Sociology

First, define the phenomenon of “self-help” from a sociological perspective. For example, is this a type of empowerment for people in modern society? Second, after doing your own independent research, provide an example of a self-help topic that gained popularity in the past, but is far less popular today. Cite your sources. Third, to what extent is the phenomenon of self-help connected to the expanding influence of medicine? For example, is self-help a countermeasure against medicine’s increasing influence? Or, is self-help an example of how medical jargon can be adopted by lay actors?

1. Summary of the Article (no more than one paragraph: 1/2 page) You must demonstrate that you read and understood the article using your own words (i.e., use paraphrasing rather than quotes). The key is to focus on 2 or 3 main points of the article that are relevant to this class. Define any key concepts in the article. Make sure to use the ASA style of citations.  2. Social Psychological Analysis of the Article (2 pages) You will learn three main social psychological perspectives earlier in this class: Symbolic Interaction Perspective, Social Structure and Personality Perspective, and Group Processes Perspective. You are to provide your analysis of the article using one of the 3 perspectives. Using your own words, make sure to explain the perspective clearly (i.e., explain the core principles and assumptions), define the key concepts to be applied, and then make a clear argument about how you understand the article from the chosen perspective. Make sure to use the ASA style of citations.  3. Relevance of the Introduced Ideas to Real Life Experience (1/2 page) Discuss your assessment of how applicable the introduced ideas are to real life experience in current society.

Assignment Length: The paper should be a minimum of 5, double-spaced, 12pt. font, pages in length. Papers can exceed this as this as no maximum limits are set. Description: In response to viewing the thought-provoking documentary, ‘The Mask you Live In’ (Siebel Newsom, 2015), and at least two other sources, students will get the opportunity to write up what they they learned about the social construction of violent masculinity, the perpetuation of a stifling mask of emotional invulnerability and toughness cast on to boys at a young age and associated gendered outcomes (e.g., gendering of mass shootings, suicide, sexual assault, incarceration for violent crimes, etc), interweave their thoughts and, if helpful, personal relevance with the topic, and in their conclusion consider strategies they think would be effective in redressing this narrow ‘man box’ and resultant harmful consequences. This paper adopts the social constructionism approach to making sense of gender differences instead of the essentialism school of thought (N.B. Both perspectives are reviewed in the chapter on Gender and Sexualities in the text) and students need to consider the role that family, peers, media, school and/or sports coaches in producing gendered realities. Note: i) In terms of demonstrating how violent masculinity gets socially created, instilled and transmitted as opposed to gender differences being natural, innate, and biologically destined as essentialists claim, students must examine the role that four agents of gender socialization (family, media, peers, school or sports coaches) play in constructing and imposing this limiting version of masculinity. Students need only consider one or two (if working as a pair) of the adverse gendered outcomes/gender differences in behaviour that arise from such imbalanced gender socialization experiences, be it the gender gap in homicide, sexual assault, suicide, mass shootings, school attrition, etc. ii) In terms of the supplementary sources referenced in this paper, these can be strictly chapter readings in the textbook (e.g., 4, 5, 10 or 13) or they can be other reliable scholarly sources retrieved from Humber library database. Given that some students learn best from audiovisual sources, these additional materials can also include other gender-themed documentaries and/or TED talks. Other documentaries worth reviewing include: Tough Guise 1 or 2, Dream Worlds 3: Desire, Sex and Power in Music Videos, The Bro Code, Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes. The paper is primarily a documentary analytical review paper, using the text and other sources to enrich your investigation. iii) Proper APA documentation must be adhered to