp.779-796.
4. Dunlap, R.E. and Brulle, R.J. eds., 2015. Climate change and society: Sociological perspectives. Oxford University Press.
5. Dunlap, R.E. and McCright, A.M., 2015. Sociological Perspectives on Global Climate Change.
6. Frieze, I.H., 2018. Sociological Perspectives on Violence in the Family.
7. Gerstel, N. and Sarkisian, N., 2015. Sociological Perspectives on Families and Work: The Import of Gender. The Work and Family Handbook: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives and Approaches, p.237.
8. Hofmann, S.G. and DiBartolo, P.M. eds., 2014. Social anxiety: Clinical, developmental, and social perspectives. Elsevier.
9. Hunt, S.J., Walter, T. and Hamilton, M. eds., 2016. Charismatic Christianity: sociological perspectives. Springer.
10. Lawler, S., 2015. Identity: sociological perspectives. John Wiley & Sons.
11. Manninen, K., Huttunen, S., Seppälä, J., Laitinen, J. and Spilling, K., 2016. Resource recycling with algal cultivation: environmental and social perspectives. Journal of cleaner production, 134, pp.495-505.
12. Nomaguchi, K. and Milkie, M.A., 2017. Sociological Perspectives on Parenting Stress: How Social Structure and Culture Shape Parental Strain and the Well-Being of Parents and Children. In Parental Stress and Early Child Development (pp. 47-73). Springer, Cham.
13. Roberson, C. and Wallace, P.H., 2016. Family violence: Legal, medical, and social perspectives. Routledge.
14. Schlesinger, I.M. and Namir, L. eds., 2014. Sign language of the deaf: Psychological, linguistic, and sociological perspectives. Academic Press.
15. Turner, R., 2017. Social psychology: Sociological perspectives. Routledge.

Sociological perspectives help us explain and predict the world we live in. Ferrante (2016, 25) defines sociological perspective as “a framework for thinking about, describing, and explaining how human activities are organized and how people relate to one another and respond to their surroundings.” Sociology has three major sociological perspective, 1) factionalism, 2) symbolic interaction, and 3) conflict. Each perspective gives us explanation about how we socialize and behave.

Functionalist Perspective

Functionalist theorist believe that every single part of society has a purpose to help society function the best way possible. Ferrante (2016, 26) uses the analogy of the human body in comparison of functionalist. The human body is composed of bones, blood, heart, brain, and lungs etc. Together each component plays a part. Just like our body have parts society has them as well. Society parts maintain social order. For example, the government pays federal employees to do the job they assigned too. Those employees use those wages to pay there rent or mortgage, bills, food, daycare, and whatever else that is needed to meet their needs. When the government shutdown it disrupted the social order. Those employees had to find other ways to meet their everyday needs, with hope of not losing everything.

Symbolic Interaction Perspective

Ferrante (2016, 29) defines social interaction as, “everyday encounters in which people communicate, interpret, and respond to one another’s words and actions. This perspective helps us interpret things as symbols to communicate with each other. Symbols are any thing that people assign a name, meaning, or value too. For example, when my daughter extends her arms out towards me, that’s her way of communicating pick me up. There are many different symbols and some symbols are shared. Shared symbols are learned by the way a culture attaches it to an object. This perspective also focuses on self-awareness. When you can discern and appraise yourself from someone else’s point of view you are self-aware. You recognize with others see you for.

Conflict Perspective

Conflict theory holds that social order is maintained by domination and power, rather than harmony and conformity. People who are wealthy and have power tries to keep it and will do whatever it takes. They do this by overpowering the poor and powerless. For example, Karl Marx upheld that the Industrial Revolution was led by two distinct classes. One class was the bourgeoisie, the owners on the means of production. The second class was the proletariat, they worked for the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie goal is to make a profit. To do so they hired the lowest cost workers. These workers often knew, their labor was worth more and they wanted a pay increase. The conflict between the two was profit and pay increase. Conflict is what causes division in society.

Work Cited

1. Ferrante, J. (2016). Seeing Sociology: An introduction. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning

The movie Coco is a film full of Mexican Culture and takes place during the Día de Muertos, Day of the Dead celebration. It’s directed by Lee Unkrich and released in 2017. The main character, Miguel Rivera loves music and struggles with the fact that his family despises it. His family hates music because of a family tragedy that happened to Miguel’s great-great grandmother Abuelita long ago, therefore music was forbidden in their home. Despite that, Miguel’s dream was to be a musician like his hero, Ernesto de la Cruz. Miguel accidentally travels to the Land of the Dead and he must seek a blessing from de la Cruz to get home before sunrise, or he will turn into a skeleton forever. He teams up with Hector, a skeleton trying to see his daughter again, and they go on an eventful adventure to find out. The three sociological elements that I recognize in this movie are: total institution, nature vs. nurture, and re-socialization.

Total Institution: The term total institution means a person’s life and any other aspect is regulated under a single authority. For Miguel that single authority is his grandma, Abuelita. She makes sure that no music, of any kind, is played in or around the house whatsoever. For example, when Miguel blows in a bottle making a beat, when he’s looking outside and a car just so happens to pass by playing music, and when a group is sing outside of the house, she immediately shuts it down by yelling “NO MUSIC!”. But she ran the house just like her mother, Mama Imelda, did. In addition to that, Miguel nervously comes out to his family saying he’s going to sign up for the Día De Muertos Talent Show and Abuelita quickly dismisses it saying, “It’s Día De Los Muertos, no one’s going anywhere, tonight is about family”. Yet Miguel decides to not listen and “cease [his] moment.” His grandma and his family try to tell him that he’s not a musician and he will join the family shoe business instead. Miguel rebels saying he doesn’t want to be in the family anymore and runs away.

Nature vs. Nurture: Nature vs Nurture is the question on what determines who we will be. For Miguel, by nature he thought he was nothing like his family and he needed to follow the footsteps of his idol and be a great musician. His nature was to go to de la Cruz because he felt they had a connection and he was meant to be a musician. However, Hector nurtured him through their journey. De la Cruz only tricked him into thinking, and he could get him back to the real world, but Hector became his friend during the journey. Only to find out that Hector is his real great-great grandfather

Re-Socialization: Re-socialization is discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones during transitions in one’s life. Miguel transitioned from the real world to the underworld by abandoning his social values, beliefs, and norms. An example of abandoning his social values is stealing de la Cruz’s guitar, which got him cursed. He then ditched his beliefs by ditching his family to try and be a musician. And norms, he gave up his norms by running away. His behavior changed from wanting to be like his hero, de la Cruz, to appreciating his family and their history.

The theme in this movie is the celebration of life and death. And from a sociological perspective, this movie has total institution, nature vs. nurture, and re-socialization all wrapped up in it. Miguel learned that nothing is more important than family saying, “Family comes first,” and to never forget how much his family loves him.

