Sociology of Deviance and Crime

Answer

1. Sociology of Deviance and Crime

1a.       Deviance occurs when an individual showcases behavior that is beyond what is considered normal by the society (Pasiak, 2020). An example of deviance includes body alterations such as splitting tongues, undergoing procedures to grow horns, and many other severe manipulations which impact the appearance of an individual. That is a form of deviance since it is not the norm to alter how one looks as a person since human beings are not meant to have such facial and bodily characteristics. Therefore, those in the society may perceive this to be a form of deviance since the individuals have chosen to take actions that are not considered normal. They are thus secluded and feared since they are not seen to be normal individuals with clear thinking.

Symbolic interactionists will perceive this behavior as something that is influenced by social groups. That is because they perceive deviance as behavior that is learned when in association with others through their close social relationships (Pasiak, 2020). The people who manipulate their appearances in such a manner have a form of community that they have established. Therefore, those who are closely linked with these people tend to experience the same outcome. These people will communicate the cultural meaning of the deviant behavior to others, who will also end up believing in the same. They often believe that they have a freedom to modify their looks so they can get a sense of identity or feelings of belonging to that particular group.

1b.       The two general societal functions of social responses to deviance and crime include sanctions and punishments. Sanctions refer to penalties that can be imposed through discipline or punishment (Pasiak, 2020). Basically, it refers to the approval given by an authoritative figure which makes a form of punishment to become valid. Punishment, on the other hand, refers to the act of punishing or employing the given sanction. The resulting punishment can be either formal or informal.

In informal punishment, a mild sanction is imposed through the face-to-face interactions. This is not triggered by any institution, and is often reflected through the behavior of the members of the society. For instance, when an individual has undergone body modifications and has an appearance that is not humanlike, he may trigger the members of the society to raise eyebrows whenever he appears. What follows may be gossip and even stigmatization where individuals stay away from the person simply because of these modifications. The form of social response is more related to deviance that is not considered a crime (Pasiak, 2020). Formal punishment, on the other hand, focuses on the severe sanctions given by the judicial system when the law is broken. For example, when one goes against the laws and regulations, he will be expected to appear before a judge who will sentence him to prison or social work for a given duration. The society will be in agreement because the deviant action will be perceived as unacceptable and harmful to the members of the society.

2. Social Stratification/Globalization, Inequality, and Development

2a.       Critical analysts might warn of the social structural effects of increased corporate globalization, global commodity chain, and even intervention strategies since these actions may further worsen global inequality and social stratification. Social stratification has already ensured that there is a gap between the health, wealth, and environmental features of an individual. The opportunities presented to different societies depends on their capabilities, which is why developing countries are constantly dependent on the developed countries with no hope of change. Through globalization, the barrier that existed between these societies has been broken down. Unfortunately, critical analysts do not agree that there are only benefits associated with this occurrence (Pasiak, 2020b). Globalization is seen as an occurrence that impacts the environment through its impact on human activities. For instance, companies which move internationally will need space to construct their offices. In developing countries, most of the land is yet to be affected. However, due to this factor, deforestation may occur thereby impacting the environment in a negative way. There are risks in relation to social wealth since new consumer classes are triggered. The resulting lifestyle convergence is what the critics are afraid of since it will enhance the gap that already exists in the society, rather than assist to reduce it. Also, the developed countries get the opportunity of exploiting the developing nations so they can get cheap commodities in return of financial support (Pasiak, 2020b). However, that does not promote the growth of these struggling countries.

2b.       Some of the problems that are currently associated with global development initiatives can be resolved through specific strategies. Since developed countries are already benefiting from the developing nations, they may consider other approaches to also support their development. One such approach is debt cancellation, whereby any amounts owed to them are forgiven (Pasiak, 2020c). Once this is done, the countries may keep benefiting from internationalization of their companies without the risk of exploiting the developing nations. The funds that were to be used for debt payments will be channeled to other forms of development like infrastructure, improving the healthcare system, and even effectively educating the population. The society will be able to develop at a stable rate, rather than remain dormant as it struggles to pay off debts.

            Another strategy involves tariff reduction whereby the developed countries relax the taxes or embargoes on foreign goods from these developing countries. The move will enable the developing countries to compete with other companies from the developed countries, thereby promoting the economic growth of the country (Pasiak, 2020c). The barrier that exists from the expensive tariffs will be overcome. In addition, the international companies that are being set up locally will not affect the businesses of citizens. The move will even the competition field for both countries so that the developed nation is no longer exploiting the developing country. Benefits will be experienced both ways since the international companies will be established in new markets while the developing country will also experience significant growth and opportunities for internationalization.

3. Race and Ethnicity, Sexualities and Gender Stratification/Sociology of the Body

3a.       Social processes tend to influence a person’s identity or belonging in relation to social categories and the related activities and behaviors. Identities are developed and negotiated through various sociological perspectives (Pasiak, 2020d). First, the functionalist approach focuses on a search for social facts. An individual’s identity is influenced by what he does, rather than his basic characteristics.

