a crucial distinction between traditional concepts of buggery and modern concepts of homosexuality.”

1. Jeffrey Weeks says: “The legal classification [of homosexuality] and the epithet had […] an uncertain status and was often used loosely to describe various forms of non-reproductive sex. There was therefore a crucial distinction between traditional concepts of buggery and modern concepts of homosexuality.”

What was that distinction?

2. He also says “[…]the emergence of a specific male ‘homosexual role’, a specialized, despised and punished role which ‘keeps the bulk of society pure in rather the same way that the similar treatment of some kinds of criminal helps keep the rest of society law abiding”

What were the two effects this role had?

3. Gayle S. Rubin states: “The success of the anti-gay campaign ignited long simmering passions of the American right, and sparked an extensive movement to compress the boundaries of acceptable sexual behaviour.”

According to Rubin, what else did the right and far right link to “non-familial” or frivolous sexuality?

4. Rubin talks about a “line” between “good” sex and “bad” sex.  Describe what this means and the struggle over where to draw the line.

Discussion: Formulating Research Questions

Research problems can come from a variety of places. A topic can come up during a discussion with a colleague that motivates you to want to learn more about it. You may have a question for which you cannot find an answer, so you decide to conduct a research study in hopes of finding an answer. You may identify a particular gap in knowledge and be inclined to investigate that gap and close it with the results of a research study.

For this Discussion, consider how crafting a good research question is the cornerstone for designing robust studies that yield useable data. Review the Sessions episode on the Talia Johnson case. Locate two articles authored by the researcher David Lisak on the topics of the undetected rapist and predatory nature.

By Day 3

Post two potential research questions related to the Sessions episode. Consider potential ethical or political issues related to the feasibility of investigating the questions. Evaluate each question in terms of how it might:

Contribute to development of new knowledge for social work

Lead to more effective practice interventions

Lead to social change

Be useful to other researchers

Finally, explain the criteria you used to decide which sources of information should be included. Please use the resources to support your answer.

Carefully read Roger Scrouton’s essay “Scientism in the Arts and Humanities,” and choose a different question from the previous discussion in the research project list and answer it in relation to an issue in philosophy and technology according to theses of these two articles. Please only reference Scrouton’s essay and refrain from personal opinions. Your post should not have any first-person pronouns and as always. any badly written posts (i. e., clearly not proofread) will be downgraded. Also, simply writing the article’s author and the year is not a proper citation. All quotes and paraphrases necessitate FULL citations.

Choose one or two from these questions:

1. What      is the problem for which this technology is the solution?
2. Whose      problem is it?
3. Which      people and what institutions might be most seriously harmed by a      technological solution?
4. What      new problems might be created because we have solved this problem?
5. What      sort of people and institutions might acquire special economic and      political power because of technological change?
6. What      changes in language are being enforced by new technologies, and what is      being gained and lost by such changes?

You’ve probably noticed how each chapter ends with an analysis of the chapter’s topic using each of the three main sociological paradigms, right? Well, now it’s your turn! For this paper, you will need to select a social issue from the list below and analyze it from the perspective of a Structural Functionalist, a Conflict Theorist, and a Symbolic Interactionist. Then you’ll conclude your paper with an evaluation of the relevance / helpfulness of each perspective for understanding your chosen social issue.

Functionalism is a macro-level theory that looks at the different structures of society like organs in the body – a bunch of different parts working together to maintain the equilibrium of the whole. When functionalists look at an enduring aspect of society, they think, “What is its purpose? What function does this serve?” The functionalism paradigm seeks to understand how all aspects of society, even those that may seem negative or harmful, contribute to the continuity of society, so this perspective tends to bring an optimistic point of view of to social issues.

