A serious issue on the minds of many Americans today is unemployment. The rates are staggering; even many people who are employed are uneasy because they have little job security. We often see reports of current unemployment rates on the news, both locally and nationally, but those are not the real unemployment rates; the numbers reported include people who are jobless and searching for work. This leaves a large number of people who cannot work, who settle for part-time work, and who have given up looking for work, unreported. An additional concern is that only one-third of the working population qualifies for unemployment, so in the case of unexpected job loss, two-thirds of workers are left helpless.
As a result of the recession beginning in 2009, the Department of Labor estimated the increase of would-be workers who had given up on finding employment increased by three-quarters of a million. These unemployment rates are being felt nationwide, from the smallest towns to the largest, and are affecting everyone. Anyone in the service industry can see their own jobs suffering, from wait staff with decreased tips to fewer hours available, industry-wide.
This is obviously a national concern, but it also has a lot to do with the global economy. While American jobs are being shipped overseas, Americans are losing jobs while foreigners are gaining them, however at what cost? Industries are able to increase profit margins by exploiting under-aged and adult workers alike, forcing them to work in poor conditions for pennies a day. While American workers want and deserve their jobs back, what would happen to the global economy if industries came back to the United States? Thanks to the greed of American industries, we have dug ourselves into a hole that may be too deep to get out of.
Environmental Concerns
Increasing global populations are contributing to the rapid depletion of our natural resources. This problem is bigger than many realize, and what's worse is that many people make decisions today without thinking about the effect on future generations.Some fossil fuels are nonrenewable, while others are renewable, but we must keep in mind that if we wipe everything out, there will be nothing to 'renew.' Even the most essential of resources, water, is being used faster than it can be replaced. Some agencies are concerned with stopping the rapid depletion of the the use and pollution of resources, however we must also be aware that some resources are too polluted to be saved. Again, this is a result of overuse and negligence by people from the past and present; issues that we are starting to see today are going to be major daily concerns for generations to come.
The environmental destruction is not only affecting us as humans, but it is also affecting many species around the world. Although we could go much deeper into that topic, the point is that what we are doing today is going to have a profound effect on the world our children and grandchildren are going to grow up in.
Americans use much more than their fair share of resources, and therefore we are highly responsible for the way our planet is suffering. However we did not do this single handedly; the whole world needs to take responsibility for the state of the planet. More importantly than placing blame on anyone, we need to take immediate steps to renew what can be renewed, and slow the consumption of what cannot be renewed. We as a generation have caused a lot of harm to a planet that does not belong to us, and now is the time to fix what we've broken.
I. Article - Richest 2 Percent Own Half the World's Wealth
The richest 2 percent of adults in the world own more than half the world's wealth, according to a new study released by the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University. The study's authors say their work is the most comprehensive study of personal wealth ever undertaken. They found the richest 1 percent of adults owned 40 percent of global assets in the year 2000, and that the richest 10 percent of adults accounted for 85 percent of the world's total. In contrast, the assets of half of the world's adult population account for barely 1 percent of global wealth.
