...Social Structure Theory Holly Barnes CJS/231 August 30, 2015 Professor Chris Rosbough There are several theories created by many thinkers of our time that believes that societal, financial, and social arrangements and/or structures as the main cause of criminal behavior. In society, depending on where you are, there are usually some unwritten norms that are expected to be followed. It can be in a business corporation, out in the streets, at home. Usually there will be two sets of norms that is expected to be followed that causes an individual to feel torn. However, the feeling of being torn is the inner battle of doing the right thing, conscience or keeping yourself alive. The video, “Tent City, Arizona” was chosen to be watched to identify social structure theories and immediately it was noticed that an individual named Ryan, who is a nineteen years old meth user who was given the choice, serve six months in Tent City, or twelve years in a state prison. As the story focused on Ryan, he has lost the support of his mother and his girlfriend who gave birth to his son while he was waiting for sentencing. He started to realize that he wanted to be present for his son as a father because he grew up without his father and knew what he needed to do. Complete his Tent City stint and get out and go be with his son and be a father. He knew that he needed to follow all the rules as required by the officers who enforced the rules, however he also had to be part of the “Woods”...
Words: 2117 - Pages: 9
...I am a member of a church that I would consider social. We are all there for members for the same purpose and it runs of a very informal structure. There is the regular preacher, who stays in his position. But with the other members we all take turns as Sunday school teachers, nursery workers, deacons, and treasurer. It offers a very social environment where anyone can voice opinions at any time, or ask for assistance. There is no formal set up of structure to it. The only formal organization that I can think of being a part of would be school. I am a member of the University of Phoenix, AXIA. As a member I have requirements that I must stay current on to maintain my membership. If I default on these I will no longer be a member. There is a structure set up to determine position in every aspect of the organization. One of the main differences between social and formal groups is membership establishment. In the case of social groups membership criteria can be very laid back with little or no qualifying agent. With a formal group membership criteria may be very strict and lay out certain requirements for the applicant to meet. For example, to become a member of a Baptist Church all you must do is prove membership with another church from which you plan to move from, or profess your faith with baptism. To become a member of the local credit union in my city, you must prove that you live within city limits, work in the county, and own a home. Activities for the members of the church...
Words: 324 - Pages: 2
...The process of work is at the core of social structure. The technological and managerial transformation of labor, and of production relationships, in and around the emerging network enterprise is the main lever by which the informational paradigm and the process of globalization affect society at large. In this chapter I shall analyze this transformation on the basis of available evidence, while attempting to make sense of contradictory trends observed in the changes of work and employment patterns over the past decades. I shall first address the classic question of secular transformation of employment structure that underlies theories of post-industrialism, by analyzing its evolution in the main capitalist countries between 1 920 and 2005. Next, to reach beyond the borders of OEeD countries, I shall consider the arguments on the emergence of a global labor force. I shall then turn to analyze the specific impact of new information technologies on the process of work itself, and on the level of employment, trying to assess the widespread fear of a jobless society. Finally, I shall treat the potential impacts of the transformation of work and employment on the social structure by focusing on processes of social polarization that have been associated with the emergence of the informational para- digm. In fact, I shall suggest an alternative hypothesis that, while acknowledging these trends, will place them in the broader framework of a more fundamental transformation:...
Words: 32981 - Pages: 132
...I believe that the environment and social structure control how many individuals act, and present themselves in today’s societies. Social Structure is the way we act in society aka the “norms”. We act this way to fit in and not be looked out differently in our culture. When you are not acting in the norms of your society, you are looked at as deviant. For example I believe that if you found a kid who is presenting himself as a rather wealthy person, in a very poor neighborhood like Camden that would be acting outside the norms of that societies and clearly some measures would be taken by that society. I believe that where you grow up and who you surround yourself with and your family structure controls how we interact with one and other, for example imagine a family from Franklin Lakes, who is very wealthy. They are used to seeing other families who also are rather wealthy and usually having the same luxuries as themselves. If you put that family in a place like Newark NJ they would be rather scared for their lives. They would not feel safe or protected like they do in their town of Franklin Lakes. They wouldn’t even have the same opportunities as the people from Newark do, and this would cause them to act different to the people in the Newark community. They would look as them as trashy, poor, and beneath them because they don’t have the same luxuries as they do. Another example of how the environment controls our interactions is the ghetto. This is a perfect example because...
