What I Learned (Essay)

This semester, Fall 2012, I took the class, Introduction to Sociology 100, and I learned a lot about the world that I live in. I never paid attention to society as much as I did this semester because of the things that stood out to me from what I learned. Professor Applewhite not only was an amazing help, but someone who I know, understood what he was talking about in every chapter that we focused on in the text. He also is someone who is passionate about what he teaches and that made the class more interesting. I was a bit hesitant to take this class because I was told that it’s a lot of reading, which it was. Though, it was much reading and studying, it was beneficial. For a person who is as young as me, heading out in this cold crucial world very soon, the things that I learned from this class, I will forever take with me and apply it to every journey that I embark.

To start off with things that I learned from this class, the first was to understand how people can transition themselves into a whole different person when they are given a job/role that requires him/her to have power. This information I got was from the video that we watched, “The Standford Prison Study – Experiment Video”. It surprised me to see how the security guards and those who aren’t inmates act when they are given jobs, knowing that they don’t behave like that outside of their uniforms. Another topic was learning about culture. I was always open to other people cultures because I know everyone isn’t raised by the same family, not raised in the same environment, and not even raised in the same country. What I didn’t realize was what was part of one’s culture is the fact that everything such as what we eat, drink, how we dress, how we behave in different settings, language, how we speak, and how we think is also a part of one’s culture and everyone has their own.

What I was taught about social structure was that it constrains social behavior by putting limits on it, but, it enables social behavior by providing the context in which people can interact. What makes up a social structure is recurring patterns of behavior. Also, what links people to one another and to patterns that constitutes social structure are status and roles. Statuses are a position in the social system that can be occupied by an individual, and roles are the sets of expected behaviors associated with particular statuses. For example, I’m a daughter and a student which are some of my statuses and my expected behavior is to listen and to obey my parent and give respect to my mother. Some roles a student would be, to come to school on time, study, participate in class, and to complete my assignments. That I knew about, but I didn’t know that I had a status. I thought that you had a status after you completed your years of school and made something out of yourself such as becoming a doctor, lawyer, nurse, or a teacher.

Something that was a piece of great information was the qualities that differentiate us humans from animals. Though an animal may, eat, sleep, communicate with other animals in their own ways, have emotions, and give birth, while humans do the same thing, what differentiate us is that we are social and cultural in nature. Being social, he/she survives by depending on others, learning how to survive from others, and developing individual and human qualities through socialization. Being cultural is basically one who interprets the world according to what they've learned in society.

The last chapter we covered was about class and this chapter is one that I would continue to read multiple times because it is very important. There is the Capitalist, Middle Class, Working Class, and Under Class. These classes are segregated, treated differently, and have different experiences. Some are put into classes based on wealth, race, or even gender. Members in the upper class, (capitalist), often generate income through their wealth, rather than through employment. So some of these people do not really have to work or if they do work they do not have an actual 9-5 job.  People in the middle class contribute to specialized knowledge and expertise to the economy. Had I not learned about this I would’ve considered myself as middle class, but I realized that there is such thing as upper middle class and lower middle class. The working class require some skill and knowledge, basically people in this class live pay check to pay check and struggle with persistent debt while the underclass do not have an ongoing relationship to the mainstream economy. It’s sad but its reality and we just can’t escape it. We are labeled, and judged and often looked down on based on our resources, what we look like, our skin color, how we talk and even where we live. Sociology really opened my eyes a lot more to what goes on around me and to others. Hopefully certain things will change in the future, but the way how things are going in today’s world, I’m not too confident about that. But if we as a people come together to help make a change, most likely something can be done. Sociology is a beneficial course and I would recommend anyone to take it. I had an interesting semester and with this course I would be able to think above, outside and beyond.