Works Cited

1. Coco. Directed by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina, Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures, 22 Nov. 2017
2. Pond, Neil. “Review: Pixar’s Colorful Coco Celebrates Family, Music & Memories.” Parade, AMG/Parade, 4 Jan. 2018, https://parade.com/620355/npond/review-pixars-colorful-coco-celebrates-family-music-memories/.
3. “Coco.” IMDb, Amazon , https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2380307/plotsummary.
4. Griffiths, Heather, et al. Introduction to Sociology 2e. OpenStax College, Rice University, 2017.

Symbolic interactionism in our society is present everywhere and on everything; Shrek from its comedic and light hearted nature proves to be an antithesis to this idea of symbolism amongst our society. Shrek is about a story of an ogre who is represented to be ugly, feared and a terrifying protagonist that breaks the stereotypical expectations of the society. Other characters like Princess Fiona, Donkey and Lord Farquaad break the typical notions of a society by going directly against our stereotypical beliefs. This different take on a fairytale has resulted in a movie unlike others at the time which really highlights the sociological perspective, particularly with symbolic interactionism when looked into from the various stereotypes, notions and beliefs we have towards symbols in society.

“Shrek” is about the story of an ogre who lives a lonely life; being banished from the society by being an ogre, he likes to spend his time alone and enjoy it with himself. But due to Lord Farquaad, his private alone time is hindered by the banishment of all the “fairy tale creatures” that now live in his swarm. To get his swarm back he makes a deal with Lord Farquaad that when he rescues Princess Fiona from her castle and brings her back to Farquaad for marriage, he will get his swarm back. During his journey with donkey, Shrek and Princess Fiona fall in love with each other but due to the complications between ogres and humans and the princesses curse they are unable to be together; a misunderstanding leads Shrek to fall back into a naive state away from society but finally understands the right thing to do with the help of Donkey. Shrek eventually fights Lord Farquaad’s knights; Fiona and Shrek reveal their love for each other; the curse of Fiona is lifted; Shrek finally finds himself within a community; both of them have a wonderful and happy wedding.

Shrek is a classic amongst children of the early 90’s and 2000’s from its comedic style and the class leading animation for the period. In this 2001 Dream works 3D animated film (Adamson & Jenson, 2001) most people would probably miss out on the vast amounts of symbolic interactionism and different sociological perspectives present in it that has been covered up by the excellent comedy present in the movie. “Symbolic interactionism views society as being composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, define their relationship, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another.” (Rowell, 2006) Symbolic interactionism is a framework to better understand how individuals perceive and communicate with each other through repeated interactions. Symbolic interactionism in Shrek can be seen sprinkled throughout the interactions between the four main characters of Shrek, Donkey, Princess Fiona and Lord Farquaad and how this fantasy world is operating in the current social structure. The storyline in the movie portrays Shrek as an angry and terrifying creature but as the story goes on this is revealed to be far from the truth. As Shrek himself states ogres to be like onions which have multiple layers to them. The use of the onion analogy about how judgment by appearance is misleading and should be done by character is exactly what symbolic interactionism has resulted in. The prejudice put upon Shrek is invalid due to the countless years of ogres that came before him which led the society in the movie to have a negative symbol of ogre’s amongst the community. According to Henslin, he describes this to be symbols that are present in our everyday lives; symbols used to define and distinguish parts in society help in defining status, position and relationship amongst our society. In this case, Shrek is a symbolic monster to the society and that is why he is feared, hated and banished from it. (M.Henslin, 2015)

The movie breaks the stereotypical symbolic interactionism present in the society by the use of two main characters, Princess Fiona and Lord Farquaad. During the rescue of Princess Fiona she is portrayed as a classic damsel-in-distress waiting for her hero/prince to come and rescue her from a dragon. This portrayal in my opinion was done in the movie intentionally to showcase and contrast how Fiona as a princess broke this stereotypical role later in the movie. The stereotype and symbol of princesses to have lady like manners and be a damsel-in-distress is broken as Fiona stands up herself by excellently fighting off her male counterparts. Becoming at ease with Shrek perceived Lady like manners the society are dismissed as she is very informal with Shrek and does things like one upping him in burping. “Sexual behavior, like all human behavior, is symbolic.” (Longmore, 1998) Fiona goes against this statement and breaks the generalized symbols put up by the society and the same can be said for Shrek as to how Heroes traditionally are tall, handsome and powerful that the society loves but Shrek is exactly the opposite of these generalized symbols amongst fairytale heroes. Lord Farquaad proves to be an antithesis to the expectation of a valiant knight-in-shining armor. Stereotypically Farquaad would be portrayed as a tall, handsome, young knight but is short, old(er) and although rugged looking is disreputable and villainous. To compensate for his shortcomings and his failure to meet this stereotype Faquaad wears a suit designed to portray his arms and legs to be longer and in a comedic fashion stands on stools in the public.

Shrek as a movie has excellently captured the symbolic interactionism our society is used to and has perfectly encapsulated the antithesis to this theory. The portrayal of Shrek, the protagonist to be ugly, repulsive, feared; Fiona, the princess to be independent, transparently “unladylike”, and not a damsel-in-distress; Farquaad, a knightly king to be short, disreputable and villainous; the movie lets the audience realize the preconceived notions our society has placed on different symbols. These multiple examples of symbolic interactionism in the film portray how our societal structure functions by the use of different symbols help differentiate and define status, position and relationships amongst individuals in society; this different take in our views and perspectives of society lead the movie to validate how prejudice and preconceived notions society places on things cannot always be believed.

REFERENCES

1. Adamson, A., & Jenson, V. (Directors). (2001). Shrek [Motion Picture].
2. Longmore, M. A. (1998). Symbolic interactionism and the study of sexuality. The Journal of Sex Research, 14.
3. M.Henslin, J. (2015). Essentials of SOCIOLOGY A Down-to-Earth Approach. New York: Pearson Education Inc.
4. Rowell, K. R. (2006). Study Guide Plus for Henslin: Essentials of Sociology A Down-to-Earth Approach. New York: Pearson Education, Inc.
5. Dennis, A., & Martin, P. J. (2007). Symbolic interactionism and the concept of social structure. Sociological Focus, 40(3), 287-305.

