Abstract This paper discusses the environment and its relationship with technological progress. The author uses figures, numbers and statistics to demonstrate the environmental paradox, the faulty thought that things are worse than they were before, when in fact they are getting better. The author also looks briefly at future advances in technology such as cloning and genetic engineering and argues for the far-reaching advantages it will provide the human race and environmental science.
From the Paper "In this paper I set out to prove the environmental paradox. The world is getting better and better every day, we live in the greatest time the human race has ever had ? and people say it's going to the dogs. I would like to end this paper with a quote from P.J. O?Rourke: ?Things are better now than things have been since men began keeping track of things. Things are better than they were only a few years ago. Things are better, in fact, than they were at 9:30 this morning, thanks to Tylenol and two Bloody Marys.? (O?Rourke, p. 2) "
Abstract This paper explains exactly what affirmative action is and how it affects society. The author explains how it could be viewed as reverse discrimination or whether it is just making up for years of mistakes. The author takes a stand and says that affirmative action should be outlawed.
From the Paper "One way that the use of affirmative action can be limited is by giving more money to institutions that have a strong minority population (Sterlitz, 1999). This would give them better opportunities to get a job based on their skill instead of on their race. Sterlitz (1999) says "these institutions would give direction and guidance that is needed by all to play a major role in his/her community."
Abstract This paper is a very detailed discussion on the controversial and complex process called globilization, including its major contemporary trends, the controversies surrounding it, its economic, political, technical, legal, organizational, ideological and cultural dimensions. The author submits that that subjective ideological patterns may be imposed upon Globalization issues.
From the Paper "According to Modelski, the process of Globalization is a range of waves coming from frictions between different civilizations. In my view, Globalization phenomena imply a special reorganization of production, inter-dependence between macro economies, mobility, diffusion and transfer of factors of production. Many agree with Sachs, that development is often the cause of rather than the solution to our problems, some of which include the dissolving family ties, hostile environment, lack of reliability and predictability."
Abstract This research attempts to examine the extent to which the media influences the lives of adolescents. The author attempts to investigate how the media impacts the socialization of the youth culture and whether the media is so powerful that it has come to replace other socialization agents such as the family, school and peers. The author examines the way socialization agents impact stages of development and how each contribute to another aspect of the individual's forming personality and attitudes. The author makes use of various sociological theories for supporting evidence.
Table of Contents:
Chapters
1.0 Statement of Research Problem
1.1 Research Problem 2
2.0 Introduction to Theoretical Perspectives
and Review of Literature 3
2.1 Introduction to the Media as an Agent of Socialization 3
2.2 Getting to Know the 3
2.3 The 4
2.4 How the Media Socializes 5
2.5 Media as an Industry 5
2.6 Development of Gender Roles
and Consciousness of Achieved Status 6
2.7 Global Impact vs. Role in North American Society 7
2.8 Pros and Cons of Media Dominance 7
2.9 Independent and Dependant Variables 8
2.10 The Test 8
2.11 The Respondents 9
2.12 The Choice of a Questionnaire 9
2.13 Possible 9
2.14 Validity of Respondents 10
2.15 Questionnaire Distribution 10
2.16 Questions to Answers 11
2.17 Conclusion to Theoretical Perspectives
and Review of Literature 11
3.0 Administration Overview 12
3.1 Time Schedule 12
3.2 Budget 12
3.3 Ethical Issues 13
4.0 Measurement Overview 13
4.1 Existing research 14
5.0 Analysis Overview 14
6.0 Implications 14
6.1 Practical Applications 15
Figure #1 The Questionnaire 16
References 18
From the Paper "There is a problem in Canada that youth are unaware of the significance of the media and its influence on their day-to-day lives. The main questions that will be investigated in the research and hopefully answered if not fully understood by the end of the study would be as follows: How important is the media in the socialization of Canadian popular cultured youth? Is the media the most influential agent of socialization in a teenager's life? Has the media replaced the family, school and peers for being the centre of acquired knowledge for youth? Existing sociological theory suggest we have varying agents of socialization that have different effects on us at different stages of our development and life course. Agents of Socialization are people, groups or institutions that teach people what they need to know in order to participate in society. During the elementary years of school peers are the most important influence. A peer group is a group of people who are linked by common interest, equal social position, and similar age categories. Even as adults we are still influenced by our peers. In this study it will be discussed that the media because of its worldwide accessibility has become a great contributor to socialization than the peer group between the ages of 15-18. The stage of development, which will be conveyed, is called anticipatory socialization (to be discussed in further detail in the theoretical discussion section). This influence at the ages of 15-18, which is referred to, as adolescence will carry on for the future generations as a vital agent of socialization through, out their adult lives."