Beyond Black and White: Remaking Race in America by Jennifer Lee, and Frank D. Bean

Since the 2000 census, Americans were able to label themselves and their children as multiracial. Before then,  parents had to fill out government documents as their child being either black or white. Now they have the oppotunity to be able to say that their child is black and white or asian and white. The new opportunity to mark more than one race is important because it indicates that people can recognize the mixing of racial backgrounds. Even while this is present, diversity does not mean race is irrelevant. It just means that new kinds of color lines may be emerging. Increase in immigration changed America from being a black-and-white country into one of numerous racial and ethnic groups. Immigration, intermarriage and willingness for Americans to call thmeselves multiracial changed how America measured race. Before all of this, the "one drop rule"  of hypodescent was present. This meant that any persons with any trace of black were labeled racially black.  Later on Americans had the oopportunity to claim themselves as either, Black, White, Asian, Native American, Hispanic, Asian Pacific, or other. The multiracial movement didn't favor everyone, especially for black civil rights groups. They feared that those who would otherwise be counted as black or Hispanic, would now choose to identify as multiracial, and, depending on how such persons were counted, diminish their official counts. Census Bureau's decision to "mark one are more races" gives recognition to individuals who see themselves or their kids as multiracial and speaks volumes about how far the country has come since the days of the one drop rule which enjoyed legal legitimacy. The tendency of black Americans not to report multiracial identifications undoubtedly owes in part both the legal and de facto invocation of the one drop rule. Based on immigration, intermarriage, and multi racial identification, it appears that Latinos and Asians are closer to whites than to blacks, and consequently ,may be particpants in a new color line that continues to disadvantage blacks.

The Uses of Global Poverty: How Economic Inequality Benefits the West

   Sociologist Herbert Gans published an article entitled "The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All". In the article, Gans utilized a conservative theoratical perspective in sociology, functionalism, to inquire about the persistence of poverty in America. Priced good of reasonable quality enjoyed by Western consumers is underpinned by the low-waged work done in low income countries.Labor cost typically constitute a high percentage of a company's expenditures. By reducing labor costs, companies can both keep prices reasonable and raise profit margins. Poor states may sell raw goods at low prices to Western states, which can transform the resource into a more valuable finished poduct. The position of the poor states in the world economy makes it less likely that they can derive the full benefit of the resources they possess for the government and people.The poor provide a pool of guinea pigs for the testing of medicines developed for use primarily in the West. Poorer states like India have become intellectual feeders of well-educated and bright individuals whose skills cannot be fully rewarded in less developed states.
    Global poverty benefits inhabitants of wealthy countries, who can feel good about helping the global poor through charitable work and charitable giving. Those who inhabit the wealthy corners of the world feel good about themselves for sharing their good fortune.The overdevelpoment of the West may well be a big threat. While the West derive the benefits and bonuses of these econmic inequalities, it seems likely that our efforts to support, advise, and assist the less developed states will remain at levels that are financially and politically convinient and feasible, and will target survival rather than true prosperity for those outside our gated privileged, greedy Western neighborhood.

Class and Global Inequality Chapter 9

   Class is about both personal experience and the broad structures of social inequality. It is a group of people who share a roughly similar economic position and lifestyle.Karl Marx analysis of class on the idea that if people are to survive, they must meet their basic material needs for food, clothing, and shelter.Weber empasized the interaction of three dimensions of inequality; class, social status, and political power. He looked at class in terms of life chances, which is the likelihood a person has of obtaining valued economic and cultural resources. For Weber a class is a group of people who share a common market situation- they have a similar capacity to earn money. Capitalist, Middle Class, Working Class, and Under Class, are the major U.S social classes. Class can have an impact on health, educaton, work, politics, and lifestyles. Income levels are usually measured by household rather than individual, because counting the income from multiple wage earners who live in a single home more accurately reflects people's standard of living.
Class systems permit some class mobility which is the ability to move from one social class to another. There are two types of mobility; structural mobility and individual. There are also two types of poverty which are absolute poverty and relative poverty. As stated in the video "People Like Us",America is divided by class. Even though class is every where it is hard to see. Some people are in denial about their class because of the stigma that comes with it. U.S. is one of the wealthiest countired with lots of inequalities. The wealthy dominates the poor each and every single day and they arent taxed as much as those people in the middle class. To me, the country would never be balanced if it stays this way.