The principal sociological perspectives

Functionalism: The functionalism approach is known as one of the central theories. Functionalists view society like a body as they believe that all body parts work together for a social cohesion to occur in society. The reason why social cohesion happens because it is dominant for society to function without any inequalities. One strength of the functionalist approach is that they believe that democracy is important. Another strength of the functionalist approach is that society should have the same norms and values for everyone. However, the weakness of this approach is that sociologists lack knowledge that there are different ethnic backgrounds in society and how they should function. (Study Moose, 2014-2019)

Marxism: This sociological approach agrees that the definition of health and illness supplied must help with what the rich and powerful classes are interested in. They must help the rich classes as they believe that doctors are agents that work to meet the interests of others and give it to them in a safe environment. The strength of the marxist approach is that society is benefited by viewing it as a whole. Another strength of the marxist approach is that it helps to protect the rights of society because everyone has the right to stand up for their own beliefs. However, the weakness of this approach is that it affects the education system because children could be neglected as educational agencies don’t have the right to stand up for themselves. (Flow Psychology, 2014)

Feminism: The feminist approach believes that this approach is a conflict theory because it observes gender relating to power. (Academic Room, 2013) Feminists believe that society is dominated by men which had been challenged by Pamela Abbott and Claire Wallace. They focus on how men influence society and how they view women in a negative way. The strength of this approach is that women must have the right to have equality and stand up for what they think is right. (News Activist) However, the weakness of this approach is that women have experienced sexual harassment from the opposite gender.

Interactionism: The interactionist approach is known as the most theoretical approach which has the most attention to any issues related to health and illness. They contrast with the structuralist perspectives which doesn’t focus on large institutions and how they work with each other. The strength of this approach is that they believe that society is variable and changing. Another strength is that they believe that learning must take place in society. However, the weakness is that they lack information on what causes ill health. Another weakness could be is that it focuses on logical behaviour. (WordPress, 2011)

Collectivism: The collectivism approach provides health and social care services to be supported the government to support the poor people or people who are living on benefits, which is funded through taxes and the National insurance. They believe that there are poor people including those with disabilities and mental health issues. The strength of collectivism is that they view society in a positive way as it provides equal rights of everyone by promoting equality. Another strength of collectivism is that there are social programs to help the less fortunate to improve their life through education or health care services. However, the weakness is that people lack motivation to go to work. (eNotes, 2019)

New Right: The new right is known as the post war collectivist approach in which the welfare remained for a long period of time. This approach believes that it was not taken seriously as no one knew about it until Margaret Thatcher’s election of the conservative government in 1979. The new right also agrees that the welfare have responsibility of other individuals and their families. The strength of the new right is that it views the nuclear family into having positive aspects. However, the weakness of the new right is that they are negatively influenced the government which makes benefits more difficult to get. (Quizlet, 2019)

Postmodernism: The post modernism approach focuses on the changes and the problems in our society. Postmodernists believe that society lacks information on personal things such as family or religion as everything is different and nothing is the same. Postmodernists agree with how people make their own decisions in society such as buying goods that are needed for everyday use. The strength of the postmodernism approach is that they believe that everything is related to time and place. (Slide share, 2019) The weakness of this approach is that it ignores the success of modernism before postmodernism was existed. (Quora, 2019)

Sociological approaches to health and ill health

Functionalism: Functionalists view society like a body as all body parts must work together for a social cohesion to occur in society. Functionalists view health and ill health from Talcott Parsons’ theory. He has a theory of the sick role that is known as having certain rights to people who are ill. According to this, Parsons believes that those who are sick have the right to recover by having a few days of school, college or work and then come back to society when fully recovered. Another right of the sick role is visiting doctors so they help you get better.

Marxism: This sociological approach agrees that the definition of health and illness supplied must help with what the rich and powerful classes are interested in. Marxists believe that the economic system is viewed into two classes. Marxists view health and ill health through the control over health institutions and the stratification of health providers. They must help the rich classes as they believe that doctors are agents that work to meet the interests of others and give it to them in a safe environment. Their responsibility is to make sure that people should go back to work as soon as they recover.

Feminism: The feminist approach believes that this is a conflict theory because it observes gender relating to power. Feminists view health and ill health as a medical problem as they believe that medicine is a solution. They believe that the medical system is controlled by men as feminists think that men are getting better healthcare than women and children. (Answers) Feminists also view health as women do more roles which is the reason why women get ill more often. According to mental health issues, feminists believe that women suffer from conditions such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.

Interactionism: This sociological approach is known as the most theoretical approach which gave the most attention to any issues related with health and illness. Interactionists view health negatively because people with serious illnesses don’t claim themselves as ill but people who classifies themselves as ill are not really ill as they don’t really talk about how ill they are. Another reason why they view health and ill health negatively because they lack knowledge about structures and institutions but have good knowledge about other people such as their friends and families.

The biomedical and socio medical models of health

Biomedical model of health: This is a science based approach which talks about health and illness. It identifies health as the ‘absence of disease’ and focuses on diagnosing and curing individuals with specific diseases. Health professionals will use scientifically tested methods to address diagnosed illnesses such as x-rays, genetics, surgery, blood tests, vaccination, physical aspects and hospitalisation. The strength of this perspective is that it fits well with the functionalist perspective. However, the weakness of this approach is that less attention is paid to the wider environment and social factors could lead to ill health.

Socio-medical model of health: This is a social based approach which focuses on the social and environmental factors that influence our health and wellbeing. They believe that the environmental and social conditions are more likely to disease but not located in people. The strength of this perspective is that it agrees with the conflict theories such as marxism and feminism rather than the functionalist theory. However, the weaknesses of this perspective is that they don’t look at the biological causes of illness and disease. Another weakness is that the model doesn’t have a method to identify or classify illnesses. Another weakness could be that it is unable to respond to emergency situations.

This essay is going to discuss as well as compare and contrast the relationship between poverty and crime from both an economic perspective as well as a sociological perspective. There are several different types of poverty. Four of the main types are those of; monetary, capability, social exclusion and participatory approaches (Laderchi, Saith & Stewart. 2003). When looking at the link between poverty and crime from an economic perspective, there tends to be a focus on the concept of a lack in monetary resources, focusing on unemployment or income inequality. When examining the relationship between poverty and crime from a sociological perspective however, there is a focus on the idea of disorganisation within communities and/or families and the concept of social exclusion and whether these factors influence the rate of participation in crime. Both of the disciplinary perspectives have their own views and explanations on the relationship between poverty and crime, some may be similar in ways, while others are different. Due to the complicated relationship between poverty and crime, numerous theories are proposed attempting to explain this relationship and although many do seem to show a positive correlation between poverty and crime (Hipp,& Yates,2011)., the others need to still be analysed and taken into consideration.

Poverty and crime from an economic perspective

Since the 1980’s many studies, mostly theoretical, have been published looking at the relationship between poverty, income inequality, violent crimes and property crimes. As of this point, there is a growing agreement around the fact that forms of resource deprivation are one

of the main causes of violent crime (Land, McCall & Cohen,1990). Increased income inequality has also been linked to greater debt, and poorer health. In the economic theory of crime as discussed by Kelly in their article “Inequality and crime” from the year 2000, areas that have high inequality put poorer individuals within proximity to high-income individuals who have goods that seem worth taking. Another theory argues that, when individuals are faced with the relative success of others around them, those who are unsuccessful become frustrated with their situation. The bigger the inequality, the higher the strain and therefore the greater the incentive for the lower status individuals to commit a crime.

