Sociology

Instruction to start this essay: Please write a one-page (250 words) reflection on the recent presidential election.  You are free to write about any topic related to the election.  To help you think about this project, here are some possible topics from which to choose.  Your paper may respond to several of these topics: The merits or demerits of one of the presidential candidates or political parties Your general enthusiasm or indifference to the presidential election The behavior of either presidential candidate before, during, or after the election Your assessment of the impact or lack of impact of the new president on America’s long-standing structural problems (such as poverty, racing, and climate change)

Answer these two questions: 1. In the article by Bennett, “empathy” is discussed as a virtue. What is empathy and why might it be a virtue worth acquiring? What is required to acquire or develop the virtue of empathy? Consider Bennett’s discussion of historical views on empathy in your reply. 2. Bennett suggests that attempts to employ empathy as a design strategy fail in a number of ways, particularly when designing for people living with disabilities. What is an example of that failure and what makes it a failure? How can empathy be more successfully employed in design? No source needed

This week’s module addresses physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development of late adulthood.  In this post, please discuss how today’s older population is changing?  Some items that may be discussed are: How has life expectancy changed?  What factors influence health in late adulthood?  What role does faith and spirituality have in the aging process? Please feel free to provide a relevant example.   In order to get the discussion flowing, post your initial response as early as you can and then be sure to revisit the discussion thread to answer questions and/or enhance your learning. As a minimum requirement, respond in a substantive manner with at least one original comment (approx. 250 words) by Tuesday at 11:59 pm ET and respond to at least one of your classmates (approx. 100 words) by Friday at 11:59 pm ET. Posting Instructions

FAST WRITTERS ONLY!!! THIS IS NECESSARY FOR ASSIGNMENT ASA (American Sociological Association) CITATION IS A MUST. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Write an essay that reflects on this video  You have some creative license when it comes to this essay—its organization, structure, and the precise nature of your argument. You will be asked to watch a short video (10 minutes), and write an essay that responds to the video The strongest essays will be chock full of relevant evidence, and will clearly demonstrate an engagement with course concepts, theories, and readings.       Concepts and therioes like and as follows:                       – Consumer culture (concept)                      – Conspicuous Consumption (Veblen theory)                      – McDonaldization                      – Impression management (Goffman developed the concept of to describe the work that goes into managing the self we display for others)                      – Capitalism                      – Globalization                       – Diderot Effect  Avoid rambling and repetition You can write the essay referencing your own personal experiences, but you should use academic language  The goal of the essay test is for you to demonstrate that you can apply your learning in this course to the real problems (and seductions!) of consumer culture. ___________———————————————————————————————–____________ -Don’t plagiarize your essay. Write it in your own words. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation criteria Your essay will be evaluated on: a) The depth and originality of your analysis (Ask yourself: Have I understood the question, and can I make connections to course content? How can I use evidence from the course to discuss this topic?) b) Critical thinking and reading skills (Ask yourself: Am I thinking creatively about the issue? Am I regurgitating, or putting the ideas together in an interesting way?) c) The application of key course concepts, readings, and lecture notes to the analysis (Ask yourself: Have I conveyed the knowledge I gained in the course? Do I reference appropriate concepts, authors, readings, and lecture ideas to answer the question?) d) Coherence and organization of argument / clarity of expression (Ask yourself: Does my response make logical sense? Have I organized my thoughts in a coherent way, using smooth transitions and concise expressions? Have I proofread sufficiently? Is the tone of my writing compelling and appropriate for academic writing?)     “we experience consumer society as something natural. But it’s not” – Juliet Schor