People Like Us Video

This video basically spoke about what determines someones class. Things such as how you look, popularity, how much money you have/make, or how big your house is, leads people to judge what kind of class your in. As we move through life we seperate ourselves often unconciously from people who don't fit in our social class. I actually experienced this in high school. I always seperated myself from those who I felt I didnt belong with. The kids with the latest clothing, the most expensive bags, the longest extensions, were  people who I felt were some how "better than me". So I surrounded myself around people who were the same as I am. Not that I couldnt afford certain thing as to why I didnt have them, it was that my parents were very serious about money  and didnt think that those material things are important than what I was to achieve from high school, which was a diploma. Those material things made other kids look as if they were wealthy. As if they had a job but come to find out they were just recieving money from their parents. To me, those material things wouldve been a major distraction if I had put my concentration on them. I'd rather be looked down as a person with less income because I didnt have what was "expected" and be a highschool graduate, than to have all those things and  not graduate from high school. I think having a diploma and having the opportunity to go to college determines ones class after all.
 The video also stated that America is divided by class. The neighborhood you live in, how far you've reached in school, the type of food you eat, or the way you wear your hair too. Class is everywhere but often hard to see. The choices you make reveal your class. Such as where you decide to spend leisure time, the kind of kitchen utensils you buy for your home, the brand of your furniture, or the brand of your car. These little things reveals class. I find it to be a little sad, because its like saying the material things that someone owns, makes them who they are. Its like saying if your wealthy then your happy.  Most wealthy people are the most miserable people on earth because they have so much money that they dont even know what to do with themselves. So i'm fine with the class that i'm in. I wouldnt mind how people would judge me based on my physical appearance or material things I own. People today are so stuck in this mind frame that they have to be this "American Family" which requires them to be extremely wealthy and have a huge family, going to the top notch colleges, high schools or private schools. I dont think anything is wrong with going to the most known colleges or working at one of the top businesses, but I dont think that these things should determine someones class. It makes those who didnt get the opportunity to do such things or have such things feels less of them selves.

Chapter 8: Deviance

This chapter focuses on deviance. Devicance is the bahvior that does not conform to basic cultural norms and expectations. What may be deviant in one country may not be deviant in another. So this explains that deviance varies. Labels often creates a stigma for an individual. For example labeling a child a trouble maker may lead he/she to adopt the role of a trouble maker. People start to internalize the stigma that is given to them. Deviance helps define group boundaries, creates social solidarity, and is a source of innovation. Deviance can be explained as immortality, and illness rational choice. Today, I believe that normalization occurs. Things such as plastic surgery and tatoos, which were onces scorned is now accepted. These activites were once deviant to people but now its common around the world. Power also has alot to do with deviance. Power is connected to our basic assumptions about what's normal and what's deviant. Also, it determnes whether and how authorities enforce norms and punish deviance, enables some privileged groups to engage in distinct forms of deviant behavior and allows some people to escape being branded or punished as deviant. There are also debates about punishment for people who are deviant. Reribution, Rehabilitation, Deterence, Protection, and Restoration are five of them.

Blog Correction: Socialization; Killing Us Softly; A Call to Men

The two videos connects with the chapter of Socialization because its shows that agents of society has a major impact on ones life and in socializing individuals. It shows the power that the media has over viewers. According to these videos a man is suppose to be superior and a women isn't. A woman should be viewed as an object based on Killing Us Softly. These ads, these agents of society can really lock us into a world full of their own ideas and that doesnt give us a chance to be who we want be but who we think we should be.