"It reflects the extreme nature of inequality around the world," one of the study's authors, New York University Professor Edward Wolff, told OneWorld. "Yes, we are richer than Africa and Latin America and most of Asia, but how much richer is what hadn't really been established until our study came out," Wolff added. According to the report, the average American's wealth amounted to $144,000 in the year 2000, more than 100 times higher than the average Indian or Indonesian, whose assets totaled $1,100 and $1,400, respectively. The study defined wealth as physical and financial assets--like personal savings and home, land, and stock ownership--less debts. Besides the United States, only Canada, Western Europe, Japan, and Israel showed average personal wealth of more than $50,000. Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, many former Soviet Republics, and most of sub-Saharan Africa showed average personal wealth of under $2,000. Conflict-ridden countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Sudan did not report data. "This is a reminder that most people do not live the way middle class Americans live," David Rauchman of the Washington, DC-based Center for Global Development told OneWorld. "That comes out of two centuries or more of history where North America and Europe have experienced steady and fairly rapid industrial development. Meanwhile, places like Asia and Africa haven't so much." Rauchman said foreign aid programs and philanthropy would go part of the way toward closing the international wealth gap, but trade and immigration policies are also important. "If we make it easier for clothing manufacturers and farmers in Bangladesh or Mali to ship their goods to the United States so Americans can buy them, that will help and it will be good for us too," he said. "Same thing for immigration. It's good for Mexico if Mexicans can come to the United States and send money home. If we make it easier for people to come and participate in our economy, it's actually good for economies in the rest of the world." But unfettered free trade tends to benefit the wealthy at the expense of the poor, says Anuradha Mittal of the California-based Oakland Institute, a think tank that specializes in social, economic, and environmental issues. She says the rise of free trade has increased the wealth gap, both internationally and inside many countries. Mittal cites as an example the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed in 1992 by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. "Instead of Mexico being able to export its food to the United States, what's really happened is that U.S. corn exports to Mexico have tripled, pushing 2 million Mexican corn farmers out of business. And those are the very people who then migrate [to the United States]." Those migrants then work for low wages inside the United States, Mittal argues, pushing wages for all workers down. In addition, says Mittal, "when you talk about the ability to export you're talking about big plantations, which creates further inequities inside of countries. You're not going to be talking about [improving livelihoods for] small farmers in Mexico or Honduras or India." One solution put forward by the authors of the United Nations University report is expanding access to microcredit--small loans given to poor people who are not able to get traditional lines of credit from regular banks. The loans, which are often used to help establish or improve small businesses, have proved to be quite safe, with many lenders experiencing repayment rates close to 100 percent. This month, Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his pioneering microcredit program. Yunus shared the award with the Grameen Bank, which he founded 30 years ago. The bank gives small, unsecured loans to nearly 7 million impoverished Bangladeshis--almost all of whom are women. Yunus started by lending 42 people a total of $27. "The excitement that was created among the people by this action got me further involved in it," he said in his Nobel acceptance speech in Oslo. "If I could make so many people so happy with such a tiny amount of money, why shouldn't I do more of it? That's what I have been trying to do ever since." "Grameen Bank gives collateral-free income-generating loans, housing loans, student loans, and micro-enterprise loans to poor families and offers a host of attractive savings, pension funds, and insurance products for its members," Yunus added. But despite its benefits, Mittal notes that microcredit alone is unlikely to put a significant dent in the international wealth gap. "Research shows that more than 55 percent of borrowers after eight years of borrowing are still using their loans to buy food," she said. "So while microcredit is a good survival strategy, it is not a solution for development."
* Article retrieved from http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1222-04.htm
II. Child sewing soccer ball
III. The Hidden Face of Globalization
IV. Resources
Theories of Global Stratification
This website basically summarizes our book's chapter on global stratification. It talks specifically about modernization theory, the culture of poverty, dependency theory, and the new international division of labor theory.
This website is a fantastic resource that gives recent statistics and information about global poverty. It includes a variety of informative articles about the causes, issues, and recent developments surrounding poverty throughout the world.
"The global economy is a runaway train that is causing more and more suffering in the world. The current 'profit before people' system is causing the gap between the very rich and the very poor to grow larger each year. In order to transform the global economy into a true global community, we need to create a Better World Economy - an economic system that gives value to other commodities besides money. Then we can create more sustainable local, national and global communities."
- Robert Alan
VI. Explanation
The global economy and poverty is a huge concern to the world right now. It continues to surprise me how little Americans know about the global economy, and where their products come from. At the same time, it is so difficult to find products and clothing made in America! It saddens me because I wish I didn't have to contribute to the consumerism and exploitation of third world countries, but buying goods made locally is not only difficult, but expensive.
The article I chose sums up the facts about who holds the world's wealth. The photo saddens me, not only because it shows an underpaid child worker, but because he is stitching a soccer ball, which is one of my favorite sports. The video goes into some depth about exploited workers, it shows an interview with a child worker, and also shows the atrocious conditions in which these families live; it's difficult, but I believe necessary to see these images. The websites do a good job of summarizing the important information from the chapter. The quote from Robert Alan did not strike me as entirely unique, but I just feel that it's so true; it seems like common sense to many of us that 'something has got to give' in the world economy, because people are being treated horribly.