Assignment #2 – Letter to a Policy Maker In a well-written and persuasive letter, write to a policymaker at the local, state, or federal level about a policy initiative (reform) you believe will improve public education. You may select one of the topics covered in class or you may select your own idea. If you select your own idea, please run the topic by me before you begin. In the letter you should: a. Explain the purpose of the policy you are recommending b. Explain why you believe the policy will be effective (e.g., you should cite applicable research, articles, statistics). You may include your own personal experiences as a student, parent, teacher, etc. to make your case, but this alone is not sufficient. c. Explain the challenges the policymaker will encounter implementing this policy. In other words, provide the counter-argument for your initiative and explain why you believe your position is better for public education. d. Explain how policymakers will know if the initiative is effective? e. The letter should be no less than 4-5 pages Your letter should be persuasive. You can only be persuasive if you back up your argument with information culled from published research. For example, if you are arguing for more charter schools, provide research that shows charters are more effective. Sample Topics: Reforming the way schools are funded Arguing for expansion of charter school cap in NY Passage of a school voucher law in NYS Reforming NYC’s specialized school entrance exams (in the news a lot lately) Reforming the teacher evaluation process Proposing changes to ESSA You may choose another topic too (check with me first) A sample structure for the letter: Date Inside Address (look this up) Dear Governor Cuomo (or whomever you decide to write to): Opening: Explain the purpose of your letter: I am writing to you today to express my displeasure with the current policy on ______. Go on to explain why you are unhappy/happy with the policy. Why do you think reform is needed? Body (First Half): Give several reasons why you feel reform is needed in this area. Provide relevant statistics to back up your case for why the current policy is ineffective Transition Body (Second Half): The next area of the paper should explain your proposal. Why do you think your alternative is better. Again, make a persuasive argument. Cite statistics and research in the readings. What are the challenges the policymaker will face with this reform (hint: think of the stakeholders who would oppose). Ending: Wrap up your letter. Make your final pitch. Salutation e.g. Sincerely, Your Name Include references in APA style at the end of your paper. Title these References not Works Cited or Bibliography.

Discuss how you would justify a budget’s fixed and flexible expenses to a board of directors or grant funding agency. What negotiation or conflict resolution strategy would you recommend if the board or agency does not accept the initial justification?  Find references that are current and relevant to a non- profit organization.

What are some problem areas in the provision of services for children? What types of challenges do these problems pose to social workers and others who work with children? What steps might alleviate these problems? Discuss the role of the social worker in this process.

Critically reflect on the following reading: Elson, D. and Cagatay, N. (2000) ‘The Social Content of Macroeconomic Policies’, World Development, 28(7):1347-64. And then address the following questions: 1. What is meant by the social content of macroeconomics? How does it differ from the mainstream approach? 2. What are the three biases that prevent transformative perspectives in macroeconomics? Why are they significant for women’s economic status?

Required Resources Read/review the following resources for this activity: Textbook: Chapter 1, 15, 16 Minimum of 1 outside scholarly source (in addition to textbook) Initial Post Instructions End-of-course student surveys exist for you to share your anonymous feedback on your courses. The purpose of the survey is to gather data from a specific population (you, the students) to understand your experience in the course, and to determine areas of success and improvement in our courses, including this one (so hopefully you do share your feedback because we always want to improve our courses and teaching). Chapter 1 of the textbook and Week 1 of this course explored the research process. As mentioned in Week 1, research is fundamental in the social sciences, and a survey is a common sociological data collection method. If we look at the course surveys from a sociological perspective, we see that they are used to understand a specific population’s perspective of a social experience/issue. For this discussion, then, you will observe and analyze and evaluate the survey itself, as the budding social scientists you all now are, based on your learning in this course! Now, to come full circle, analyze the end-of-course surveys for their effectiveness as a sociological measurement tool. For the initial post, respond to one of the following options, and label the beginning of your post indicating either Option 1 or Option 2: Option 1:How would you improve the survey itself to create the best snapshot of student impressions of this or any Chamberlain University Online course? Option 2: What specific change or changes would you make in the survey, or in how it is administered, in order to increase the survey’s reliability and/or validity? Remember, as you learned in Week 1, reliability is consistency in results and validity asks the question: “Are you measuring what you intended to measure? Writing Requirements APA format for in-text citations and list of references Include citations from at least the assigned textbook/lesson reading and one additional outside scholarly source to support your response. Link for textbook: https://www.amazon.com/Sociology-Our-Times-Diana-Kendall/dp/1337109657

answer both questions 1- it has been said that postmodern sociology is an oxymoron. do you agree with this statement? if yes. why? if no, why not? 2- Christian Smith is moral, believing animals offer a different approach to the sociological theory than do most sociologists. what makes his theoretical perspective different? is his view viable? if yes, why? if no, why not? must use these books no other sources: Postmodernism and social sciences the insight, inroads, and intrusions by Pauline Marie Rosenau. Moral, believing animals human personhood and culture by Christian Smith. use quotes from the books to back up your answer.