Category: Social Sciences : Sociology

Respond to two (2) of the following prompts:
Karl Marx studied the social impact of religion and believed religion reflects the material base, which is comprised of the means and modes of production and the relations of production. Marx argued that religion maintains inequality and perpetuates the status quo. Is Marx’s argument that religion maintains inequality and perpetuates the status quo true? Present an example that supports your assessment of Marx’s argument. (USLO 9.4)
Emile Durkheim argued that religion promotes social cohesion, and social control, as well as offering meaning and purpose to human life. Is Durkheim’s argument true? Present an example that supports your assessment of Durkheim’s argument. (USLO 9.4)
What is required of a society for its political structure to be considered democratic? While this question might seem straightforward, it is not and is a topic of contentious debate in current political philosophy circles. The Democracy Index lists 60 different indicators that must be considered when discerning whether a nation is a democracy. While you in no way will be expected to discuss all indicators, please talk about a few of the conditions that must exist for a government to qualify as a democracy. Include textual evidence to support your view. (USLO 9.1, 9.2)
In recent years in the United States, citizens have increasingly made claims that our judicial system is institutionally racist. Evidence provided for these claims has pointed toward unfair drug sentencing laws, stop and frisk policies, the use of police force, and the overwhelming number of black men in prisons and jails in comparison to the rest of the population. Select one claim and discuss whether these claims have merit, presenting specific examples to support your position. Include textual evidence to support your view. (USLO 9.3)
Reply

QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWER BASED ON BOOK AND CLASSROOM SLIDES THERES ALSO ONE VIDEO AND LINK ITS IN BETWEEN THE SLIDES
Instructios (QUESTIONS)
1) Identify two sociological variables you are interested in studying a relationship between (e.g. social class and marriage rates; race and wage income; gender and police treatment).
2) Provide clear and concise definitions for each variable (conceptualization).
3) Identify one or more empirical indicators for each variable (operationalization).
4) Hypothesize how and why these two variables might be causally related. Please also indicate the direction of hypothesized causation (i.e. will higher social class yield higher marriage rates? lower?).
5) What kind of data might allow you to assess the three criteria for causality between these two variables? Please discuss.
BOOK (Adler and Clark must be purchased/rented; all others provided by instructor)
Adler and Clark.
How It’s Done: An Invitation to Social Research
, any edition. Wadsworth.
Sallaz, Jeffrey J. 2016. “Exit Tales: How Precarious Workers Navigate Bad Jobs.”
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 1-27. Silva, Jennifer M. 2012. “Constructing Adulthood in an Age of Uncertainty.”
American Sociological Review
77(4): 505-522.
Streib, Jessi, Miryea Ayala and Colleen Wixted. 2016. “Benign Inequality: Frames of Poverty and Social Class Inequality in Children’s Movies.”
Journal of Poverty 1-18.Vallas, Steven P. 1987. “White-Collar Proletarians? The Structure of Clerical Work and Levels of Class Consciousness.”
The Sociological Quarterly
, 28(4): 523-540.
CLASS SLIDES
Theory and Research
Overview
•Concepts, Variables and Hypotheses
•Causality
•Deductive and Inductive Reasoning
•Cyclical Model of Science
Concepts, variables, hypotheses
•Concepts
: words or signs that refer to phenomena that share common
characteristics
•Conceptualization
: the process of clarifying what we mean by a concept
•Variable
: a characteristics that can vary from one unit of analysis to another
•Unit of analysis:
the units about which information is collected—can bepersons, organizations, countries, families, cities, etc. but must be
clearly defined
•Hypothesis
: a testable statement about how two or more variables are expected to relate to one another
•Dependent variable
: seen as being affected or influenced by another variable
•Independent variable
: seen as affecting or influencing another variable
Concepts, variables, hypotheses
•Example Hypothesis:
“The neighborhood you grow up in determines your chances of having a high-paying job in adulthood.”
•2  concepts:
“neighborhood” and “high-paying job” – but what do these really mean?
•Conceptualization of each yields variables
•What are the units of analysis?
•Which is the dependent and which the independent variable?
•Why this direction of proposed causation?
Causality
•Causality is never proven, only inferred
.
•3 conditions for inferring causality:
1)Correlation
2)Time sequence:
IV must occur BEFORE the DV
3)Non-spuriousness:
there is no third variable, antecedent to the IV and DV, that causes their correlation
•Complicating factors:
1)Antecedent variable: Z
A
B
2)Intervening variable: A
Z
B
3)Extraneous variable: A
B
Z