both within your paper and references list. See: https://library.senecacollege.ca/apa Proper citation (in-text and references page) for the documentary, as well as other documentaries consulted, should be included. In terms of a content guide for this assignment, please consider the following: 1. The introduction should briefly present/introduce the subject under investigation in Siebel-Newsom’s (2015) documentary, ‘The Mask You Live In’. Also included in the introduction is efforts to define/distinguish the concepts of sex and gender (i.e., done well by scholars in the documentary, but also can be clarified in concert with Young and Fetner’s (2017) chapter on gender and sexuality in the course text). Young and Fetner (2017) present two schools of thought that help explain gender differences – essentialism and social constructionism. While it is optional in your introductory paragraph to acknowledge that there is the competing view of essentialism which claims that gender differences are rooted in our distinctive biologies, for the purpose of this paper you intend to examine the social constructionist explanation of gender differences, more specifically how masculinity and its expressions are products of imbalanced gender socialization experiences. 2. Students must pick at least one (or two if working with a fellow student) gender difference in behaviour from the long list discussed in the course or considered in ‘The Mask You Live In’ documentary and show in your papers how this gendered phenomenon stems from the different socialization experiences that males receive from their female counterparts. For example, some gender differences students can scrutinize include: a) the gender gap in suicide (males dying by suicide at a notably higher rate than females), b) males disproportionately being the perpetrators of sexual assault, c) males invariably being both the perpetrator and victim of homicide, d) masculinizing of mass shooting rampages, e) overrepresentation of males in the prison system, f) dropping out of school, g) double standard in attitudes toward and the practice of sexual promiscuity, and so on. Students have three choices as to how they document the gendered pattern of interest: Students can i) discuss the gendered behaviour in their introduction, including empirical evidence (statistics) that demonstrate there is a gender gap/difference that warrants studying or ii) have your first section/paragraph in the body of your paper be allocated to this, iii) integrate attention to the four agents of gender socialization together with their attendant gendered ill effects, or iv) coverage of the gendered outcome can be the last section of the body after one has reviewed the role that four agents of gender socialization have played in (re)producing these gender differences. 3. The body of your paper should be made up of four or five sections (N.B. Avoid overly long or overly short paragraphs. A section can have for instance 2 paragraphs. A paragraph should provide one or two points at the most plus supporting evidence to substantiate those points). While not necessary, students can use headings or subheadings to help facilitate clarity and flow of one’s paper. For instance, one could have the introduction (no need to title) followed by the headings: A. Gender Gap in Suicide, B: Parents, C. Peers, D. Media (includes video games, music videos, music, TV, movies, ads, magazines, social media, etc), E. School or Sports coaches, and then the conclusion (no need to title). 4. With respect to your personal voice/experience, you can either reserve your thoughts to the conclusion or you can use your own observations and experiences as supplementary/additional supporting examples that complement the qualitative and/or quantitative data gained from the documentary, textbook and/or research sources. 5. The conclusion: Students must provide a very brief synopsis of what they gleaned from the documentary and/or their investigation. Importantly, in this section I want you to advance ideas, even those that are hard, costly or you anticipate resistance to implement, that you think would change things and improve everyone’s lives. While pages 117-120 in chapter 5 will not be covered in the final exam, you can get ideas for rectifying/remedying things, dismantling the ‘man box’ and its ill effects from these pages, if desired. References cited (APA documentation is a must for both in-text referencing and reference list – see link above)