Accounts suggest that more unequal outcomes lead people to perceive and think that they need more resources in order to be satisfied (Payne, Brown-Iannuzzi & Hannay, 2017). The Higher the perceived needs, the more individuals are to take risks to meet those needs. This might be done through committing certain crimes such as property theft or muggings. Other studies discuss the rational model of criminal behaviour (Becker 1968). In this model, a criminal chooses to commit criminal behaviour when the potential criminal gains are greater than what they would gain from legitimate work. As the inequality rises, those who are at the bottom of the income distribution might be left with very little legitimate earnings potential but a larger potential to gain through criminal acts. This then leads to the committing of criminal offences.

Chiu & Madden do offer a theoretical explanation for the relationship between income inequality and property crimes, such as burglary, in their 1998 article “Burglary and income inequality”. Their work shows that an increase in income inequality leads to an increase in the number of burglaries that occur. This increase in burglaries may be particularly seen more in rich neighbourhoods based on the idea that the more the more the income gap widens, rich households become more attractive for lower-income individuals or groups.

Overall, the results from studies on income inequality and crime can vary, depending on the geographical level of observation. Studies who use only country- or state-level data often find a positive relationship between inequality and property crime. However, those who use smaller scale data at a county or city level turn up mixed results (Metz & Burdina, 2018). As a whole however there does seem to be a fair link between income/economic inequality and crime.

Poverty and crime from a sociological perspective

The role of social disadvantage in crime causation is one of the most discussed and analysed topics amongst academics looking at crime causation. There is a lot of debate surrounding the strength and nature of the relationship between social disadvantage and crime. Although when thinking about poverty, often the concept of lack in resources (particularly income) comes to mind first, social disadvantage is considered to be a form of poverty because it ties into the definition of poverty being relative deprivation. Social exclusion is concerning the process of exclusion from participation in regular social activities (Levitas, 1996). As discussed by Wikström, & Treiber in their article “Social disadvantage and crime: A criminological puzzle, 2016”: Families and groups can be considered to be living in poverty when their resources and opportunities are so low below those experienced by the average individual. This in effect means they are excluded from ordinary living patterns, activities and customs.

One example of social exclusion is that of social disorganisation amongst communities. The theory of social disorganisation focuses on the relationship between a neighbourhood’s structure, social control within the neighbourhood, and crime (Kubrin & Weitzer,2003). The level of communities organisation is measured through weather it has; local friendship net- works, Control of teenage peer groups and organizational participation (Sampson & Groves, 1989). The theory of social disorganisation did receive a fair bit of criticism at one point in time however has since seen a resurgence of interest in recent years (Kawachi, Kennedy & Wilkinson,1999).

Crime studies have been able to produce considerable evidence towards the fact that social disorganisation is positively associated with crime particularly in urban areas. As summarised well by Kaylen & Pridemore in their article “New Directions in Social Disorganization Theory”: “low socio-economic status (SES) is hypothesized to be associated with higher crime rates through a lack of formal and informal controls and decreased youth supervision from community organizations.”

Comparisons between the two perspectives

Although both perspectives have their own explanations for the relationship between crime and poverty, one of the most obvious differences is that each focus on a different type of poverty. Explanations from a sociological perspective focus on a lack of experiences or capabilities for individuals or groups within the community whereas explanations from an economical perspective have a focus on the idea of a lacking in resources such as income. One thing the perspective’s explanations have in common is that they both look at the effects of the lack in resources (whether that be monetary resources like as the case with the economics perspective or social capabilities and opportunities) on individuals and groups. Both perspectives look at the effects of inequalities whether they be social inequalities or economic inequalities. Both perspectives consider that without these resources or capabilities, individuals find more of an incentive to commit crime.

Final conclusions

When looking at the relationship between poverty and crime from an economic perspective, there is a large focus on the lack of monetary resources due to income inequalities. When looking at poverty and crime from a sociological perspective there is more of a focus on a lack in experiences and opportunities. Both disciplinaries perspectives provide well-constructed explanations for the relationship between crime and poverty. Each perspective takes into consideration the different types of poverty and this influences their theorised explanations differently. The economic perspective does give a good argument in terms of its argument that when individuals feel they are lacking in what others have, they might carry out criminal behaviour to feel satisfied and as if they are equal to those whom are not lacking. Overall, both perspectives offer strong, well developed explanations for the relationship between crime and poverty.

The sociological view and perspective will provide a way through which humanity can be defined in different forms. Sociologists try to study the nature of human societies and thereby explain the interaction of decisions taken, the behaviours of the individuals, and the external aviaries of the society (Condorelli, 2016).

It might thereby happen that there could be either rational decisions taken or no rational decisions taken in the case of incidents such as suicides. As Durkheim views, suicide is not just an individual action taken but it is caused due to power which is over and above the individual (Grima, Seychell, & Bezzina, 2017). Also, there could be certain negative acts taking place in the surrounding environment of the victim that will force him or her to commit suicide. It is thereby important to understand the incident of suicide from the sociological perspective, which will provide an additional layer for the understanding. In addition, it will also define the pathological state through which a given individual will be passing through and will be encouraged to commit suicide.

It is important to understand the different types of relationships between the individual and the society in a given environment wherein the role of different variables will be different. Based on that, there are different types of suicides found such as – egoistic suicide, altruistic suicide, anomic suicide, and fatalistic suicide (Hagamanc et al., 2018).

Now, in the case of an egoistic suicide, it will make an individual isolate from society and will make them feel that they are not worthy for it. They will thereby have the ideas of committing suicide so that they can completely disconnect from the given social world. Such individuals are lacking in altruistic feelings and thereby try to cut off from mainstream society.

On the other hand, in the case of altruistic suicide, it will be taking place when the individuals and the given society will be too close with each other (Katrnák & Tyrychtrová, 2016). It will result in social integration of the individual but when feelings will be hurt in such cases, there will be no other option left for the individual but to commit suicide.

In the case of anomic suicide, it is found that there will be disturbances observed in social equilibrium, due to which an individual will not be able to bear the pressure from the external environment. For example, if an individual turns bankrupt or even after winning a lottery will not be able to have control over their life variables (Kral, 2016). It will thereby psychologically affect them suddenly and will result in suicide.