The video by Tony Porter is extremely touching and I feel is important for every man to watch and to pay attention to what was said. Men are taught to be superior, tough, stong, dominating, show no emotion and feel no pain. How can one feel free? How can one go in their entire life playing this role? The touching part of this video was when he spoke about being in the room with the 16 yr old girl who was laying on the bed nude at his friends house. He didnt know what to do. He didnt know if he shouldve took the opportunity or walk away from it. Eventually he had made his mind up and decided to walk away from it but pretended as if he did have sex with the girl in order to not get looked at as less than a man from his friends. This links with what sociologist Charles Horton Cooley articulated, which was the concept of looking glass self. I give that man a lot of respect to not touch that young lady because he is one of the very few who wouldnt do anything with her and I mean few. I also think that young boys or even men use the "Man Box" to their advantage and view it as something totally different that what it is at times.
Killing Us Softly was basically about how advertising images of women can have a negative impact on on society. These ads can make a woman feel so less of herself because all it shows is THE PERFECT WOMAN. Women do not stop to think that these ads are for people to spend their money on whatever is trying to be sold. Like the women who are half naked in the Victoria Secret Ads. Its used for men to buy their girlfriend or wife these lingeries to satisfy their fantasy. Its also used for women to bu the clothing that is sold their for themselves. Looking at these females in these ads you can see that they are incredibly thin which makes women want to try every possible thing they can to get to that size to feel beautiful. Also ads focuses mosly on a woman butt or breast which sells sex. Its a messed up thing and society needs to work together to stop it. Why do women have to expose themselves just to make money? Why are we viewed as objects? Why cant we be superior and not inferior to men?
This chapter taught me a lot about understanding how people recognize or learn their sense of self. I found this chapter very interesting and made some very interesting points, especially at the end when it stated about the guy who isolated himself because he wanted nothing to do with society and when he left he yells "Finally, I am free". The texts states that he basically isnt as free as he thought because yelling those four words are concepts he learned from society. He took with him all that he learned through socialization. That part of this reading, which was at the end of the chapter really summed up the chapter very clearly. Socialization is the process through which people learn their culture's basic norms, values, beliefs, and appropriate behaviors. It is guided by many different agents of socialization, or people and groups who teach us about our culture. My family are the number one agents of socialization for me. As I get older being exposed to different people and groups, other socializing agents will take on roles. Family, school, workplace, media, peer groups, religions, and total institutions all play a role of agents of socialiaztion.
 Socialization is a never ending process and it occurs pretty much through out someones entire lifespan. From childhood, to adolescence, to adulthood, an finally to when someone is aging; around his/her time to reitre. Biology (genes) has a lot to do with social life as well. Genes represent the potential for particular traits, but how those traits are expressed in a particular person depends on the physical and social environment into which the person is born.
  Charles Horton Cooley articulated the point of the looking glass self. The looking glass self is the idea that our sense of self develops as a reflection of the way we think others see us. This means that people's sense of self is determined in relation to their interaction with others. George Herbert Mead argues that self is made up of "I" and the "me".  "I" is the part of the self that is spontaneous, impulsive, creative, and unpredictable, while the "me" is the sense of self that has been learned from interaction with others.

A Brief Summary on "Race and Class in the American Criminal Justice System" by David Cole

This article speaks about the inequality in the criminal justice system. Poor and minority citizens are disproportionately victimized by crime. Poorer and less educated persons are the victims of violent crime at significantly hgher rates than wealthy and more educated. Because we live in segregated communities, most crime is intaracial; the more black crime there is, the more black victims there are. African Americans made up about 12% of the general population, but more than half of the prison population. They serve longer sentences, have higher arrest and conviction rates, face higher bail amounts, and are more often the victims of police use of deadly force than white citizens. Nationally, for every one black man who graduates from college, 100 are arrested. Basically a black person's face is stereotypically associated with crime. Our criminal justice system affirmatively depends on inequality, and also that there is two systems of criminal justice: one of the privileged, and another for the less privileged. Some of the distinctions are based on race, pthers on class, but in no true sense can it be said that all are equal before the criminal law.

What Does It Mean to Be Human?: Human Nature, Society, and Culture

This article by Joel M. Charon explains the key qualities that differentiate us from animals. Though we are animals, many believe that there are differences such as humans having a soul and a conscience, or that humans are instinctive, or that we are the only animal that makes war on its own kind. Human beings are mammals, which mean that we are warm blooded, we give birth to live young, the female nurses the younbg, and we have hair covering parts of our body. The unique qualities we maintain is that we are social and cultural.  Without those two qualities we wouldnt be who we are. Humans need others for survival and culture arises from social life. Through the use of symbols, selfhoos and mind we are able to figure out our world and develop ideas uniquely our own. So to summarize what a human is, it is a being who is social and cultural in nature. Being social, he/she survives by depending on others, learning how to survive from others, and develops individual and human quaities through socialization. Being cultural is basically one who interprets the world according to what they've learned in society.