Sex Trafficking Review the following book and reports on international sex trafficking and sex trafficking in the U.S. Write a 5-6-page paper about the current state of sex trafficking around the world and in the U.S. Include at least 1 full page analyzing the connection between large social forces and institutions such as the economy, governments, law enforcement and/or war, and the sex trafficking of women and/or children. Your essay should pay particular attention to the issues of gender in sex trafficking as well as their intersections with commerce (and other economic structures) and politics. If you have another credible source of information, use that in addition to these. Bernat, Frances P. (Eds.) (2012) Human Sex Trafficking /London : Rutledge. Sex Trafficking in the U.S.: A Closer Look at U.S. Citizen Victims https://polarisproject.org/resources-and-reports/ https://polarisproject.org/2019-us-national-human-trafficking-hotline-statistics/ Trafficking in Persons Report, 2020. U.S. Department of State.

Outline the history of families and how the conception of motherhood has changed in particular. What is meant by the terms ‘momism’ and the ‘motherhood mystique?’ What is the feminist perspective on families? Discuss within the context of the ideal family, family diversity, and family violence. Discuss the various forms of family violence and its consequences. What do feminist scholars believe is the reason for violence against women? What is your best suggestion to eliminate family violence from society?

This paper asks that you investigate a specific mental disorder/illness that we have studied throughout the semester (e.g. depression, autism spectrum, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.) and discuss it with sociological perspective considering the topics we have learnt in this class. The paper that you write should answer the following questions and should be 5-6 pages in length, double-spaced, Times New Roman and 12 pt. font. You may acquire information about the disorder from outside sources but are not expected to use anything beyond the textbook and other assigned material. The outside sources that you use should be research articles or journal articles but not student papers available on the internet! (I can see anything you use without quotations on Turnitin!) Make sure you fully reference every source you use, cite, or quote, including our course readings at the end of your paper. Do not copy long quotes from the readings or from any other written source. The purpose of the exercise is for you to show your knowledge of the readings, but also to perform a critical assessment of the material. Make sure you back up any factual statement with evidence or a reputable source (e.g. if you say that people are more depressed in 2020 than they were in 1963, you should back this up with some data, not just leave it hanging). You will be graded on the quality of your writing, the clarity and accuracy of your arguments, and the overall coherence of your paper. The exam should be submitted to TurnitIN (i.e. all answers combined in one Word or PDF file) 1. What disorder did you investigate? What is the typical course of this disorder? When does it typically begin? Do people who experience the disorder usually get better? Is the disorder episodic? (10 points) 2. According to your sources, what are the primary causes of the disorder (genetic, environmental or both)? If causes have not been established, what possible causes are drawing the attention of current research? What types of evidence have been historically used to evaluate the causes of the disorder? Have there been any changes in the way the disorder is evaluated in the past and today? (30 points) 3.Describe the distribution of the disorder in the population. What subgroups are most likely to experience this disorder? (race, social class, gender or agewise?) What explanations do the sociological studies give for this distribution? (20 points) 4. Based on what you have learned about the history of disorder, can you talk about any dynamics regarding the social construction of this disorder, its medicalization or deinstitutionalization? Discuss how. (20 points) 5.Consider the presence or absence of social stigma and labeling around the disorder. Have there been any changes in the way it is viewed by the society and social institutions? Are there current mechanisms of support for this mental illness? Discuss these mechanisms, the social actors involved in them and their roles for the social inclusion of sufferers of this mental disorder (20  .

If you could teach all your friends and family about structural functionalism. what you would you teach them and why did you choose structural functionalism?

Many marketing efforts perpetuate the gender stereotypes that are steeped in our culture. Two examples at attempts to maintain these stereotypes through advertising are the Bic Critsal For Her and the Easy Bake Oven. These two conceivably innocuous items triggered a flood of articles, petitions, and videos, denouncing their perceived underlying messages. The first controversy that erupted surrounded the Bic Cristal For Her pen. This pen was created and packaged specifically for women to use. Several groups lashed out at Bic, calling their attempt to target women with “lady pens” sexist and demeaning. Its detractors felt the campaign was degrading and fed into stereotypes by highlighting the thin design and the use of pastel colors. The negative press was overwhelming, although the pens have remained on the market. Consumers also targeted those responsible for marketing the Easy Bake Oven by sending a petition asking its parent company Hasbro to make the ovens in colors other than pink and purple. Thousands of individuals signed the petition asking for alternative oven colors after a teenage girl from New Jersey was angered that her younger brother would have no other option but to use an oven in the colors that are considered stereotypically female. It was argued that the colors supported the stereotypical view that only young girls would want to bake. The signers of the petition felt that young boys who might want to use the toy would be more likely to practice their baking skills if the color of the oven was gender neutral. Consider these two stories and think about your own reactions to the responses to the advertising and merchandising of these items. To prepare: View the assigned resources and reflect on your experience with gender.  By Day 7 Submit a 2- to 4- page paper, in which you:  Identify specific messages about gender presented in the mass media.  Discuss messages about gender you have received from your family or cultural group.  Analyze how these messages have influenced your experience with gender.  Explain how you might address issues related to sexism in the mass media and diverse cultural beliefs about gender and gender roles in your social work practice

Competent social workers are able to construct a strong foundation upon which to build skills by understanding theories from a variety of disciplines. The disciplines of psychology, education, and sociology offer a number of development theories that can easily be applied to the practice of social work. For this Assignment, consider how a theory from another discipline may shed light on social work practice with children and adolescents. By Day 7 Submit a 2- to 4-page paper in which you choose a theory of development from another discipline (refer to Erikson, Piaget, Freud etc.). In your analysis, be sure to address how the theory does or does not relate to social work practice. Please use the Learning Resources to support your answer.

compares health care coverage for elderly Americans to that of another country. What are the advantages or disadvantages of how our health care system serves its older citizens compared to the country you have chosen? Which system would you change and why What would you recommend to improve it? Demonstrate knowledge and use of concepts of the healthcare system in the United States and the selected country. Demonstrate knowledge and use of the health needs of older adults Apply social work values to the problem and/or population and how they may differ from policymakers or other stakeholders. Demonstrate knowledge and use of concepts learned from relevant academic and professional source materials. Only scholarly sources, i.e., peer-reviewed publications, government reports, should be used in this paper.