Fatalistic suicide takes place due to overregulation in society. For example, when a woman will be committing suicide, it might be due to cases such as domestic violence, rape incidents, or similar other social crimes taking place in a given society (Kral, 2016). It is thereby more important to understand the stress levels of the individuals that they are facing in each of these types of suicides. In addition, it will be even observed that there will be certain personal or biological factors responsible in different cases that will allow these individuals to commit suicide. Researchers are thereby trying to understand on the level of interaction between the internal and external situations (Kral, 2016).

They will be focusing on the social factors and social relationships that a given individual is impacted with and will thereby try to understand the cause of suicide. Suicide is an act of intentionally causing one’s own death and there could be different reasons identified for committing such an act (Lachal et al., 2015). These include – depression, personality disorders, schizophrenia, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, and bipolar disorder. There could also be external risk factors such as financial difficulties, bullying, breakups, or even problems at a social level (Lachal et al., 2015). It will thereby become more important for the individuals to overcome the impact of such factors and they will be able to get the desired support.

As per one of the statistical reports, it is found that in a given year around 12 per 100,000 people are committing suicide (Lachal et al., 2015). Further, the rates of suicides are more in the case of men compared to women. Also, suicides are more found among the individuals whose age is around 70 years or more (Lau et al., 2017).

The views on suicide will keep on varying based on the type of incidents taking place and based on the level of interaction between an individual and society. As mentioned earlier, there could be also psychosocial factors responsible for committing suicide.

The factors related to this category include – depression, loss of pleasure in life, poor coping skills, anxiousness, rigid thinking, and agitation. Such individuals will not be able to solve their problems in life, will have poor ability to perform, will have poor impulse control in their life, and will not have the required skills to improve on their interaction levels in a given environment (Lau et al., 2017).

Thus, social researchers have commented that due to high levels of neuroticism and introvertedness, these individuals will be committing suicide. It is thereby more important for the healthcare experts and other psychological professionals to focus on the stress factor and thereby determine the causes first (Lau et al., 2017); they should accordingly then treat such patients that will allow them to reduce the probability of committing suicide in given cases. Besides, it will even increase the confidence levels of these individuals and they will put in effort to improve on their overall life. It will be important to improve more on social isolation and support through which the risk of suicides can be decreased (Lau et al., 2017). Furthermore, there is a need to address financial concerns as well. It will thereby allow the healthcare organizations and government regulatory agencies to manage the risk factors, provide recommendations and other support to these people and thereby reduce the rate of suicides in a given environment (Ozanne-Smith & Li, 2018).

It will be equally important for the healthcare experts to reduce substance abuse so that individuals will stop consumption of such drugs that could directly impact on their lives. It will otherwise create an acute intoxication among them. Trauma is another important factor identified in such cases that could disturb both families and children (Ozanne-Smith & Li, 2018). In these cases, it is observed from the sociological perspective that there could be bullying or prejudice issues faced by the victims and hence it will be difficult for them to recover from it (Ozanne-Smith & Li, 2018). There are also cases of childhood sexual abuse and due to which these children are not able to overcome the faced incident.

Sexual abuse is found to be contributing to more than 20% of such cases. It will thereby impact in early stages of life (Ozanne-Smith & Li, 2018). Further, it is found that gambling is another major issue due to which the risk of attempting suicide has increased a lot. As per the research reports, low levels of brain-derived neurotropic are also responsible for committing suicide.

The victims will be found to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and even schizophrenia. It is thereby more important for the social researchers and healthcare experts to look out for the options on suicide prevention. Despite such high rates, they need to look out for the treatments through which suicidal behaviour among the individuals can be controlled and modified and thus the risk of committing suicide can be decreased (Ozanne-Smith & Li, 2018). Also, it will be important for the healthcare experts to carry out screening process of these individuals that are suffering from such issues. They can thereby deploy self-treatment methods and make sure that the overall confidence levels will increase and they will be able to recover from their present situation (Press, 2018).

Researchers, however, have claimed that obstructed belongingness and perceived burdensomeness are the two major interpersonal constructs found in the suicidal desire that will motivate the individuals to commit suicide. Based on this concept, individuals will feel that they are either alone in society or they are burdensome for society (Press, 2018). They will not have any further desires to live in the current society and will thereby engage them in such fatal behaviours. It is more important to understand the intent to die in such situations.

There are also other factors found related to committing suicide. These include – family conflict, social isolation, unemployment, and physical illness. Hence, it will be more important for the people to manage their ongoing problems and when they fail to, they will be committing suicide. Family conflict will include – familial discord, stress among the family members, and also domestic violence (Press, 2018). On the other hand, mental disorders will include – social phobia, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and anxiety disorder etc. (Press, 2018). The individuals will have control over their impulses and instead, they will be constantly at conflicts with the external social environment.

Conversely, social researchers have found that individuals facing healthcare problems such as hypertension, arthritis, and diabetes would even get motivated to commit suicide. They want to overcome their pain and contrary will not be in a position to handle such issues (Stack, 2018).

Thus, the risk will increase and ultimately will result in committing suicide. Social isolation is another important factor identified wherein due to suicidal ideation, lack of support, loneliness, living in non-intact families, losing a spouse, and also residing in a prison cell will encourage suicide (Stack, 2018). It is thereby more important for the researchers to overcome this issue through implementation of different mental and physical treatments. In addition, they need to identify the warning signs, through which they will be focusing more on the aspects of suicidal behaviour (Stack, 2018).

The role of the government, regulatory agencies, and healthcare organizations are vital as they need to address this issue from different perspectives. They even need to identify the best solution that can be implemented in a given environment. Furthermore, it will be crucial for the individuals that are victims of such incidents, social interactions, and suffering from mental healthcare issues to undergo the suggested treatment and thereby manage on the key challenges identified in this case scenario (Stack, 2018).

The role of the medical experts will be to first inspect on the case of such individuals and thereby motivate them to overcome from such thoughts. They need to provide them with support and resources through which the current major problem of these individuals can be solved. Moreover, it will be important to engage into physical exercise routines and also perform meditation; it will thereby allow them to overcome the negative sentiments and instead will motivate the individuals to start their interactions with the external social environment. They need to inform about the ways through which they will be able to re-focus on their daily work routines and that will guide them to manage their daily work activities (Thimmaiah et al., 2016). Their senses need to be activated that will allow to imagine themselves in a safe and calming space. In addition, they need to focus more on relaxation techniques and thereby overcome the stress; only then they will be able to manage their present suicidal thoughts in a given environment.

This essay explains the view of suicide from a sociological perspective. It reflects on the key mental illnesses, devastating life circumstances, and problems like unemployment, substance abuse, and even family history due to which these individuals are found to be committing suicide (Ward, 2018). It is thereby more important for the government, social researchers, and medical experts to examine such people, their behaviours, and also their approach toward life. They thereby need to make attempts to reduce the impact of such factors that could motivate them to commit suicide. This essay has thereby identified such factors and in addition, the role of the social researchers should be more focused on improving behaviour, interactions, and overall communication of these individuals. Their burdens should be reduced and at the same time, their loneliness should be overcome that will further prevent them from committing suicide in a given societal environment.