Words: 413 - Pages: 2
...KARL MARX AND THE CONCEPTS OF SOCIETY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE BEING AN ASSIGNMENT SUBMITTED BY EKOTT, IMOH BERNARD 1.0 INTRODUCTION The philosopher, social scientist, historian and revolutionary, Karl Heinrich Marx, is without a doubt the most influential socialist thinker to emerge in the 19th century. Although he was largely ignored by scholars in his own lifetime, his social, economic and political ideas gained rapid acceptance in the socialist movement after his death in 1883. Until quite recently almost half the population of the world lived under regimes that claim to be Marxist. This very success, however, has meant that the original ideas of Marx have often been modified and his meanings adapted to a great variety of political circumstances. In addition, the fact that Marx delayed publication of many of his writings meant that is been only recently that scholars had the opportunity to appreciate Marx's intellectual stature. Karl Heinrich Marx was born into a comfortable middle-class home in Trier on the river Moselle in Germany on May 5, 1818. He came from a long line of rabbis on both sides of his family and his father, a man who knew Voltaire and Lessing by heart, had agreed to baptism as a Protestant so that he would not lose his job as one of the most respected lawyers in Trier. At the age of seventeen, Marx enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Bonn. At Bonn he became engaged to Jenny von Westphalen, the daughter of Baron von Westphalen , a prominent...
Words: 7678 - Pages: 31
...American Intercontinental University Social Structure HUMA 215 – Topics in Cultural Studies 9/8/12 Abstract Cultural syncretism has transformed and shaped our world today; because of encounters years and centuries before our time we have religion and even art. Our modern culture was contributed to by the happenings of yesterday. Social Structure Introduction The legacies of cultural syncretism in the Americas and Africa can be compared and contrasted with the resistance to cultural change that westerners experienced in China and India. These encounters have left many legacies of change and differences in the culture today. Had syncretism not occurred or if syncretism had taken root during earlier encounters in China or India the world today would be different. Various cultural factors in would affect the outcome of syncretism tremendously. Compare/ Contrast Cultural Syncretism Cultural syncretism was active in some societies but not in all; syncretism was not affective in more cultures because some cultures were simply more developed. With the expansion of cultural syncretism, it was easier for Africa and the Americas to adapt than China and India Westerners. Africa and the Americas separated into different tribes which caused them to be weaker than China, India, and the Westerners who created a nation (Sayre, 2013). An example of this cultural syncretism is the Aztec tribe, which was a fairly large tribe; the Aztecs had so many neighboring enemies because of...
Words: 1160 - Pages: 5
...SOCIÁLNÍ STRUKTURA A STRATIFIKACE Sociální struktura e soubor sociálních statusů a s nimi spojených rolí. Je stabilní charakteristikou daného sociál-ního systému. Odlišení stálých rysů sociálního systému od proměnlivých vlastností lze využí-vat při komparaci různých sociálních systémů či sledování vývoje sociálního systému. Sociální status postavení člověka ve společnosti je pozice v sociální struktuře. Status může stejně tak nést i skupina lidí - etnická skupina, rodina, atd. Status vymezuje práva a povinnosti jedince ve vztahu k ostatním lidem a zároveň také formuje očekávání, která může okolí mít od držitele statusu v určitých situacích. Vztah mezi různými sociálními statusy vymezuje sociální role. Rozlišují se sociální statusy „vrozený“, připsaný (askriptivní) a získaný. Sociální role je očekávaný způsob chování, který se váže k určitému sociálnímu statusu. Každá osoba hraje více rolí, a to jak nezávisle (student ve škole, zákazník v obchodě, zaměstnanec v práci), tak souběžně (např. otec a manžel v rodině). Sociální stratifikace (rozvrstvení) jedná o strukturovanou nerovnost mezi určitými skupinami lidí. Je relativně stálá a trvalá a velice úzce souvisí s demografickou, ekonomickou a politickou strukturou společnosti. Pří-tomnost sociální stratifikace je v každém typu společnosti, liší se však tím, jaký má daná spo-lečnost ustavený žebříček hodnot. V naší společnosti se většinou jedná o míru prestiže odvo-zenou od profese. Společenští vědci definují čtyři základní...
