...Mona Lisa Smile; From a Sociological Perspective A Mike Newell directed inspirational film, falls in place with the setting in the American picture of woman life at a tradition bound all-girl college. Set in the era where women were different than they are today, it explores life through marriage, feminism, and education with the protagonist in a form of a modernist female teacher, seeking to liberalize minds at the significant end of a traditional era. The story began with the introduction of the protagonist, Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), a fresh novice professor with a socially progressive mindset hailing from the state of California, who takes up a job in the art history department at what we could call a snobbish girls college; Wellesley in the fall of year 1953. Disregarding warnings from her boyfriend Paul (John Slattery) that this job’s environment was unsuitable for her element of thoughts; Katherine was enthusiastic at the prospect of educating the classrooms to some of the most brilliant and brightest women in her country. Her first impression of Wellesley was however dampened by the first day of class, being humiliated by her smug students who demonstrated their impressive knowledge of the text syllabus in front of her supervisor. Katherine determined to not be shaken by their, and chose to stray from the syllabus to regain the upper hand; an idea which was opposed by the college president. Katherine challenged the girl’s ideas of what constituted...
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...Version 1.0 General Certificate of Education June 2011 Sociology 1191 SCLY2 Education with Research Methods; Health with Research Methods Unit 2 Mark Scheme Mark schemes are prepared by the Principal Examiner and considered, together with the relevant questions, by a panel of subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the standardisation meeting attended by all examiners and is the scheme which was used by them in this examination. The standardisation meeting ensures that the mark scheme covers the candidates’ responses to questions and that every examiner understands and applies it in the same correct way. As preparation for the standardisation meeting each examiner analyses a number of candidates’ scripts: alternative answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed at the meeting and legislated for. If, after this meeting, examiners encounter unusual answers which have not been discussed at the meeting they are required to refer these to the Principal Examiner. It must be stressed that a mark scheme is a working document, in many cases further developed and expanded on the basis of candidates’ reactions to a particular paper. Assumptions about future mark schemes on the basis of one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles of assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content of a particular examination paper. Further copies of this Mark Scheme are available...
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... Table of Contents Course Description (Catalog) | This course examines a diverse sample of social problems facing the United States today, and it identifies how these problems affect and are affected by our institutions and culture. The sociological perspective and key theories will be used to understand the beginnings of the civil society, how problems develop and are defined, and the role of social change (particularly contemporary technological innovation). Key social problems covered will include social stratification/inequality, crime, drug abuse, prostitution, aging, infectious disease, family violence, health care, racial/ethnic conflict, terrorism, etc. Sociological research on social problems will be explored, and social policies to remedy the negative consequences of these issues on society will be discussed. Table of Contents Course Scope | This 8-week course is a critical analysis of the social problems in contemporary America. The course examines the history, dynamics, and structural persistence of social problems. This course will help students develop an understanding of how social problems are defined; when/where/how and why interventions are developed for the...
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...to 25. The main message of this chapter is about understanding sociology and how it works in the society. It is shown in the book by going through three main ideas: sociology, major sociology perspectives, and sociological imagination. Sociology is, as defined in the chapter, the scientific study of social behavior and human groups.” It’s similar to the way I’m thinking about sociology, which is the study about behavior of individual or groups in society and how society influences one’s behavior. I think the theory of sociological imagination is the most important out of the three ideas. A recently study has shown that “sociological imagination is an awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society.” (Mills, 2000, p.5) There’s an example about using sociological imagination to explain my observation about the overweight of half or more people in my city or hometown: I could say that from the outside I think they are unhappy from being obese, but from their perspective it is a sign of health (p.5). Major strength of this chapter is sociological perspective: functionalist, conflict, and interactionist. People view society in different ways, same with sociologist. In this chapter, the author was giving a direct approach to sociological...
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...The Sociological perspective What is Sociology? Sociology is the scientific study of human society & social behavior. 2. What is Sociology? * It focuses primarily on the influence of social relationships upon people’s attitudes and behavior and on how societies are established and change. * The ultimate aim of sociology as summed up by Samuel Koenig is “ to improve man’s adjustment to life by developing objective knowledge concerning social phenomena which can be used to deal effectively with social problems.” 3. The Sociological Perspective * 1. The sociological perspective is important because it provides a different way of looking at familiar worlds. It allows us to gain a new vision of social life. * 2. This perspective stresses the broader social context of behavior by looking at individuals’ social location, employment, income, education, gender, age, and race –and by considering external influences –people’s experiences –which are internalized and become part of a person’s thinking and motivations. (cont…) 4. * We are able to see the links between what people do and the social settings that shape their behavior. * 3. The sociological perspective enables us to analyze and understand both the forces that contribute to the emergence and growth of the global village and our unique experiences in our own smaller corners of this village. 5. Subject Matter of Sociology * Sociological analysis: An analysis...