Bibliography and Reference List

1. Condorelli, R. 2016, ‘Social complexity, modernity and suicide: an assessment of Durkheim’s suicide from the perspective of a non-linear analysis of complex social systems’, SpringerPlus, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1-56.
2. Grima, S., Seychell, S. & Bezzina, F.H. 2017, ‘Investigating Factors Predicting Derivative Mishandling: A Sociological Perspective’, European Research Studies, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 4-17,3C.
3. Hagaman, A.K., Khadka, S., Wutich, A., Lohani, S. & Kohrt, B.A. 2018, ‘Suicide in Nepal: Qualitative Findings from a Modified Case-Series Psychological Autopsy Investigation of Suicide Deaths’, Culture, medicine and psychiatry, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 704-734.
4. Katrnák, T. & Tyrychtrová, L. 2016, ‘Social Determinants of Suicides in the Czech Republic between 1995 and 2010’, Sociologicky Casopis, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 293-319.
5. Kral, M.J., PhD. 2016, ‘Suicide and Suicide Prevention among Inuit in Canada’, Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 61, no. 11, pp. 688-695.
6. Lachal, J., Orri, M., Sibeoni, J., Marie, R.M. & Revah-Levy, A. 2015, ‘Metasynthesis of Youth Suicidal Behaviours: Perspectives of Youth, Parents, and Health Care Professionals’, PLoS One, vol. 10, no. 5.
7. Lau, E., Hamzah, S.N.Z., Tan, S.C., Chia & Simonetti, B. 2017, ‘Suicide and socioeconomic determinants in Canada: beyond morality and philosophy’, Quality and Quantity, vol. 51, no. 4, pp. 1843-1858.
8. Ozanne-Smith, J. & Li, Q. 2018, ‘A social change perspective on injury prevention in China’, Injury Prevention, vol. 24, pp. 31-37.
9. Press, E. 2018, ‘Moral Courage: A Sociological Perspective’, Society, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 181-192.
10. Stack, S. 2018, ‘Religious Activities and Suicide Prevention: A Gender-Specific Analysis’, Religions, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 127.
11. Thimmaiah, R., Poreddi, V., Ramu, R., Selvi, S. & Math, S.B. 2016, ‘Influence of Religion on Attitude Towards Suicide: An Indian Perspective’, Journal of Religion and Health, vol. 55, no. 6, pp. 2039-2052.
12. Ward, V. 2018, ‘What do we know about suicide bombing? Review and analysis’, Politics and the Life Sciences, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 88-112.

1. Benetar describes the technological perspective operating with health care, to provide health care research, technological innovation, pharmaceuticals and evidence-based approaches to implementation. Current advances in medical practices have often been attributed to the implementation of a technological perspective.

In Canada for example, where healthcare has come under critique over its effectiveness, critiques of the need for healthcare reform use the technological perspective to justify the desire for more CT/MRI scans. They argue that the increased in technology will lessen wait times and decrease bottlenecks (Deber,2008). However, Deber (2008) demonstrates that although the technological perspective can find innovative ways to deal with health issues, often times they are costly and they lack equitable universality. This is because the ones that actually need the technology can hardly afford it. Also, Benetar (2011) notes that the use of evidence-based approaches to allow access to healthcare technology sometimes runs into a debate about the opportunity cost. Furthermore, he (2011) asks if healthcare organizations can find alternative solutions that don’t necessarily pose the use of a certain technology to cure/ diagnose a disease in order to ensure universality of healthcare access and support?

Benetar (2011) describes the economic perspective as positioning of medical care as a commodity. A model of this perspective of health care can be seen in the Americas for-profit health system. In America, large corporations and businesses compete to fund healthcare in the country. The economic perspective justifies the $9 892 (OECD, 2017), average American spends on healthcare. The main characteristic of the economic perspective is the use of money to achieving well-being and health; through the dispersion of healthcare and accumulation. This perspective is closely linked to the technological perspective because although in Canada bottlenecks occur- in relation to wait times for specialist appointments, in America your economic status determines how quickly you can or cannot receive a heart transplant.

The sociological perspective – built on sociological theories like Max Weber’s understanding of life chances and functionalism, views healthcare as a caring social institution. Benetar (2011) describes this perspective as, opportunities that each individual has to improve their quality of life. In relation to health care, hospitals and clinics should function as social institutions for achieving human potential- in a holistic form. Holistically looking at how income, race, class, education and gender- to name a few, affect health and well-being.

The bioethical perspective focuses on moral obligation and justification of healthcare interventions. For global health it would serve as the pretense for whether interventions are “our business”. This perspective is based on normative assumptions on how healthcare should and shouldn’t be administered. This perspective moves beyond measurement and comparison to provide a scope and mandate needed for health care.

Lastly, the existential perspective looks to identify the sanctity of humanity and anything that can potentially threaten humanity as a cause of concern. Similar to the sociological perspective, the existential perspective looks to move beyond the medicalization of disease and illness and narrate how it affects individual lives differently. This perspective illuminates the unequal balance between the vulnerability of the patient and the physician’s “promise to help” (Pellegrino, 1979).

2. The sociological perspective is the best way to approach the issue of mission and mandate for global health because unlike the technological, economic and bioethical perspective, – it provides a framework from which we can start to develop what our values and responsibilities for global health should be.

Unlike the technological perspective, the sociological perspective operates in global health through the use of the social determinants of health (SODH) to curate health research, innovation and intervention from the bottom up. This way practitioners ensure that interventions look at social conditions of the population that make achieving human potential inaccessible. One can argue that the issue of cost-effectiveness can only be applied in low-income countries. However, it is true that there is economic stratification in the west. Over 7% of the population own more than 90% of the world’s wealth (“Global Inequality”, 2018). Therefore, even within Canada we must start to move away from the primary emphasis on technology to solve health issues and look for other inexpensive ways, like advocating for fair wages in order to ensure individuals can afford universal healthcare coverage.

Second, unlike the economic perspective, the sociological perspective is based on a social justice framework of equal opportunity. This perspective prioritizes health as a global public good. It even goes a step further to illuminate discrepancies in life opportunity and attempts to remediate that through the appropriate intervention. A global health example is illustrated through Cuba’s removal of medical school fees for individuals from low income countries. This has contributed to a physician-per-patient ratio of approximately 1:600, compared to the United States average of approximately 1:3200 (Demers, Kemble, Orris, & Orris,1993). As well as, prioritizing its admission for individuals from marginalized communities.

