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

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

Choose a classified ad page on Craigslis

In scientific research, sampling is defined as the thorough and systematic selection of study subjects, which must be carried out in a way that is verifiable to outside observers and as free as possible from error or bias. For this project, you will make use of Craigslist (Links to an external site.), a website that posts job ads, housing rentals, or other sale items. To draw a random sample of 25 advertisements, you should select a city that is at least equal to the size of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Instructions

  1. Choose a classified ad page on Craigslist under one of the following categories: Housing, For Sale, or Jobs.  Copy the URL on which the ad listings appear and save it to include in your discussion post.
  2. Select the “list” view option and copy/paste the listings into a document file. Number each ad consecutively and note the total number of ads.
  3. Using a random sampling strategy of your choosing (e.g., Simple Random Sampling; Systematic Random Sampling; Stratified Random Sampling), select the ads to be included in your ad and highlight them in your document.
  4. Choose one or two characteristics that you will identify in each ad.  These might be the type of job or housing or item advertised, the community where the advertisement is located, whether the asking price/rent/salary is listed, or the asking price/rent/salary itself. As you scan the highlighted ads, record these characteristics for analysis.
  5. Tally up the characteristics (for example, how many housing ads listed an asking price and how many didn’t?)  Calculate an arithmetic average for the prices/rents/salaries you recorded (add up all the prices or salaries and then divide by the total number of prices or salaries listed.)  These are your sample statistics.
  6. Post a summary of your sample statistics, a description of your sampling method, and the URL of your ad listings to the discussion forum. Write a brief statement discussing whether you think your sample accurately reflects the population of ads in your listings.
  7. Compare your sample statistics with those of at least two your classmates and discuss whether you think your samples accurately reflect the populations of your ad listings.

Health promotion and health education

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.

Apply Freud’s, Erikson’s, or Maslow’s theory to discuss

The final paper reflects a culmination of your learning throughout this course. Choose one of the following two topic categories:

  • Your life journey
  • The life of a historical figure, such as Florence Nightingale, President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Ghandi, or Muhammad Ali. (These are just examples; select your example from any period and from any historical category you find meaningful.)

Write a paper on the life journey of you or the person you selected. Your paper should do the following:

  • Describe the life journey of the person who is the subject of your study.
  • Apply Freud’s, Erikson’s, or Maslow’s theory to discuss and explain the development of the person’s life that is your subject, addressing each of the seven stages listed below.
  • Evaluate whether and in what ways the theory has explanatory power for each stage of the life under examination.
  • For any life stages for which the theory was unable to adequately explain, model, and/or otherwise cast light on the life, critique those shortcomings of the theory and identify those unique characteristics of the life that explain the divergence between the life and the theoretical conception.

The following stages of life must be included:

  • Prenatal and Infancy
  • Early childhood
  • Middle childhood
  • Adolescence
  • Emerging adulthood
  • Adulthood (assuming you or your historical figure has reached 30)
  • Late adulthood (if you or your historical figure have reached or did reach that stage).

Writing requirements are:

  • 3,000-4,000 words in length
  • Support your application and evaluation of the theory to the life with citations from the course textbook and at least four outside peer-reviewed resources.
  • Document and citation formatting should adhere to APA style, with the exception that if your study is of your own life, you may write in first person.
  • All requirements noted on the grading criteria are to be followed.

Ethics in Crisis Assessment and Intervention

Required Readings

James, R. K., & Gilliland, B. E. (2017). Crisis intervention strategies (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Chapter 1, “Approaching Crisis Intervention”“Characteristics of Effective Crisis Workers” (pp. 23-25)
“Rewards” (p. 25)
Chapter 3, “The Intervention and Assessment Models” (pp. 48-72)
Chapter 15, “Legal and Ethical Issues on Crisis of Trauma” (pp. 518-545)

National Association of Social Workers. (2017). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English.aspx

Tarvydas, V. M., Levers, L. L., & Teahen, P. R. (2017). Ethical guidelines for mass trauma and complex humanitarian emergencies. Journal of Counseling & Development, 95(3), 260-268.

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010a). Crisis counseling competence, part 1 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 13 minutes.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010b). Crisis counseling competence, part 2 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 9 minutes.
Accessible player –Downloads–Download Video w/CCDownload AudioCredit: “”

Discussion: Ethics in Crisis Assessment and Intervention

Assessing a crisis can be challenging due to the emotions in moment and brief amount of time to identify immediate needs to resolve the moment of crisis so that the client can continue working on longer term goals. Ethical issues such as confidentiality, self-determination, mandated reporting or profession duty often arise to create potential ethical dilemmas about how to respond.

For this Discussion, reflect on a crisis that may occur in the life of a client with whom you work. Consider the ethical issues within the case that you identify.