VII. Global Stratification Crossword
Across
2. Form of poverty in which people live on less than $275 per year or $.75 per day
6. This theory views the economic development of countries as stemming from technological change
8. Countries that are poor, underdeveloped, largely rural, and with high levels of poverty
9. The ability of a country to exercise control over other countries or groups of countries
10. Form of poverty in which people live on less than $1 per day
11. Form of control of the poor countries by the rich countries but without direct political or military involvement
Down
1. The total output of goods and services produced by residents of a country each year plus the income from nonresident sources, divided by the size of the population
3. Socialist countries of the world
4. Industrialized capitalist countries of the world
5. Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by persons or groups who use their action to try to achieve their political ends
7. System by which Western nations became wealthy by taking raw materials from colonized societies and reaping profits from products finished in the homeland
Sexual identity is at the core of your sexuality. Just as with other aspects of your identity (male or female, young or old, and so on) your sexual identity is how you see your sexual self and how you express that part of yourself to others. But it is just part of yourself - there is more to you as a person than your sexual identity. Most people have many relationships, such as with friends and family, that have nothing to do with their sexual identity.
Sexual identity is one of the three aspects of your sexuality, along with sexual orientation and sexual practices. Sexual orientation describes your underlying sexual preferences, based on a consistent pattern of sexual arousal. Your sexual orientation may be marked by sexual attraction towards people of the opposite sex or towards people of the same sex. For some people, sexual orientation may be towards people of both sexes. Sexual practices are what you do when you have sex, as in the sexual activity itself. All these aspects of sexuality are fluid and may change over time.
We tend to categorise people according to the sexual identity they adopt: heterosexual, gay, lesbian or bisexual. But these categories can be too limiting because they don't reflect how some people see themselves. People may adopt variations on these identities, depending on how they feel and who they are with. Their sexual identities may also evolve throughout their lives.
Your sexual identity can be different to your sexual practices. For example, you might present yourself to others as a male heterosexual and it's how you see yourself. But you might sometimes have sex with men. Having bisexual sex doesn't necessarily mean that your sexual identity is bisexual, if that isn't how you see yourself. It might just be what felt right for you at that time and with that person.
Your sexual identity may not match your sexual orientation. For example, you might be a woman who is consistently attracted to women but still describe yourself as 'straight'. You might feel more comfortable living this way. But you may change and develop a sexual identity as a lesbian to the point where you 'come out' to yourself and others.
* Article retrieved from http://www.yoursexhealth.org/html/details.php?det=0,2
II. The NOH8 Campaign
A photographic silent protest inspired in 2008 by the passing of Proposition 8 in California, amending the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
III. Giant Gay Repellent Umbrella
Taking a break from the serious issue of sexual orientation acceptance with this video. Enjoy!
IV. Quote
When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one. - Epitaph of Leonard P. Matlovich, 1988
V. Resources
Sex Trafficking Fact Sheet
This article is presented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It defines human trafficking, explains what victims go through, how they are often coerced, and provides a resource hotline for victims.
This website is geared toward teens and provides statistics, prevention methods, and facts about teenage pregnancy. Some of the main topics discussed are adoption, weight gain, department of human services, consequences of unplanned pregnancy, health risks, and STD information.
http://www.pregnantteenhelp.org/
VI. Explanation
Sexuality is a hugely controversial topic in the United States; it used to be a taboo topic but now we have a wide range of opinions, from people who are accepting of everyone to people who still attempt to criminalize anything that varies from the majority. This topic has always interested me, simply because I cannot believe the amount of effort people put into fighting something that doesn't affect them. For example, a common argument against gay marriage is that it will 'ruin the sanctity of marriage,' however I am not sure why the heterosexual, mostly married individuals who profess this are so threatened by two other people choosing to commit their lives to one another. I'm also curious how 'sacred' marriage can be if we look at the incredible divorce rate and the constantly-broadcast infidelity of celebrities in American society today.
The article on sexual identity is brief but I chose it because I like how it explains that there are three parts to defining one's sexuality: sexual identity, sexual orientation, and sexual practices. The picture is from the NOH8 Campaign, which as described above, is a silent protest in response to the passing of Prop 8 in California in 2008. The video is one that I have seen on several occasions before, and that I find quite humorous; of course there is a serious topic behind this, because the video is a spoof of an actual anti-gay marriage video. I really enjoyed the quote, because I feel that it speaks volumes about how backwards our society is set up; someone can be a fantastic all-around person with a great work ethic and admirable social standing, but all that can be overshadowed by a matter of the heart, and this is sickening to me. The resources I chose to include touch on a couple other areas in the chapter that I also feel are very important: human trafficking and teen pregnancy.