Tony Porter: A call to men - Killing Us Softly Advertising's Image of Women

The video by Tony Porter is extremely touching and I feel is important for every man to watch and to pay attention to what was said. Men are taught to be superior, tough, stong, dominating, show no emotion and feel no pain. How can one feel free? How can one go in their entire life playing this role? The touching part of this video was when he spoke about being in the room with the 16 yr old girl who was laying on the bed nude at his friends house. He didnt know what to do. He didnt know if he shouldve took the opportunity or walk away from it. Eventually he had made his mind up and decided to walk away from it but pretended as if he did have sex with the girl in order to not get looked at as less than a man from his friends. This links with what sociologist Charles Horton Cooley articulated, which was the concept of looking glass self. I give that man a lot of respect to not touch that young lady because he is one of the very few who wouldnt do anything with her and I mean few. I also think that young boys or even men use the "Man Box" to their advantage and view it as something totally different that what it is at times.
Killing Us Softly was basically about how advertising images of women can have a negative impact on on society. These ads can make a woman feel so less of herself because all it shows is THE PERFECT WOMAN. Women do not stop to think that these ads are for people to spend their money on whatever is trying to be sold. Like the women who are half naked in the Victoria Secret Ads. Its used for men to buy their girlfriend or wife these lingeries to satisfy their fantasy. Its also used for women to bu the clothing that is sold their for themselves. Looking at these females in these ads you can see that they are incredibly thin which makes women want to try every possible thing they can to get to that size to feel beautiful. Also ads focuses mosly on a woman butt or breast which sells sex. Its a messed up thing and society needs to work together to stop it. Why do women have to expose themselves just to make money? Why are we viewed as objects? Why cant we be superior and not inferior to men?

Chapter 6 ; Socialization

 This chapter taught me a lot about understanding how people recognize or learn their sense of self. I found this chapter very interesting and made some very interesting points, especially at the end when it stated about the guy who isolated himself because he wanted nothing to do with society and when he left he yells "Finally, I am free". The texts states that he basically isnt as free as he thought because yelling those four words are concepts he learned from society. He took with him all that he learned through socialization. That part of this reading, which was at the end of the chapter really summed up the chapter very clearly. Socialization is the process through which people learn their culture's basic norms, values, beliefs, and appropriate behaviors. It is guided by many different agents of socialization, or people and groups who teach us about our culture. My family are the number one agents of socialization for me. As I get older being exposed to different people and groups, other socializing agents will take on roles. Family, school, workplace, media, peer groups, religions, and total institutions all play a role of agents of socialiaztion.
 Socialization is a never ending process and it occurs pretty much through out someones entire lifespan. From childhood, to adolescence, to adulthood, an finally to when someone is aging; around his/her time to reitre. Biology (genes) has a lot to do with social life as well. Genes represent the potential for particular traits, but how those traits are expressed in a particular person depends on the physical and social environment into which the person is born.
  Charles Horton Cooley articulated the point of the looking glass self. The looking glass self is the idea that our sense of self develops as a reflection of the way we think others see us. This means that people's sense of self is determined in relation to their interaction with others. George Herbert Mead argues that self is made up of "I" and the "me".  "I" is the part of the self that is spontaneous, impulsive, creative, and unpredictable, while the "me" is the sense of self that has been learned from interaction with others.

"The Milgram Experiment"

This experiment was very interesting to me. Its amazing to see how far someone would go when they are giving the authority over others. Tweleve students were given the role to be a teacher, and were told to shock the student if he had got the word pairing wrong. The shock was from 15 bolts to 450 bolts. Nine student went on with the experiment which couldve killed the person if the experiment was real. But the people who were playing the rol of the teacher did not know that it wasnt real and that it was an experiment. With that being said, those nine had absolutely no remorse for the person sitting in the other room. They felt that they were being pressured by the professor which was their authority to do this job. While the three people who found it difficult to continue, ending with one getting up and leaving didnt really care to much about the authority over them. This video just goes to show that here are people in this world who would not care about others feelings as long as they have power. I believe it selfish and that it is a very cold world. I cant believe that power can really lead people to oppress others. I couldnt do such a thing. People commit violence so easily without even knowing it and that is the worse part about the whole experiment. Especially the 19 year old who found absolute joy in what she was doing. I was so disturbed with her reaction and if you check closely she had a fun time while smirking all along through the experiment.