Although bioethics functions with a normative lens, it still concerned with the advancement of biology and medicine. Global health as a discipline must be that that -unlike modern science and medicine, encourages diverse perspectives of biology and medicine to those that are the recipients of global health work. The sociological perspective through the use of the SDOH understands that each individual in society develops their own meanings of illness and disease. Thereby ensuring that interventions do not impose biases on those that are the recipients of global health work in order to ensure sustainability. This is important, as seen through the effectiveness of contraceptives in rural areas in Nigeria and cultural assumptions and autonomy associated about childbearing in the country (Bamiwuye, Wet, & Adedini, 2013).

Lastly, the existential perspective although the most similar to the sociological perspective isn’t the best way to approach global health because it ignores the other factors that can threaten an individual’s existence. Health, well-being and ultimately existence are heavily influenced by socioeconomic status. The WHO (2018), has recognized the correlation and has adopted a SDOH framework that global health should closely implement.

3. The sociological perspective as an approach for remedying the issue of water management would identify- through the use of social determinants of health, water as essential for human existence’. Access to clean water is a right that should be mandated for all. However, it is also true that an individual interacts with the state and depending on normative assumptions, they may or may not have certain essential human rights- like water. Therefore, the sociological perspective, ensures governments mandate that all individuals have access to clean water, as a public good – free of cost.

Currently, the WHO (2010) identifies access to clean water as a global health issue. The WHO (2010) also acknowledges the need for access to clean water in its efforts to combat waterborne diseases and encourage healthy sanitation practices. However, if the sociological perspective was implemented properly the WHO would also consider the links between global political economy and health. Therefore, politicians would need to start having discourses on the privatization of a public good such as water and how that can affect equitable availability to clean water.

It has been the case that, in some developing regions big corporations often buy up water shares, ineffectively distribute water resources and make water unaffordable. Agyman (2007) mentions that in Ghana, since the implementation of a privatization scheme, it still hasn’t been able to reduce problems facing supply and in fact has not been able to provide clean water to even those in the low-income bracket. Water management policies should be designed to ensure social equity such as gender equity, public health and environmental equity

4. If the sociological perspective were adopted correctly- through a human rights framework, we would see a shift in the scope and the jurisdiction of global health policy and its practice. If human rights were understood as rights inherent to all human beings – regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion or any other status. While ensuring that they have the necessary conditions to lead a minimally good life. One can conclude that global health should then operate in a way, that it advocates and mandates the implementation of fundamental rights like clean water, food and shelter at the forefront of policy and interventions globally. What is directly implied is that, since the sociological perspective transcends global borders, the jurisdiction and scope of global health practice and policy becomes much broader because of globalization. For example, it is well known that the financial decisions of the developed region affect the developing world because of the deliberate reliance created through economic partnerships—Structural adjustment plans (SAP). Global health policies must then look at ways of promoting self-sufficiency in order to redistribute nation autonomy for developing regions affected by SAP’s.

Currently, work in global health has been functioning from us/them perspective. The sociological approach will attempt to move Global health from a position of “saviourism” for only developing countries to ensuring social justice for all. Global health must encourage developing worlds to rectify the inequalities that exist within their own countries. For example, the lack of clean water available to those in indigenous territories and the food desert marginalized communities- especially of racialized immigrant ancestry, face. Also to ensure universality global health must seek to standardize what the universal rights are and methods to ensure that they are internationally protected in all nations. This could possibly function through partnering with institutions like the Human Rights Council to ensure more political accountability and pressure. It is important for global health to move beyond idealism and ad hoc interventions into effective policy interventions through partnering with existing regulatory boards in order to demonstrate the importance of ensuring clean water, shelter and food as huge determinants for a person’s well-being and health.

References

1. Bamiwuye, Samson Olusina, et al. “Linkages between Autonomy, Poverty and Contraceptive Use in Two Sub-Saharan African Countries.” African Population Studies, vol. 27, no. 2, Apr. 2013, p. 164., doi:10.11564/27-2-438.
2. Deber, R. B. (2008). Access without appropriateness: Chicken Little in charge? Healthcare Policy 4 , 23– 29. Global Health and Global Health Ethics, edited by Solomon Benatar, and Gillian Brock, Cambridge University Press, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/york/detail.action?docID=647365.
3. Demers, Raymond V, et al. “Family Practice in Cuba: Evolution into the 1990s.” Family Practice, vol. 10, no. 2, 1993, pp. 164–168., doi:10.1093/fampra/10.2.164.
4. Global Health and Global Health Ethics, edited by Solomon Benatar, and Gillian Brock, Cambridge University Press, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/york/detail.action?docID=647365.
5. Global Health and Global Health Ethics, edited by Solomon Benatar, and Gillian Brock, Cambridge University Press, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/york/detail.action?docID=647365.
6. “Global Inequality.” Inequality.org, https://inequality.org/facts/global-inequality/.
7. “Health-Care Expenditure and Health Policy in the USA versus Other high-spending OECD Countries.” OECD, http://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/health-in-united-states.htm.
8. “How Does Safe Water Impact Global Health?” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 1 Dec. 2010, https://www.who.int/features/qa/70/en/.
9. “Social Determinants of Health.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 11 Dec. 2018, https://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/.
10. K. Agyeman (2007) Privatization of water in Ghana: stopped in its tracks
11. or a strategic pause?, International Journal of Environmental Studies, 64:5, 525-536, DOI:
12. 10.1080/00207230701475422
13. Navarro, V. (2009). What we mean by social determinants of health. Global Health Promotion 16 , 5– 16.
14. Pellegrino, E. D. (1979). Toward a reconstruction of medical morality: the primacy of the act of profession and the fact of illness. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 1 , 32– 52.

Introduction

I am going to argue this project about sociological perspective. I will illustrate and talk about the founder and the leader, Russian psychologist, Vygotsky. I will discuss how his theory of sociological perspective helped other psychologists to follow it. I will show how psychological perspective is important in learning generally and learning a second language particularly. I will demonstrate its importance inside the classroom and how it benefited and created the interaction between teachers and students as an applied education to the sociological perspective

Acknowledgments

A long but prospective journey full of hard work and hope for the bright future, a Lot of ups and downs throughout my study in this distinguished scientific edifice, from life burdens and hard-working studies in this Institute of Education from which I want to start thinking, my teachers who exerted all efforts to provide us with the utmost benefits, from you my teacher and all teachers who did their best for our sake. To my teacher who respected my independence and carefully appreciated my work and efforts. I want to thank my colleagues who tried hard to offer all assistance. A special thanking to my parents who watched over by my side encouraging me with all hopes for a better future. Thanks to everyone who is loyal and want to flourish prosperity and welfare throughout my beloved country the UAE and my prospective city of Ras Alkheima.