Words: 401 - Pages: 2
...world-wide organisation based on local groups and communities. As such it has many parallels with the political structure of our world. Although the Discourse of the first founding book, 'Foundations', makes it clear that the Society cannot replace, and therefore should not seek to supplant, those political institutions, it does not go on to discuss the relationship between the two. It is as well to take the opportunity to make some comment on that question in these Essays. If neglected it may provide a fertile source for conflict and misunderstanding. The potential for conflict arises from an overlap between the area of interest of the Society and that of politicians. Both politicians and the Society have an abiding concern with the structure of our social order, in how we maintain stable co-operative social relationships and cope with the problems of balancing group and individual interests; long and short term objectives; order and liberty, and the host of other conflicts which the communal habits of our species generate. However, the shared interest of the Society and politicians can never result in their developing a common view of these problems, because they approach that shared ground from totally different directions. The emergence of the Aim, Duty and Responsibility of the Society owes nothing to the political ambition to reform or restructure our social relations. Those three statements are solely an attempt to set out a meaning and purpose of our lives that does...
Words: 1133 - Pages: 5
...and the way that we raise our children. The individuals who make up our communities today come from all walks of life, and are sometimes easily influenced by what happens within the community around them. There are often influences around us that help us make decisions that we would not normally make on our own, and this could change our way of thinking on certain issues that may arise in everyday life. Some of these decisions can make it hard to raise a child on the same morals and values that a parent grew up on. While it may be hard to raise a child, and believe in ourselves when times are hard we all have to have the belief that this too shall pass. The Meaning of Social Structure Theory By definition social structure theory is a theory that explains crime by reference to the economic and social arrangements in society, (Schmalleger 2012). There is still further explanation needed as to what this says for those communities that are within grasp of a person. The city that a person lives in has a lot to say as to the job they hold, where they send their child to school, the home in which they live, and the way they conduct themselves on a day to day basis. This is by no means a bad way of living or anything of that nature. Often humans are creatures of habit; we do the same as we see others do. The culture background of individuals is formed by the availability of education, employment, family belief systems, and the level of congestion, (Redfern 2008). There...
Words: 791 - Pages: 4
...Criminal Justice YourFirstName YourLastName University title Social Structure Theory An alternate perspective is that the premise of crime can be found in the relationship an individual needs to social structures and foundations. As indicated by social structure theory, the United States is a stratified society, where there are a couple of thousand "super rich" making more than $5 million every year, and 40 million Americans who live underneath the neediness line, ascertained at about $22,000 every year for a group of four. Those living in neediness confront deadlock employments, unemployment, and social disappointment. On account of their small monetary assets, lower-class nationals are regularly compelled to live in poor zones checked by substandard lodging, deficient health awareness, and tenants as opposed to property holders, poor instructive open doors, underemployment, and sadness (Crothers, 2013). These markers of neighborhood disorder are exceedingly prescient of crime rates. The issues of lower-class society are especially intense for racial and ethnic minorities, who have a salary level altogether underneath that of whites and an unemployment rate just about twice as high. In the inward urban communities, more than a large portion of all dark men don't complete secondary school. Also, they confront the load of bigotry and racial stereotyping. Examination demonstrates that whites are unwilling to living in or going by dark neighborhoods...
Words: 1557 - Pages: 7
...Social Structure Theory Steven Horton University of Phoenix CJA/314 January 20, 2012 Maxine Craig Abstract The following paper will be based on the theory of social structure from the writers’ perspective. The paper can be considered as bias as it is based on personal opinions and situations of the writer. But it will touch on some of the questions that are asked to people who commit crimes repetitively. There are reasons that people become repeat offenders and career criminals and this paper should touch on some of the reasons why. Hopefully after reading this paper the reader will have a better understanding of how a person can commit crimes in repetition. Social Structure Theory There were several scenarios given in this weeks’ lesson but one in particular caught my attention. This man named Lucas, had entered someone’s house and pulled out a gun. He began creeping up the stairs where he had heard a noise coming from the bedroom. When he entered the room, a man and a woman were in the act of sexual relations so he aimed his gun and shot them both point blank. Next he grabbed his phone and called the man’s wife and told her that he had killed her husband and that she better have his money or she would be next. There was a bio about Lucas which basically said that he had been involved in crime since a juvenile and had joined a gang at a younger age. They ended it with the saying that he was on a path of criminal involvement. The theory of Social Structure states...