VII. Sexuality Word Search
W Z L V T G X O D O M T Y N Z A N S
S U J Q Q I R E B S M Q L Z Y O V E
A E K R Z G N J I F C Y S N I F L X
I W X Q M D N R N S A H G T M B M U
B D R U C U U B P U Q X A F U K O A
O Q F C A O Y R O E H T R E E U Q L
H Z C F T L J J O F N H N X J V X S
P M O X K Q I X T E E X L B Z N U C
O O E E F H P D I T M X I C F K B R
M S E X U A L R E V O L U T I O N I
O U T C I C O R U N E L G S X F U P
H X J G Q L O O A N T U J C S D U T
Y P Z T A S Z F H S O I G D R G G S
O H D U E P O H G G C P T E E H T R
R R X X C O M I N G O U T Y N I A T
H E I B J O W O K D J T X N O I F U
S S J U O Q G E L H W V F Y Z L C P
M G X G W W C W U B B V P R M D G S
Gender roles are "socially and culturally defined prescriptions and beliefs about the behavior and emotions of men and women" (Anselmi and Law 1998, p. 195). Many theorists believe that perceived gender roles form the bases for the development of gender identity. Prominent psychological theories of gender role and gender identity development include evolutionary theory (Buss 1995; Shields 1975), object-relations theory (Chodorow 1989), gender schema theory (Bem 1981, 1993) and social role theory (Eagly 1987).
Evolutionary theories of gender development are grounded in genetic bases for differences between men and women. Functionalists (e.g., Shields 1975) propose that men and women have evolved differently to fulfill their different and complementary functions, which are necessary for survival. Similarly, sociobiologists (e.g., Buss 1995) suggest that behavioral differences between men and women stem from different sexual and reproductive strategies that have evolved to ensure that men and women are able to efficiently reproduce and effectively pass on their genes. These evolutionary-based theories share similarities with the essentialist and maximalist perspectives discussed previously.
In contrast, object-relations theorists focus on the effects of socialization on gender development. For example, Nancy Chodorow (1989) emphasizes the role of women as primary caregivers in the development of sex differences. Chodorow asserts that the early bond between mother and child affects boys and girls differently. Whereas boys must separate from their mothers to form their identities as males, girls do not have to endure this separation to define their identities as females. Chodorow (1989) explains that the devalued role of women is a product of the painful process men undergo to separate themselves from the female role.
Gender schema theory (Bem 1981) focuses on the role of cognitive organization in addition to socialization. This theory postulates that children learn how their cultures and/or societies define the roles of men and women and then internalize this knowledge as a gender schema, or unchallenged core belief. The gender schema is then used to organize subsequent experiences (Bem 1993). Children's perceptions of men and women are thus an interaction between their gender schemas and their experiences. Eventually, children will incorporate their own self-concepts into their gender schema and will assume the traits and behaviors that they deem suitable for their gender.
Alice Eagly (1987) offers yet another explanation of gender development that is based on socialization. Eagly's social role theory suggests that the sexual division of labor and societal expectations based on stereotypes produce gender roles. Eagly (1987) distinguishes between the communal and agentic dimensions of gender-stereotyped characteristics. The communal role is characterized by attributes, such as nurturance and emotional expressiveness, commonly associated with domestic activities, and thus, with women. The agentic role is characterized by attributes such as assertiveness and independence, commonly associated with public activities, and thus, with men. Behavior is strongly influenced by gender roles when cultures endorse gender stereotypes and form firm expectations based on those stereotypes (Eagly 1987).
As Eagly suggests, gender roles are closely linked with gender stereotypes. Stereotypes are "overgeneralized beliefs about people based on their membership in one of many social categories" (Anselmi and Law 1998, p. 195). Gender stereotypes vary on four dimensions: traits, role behaviors, physical characteristics, and occupations (Deaux and Lewis 1983). For example, whereas men are more likely to be perceived as aggressive and competitive, women are more likely to be viewed as passive and cooperative. Traditionally, men have been viewed as financial providers, whereas women have been viewed as caretakers. Physical characteristics and occupations have also been considered consistent or inconsistent with masculine or feminine roles.