Sociocultural Perspective psychology

Sociocultural Perspective is used in psychology to describe our recognition of things that surround individuals and how their behaviors are affected by these surrounding, social and cultural factors. According to Catherine A. Sanderson (2010) “ Sociocultural Perspective, a perspective describing people’s behavior and mental processes with relation to their social and cultural contact, including race, gender, and nationality”. The sociocultural perspective theory is a broad, but significant aspect to human beings. It applies to many fields of daily lives. The way we communicate, understand, relate and keep in touch with others is based on this perspective. Our spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, physiological needs are associated with sociocultural perspective theory

Sociocultural Perspective On Learning

When we think about theories of learning, LIDT professionals should also consider sociocultural perspectives and the role that culture, interaction, and collaborations play on equality learning. Modern social learning theories come originally from the work of Russian psychologist Vygotsky, who produced his ideas between 1924 and 1934 as a reaction to existing conflicting approaches in psychology. Vygotsky’s ideas helped identify the role social interaction and culture play in the development of higher-order thinking skills, which is valuable for the insights it provides about the dynamic “interdependence between individual and social processes in the construction of of knowledge” (John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996. P. 192. Vygotsky’s views are often considered primarily as developmental theories, focusing on qualitative changes in behavior over time as attempts to explain unseen processes of development of thought, language, and higher-order thinking skills. Although Vygotsky’s intent was mainly to understand higher psychological processes in children, his ideas have many implications and practical applications for learners of all ages.

Three themes are recognized from Vygotsky’s ideas of sociocultural learning. (1) human development and learning are found in social, historical, and cultural interaction.(2) use of psychological tools, particularly language, lead to developing higher mental functions. (3) learning occurs within the Zone of Proximal Development. Vygotskian mentioning social learning contrasts Piaget’s ideas of cognitive development, which suggests that developing certain stages is determined in the individual, and precedes cognitive complexity. This difference in assumption has significant implications to the design and development of learning experiences. We know that learning process enables the achievement of higher levels of development, which in turn affects “readiness to learn a new concept’ (Miller, 2011.p.1790. In essence

Learning awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that are able to operate only when the child is interacting with people in his environment organized learning results in mental development and sets in motion a variety of developmental processes that would be impossible apart from learning.

Thus learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, specifically human, psychological functions. (Vygotsky, 19708. P.90)

Sociological perspective and learning a language

Another purpose of the sociological perspective is found in language learning. We expect learners’ actions to know their language learning cannot be understood without considering the situated contexts in which strategies emerge and develop. From theory into practice, “ A sociological Perspective on Second Language Learners Strategies. Focus on the Impact of Social Context. By Eunn Young Jang and Robert T Jiminez, 2011.

Applying sociological perspective inside the classroom

There should be strong relationship between teachers and students inside classrooms through interaction. The classroom is a social site where sociological perspective plays an effective role in understanding social phenomena occurring inside the classroom which is considered a turning point where sociological theory meets practical education. There are some activities related to educational sociological concepts such as socialization, social integration, social and cultural innovation. There are also talented functions as going to school and receiving an education rather than a direct effect of the education itself. The most important talented function is child care. Vygotsky emphasizes the importance of cognitive development through culture and social interaction. He added Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) takes place when social interaction occurs between a student and more knowledgeable individual in a certain subject matter by guiding students’ learning tasks. Students need the assistance of some kind to achieve their goals. The process scaffolding means giving students a framework to extend their knowledge , interaction and internally, so cognitive development of new language happens as a product of interaction between student and teacher.

Conclusion

I showed through my discussion in this project the mutual relationship between sociological perspective and learning and how they influence each other on learning and I showed how great was the Russian sociologist to whom we can’t ignore his contribution to modern sociocultural perspective and his part in SL learning and developing the process of gaining new language. I illustrated throughout this work how sociological perspective played an effective role on learning and Education and how methods of teaching changed altogether from initiation and keeping by heart into critical thinking and sharing students’ own thinking and their abilities towards beneficial and independent learning when teachers only guide and monitor the process of learning and classroom interaction.

Today, it is hard for any individual to make their own decision without taking aspects of society into consideration. Like discussed in class, the process of naming a baby is an example of how society plays a part into individuals lives without even knowing it. There are a lot of societal influences that can affect a baby’s name such as; religion, tradition, spelling, and creativity. The concept of taking aspects of society into consideration is called having a sociological perspective. Using a sociological perspective, one will not only take in their own thoughts, but include aspects of society to further their choices which can either fit into a pattern of society or stray away from it, shaping society without knowing it.

Sociologists study human behavior and society, which seems very broad- and is- but can be broken down into many units and subunits within society. According to Cherlin, there are many parts of society, including; race, ethnicity, religion, gender, marriage, kinships, etc. All these aspects come together to form a society. When sociologists study these units and subunits within society, they observe by gathering information through surveys, and questionnaires compiling information to help them conclude their study. After completing a study, Sociologists put all the information together as well as including outside influences such as environment, and social class into the study to make it as thorough as possible, minimizing any flaws within the study.

The environment is one of the most important things to take into consideration when studying human behavior. For example, if an observation on interfaith marriages compared the percentages of marriages between people of two different religions today to 1990, the environment would need to be taken into consideration. The time period in which information is being collected would also be taken into consideration, but the environment in which the couples are that are being studied would need to remain the same. If the study is taken in a neighborhood where there are multiple religions being represented in 1980, the study would need to be taken in the same neighborhood or one with similar circumstances, meaning that they have multiple religions represented throughout the neighborhood.

Taking factors like environment, poverty level, diversity rate, etc. during a study is an example of having a sociological perspective. Instead of just collecting this information from the study and leaving it at that, sociologists will include the factors surrounding the study taken at the time, gibing people more of an understanding of why the human behavior did or didn’t change. Studying human behavior can be very difficult because there is always going to be a variable that can affect/vary the information being collected, so coming into a study with a sociological perspective helps make the study through from start to finish.

Studying from a sociological perspective is similar to the sociological theory of “Agency within Social Context”. Taken from the “Introduction to Marriage and Families” paper written by Professor Brenda Wilhelm, Agency is defined as the given right to make decisions, but those decisions are heavily influenced by society, therefore agency is given, but exists only within social context. Coming back to the decision of baby naming, if a couple is deciding on a name, they can take many things into consideration that will then lead to the naming of their baby. All the things that are taken into consideration such as religion, tradition, uniqueness, etc. makeup the social context that leads to the final decision (agency).

Having a sociological perspective, and agency that exists within social context come together hand in hand, shaping society. Having a sociological perspective is key in understanding human patterns and behavior by taking everything within society into perspective. Having agency within social context is how society works, giving people the right to make their own decisions, but having society play a role into the decision-making. Over time, sociologists have studied human patterns and behavior, and have opened societies eyes to examine the world in a whole new light.