Chapter 5; Five Faces Of Oppression

Chapter five spoke about power and how to understand power. Also what is linked with power. From what I read, I see that power is linked to inequality. There are plenty of places that I've been where I have observed how people used power to their advantages. Its sad and disturbing. I feel like no one should feel like they are bigger or more important on this earth surface than the next person. We are all human and are all equal. Based on the reading power is the ability to bring about an intended outcome even when opposed by others. They are two kinds of power. The "Power To" and the "Power Over". I experienced a lot with those who have "Power Over". Empowerment (power to) is to bring about and intnended outcome. Empowerment was the focus of much feminist scholarships on power. It onvolves enhancement and self improvment. Empowrment can inolve orginizations, communities, and entire categories of people. With this I think a GED program, Breast Cancer Walk, and things like that are a form of empowerment. Domination (power to) is the ability to bring about an intended outcome. An example of this would be forcing children to be brides. There are some strategies to overcome opposition. To persuade, coerce, and reward.There are also different types of power. Reward, Coercive, Legitimate, Referent, Expert, and Informational power. People in power also use tactics. Those tactics are harsh and soft tactic, rational and non rational, and unliteral and bilateral. These strategies people use to influence others in everyday life. The "Five Faces Of Oppession" basically stated the five different types oppression. Those five are Violence, Marginalization, Cultural Imperialism, Powerlessness, and Exploitation. Oppression is when people make others feel less human. This happens every day in every way stated. People work in sweat shops are exploited because they are paid farely for their labors, a lot of African Americans or jobless especially those with criminal background but a white man would have more of a chance with finding a job with the same background, people who have no form of education or skill usually are poor and some may live in shelters where they are treated unfair and spoken to in a disrespectful manner, whatever the ruling class believe is right the lower class must follow in their footsteps and as far as violence, its committed everyday based of fear or idle hands.

Chapter 4: Social Structure; The Meaning of Social Control

 Chapter four explains to me about what is social structure and how it varies over time and from one culture to another. Recurring patterns of behavior makes up a social structure. Although structure constrains social behavior by putting limits on it, it also enables social behavior by providing the context in which people can interact. Social life is also made up of patterened routine behaviors. More or less predictable routines are what sociologist calls social instutions. Social instituions are major arenas of social life in which durable routines and patterns of behavior take place.What links people to one another and to patterns that constitutes social structure are status and roles. Statuses are a position in the social system that can be occupied by an individual, and roles are the sets of expected behaviors associated with particular statuses.
They are also two kinds os statuses. Ascribed statuses and achieved statuses. Social structure exists precisely because we construct and reconstruct dovisl order in our daily routines. Etnomethodology is an approach that examines the methods people use to make sense of their daily activities, emphasizes the ways in which we collectively create social structure in our everday activities.Organizational structure refers to the rules and routines, both formal and informal, that shape daily activity within organizations. Globalization has changed the structure of work life and communitied dramatically. Actiondd is the ability to operate independent of social constraints. Webere identifieed three basic types of human action. Traitional action, tha is motivated by custom, Affective action which is guided by emotions and feelings, and Rational action which is motivated by calculations of efficiency.
 "The Meaning of Social Control" stated that the ultimate oldest means of social control is physical violence. Al men live in social situations in which, if all other means of coercion fail, violence may be officially and legally used against them.Universities or churches use economic sanctions just as effectively in restraining their personnel from engaging in deviant behavior deemed by the respective authorities to go beyond the limits of the respective authoritities to go beypond the limits of the acceptable. It may not be actually illegal for a minister to seduce his organist, but the threat of beings barred forever from the exercise of his profession will be a much more effective control over this temptation than the possible threat of going to jail. Gossip, as hardly needs elaboration, is especially effective in small communities, where most people live their lives in a high degree of soial visibility and inspectability by their neighbors. In such communities gossip is one of the principal channels of communication, essential for the maintenance of social fabric. Both ridicule and gossip can be manipulated deliberately by any intelligent with access to their lines of transgression. Immortality is punished by loss of one's job, eccentricity by the loss of one's chances of finding a new one, bad manners by remaining uninvited and uninvitable in the groups that respect what they consider good manners. The sanctions of society are able at each moment of existence to isolate us among our fellow men, to subject us to ridicule, to deprive us of our sustenance and our liberty, and in the last resort to deprive us of life itself.