Traditional gender stereotypes are most representative of the dominant (white, middle-class) culture. Hope Landrine (1999) asserts that although race and social class may not be mentioned when inquiring about gender stereotypes, most people will make assumptions about these categories. Her research suggests that when race and social classes are specified, different gender stereotypes emerge.
Gender roles and stereotypes affect couple and family interaction. Often, for example, the division of household labor is based on gender. Traditionally, white women in heterosexual couples remained at home and completed most of the domestic labor, while their male partners worked outside the home to provide the family income. Although women have increasingly joined the workforce over the past thirty years, they continue to do the majority of the household labor. Lawrence Kurdek (1993) studied white, heterosexual, gay, and lesbian couples without children. He found that heterosexual and gay couples were more likely than lesbian couples to divide household labor so that one partner did the majority of the work. Lesbian couples were most likely to share domestic tasks or take turns doing the tasks (Kurdek 1993).
Gender roles often become more differentiated when men and women become parents. Overall, women provide more direct care for and spend more time with children (Walzer 2001). This care includes taking responsibility for the mental work of gathering and processing information about infant care, delegating the tasks related to infant care, and worrying about infant health and well-being. In sum, the unequal division of both household labor and childcare, with women doing the bulk of the work, is thought to contribute to the reported lower marital satisfaction for women (Walzer 2001).
Gender roles and stereotypes affect men and women in other ways. Specifically, men and women may be judged by how well they conform to traditional stereotypes. In his theory of masculine gender role strain, Joespech Pleck (1976) asserted that boys and men are pressured to fulfill a standard of masculinity. Boys and men, for example, who do not fulfill the standard often suffer from low self-worth (Pleck; Sonnenstein; and Ku1993). Other lifelong consequences befall men who experience traumatic socialization practices such as rites of passage that entail violence. Even men who successfully fulfill the standard of masculinity suffer psychologically or emotionally from rigid constraints on acceptable parenting roles for men (Pleck; Sonnonstein; and Ku 1993). Richard Lazur and Richard Majors (1995) contend that gender role strain is pronounced with men of color. Men of color must balance the dominant standards of masculinity with their cultures' standards of masculinity in an effort to fulfill both satisfactorily. In addition, men of color must overcome prejudice and other obstacles to fulfill the standards of masculinity. The result is increased gender role strain for men of color (Lazur and Majors 1995). Likewise, white women and women of color may be constrained by standards of femininity, such as the pressure to have children.
Gender stereotypes can also affect men's and women's performance. Stereotype threat is defined as "an individual's awareness that he or she may be judged by or may self-fulfill negative stereo-types about her or his gender or ethnic group" (Lips 2001, p. 33). Research indicates that stereo-type threat can negatively affect performance by increasing anxiety. For example, Steven Spencer, Claude Steele, and Diane Quinn (1999) found that women performed significantly worse than men on a math test when the participants were led to believe that the test would probably produce gender differences. In contrast, women and men performed equally well when the participants were led to believe that the test did not produce gender differences. These findings suggest that negative stereotypes can and do negatively affect performance even when the stereotype has not been internalized or incorporated into the view of the self.
* Article retrieved from http://family.jrank.org/pages/686/Gender-Gender-Roles-Stereotypes.html
II. Gender Stereotypes Endure: The Toy Aisle
- VS -
III. Gender Stereotypes in Media
IV. Resources
Early Childhood Gender Socialization
This short article explores three theories involved in gender socialization. The theories discussed are psychoanalytical, social learning, and cognitive development.
This website was created by transgendered psychology professor, Dr. Madeline H. Wyndzen. She explains her personal struggle with growing up confused by her gender identity, and also lists several resources for people struggling with the same issues or doing research on the topic.
http://www.genderpsychology.org/
V. Lyrics
I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way
Don't hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way
Lyrics from "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga
VI. Explanation
To me, this image is a joke but to some, this is how the world works; there are hyper-masculine men and hyper-feminine women and that's that. This is a huge problem with society because there are very few people who actually operate under these extremes. Gender is a term that people need to understand as a spectrum, not a binomial option. This is why I chose to cover this chapter in my blog; the internet is brimming with images and articles about gender stereotypes and the injustice that it causes.