Deductive Vs. Inductive Reasoning
•Deductive reasoning
: moving from general to specific statements
•Example: All bachelors are male; Socrates is a bachelor; therefore, Socrates is male.
•Measurement
: strategies for classifying subjects to represent variable concepts
•Empirical generalizations
: statements summarizing a set of individual observations
•Typically quantitative
•Inductive reasoning:
moving from specific to general statements
•Example: Socrates is a bachelor and is male; Pythagoras is a bachelor and is male;
….; therefore, all bachelors are male.
•Grounded theory:
theory derived from data in the course of a study
•Typically qualitative
Cyclical Model of Science
Theories
Hypotheses
Observations
Empirical
Generalizations
Creative Leaps
Statistical/Verbal
Summary
Logical Deduction
Measureme
Deductive reasoning:
•Excellent for testing existing theories and hypotheses—i.e. explanatory and action-oriented research
•Almost useless for developing entirely new concepts, hypotheses, theories—i.e. exploratory and descriptive research
•Inductive reasoning:
•Excellent for developing new concepts, hypotheses, theories
•Almost useless for testing existing theories/hypotheses

Given the definitions and examples of various societal components, as explained in the “Concepts” reading, how would you describe a model of how societies are put together and work? How do the key elements of social life relate to and shape each other? What is your idea or model of a “structure” of society based on these numerous parts? Which element do you see as most foundational or crucial to holding a society together and why is this so?
Your writing should begin with an overview of your opinion and summary of data supporting it and rely or evidence from this unit’s readings and any other pertinent course materials (e.g. lecture video) from this unit, stated in a clear and organized manner. The writing should be approximately the equivalent of one page double-spaced with citations of our relevant sources to provide evidence for your argument.

After you’ve read the Introduction chapter of the book, discuss:(A) one thing that was COMPLETELY NEW to you from the chapter (i.e., you’d never heard or thought of it before)
 and(B) one way in which your thinking was  EXPANDED by something in the chapter

Conduct a simple Google search for TWO (2) recent / current events for EACH topic you chose in the Introductory Discussion on Cognitive Dissonance.
In a Word document and organized by topic – copy/paste the source links for each topic’s recent events.
Under your source links (in the same Word doc) fully and properly answer the following:
A. Discuss generally how you suspect scientific and media literacy can influence (proliferate or assuage) the larger public’s collective cognitive dissonance surrounding each of your current / recent events (in 4-6 sentences per event).
B. Discuss generally how you suspect a lack of scientific and/ or media literacy within a larger society might affect the lived experiences and life chances (political, cultural, and social) for the people affected by each of your recent events (in 4-6 sentences per event).
C. Consider which of these events you’d like to learn more about when it comes to the people affected by the event /topic and the media and scientific literacy surrounding it.
D. Select and then state (type) which ONE of these recent / current event you will use for your Analysis in this course.

The textbook discusses immigration and the effects on the U.S. society. In the reading the authors argue that on the contrary of popular belief, immigrants don’t cost U.S. citizens jobs as a whole but does affect low-wage workers. Additionally immigrants pay more in taxes and are disproportionately dispersed throughout the country. 
Do you agree with the authors? Why or Why not? 
 
Use APA when citing the textbook and additional sources to support your answer

Assignment:
Do an Internet search for information on prescription drug abuse. Report the extent of prescription drug abuse and the kinds of prescription drugs that are most likely to be abused. In a short essay of 600-800 words, discuss the social factors that might contribute to prescription drug abuse and its effects.
Use APA format when developing. You can find the rubric hereLinks to an external site. to assist in expectations. 

Read the following Pew Research article:
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/01/24/parenting-in-america-today/
The article contains interesting information about family constructions. 
Select one of the trends captured in the article graphics.
Provide your own cultural analysis of the trend you chose based on values, material goods, norms, symbols, and/or language.
In the essay, include the following with your analysis:
What do the numbers (statistics) say?
How does the trend reflect cultural changes in society?
What was most interesting to you about the findings, and why?
What is a real-world example of the findings?
What is a popular culture example of the findings?
How can you interpret the findings sociologically?
Requirements:Cite a minimum of two peer-reviewed sources to support your analysis in addition to the course material and reading resources, which you are also required to engage in.
Reference:
The American Family Today | Pew Research Center. (2015, December 17). Parenting in America: The American family today. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/17/1-the-american-family-today/

I need a 400 word essay based on two videos I need to do like a summary on them but at the same time both videos need connect to with each other while respecting the essence of each video . Then on the side I need to create a question for my other classmates that connects with the summary.

Respond to two (2) of the following prompts:
Where and how do you get your news? Do you watch network television? Read the newspaper? Go online? How about your parents or grandparents? Do you think it matters where you seek out information? Why, or why not? (USLO 7.1)
How have digital media changed social interactions? Do you believe it has deepened or weakened human connections? Defend your answer. (USLO 7.2)
Do you think technology has truly leveled the world in terms of opportunity? What is your community’s situation in terms of digital inclusion – do you feel there are communities in your region that are struggling to achieve digital inclusion and equity? What are some techniques that we may use to achieve digital equity and inclusion in the U.S.? (USLO 7.3)
In what ways has the Internet and digital apps changed your perception of reality? Explain using a symbolic interactionist, functionalist, and conflict theory perspective. (USLO 7.4)