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...Main sociological perspective *Structural Functionalism - the creation of the institutions in society that function to keep society going. Analogy to the human body.(Emile Durkheim) *Conflict Theory- groups with power in society will take care of their needs at the expense of others groups who struggle to get their fair share of societies resources.(Karl Marx/ Max Weber) *Symbolic Interactionism -The study of how information is transferred through human interactions. The issue for researchers studying social problems concerns how groups make their issues known. sociological cannon- the foundational works of a discipline. *Important to the study of social change during the transition from tradition to modernity. Karl Marx- class struggle Max Weber - bureaucracy, ideas causing social change Emile Durkheim- The function of institutions in society. Tradition=Modernity Rural= Urban Farm= Factory Monarchy= Democracy Religion= Science *The works of Marx, Weber and Durkheim replaced the early sociological works that focused on social control had been developed during time of european colonization. U.S Sociology - Social Problems Research Chicago School of Sociology 1900-1940 Examined the problems of cities that were caused by rapid industrialization, immigration, crime. -While social conditions were seen as contributions to problems, ultimately individuals were blamed for their failure to adapt. Structural Functionalism 1950’s- -Seen as a...
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...C. Wright Mills' Sociological Imagination Works Cited Not Included In 1959, C. Wright Mills released a book entitled ‘The sociological Imagination’. It was in this book that he laid out a set of guidelines of how to carry out social analysis. But for a layman, what does the term ‘sociological imagination’ actually mean? In his own words, Mills claimed “it is the capacity to shift from one perspective to another…the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote transformations to the most intimate features of the human self – and to see the relations between the two of them.” . Mills believed that being able to see the relationship between the ordinary lives of people and the wider social forces was the key to the sociological imagination. Fundamental to Mills’ theory is the idea of ‘public issues’ and ‘private troubles’. An individual’s troubles are personal when they occur because of the person’s character. Public issues, however, are a direct result of the problems within society, they affect people hugely but often the individual will assign the problem as their own personal downfall rather than as a societal problem. An ordinary man may get depressed about being unemployed and automatically accept it as his own personal trouble. He will be condemned as being ‘lazy’ or ‘work-shy’ and labelled simply as a ‘scrounger’. However, if there are thousands of other individuals also unemployed, Mills argues...
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...A2 Sociology ASSESSMENT PACK 2015-16 A2 Level Sociology Student Tracking Sheet | |Current Grade |Target Grade |Lates |Attendance | |September | | | | | |November | | | | | |January | | | | | |March | | | | | |May | | | | | | |Families |Education | |UMS | | | |Grade | | | | |Handed in on |Mark |Grade |What is the target for my next piece of work? |Above/ On/ Under Target | |Assessment/Homework |time...
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...Lecture #1: Defining Sociology and Using our Sociological Tools; Please read Ch. 1 Hello everyone and welcome to the start of what will hopefully be a wonderful semester. This semester we will be examining and analyzing science and technology using a sociological discipline. In the beginning of every lecture I will introduce the vocabulary. These words will be significant for the lecture, so put them to memory because you just might see them later, wink, wink, and wink. Vocabulary: Sociology: The systematic study of human societies. It is the scientific study of human social life, behavior, groups, culture and societies. Culture: A way of life including widespread values (about what is good and bad), beliefs (about what is true), and behavior (what people do every day). Social Problems: A condition that undermines the well-being of some or all members of a society and that are usually a matter of public controversy. Sociological Imagination: Is the quality of mind that enables one to see the connection between personal troubles and social structures. Theory: A statement of how and why specific facts are related. Structural-Functional: A theoretical framework that sees society as a system of many interrelated parts. Social-Conflict: A theoretical framework that sees society as divided by inequality and conflict. Symbolic-Interaction: A theoretical framework that sees society as the product of individuals interacting with one another. Technology: the practical use...
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... * The essays will consist 4 paragraphs and a conclusion containing new information. How to use this document: * Use the extract from the mark scheme and examiners’ advice to create essay plans of the questions. * You may not have heard of all of the concepts in the mark scheme but there should be at least some that are familiar to you. * The examiner’s advice usually outlines bad, moderate and good answers to the question so pick out the ways in which you can achieve top band and incorporate this into your plan. June 2015 Examine the impact of government policies and laws on family life. [24 marks] From the mark scheme: Concepts and issues such as the following may appear: patriarchy; familism; surveillance; ideological control; gender regimes; marital breakdown; family structure; family diversity; welfare dependency; underclass; reserve army of labour Policies/laws on abortion; divorce; contraception; reproductive technology; marriage; adoption; pensions; benefits; taxes; education; childcare; child protection; sexuality; immigration may be discussed Analysis and evaluation may be developed, for instance by comparing the impact of different policies/laws or by discussing perspectives on social policy and the family (eg New Right, feminist, functionalist etc) From the examiner’s report: The most successful answers were able to identify relevant policies...