Conflict theory also takes a macro-level view of society, but this perspective tends to bring a more pessimistic point of view to social issues. Conflict theorists see the world as divided into two groups: a dominant group and a subordinate group. These two groups are in constant conflict, competition, or struggle over control of power and resources, but the dominant group puts structures and institutions in place to maintain control of these resources. The father of conflict theory, Karl Marx, defined the dominant and subordinate group by economic conditions, but more contemporary adaptations of conflict theory define the dominant and subordinate groups along other dimensions. For example, feminist theory defines these groups by gender and critical race theory by race and ethnicity. Regardless of the dimension used to define the dominant and subordinate groups, conflict theorists are interested in analyzing the social forces that maintain inequalities (usually with an eye toward dismantling and changing those systems).

Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level theory, so the type of analysis performed using this perspective will look very different from the macro-level theories above. Symbolic interactionists are interested in interactions and communication between individuals and small groups. Communication, in all its various forms (writing, singing, painting), is a series of symbols, and proponents of this perspective are interested in understanding how we make sense of these symbols and the world around us. How do we imbue meaning and value into these symbols? How do these meanings and values shape how we see the world? How are these meanings and values shared through interaction? How are they changed through interactions?

These three paradigms are like different lenses you can put on (and take off) to see the world. Although they may be used to observe the same social issue, each perspective brings different information into focus. Every sociologist must master using these three perspectives, but people do tend to have their “favorite paradigm” that most closely aligns with their personal world views. For this paper, you will need to demonstrate your ability to use all three perspectives to analyze a social issue, and offer an evaluation of how well each paradigm addresses the complexities of your chosen social issue.

OBJECTIVES

Your paper should:

Briefly describe a social issue in America, including contemporary statistics and newsworthy events that demonstrates the social impact of this issue

Analyze the social issue from the perspective of each of the three main sociological paradigms: Structural Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism

Evaluate which paradigms are the most and least relevant or helpful for understanding the complexities of the social issue

REQUIREMENTS

Your paper must:

Be guided by the prompts below; you may incorporate additional, relevant information inspired by the prompts, but you should not ignore or exclude the information from the prompts

Conform to the following formatting standards:

Title of paper should identify the chosen social issue

Be typed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins and 12 point font size

Be at least 3 pages long, but no longer than 8 pages (ideally 4-6 pages)

Be free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors

Cite information from at least three (3) assigned chapters of the textbook (i.e., Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12) using in-text citations that specify the chapter and section number where that information can be found. Please do NOT use page numbers as they are not consistent across all formats of the textbook.

For example: There are a number of peer-reviewed studies that point to biological factors as part of the “cultural universals” of beauty, or the traits associated with beauty that appear to be shared by all societies around the world (Chapter 3.1).

If your paper only cites Chapter 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 (for example), you have NOT fulfilled the requirement to cite information from three chapters; this would be three citations from the same chapter. I encourage you cite multiple sections of the same chapter, but your paper must ultimately include information from at least three distinct chapters of the textbook.

The textbook should be your primary source of information for defining the three paradigms and analyzing your social issue. You should use outside sources in this paper for gathering information about your chosen social issue, but the crux of your analysis should NOT be based on outside sources. Your paper should demonstrate your mastery of the assigned materials.

You may cite information from unassigned chapters of the textbook, but those chapters will NOT count toward your three required course citations.

Include a Works Cited or Bibliography page that gives full reference information for any outside sources cited in the paper or used to develop the paper (even if they are not directly cited in the body of the paper), including any of the helpful links you use below. Your Works Cited / Bibliography information will NOT be counted toward your total page length.

Use direct quotes sparingly!!! Putting information into your own words demonstrates a deeper level of learning than using direct quotes, and it often improves the organization and “flow” of your writing (i.e., direct quotes can sound disjointed and choppy).

AVOID THIS: There are a number of peer-reviewed studies that point to biological factors as part of the “cultural universals” of beauty, or “patterns or traits that are globally common to all societies” (Chapter 3.1).

You should save direct quotes for when the exact wording is crucial to the claim you are making, or if the source is a prominent figure [e.g., According to the executive director of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, “We are looking at widespread famines of biblical proportions” (Harvey 2020 (Links to an external site.)).]