By Day 4

Post a brief description of a crisis situation a client may experience. Then, provide a detailed explanation of the ethical issues within the scenario you described. Explain how you would address these ethical issues. Identify any skills and/or characteristics you would use when attempting to ethically intervene in the crisis situation.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the resources

 one important fact each about two different military branches

 

While many military personnel may internalize the core values of their perspective branches, not every service member does. Some personnel respect and embrace the values immediately, while others do so over time, and some never do. Some military personnel join, but leave after their first contract, while others remain in the service for many years. As a helping professional, you can expect clients in the military to reflect a wide range of commitment to military values and internalization of military culture. How might an internalization of and commitment to military values influence a service member’s identity? How might this internalization of a branch’s values contribute to the stressors the service member endures?

This week, as you have explored the military branches to increase your knowledge regarding the roles and responsibilities of military personnel, you may have also increased your understanding of the stressors associated with the military lifestyle. As you have deepened your understanding of military culture, you may also be aware of how your own perspective of the military, its members, and its mission may influence the way you, as a helping professional, view and interact with military personnel. For example, if you strongly oppose war, it may be challenging to work with military personnel who train to engage in war and who strongly identify with this role. Keep this self-awareness in mind as your prepare your Discussion post.

For this Discussion, read the scenarios in the “Military Branches Scenarios” document (refer to this week’s resources). Select one scenario to address in the Discussion.

By Day 3Post one important fact each about two different military branches—explaining why this information is important for helping professionals to know.

Then, explain what challenges a helping professional whose views conflict with those espoused by the military might face when interacting with the service member in the scenario you selected. Finally, explain one strategy you, as a helping professional, might use to address these challenges.

Be sure to support your post with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.

Explain the fundamental differences between active and reserve military.

Assignment: Active and Reserve

As you have explored the various military branches, you may have considered how some of the differences might impact the culture of that branch. These differences, furthermore, impact the identity, roles, stressors, and needs of military personnel in each branch.

Another difference that significantly impacts the military personnel and their families is the difference between active and reserve military. Life in the reserve military has changed in recent years and the needs of reserve military personnel and their families have changed too.

For this Assignment, you explain the differences between active and reserve military, and explain how helping professionals can better support reservists and their families.

Submit a 2- to 3-page paper in which you accomplish the following:

  • Explain the fundamental differences between active and reserve military.
  • Explain how selected reserves have changed since the Gulf War (1990–1991) and how these changes created the need for support services.
  • Describe one recommendation you might make to support reservists and their families. Explain why this recommendation would be helpful.

The Challenges of Parenting in Military Families

Discussion 1: Parenting

Parenting can be challenging in any family. There are trials and tribulations related to issues such as parenting styles, life, and development stages. In military families, there are often unique challenges to consider. Reflect upon your knowledge about military culture and think about the challenges that can arise.

Review the media,The Challenges of Parenting in Military Families, in which military families talk about the challenges and successes of their parenting experiences during their military lives.

Post an explanation of what resonates most with you about the parenting challenges discussed in the media. How might you discuss the challenges and successes related to parenting with a family member who was seeking support? Explain whether your approach would be different if the individual was a parent or extended family member with custody of the military children, and explain how.

Identify different historical definitions of, causal explanations for, and responses to alcohol abuse

 Identify different historical definitions of, causal explanations for, and responses to alcohol abuse

Part one: Identify different historical definitions of, causal explanations for, and responses to alcohol abuse
Part two: Apply social learning theory to alcohol abuse
Part three: Analyze the interactional contexts in which alcohol abuse most often occurs

The posts will be graded according to the following criteria:

  • Relevance: the ideas expressed indicate that the student has read and comprehended the assigned material.
  • Clarity, coherence: the ideas are stated clearly and coherently.
  • Critical thinking: there is evidence that the student has adequately analyzed, synthesized, and evaluated the assigned material.
  • Poses a question for discussion: the posting articulates a question for discussion that pertains to the assigned material.
  • Spelling, grammar: the posting must meet university-level standards of spelling and grammar.
  • Length: submission must be no less than 250 words in length; there is no maximum length

Identify different historical definitions of, and causal explanations for, drug abuse

Identify different historical definitions of, and causal explanations for, drug abuse

Part one: Identify different historical definitions of, and causal explanations for, drug abuse
Part two: Apply social learning theory to the “causes” of drug abuse
Part three: Analyze the interactional contexts and personal experiences associated with “soft” and “hard” drug abuse

The posts will be graded according to the following criteria:

  • Relevance: the ideas expressed indicate that the student has read and comprehended the assigned material.
  • Clarity, coherence: the ideas are stated clearly and coherently.
  • Critical thinking: there is evidence that the student has adequately analyzed, synthesized, and evaluated the assigned material.
  • Poses a question for discussion: the posting articulates a question for discussion that pertains to the assigned material.
  • Spelling, grammar: the posting must meet university-level standards of spelling and grammar.
  • Length:  submission must be no less than 250 words in length; there is no maximum length