Chapter 3: Culture

Chapter 3 was quite interesting to me. I really learned alot about different views of others culture. The test describes culture as one of sociology's core concepts, and it is essential in society. Culture is a collection of values, beliefs, knowledge, norms, language, behaviors, and material objects shared by a people and socially transmitted from generation to generation. To me, everything such as what we eat, drink, how we dress, how we behave in different settings, language, how we speak, and how we think is a part of ones culture and every one has their own. What may seem normal to Americans may not seem normal to people from other countries, and what may be normal to other countries may not seem normal to us Americans. Based upon the article "The Body of Nacirema" , the ritual of the mouth-rite, didnt really seem normal to me, and us as Americans going to the dentist to clean our mouths may not seem normal to those who practice the mouth-rite. I also learmed the different elements of culture, which are material culture and nonmaterial culture. Material culture refers to physical objects produced by people in a particular culture, including tools, clothing, toys, works of art and housing, while non material culture refers to the ideas of a culture, including values and beliefs. Also culture has alot to do with values which is a deeply held principle or standard that people use to make judgments about the world, beliefs which are the specific convictions or opinions that its people generally accept as being true, knowledge which is the range of information, awareness, and understanding that helps us navigate our world, and norms that are culture's rule and expectations for "appropriate" behavior. There is also cultural diversity which involves dominant cultural subcultures, and countercultures, high culture and popular culture, the commercialization of culture, and multiculturalism. Culture basically has a significance in our every day lives.

Sense and Nonsense About Surveys by Howard Schuman

The article gave me an insight on how a survey should be studied and how and why it is important and beneficial. Surveys is one to gatther information by asking questions. Asking questions continues to be an effective way of acquiring information of all kinds with assumption that a person answers accurately. When it comes to sampling,  probability sampling in its simplest form calls for each person in the population to have an equal chance of being selected. Also, surveys do not only depend on probability sampling. Surveys vary greatly in their quality of implementation. Another important factor in surveys are the wording and context of the questions asked. An example given in the article:
    

• Do you think the United States should forbid public speeches against democracy?
• Do you think the United States should allow public speeches against democracy?

I definetely do believe that answers would be different based on how the questions was asked. If you really pay attention its asking the same thing. But while taking surveys I dont think people take the time out to pay attention to whats being asked due to the fact that they might want to hurry and get the survey done with, its ti many questions, they are limited to say what they actually feel because they dont really have an option to say it because its either a yes or no or maybe because the survey isnt interesting to them. While some people do process the questions asked much more after they read it the first time. While said this, surveys do have an advantage still over some methods which is the ability to develop both [probability theory in sampling and experiments in questionings.

Chapter 2: Understanding the Research Process and The Body Ritual Among The Nacirema

  Chapter 2 was basically about understanding social science, how to do research, the different types of research, and how to think critically by assesing research. I learned that they are three different ways that one can interpret both the natural and social worlds. By basic research, applied research, and public sociology. According to the text, basic research is the primary goal of which is to describe some aspect of society and audience ourunderstanding of it. Applied research is the primary goal of which is to directly adress some problem or need, and public sociology is the effort to bring the findings of both basic and applied sociological research to a broader non academic audience. In doing research they are roles of theory because thoery plays several vital roles in social research. The roles are highlighting key questions, explaining collected data, and seeing connections. There is a theory-research dynamic and methods of collecting data. In collecting data the most commonly used technique is a survey. They are versitile and useful. Intensive interviews and focus groups are also useful as well. Intensive interviews is a gathering techinique that uses open-ended questions during somewhat lengthy face-to-face sessions including fewer than 100 participants, while focus groups made up usually of six to twelve people. Other ways to collect data also is by field research, which a researcher systematically observes some aspect of social life in its natural settings, existing sources, which is data previously collected by other researchers and experiments. The three different types of research I learned about are Positivist Social Science, Interpretive Social Science, and Critical Social Science. To assess research a scientific community does monitoring through peer-review process which is a way in which scholars evaluate research manuscripts before they are published in order to ensure their quality.
  According to the Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, I read that the Nacirema culture is characterized by  highly developed market economy which has evolvedin a rich natural habitat. The focus on the activity is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the ethos of the people. This article really opened my mind . It really had me in total shock after reading some of the things that takes place. Such as a "mouth-rite". The "mouth-rite" involved opening a clients mouth and using either a auger, awl, probe or prod to enlarge holes which decay may have created in the teeth. Magical materials are put into these holes and if they aren't naturally occuring holes in the teeth, large sections of one or more teeth are gouged out so that the supernatural substance cane be applied. Knowing that people actualy take magic and other supernatural things so seriously and appling that to their culture was interesting and makes me want to read into other cultures.