Words: 522 - Pages: 3
...world-wide organisation based on local groups and communities. As such it has many parallels with the political structure of our world. Although the Discourse of the first founding book, 'Foundations', makes it clear that the Society cannot replace, and therefore should not seek to supplant, those political institutions, it does not go on to discuss the relationship between the two. It is as well to take the opportunity to make some comment on that question in these Essays. If neglected it may provide a fertile source for conflict and misunderstanding. The potential for conflict arises from an overlap between the area of interest of the Society and that of politicians. Both politicians and the Society have an abiding concern with the structure of our social order, in how we maintain stable co-operative social relationships and cope with the problems of balancing group and individual interests; long and short term objectives; order and liberty, and the host of other conflicts which the communal habits of our species generate. However, the shared interest of the Society and politicians can never result in their developing a common view of these problems, because they approach that shared ground from totally different directions. The emergence of the Aim, Duty and Responsibility of the Society owes nothing to the political ambition to reform or restructure our social relations. Those three statements are solely an attempt to set out a meaning and purpose of our lives that does...
Words: 1133 - Pages: 5
...Victimization Theory | Summarize the theory of victimization, describing its meaning and core concepts as it relates to the nature of crime. | Identify subcategories of the theory and describe each. | Apply the theory to one (1) real life example or scenario. Briefly explain why the theory applies to the example you identified. | Rational Choice Theory (This theory is completed for you as an example of how to complete the remaining theories) | According to this theory, crime is a matter of personal choice and the criminal makes a rational decision to commit the crime. This view is that If a person is motivated, considers the choices, and they believe crime will benefit them without risk. (Siegel & Worrall, 2013, p. 45)This view is that for the criminal, the profit outweighs the punishment. | One sub-category is the “Deterrence Theory” which aligns itself by indicating crime would not be a “rational choice” therefore not chosen if there was a strong enough fear of punishment, acting to deter the criminal activity. (Akers, 1990, p.2) | One real life case was that of Ariel Castro. This is the nationally televised case of a man who kidnapped and held three (3) women captive in his Cleveland, Ohio home for over 10 years, during which he physically and sexually assaulted, fathered a child and kept these young women captive until one managed to escape 2013. Castro pleaded guilty to 937 counts including murder, rape, and abduction, to avoid Ohio’s death penalty. He was sentenced...
Words: 1608 - Pages: 7
...Functionalism in a Family 1 My family would seem very normal from an outside perspective; if someone were to look deep into all the aspects it takes to keep all of us sane and functional, they would be amazed at the effort and dedication it requires. If you look at how “each structure fulfills certain functions, or purposes and activities, to meet different needs that contribute to a society's stability and survival,” (Beth Stewart, lecture 2) you can compare that to a family idea as well. Each family member is a different structure and each has different functions that contribute to the family as a whole. Of course there are many different views and values, but that just gives us more information and ideas to sort out everyone’s different needs. For example: Each parent has a role in providing for their children, whether it is equal roles, or divided ideas. If the father is supposed to provide income, and the mother is supposed to nurture, it can be detrimental to the child and even the spouse if one or both of those roles are not being upheld. “Some social patterns are dysfunctional because they have a negative impact on a group or society.” (Stewart, lecture 2). If one person (structure) of the family is expected to maintain a certain function and doesn’t uphold that, it will have a negative effect which, if left to cultivate, will cause dysfunction. This idea works the same if one individual has too much power. If that happens, the others can be shut out and the...
Words: 424 - Pages: 2
...them. He says this analogy is the core of the contemporary view of technology. Sclove says that technology is so significant that it basically sets our social structure. Our technology is so ingrained in our daily lives that it has changed and continues to change our political climate, laws and economic institutions. There are many areas where this is evident. One area that first comes to mind is social media and cyber bullying. Laws are being changed as we speak because of websites such as Facebook, where teenagers send threatening and harassing messages to other teens. Bullying can now be done in ones own home, where just 20 years ago it was usually on school grounds or nearby. Sclove writes about Coercive and Subconscious Compliance and how technologies are governed by both physical and political laws. It says that basically most of us are careful with technology that could do us bodily harm. An example of that would be automobiles. MOST people are careful when they are driving their cars to try to avoid causing an accident that would harm them or someone else. Subconscious Compliance is how ones environment can shift their social interaction with others. In the section that is entitled Macro politics, Sclove talks about how one technological invention led to bigger inventions that basically changed social and political...
Words: 585 - Pages: 3