Abstract This paper examines the controversial debate over abortion in the United States, as well as the medical aspects of the procedure. The author discusses the difference between induced and spontaneous abortion, alternatives to surgery, the option of adoption, and various abortion rates on a global scale.
From the paper:
"In this day and age, women no longer need to experience giving birth to a child at all. With the legality of abortion, came the option of staying pregnant and giving birth or terminating the pregnancy in the early stages. Abortion is a highly controversial and personal decision. A decision that requires a lot of time for thought. The issue has brought upon a real life tug-of-war match between the pro-lifers and pro-choices. Those who support pro-life beliefs feel that abortion should be abolished and that the laws are too lenient. Those who support pro-choice believe that the decision should lie solely with the mother and laws should not limit her options."
Abstract This essay discusses the Vietnam War not just as a war fought in Asia, but as a war fought in American as it related to cultural change. It was, in many ways, a cultural war that was coming for several years and only needed some powerful fuel to ignite radical changes. The essay concludes with the realization that the psychological impact left on the families and soldiers involved in Vietnam, was greater than anyone imagined.
From the paper:
?The country was living in the lap of luxury, or more specifically in the lap of capitalism. America was proud, yet was also beginning to feel pressure concerning truly solid realities such as the inequality of the African American and women. The Vietnam War served to ignite many fires, changing the American culture in many ways.?
Abstract This literature review is all about television violence and the effects on youth. The author attempts to examine whether television consumption cause children to imitate behavior. The author includes an examination of how parent involvement interacts. This research includes statistics as proof variables.
From the paper:
"Television is a part of life. Virtually every household has a television set and many homes have two or three (Ledingham, 1993). Needless to say, television plays an enormous role in the lives of many American families and the magnitude of its influence on people is considerable also. This is especially true where children are involved. According to Liebert & Sprafkin (1988), "television viewing time rises from about 2.5 hours per day at the age of five to about 4 hours a day at the age of 12." Ledingham goes on to say that "television is used frequently by parents as a babysitter or distraction device" (1993)."
Abstract This paper talks about the roots of Child Labor Laws by examining the use of children as laborers beginning in the Middle Ages, through the Industrial Revolution and into the Victorian Era. It traces the abhorrent conditions these children faced, especially during the Industrial Revolution, where times where extremely difficult, through the Victorian Era the The National Child Labor Committee was formed, and strict laws were passed regarding children. These laws regulated and enforced working conditions, hours and ages that could be employed.
From the paper:
"It was thought to be a benefit for children to work, so they could get a head start on building a life for themselves. Poor children could contribute to society by working, and through self-reliance and determinism could break free from poverty.
"The prevalent attitude was that the laissez-faire economic system had made America great, and that any interference in the natural way of things was "unscientific, irrational, and unjust" (Trattner, 1970: 32). Social Darwinism also supported child labor and the lack of regulation. Society valued individualism and self-reliance, and saw any regulation of industry as obstructing a natural process that should be allowed to progress free of restraints. Each person should try their hardest to get rich, and nobody should interfere with a person's right to accumulate wealth, even at the expense of others."
Abstract This paper looks at the popular and enduring adage declaring that America is "a melting pot" of cultures and at the idea that this country seems to believe that all of its ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse inhabitants have, throwing away all of their particularities, melted into just one cultural identity. It looks at the history of different immigrants to the United States, and examines their integration, or non-integration into society.
From the paper:
"Like national minorities (Native Americans), African Americans (not modern African immigrants to the U.S.) have been incorporated involuntarily into American society due to the fact that they are the descendants of those who entered the slave trade after either being captured from West African regions or sold into captivity by African kingdoms-in short, they did not emigrate out of free will from their birthplaces as did members of ethnic groups. However, they are somewhat like ethnic groups in the sense that they do originate from foreign lands and are not indigenous to U.S. territory as are national minorities."
This paper examines how an organization can handle a crisis. The steps an organization takes during a crisis will determine how they come out of it. This paper lays out how an organization can effectively deal with crisis to prevent lasting damage.
1,430 words (approx. 5.7 pages), 8 sources, 2002, $ 47.95
Abstract This paper looks at the importance of a company's crisis management strategy and how the strategy that an organization takes during a crisis can affect the long-term health of that organization. It also puts forth the theory that organizations often collapse because when a crisis occurs they are not equipped to deal with it in a quick and timely fashion.