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...Some of the causes for psychological crimes are also that of sociological crimes, so here are some causes that are mainly to sociological approaches: trying to connect issues that the criminal has with the society, family, or peers, interactions with these different groups can add to why the crimes are committed, the historical development of structured cultures and contradictions, the change that these groups are currently going through, and how crimes are viewed by the social construction of criminality, along with it’s social causes. It is thought that sociological crimes arise from an individual feeling like they have a lack of social norms, and aren’t that connected to society. Another theory is that how one is involved in the society creates criminality. This is why some sorts of human behavior are considered harmful, and the society judges them as such altogether. A way to control sociological crimes would be to advance goods and wealth in places that do not receive much, and to have more social programs that are aimed at young children, in order to teach them in an earlier stage of...
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...SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES NAME: MWENYA MAKASA COMP NO: 14129965 COURSE: SOCIOLOGY 1110 LECTURE: MRS NTASHALA TUTOR: MR MWILA LUDAMO TUTORIAL DATE: WEDNESDAY 18-19HRS TASK: ASSIGNMENT ONE DUE DATE: 28TH January, 2015 QUESTION: Discuss the three Main Perspectives in Sociology and indicate their usefulness in Contemporary society? The nature of this essay is to discuss the three main perspectives in sociology and indicate their usefulness in contemporary society. The essay will first start with the definition of the term sociology and the term perspective. Later the essay will identify the three main sociological perspectives which are the key concepts of this essay. And a conclusion will be drawn at the end of this essay. The term sociology can be dated back in 1840. It was a word introduced by the French philosopher and the father of positivism (the use of scientific method in observing and studying social behavior). Auguste Comte (1789-1857) is considered to be the founder of the term sociology used to describe a new way of looking at the society. Therefore sociology can be defined as a scientific way of thinking about society and its influence on human groups (Taylor 2011). Perspectives in sociology provides us with different mindset in which we feel and see the world for example, a musician in America would rather sing about our great...
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...merge together. In this case study, the paper will discuss the context of a healthcare organization. There are some sociological theories that are both present and that can be applied to whatever consequence that may occur because of the merger. A couple of good examples are as follows: conflict theory, which can be defined as concept of conflict over resources, role theory, this is any type of expectation that people have during the change, social constructionism, how reality is really seen by the business and employees, integration theory, social behavior that is looked at through micro/macro analysis, and finally, structural functionalism, this is meeting the individuals biological needs. Impact On Culture There is never a merger that begins and ends without a hitch. Conflicts will always be there. When there are two organizational cultures at work, the more dominant of the two will begin to take over. This can bring out resentment behaviors and alienations. By this happening, a power struggle begins. A good example of this is when General Motors merged with Daimler Benz. As the merger carried on it cause problems for both the American and German employees. The analysis in this case can be looked at what the mission are, the goals as well as the objectives for each business. As the completed analysis was done, the companies were...
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...various methods of empirical investigation[1] and critical analysis[2] to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity. For many sociologists the goal is to conduct research which may be applied directly to social policy and welfare, while others focus primarily on refining the theoretical understanding of social processes. Subject matter ranges from the micro level of individual agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and the social structure.[3] The traditional focuses of sociology have included social stratification, social class, culture, social mobility, religion, secularisation, law, and deviance. As all spheres of human activity are affected by the interplay between social structure and individual agency, sociology has gradually expanded its focus to further subjects, such as health, medical, military and penal institutions, the Internet, and the role of social activity in the development of scientific knowledge. The range of social scientific methods has also expanded. Social researchers draw upon a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques. The linguistic and cultural turns of the mid-twentieth century led to increasingly interpretative, hermeneutic, and philosophic approaches to the analysis of society. Conversely, recent decades have seen the rise of new analytically, mathematically and computationally rigorous techniques, such as agent-based modelling and social network analysis.[4][5] Sociology should not be confused with various general...
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...2. Experiments |Type of Experiment |Information |Practical issues |Ethical Issues |Theoretical issues | | | | | | | |Laboratory experiments |• A laboratory experiment is controlled and is |1. Open systems – Can only |1. Informed consent |• Positivists – experiments are good because of| | |in an artificial environment. |work with science. Society is an open system |2. Harm to subjects - everything, including |their reliability. This is because | | |• There must be two groups , an experimental |where the factors cannot be controlled. |risks, must be explained but what if you are |they can control the variables, produces | | |and control group. |2. Individuals are complex – it |Milgram? |quantitative data and is detached. However, it | | ...
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