FFV Doc Quiet Rage - The Standford Prison Study - Experiment Video; The Promise and Pitfalls of Going Into the Field Article

  Based upon the video I watched, "The Stanford Prison Study", I learned about how people can transition themselves into a whole different person when they are given a job/role, especially one that requires you to have power. I also learned about the manipulation  that occurs in a prison and the psychological tactics that the guards use to punish prisoners. In a way its harsh,but then again, the only reason a person should be in prison, is because he/she violates a law. Its sort of like "you made your bed so lay in it' situation. For people who were falsely accused of violations and do end up in prison, and have to deal with the lack of freedom there, would be very difficult and they will completely loose their minds.
  Psychological tactics included prisoners to do jumping jacks, push ups, and sit ups. This is all done by the prisoners because they feel that the guards have the upper hand. Those who didnt want to cooperate had been put in the "hole", which was punishment for them. Its called solitary confinement, when a prisoner is isolated from the rest of the inmantes.To me that was a physical punishment and unnecessary. The are already in prison which is already bad enough and locking them up into another place would lead them to go mentally crazy in a matter of time. This did happened to an inmate throughout the experiment. In his case, it was done purposely, forgetting that it was just an experiment. Watching the video, I myself forgot it was an experiment as well because it seemed so real. Manipulation took place when the visitors came to see the inmates. The prison was cleaned, the prisoners were groomed, and the prisoners were fed a hot meal and warned to not complain about visiting hours. Also, the music was played for the visitors through the intercom while they waited to see who they came for. This I can compare to when its PTA meeting at schools. Teachers classroom are clean, handouts suddenly appear on the walls, the teachers change their clothes and speak differently, all for the parents and even when there aren't PTA meetings, this takes place. For instance when the principal walks in a classroom without being expected, the teachers begins to teach like its their first day of work. The video basically proved that with power and authority, you can control those who are weak or have no say
  What I learned from the article "The Promise and Pitfalls of Going Into the Field" is that ethnography, is that in order to understand why people do or act the way they do you have participate in their activities and speak to people. You can't develop a theory based upon your own assumption. You have to be involved in what you want to observe with the people your observing and what they do. Participating in these activities, you would have to gather data, have a data analysis and a data presentation and thats what would make a successful ethnograpy.

Who Am I?

    Who am I? I am a kind, respectful, loving, intelligent, beautiful young lady. I love to see others happy and will do anything for someone who needs help to get back on their feet, or needs a smile on their face. I am very dedicated to whatever I put my mind too. I don't have a temper but I do get upset. Thing that get me upset are lies, when people take advantage of my kindness, and when I am disrespected. I dont believe anyone should be disrespectful to another. Singing and dancing are my passion. Those two things makes me who I am. Singing takes me to a whole different place. Its me, myself and I. No one and nothing but my unique voice. Dancing helps me relieve the stress that I may be under at times. Everything that once was on my mind suddenly erases once I start to move. The music I mostly dance too is dancehall. Takes me back to my roots since my background is Jamaican. When it comes down to influences in my life I would have to say my mom. She influences me each and every single day. She also influences me to pursue a singing career as well. My purpose in life is to achieve the plan that God has in store for me. Also to make my mother proud and myself. I have plenty of goals in life. To become a teacher, a cosmetologist, a professional dancer and a reggae artist.