The article is a less-than-brief, but very interesting resource to explain the issue of gender roles and stereotypes and the effect on society. For my picture, I knew I wanted to do photos of the toy aisle, because that is still something that intrigues me whenever I go to a store. Toy aisles have been like this as long as I can remember, and whenever it seems like society has made a leap in equality, we are reminded that genders are still placed into a "box" and defined quite narrowly. The "Gender Stereotypes in Media" video is a great compilation of clips perpetuating gender stereotypes; although I find it somewhat humorous, it's important to realize that these are actual advertisements and movies, and kids are being infiltrated with these views of gender on a daily basis. The song "Born This Way" is a new single from Lady Gaga, who I must admit I admire for her willingness to shroud conformity; the song is about acceptance in a variety of areas, but acceptance of gender identity is definitely a main theme.
VII. Gender Crossword Puzzle
Across
3. Practices that single out some groups for different and unequal treatment
5. A society or group in which women have power over men
6. Refers to biological identity, being male or female
7. Refers to advocating for a more just society for women
8. A condition caused by irregularities in the process of chromosome formation that produces persons with mixed biological sex characteristics
9. A society or group in which men have power over women
10. The socially learned expectations and behaviors associated with members of each sex
Down
1. The fear and hatred of homosexuals
2. A method for opening opportunities to women and minorities that specifically redresses past discrimination by taking positive measures to recruit and hire previously disadvantaged groups
4. Those who deviate from the binary (male or female) system of gender
The phrase "white-collar crime" was coined in 1939 during a speech given by Edwin Sutherland to the American Sociological Society. Sutherland defined the term as "crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation." Although there has been some debate as to what qualifies as a white-collar crime, the term today generally encompasses a variety of nonviolent crimes usually committed in commercial situations for financial gain. Many white-collar crimes are especially difficult to prosecute because the perpetrators use sophisticated means to conceal their activities through a series of complex transactions. The most common white-collar offenses include: antitrust violations, computer and internet fraud, credit card fraud, phone and telemarketing fraud, bankruptcy fraud, healthcare fraud, environmental law violations, insurance fraud, mail fraud, government fraud, tax evasion, financial fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, bribery, kickbacks, counterfeiting, public corruption, money laundering, embezzlement, economic espionage and trade secret theft. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, white-collar crime is estimated to cost the United States more than $300 billion annually. Although typically the government charges individuals for white-collar crimes, the government has the power to sanction corporations as well for these offenses. The penalties for white-collar offenses include fines, home detention, community confinement, paying the cost of prosecution, forfeitures, restitution, supervised release, and imprisonment. However, sanctions can be lessened if the defendant takes responsibility for the crime and assists the authorities in their investigation. Any defenses available to non-white-collar defendants in criminal court are also available to those accused of white-collar crimes. A common refrain of individuals or organizations facing white-collar criminal charges is the defense of entrapment. For instance, in United States v. Williams, 705 F.2d 603 (2nd Cir. 1983), one of the cases arising from "Operation Abscam," Senator Harrison Williams attempted unsuccessfully to argue that the government induced him into accepting a bribe.
Both state and federal legislation enumerate the activities that constitute white-collar criminal offenses. The Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government the authority to regulate white-collar crime, and a number of federal agencies (see sidebar), including the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, the Secret Service, U.S. Customs, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, participate in the enforcement of federal white-collar crime legislation. In addition, most states employ their own agencies to enforce white-collar crime laws at the state level.
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
A variety of nonviolent financial crimes, generally committed by businesspeople or public officials,involving commercial fraud, consumer fraud, swindles, insider trading on the stock market, embezzlement, bribery, or other dishonest schemes.