From the paper:
"Planning ahead of time can help soften the negative impact of an ongoing crisis. Decisions made while planning for a potential crisis tend to be more rational then a decision made in the middle of a crisis. Develop a crisis manual that is simple and easy to read and make sure it is used; it is worthless if it sits idle on a shelf. All employees need to be trained so they know what their roles will be during a crisis. This training will help prepare everybody in the organization to avert or effectively manage extraordinary incidents. It is not possible to plan for all potential crises that can occur. Rather an organization should prepare an action plan that involves responses for various aspects of a possible crisis."
Abstract This essay examines the roles played by women in the military and gender stratification. The author discusses three Supreme Court cases that strengthened the ongoing argument that females should be allowed into military positions of active combat. The paper also looks at the story of Major Rhonda Cornum, taken captive in the Black Hawk incident.
From the Paper "As the world enters the twenty-first century, the question of gender stratification and exclusion in military ground combat situations continues to be the center of much disagreement and debate. Female citizens should by all means be guaranteed the same opportunities for advancement and individual freedom of choice that are given their male counterparts. The obtainment of these opportunities and freedoms should not, however, come at the expense or sacrifice of all aspects of the time-honored relationships and boundaries that have conventionally existed between the sexes, one of which is the battlefield."
Abstract The author looks at several sociological and environmental factors that can be associated with the rise in juvenile violence, whose roots can be traced back to the early 1980s. The author looks that the rise in the numbers of juvenile crimes, the sociological factors that specifically affect juvenile crime, and lastly, examines specific environmental factors that appear to be affecting juvenile crime. The paper looks at this rising trend, that began with changes that the country underwent at the turn of the twentieth century, and the adverse affects they had on the family structure.
From the Paper "In his popular 1997 book entitled "Kid's Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood," author Gary Cross states that, over the course of the twentieth century, American parents "increasingly lost control over and even understanding of the play of their children" (p. 149). The children's entertainment industry developed alongside an advancing technology, and basic toys and games became increasingly complicated and complex as well as increasingly foreign to parental understanding with each passing decade. By the time that the Electronic and Information Age had fully exploded in the 1990s, most parents had fallen so far behind the technological times that effective censorship of the films that their children viewed and the games that their children played had become, in effect, virtually impossible. In the face of a rapidly changing technology, many modern parents simply stopped trying to monitor their children's entertainment activities. With this decrease in parental notice and attention came an increase in violent and criminal content, an exchange that ultimately resulting in an electronic atmosphere and environment that graphically glorifies violence and worships the virtual gods of death and destruction."
Abstract This paper is an analysis of how women compare themselves to the female images that are displayed to them today as role models. The author examines the current backlash against feminism today. The paper pays particular attention to body image and the eating disorders that plague so many women as a result of the skeletal models and actresses they perceive as perfection.
From the Paper "Over the past twenty years women have not been content merely to denounce biases and inequities in the established media. Women have created and used countless alternative and participatory communication channels to support their struggles, defend their rights, promote reflection, diffuse their own forms of representation. This process has made women the primary subjects of struggle and change in communication systems, by developing oppositional and proactive alternatives that influence language, representations and communication technologies."
Abstract This paper compares and contrasts social theorists? Emile Durkheim and Robert Merton's views on anomie. It explains the origination of the term and how each man took the theory in a different direction, depending upon the time in which he lived.
From the Paper "French social theorist Emile Durkheim coined the term "anomie" in his book The Division of Labor in Society, published in 1893. He used anomie to describe the loss of norms that was occurring in society. Durkheim said that anomie is produced in times of rapid social change, when existing rules, habits, and beliefs no longer hold and alternatives have not yet been found."
Tags: change, conflict, culture, goals, norms, social, society, sociology, theory
Abstract This paper examines why Satanism is attractive to teenagers. The author discusses how satanic religious practices offer adolescents total self-indulgence, self power and a complete license to indulge in the forbidden. The paper also discusses how in this era as the society is in a constant flux of change and teenagers feel adrift in face of societal changes they become interested in such things as Satanism.
From the Paper "The personality profile of an adolescent susceptible to cult overtures might include identity confusion or crisis; alienation from family; weak cultural, religious, and community ties; and feelings of powerlessness in a seemingly out-of-control world. Studies have indicated that a surprising number of cult members come from democratic and egalitarian homes and upper socioeconomic levels, rather than over permissive, overindulgent, dysfunctional, and poor families. In fact, reports that many cults focus on the recruitment of gifted and creative adolescents. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to delineate a precise portrait of potential adolescent cult members."