Even when you put information into your own words, you should still cite it. Citations are used to give credit to other people who provided the information or inspiration for you to write something. Ask yourself, “Could I have written that sentence without looking at this source?” – if the answer is NO, then you must include citation information near the text that is the result of others’ information or inspiration.

LIST OF SOCIAL ISSUES

Your paper should focus on ONE of the following social issues. The links below are intended to give you a general understanding of the social issue, but you should seek out additional outside sources as evidence for your paper.

“Welfare,” or government assistance to the poor

List of welfare programs, descriptions, and other information: http://federalsafetynet.com/us-welfare-programs.html (Links to an external site.)

“Jezebel at the Welfare Office: How Racialized Stereotypes of Poor Women’s Reproductive Decisions and Relationships Shape Policy Implementation” (2014): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4002050/ (Links to an external site.)

“College Drop-Outs,” or college undergraduate non-completion

List of 10 highly successful college dropouts: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/10/10-ultra-successful-millionaire-and-billionaire-college-dropouts.html (Links to an external site.)

“The Myth of the College Dropout”: https://theconversation.com/the-myth-of-the-college-dropout-75760 (Links to an external site.)

“Addressing the College Completion Gap Among Low-Income Students”: Addressing the College Completion Gap Among Low-Income Students.pdf

“Age Discrimination in Employment,” or giving preference to younger applicants or employees at work

Helpful info from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM): https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/age-discrimination-in-the-workplace-.aspx (Links to an external site.)

“Criminalization of Drugs,” or legal restrictions on the possession and/or consumption of mind-altering substances

Helpful info from Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/10/12/every-25-seconds/human-toll-criminalizing-drug-use-united-states (Links to an external site.)

Pro-decriminalization op-ed: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/commentisfree/2016/jul/05/why-de-criminalize-all-drugs-stigma (Links to an external site.)

Anti-decriminalization op-ed: https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2008/07/25/two-takes-drugs-are-a-major-social-problem-we-cannot-legalize-them (Links to an external site.)

“Neighborhood-based School Funding Models,” or funding K-12 schools based on local property tax revenues

Helpful info from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD): http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may02/vol59/num08/Unequal-School-Funding-in-the-United-States.aspx (Links to an external site.)

WRITING PROMPTS

Describe the social issue you chose from the list above. Explain what the issue is and/or how it works. Who are the major stakeholders involved? Why is this important? Provide information that demonstrates the impact this issue has on the larger society using contemporary statistics and/or newsworthy events.

Describe the Structural Functionalist paradigm in your own words. According to this perspective, what aspects of your chosen social issue would be most relevant or interesting? What purpose or function does this social issue fulfill? How does this social issue contribute to the equilibrium of society?

Describe the Conflict Theory paradigm in your own words. According to this perspective, what aspects of your chosen social issue would be most relevant or interesting? Who is the dominant group and who is the subordinate group? What resources are they in conflict or competition over? How do structures and institutions contribute to the dominant group maintaining power and resources?

Describe the Symbolic Interactionism paradigm in your own words. According to this perspective, what aspects of your chosen social issue would be most relevant or interesting? Who interacts with whom? What effect do these interactions have on people? What symbols or underlying values are being communicated? How do people learn to make sense of the world around them?

How do processes like the social construction of reality and socialization contribute to your chosen social issues? What role do these processes play in this social issue?

Evaluate how well each of the three paradigms addresses the complexities of your chosen social issue. Which paradigm is most / least relevant or helpful for understanding this social issue? Explain your decision

Health promotion and health education create a process that informs people about the biopsychosocial aspects of health. Through this process, individuals become empowered to make informed decisions about their personal health.

For this assignment, read the four designated articles located in the topic materials that are related to a health promotion and identify:

1. The health behavior being addressed by the health promotion.
2. The level of prevention used by the health promotion.
3. The setting used for delivery of the health promotion.
4. Which of the 10 essential public health services are related to the health promotion.

Use the “Health Promotion in Public Health Settings Worksheet” to complete this assignment.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.