* Article retrieved from http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/White-collar_crime
II. Growing concern: overcrowding in the U.S. prison system
III. The ultimate Ponzi scheme - Bernard Madoff
IV: Resources
Introduction to the Sociology of Deviance
This website is a short and concise version of Stephen Phofl'sImages of Deviance and social Control: A Sociological History.Simply put, society's reactions create social norms; deviance from those norms occurs and elicits another reaction from society, which sometimes leads to a revision of social norms, and further deviance.
http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/200/intrdev.html
Sociological Theories to Explain Deviance
This website gives a short breakdown of the theories behind the social deviance. The theories summarized are cultural transmission/differential associations theory, control theory, labeling theory, structural strain/anomie theory, subcultural theories, and medicalization of deviance.
http://www.valdosta.edu/~klowney/devtheories.htm
V. Quote
"There is no such thing as a value-free concept of deviance; to say homosexuals are deviant because they are a statistical minority is, in practice, to stigmatize them. Nuns are rarely classed as deviants for the same reason, although if they obey their vows they clearly differ very significantly from the great majority of people."
- Dennis Altman
* Quote retrieved from http://quotes.dictionary.com/search/deviance
VI. Explanation
The chapter on crime and deviance interested me for two reasons; first of all, the sociological definition of deviance seems to vary greatly from society's perception of who we actually consider deviants. This is just one of the many examples of how society and culture is ever-changing; when the definition was developed, the acts that were considered deviant were no doubt very different than the acts we consider deviant today. The second part of the chapter that interests me is the section white collar crime. I agree strongly with conflict theory in the belief that elite and corporate deviance go largely unrecognized and unpunished. I believe that this is a huge problem, especially due to the fact that the people participating in these crimes are largely the people holding political power and are therefore somewhat protected by their status. White collar crime costs the nation billions of dollars per year and many Americans are unaware of the destruction being caused by the people we trust to "call the shot"s in this country.
I chose the article because I believe it gives a great breakdown of the white collar crime epidemic that Americans need to be aware of. The photo of the crowded prison speaks volumes to me, society has an idea of what they consider to be deviant activity, and the law has another idea; laws are generally in place for good reason, and therefore they should generally be followed, but I don't know that locking everyone up for minor offenses is the best way to cope with society's deviants. Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme is such an extreme case that I wanted to include a video that summarizes his 20-year con game. I really liked the quote from Dennis Altman, it's a great example of what I mentioned earlier where the sociological definition of deviance and the public understanding of the word differ greatly.
Crime has existed, in one form or another, since the beginning of civilization, and will undoubtedly continue until the end of time. For this reason it is important that we continue to strive to understand more about crime and the deviant individuals who commit these crimes.
VII. Crime and Deviance Word Search
A C A P W U B P O A Q C N T M Y E
I S Y X W B S V I J B J C A Y D U
W E A B Q O M F L D S O S S I B W
B M N J E W D C J U E T W C Z V K
I I O F O R M A L D E V I A N C E
O R M O P H T J P R U U I S Y Y O
T C I Y O E Q E S O S H T A K F P
E X E F V T Q T R C K I R B N L I
R E H M W E A L I R G S X V K C R
R D B P L T M T W M O U L B R A E
O N C Q U W S A A Q R R B S W A T
R I L S L I Y G O L O N I M I R C
I J D M U E M I R C A R D S U I I
S V B R V P O N Z I S C H E M E C
M X T Z C P O Q G Y Q N N N V I J
J L H H Q H O T Z R M U N J S J Y
A T E Q N C X G T L B I X E N I B
altruistic suicide
anomie
bioterrorism
crime
criminology
cyberterrorism
deviance
formal deviance
index crimes
master status
Ponzi scheme
stigma
Sociology is an empirical science that often seems to be under-appreciated by the world. Of course some devote their entire lives to the study of society, but shouldn't we all take an interest in this? After all, humans are social animals, and no matter how independent or alone we can feel at times, we are all connected under the sociological perspective. I have a deep interest in psychology as it pertains to the study of the mind, which is a vast and fascinating field. However it wasn't long before I realized that studying the mind of individuals was only the beginning; how those individuals interact with each other is also fascinating. Despite some obvious differences between people world-wide, such as language and skin color, sociology tell us that we are actually a lot more alike than we are different.
“Man's characteristic privilege is that the bond he accepts is not physical but moral; that is, social. He is governed not by a material environment brutally imposed on him, but by a conscience superior to his own, the superiority of which he feels. Because the greater, better part of his existence transcends the body, he escapes the body's yoke, but is subject to that of society.” - Emile Durkheim