Second, conflict is also another perspective which argues that class inequality also triggers gender inequalities since people of similar characteristics are either perceived as subordinate or insubordinates. That is why men are perceived to be stronger than women because of their masculinity or ability to do certain tasks that most women cannot handle (Pasiak, 2020d). However, this is now changing since individuals are now believing that gender is equal because more females are able to handle the said activities that were previously described for males.

Third, symbolic interactionist is another perspective that also explores the identity which is learned through socialization processes, as well as the meanings given to masculinity and feminism. Lastly, there are feminist approaches which explore the male domination, how roles are ascribed, and the resulting experiences and effects of the factor (Pasiak, 2020d). Therefore, the activities and behaviors associated with these social categories of race, class, ability, age, and gender are influenced through the thoughts of the members of the specific groups, as well as the outcomes they experience. For instance, feminists have experienced oppression due to the male domination feature. That is why they felt the push to also engage in male activities to show that there is really no difference between what men and women can do.

3b.        There are various ways through which individuals or social groups may transgress social norms and be performative with the aim of using it as a self-affirmation strategy. Gendered bodies imply that being born male or female does not determine how one will behave (Pasiak, 2020e). However, one behaves according to what they grow knowing as acceptable in the society.

An example of gender as a performative can be seen throughout history where putting on trousers was perceived to be a masculine characteristic. Women, on the other hand, were supposed to put on petticoats and dresses. At the time, this was the norm, and no woman would be spotted in trousers since they all wanted to fit in to the society. It was expected that their position is to take care of the home and children, while the men were supposed to go out and work so that they can provide for their family’s needs. Today, social processes that were triggered by feminist perspectives have seen to it that women can now put on trousers in public, go to work, and even be the sole bread winners of their families. Men can now stay at home and look after children. They can even assist with the housework without raising eye brows. That is because the feminist group transgressed the social norms started engaging in activities that were described as male dominated. The move was due to the rising need of gender equality, whereby women were tired of being oppressed simply because they were considered to be subordinate to the male species.

4. Work and the Economy

4a.       The industrial revolution contributed to a reorganization of labor and social relations in the society through various ways. The society is subjected to creation of hierarchy in the labour force whereby workers are assigned tasks according to their capacity and ability. Members of the society have to become specialised in the production of those goods for which he or she is best suited (Pasiak, 2020f). For instance majority members of the society in Canada are in the service sector since factories use computer automated machines in production.

Prior industrial revolution physical labour was essential in performing critical tasks which has caused large scale shift of labour to the service production sector. Tasks that required little training from the society were available since tasks were broken down into simple routines (Pasiak, 2020f). Society had much to gain since assembly line methods were introduced to produce inexpensive and uniform commodities in high volume. Members of the society working on part time terms also doubled in the society, when people hold multiple jobs it is unstimulating since it leads to low paying wages and drives away potential prospects

Market growth was stimulated which lead to invention of steam engine, rail roads and other technologies that greatly facilitated the ability of producers to supply markets. These inventions had an impact in the society since it also made it easy for movement of labour from one place to another (Pasiak, 2020f). There was international exploration and societies were exposed to different cultures and better relationship between societies was created.

4b.       In a post-industrial society, there are specific current-day challenges which are relevant to securing jobs or navigating the job markets. They range from opportunities that are available to the employees, to the skillsets of the applicants. First, even when one is highly skilled and educated, getting employment in the primary market is not easy due to the limited entry level positions. The corporations, which are also among the best paying organizations, tend to prefer employees who have some sort of experience. Therefore, the highly skilled new comers are left struggling with jobs that they are overly qualified for in the secondary market. Without the minimum set experience, it becomes impossible to get the employment one deserves. Second, to get good job openings, one must have an informal network that will alert them of the opportunity before many others can apply. Unfortunately, many job seekers do not have such networks, which is why they will often miss the opportunity. To get such networks, one must be closely affiliated with people who are already in the industry or company in which they seek to work with. Lastly, any employees miss opportunities to work in the primary market because of the lack of proper training and certification for the jobs. That means that even if they are employed, the company will suffer because of their incompetence since roles and duties will not be handled as desired. Therefore, getting employment is very difficult without the specific training requirements needed to help them in their roles in this post-industrial society.

5. Collective Action and Social Movements

5a.       A social movement refers to the collective attempt to try and change all or part of a political or social order through riots, demonstrations, and the establishment of pressure groups (Pasiak, 2020g). An example of such is a movement to end the brutal killing of stray dogs where groups of people with similar minds come together to demonstrate and put pressure on the government and policy makers to consider animal rights in the constitution. For a social movement to be successful, there are three essential factors which must be considered.

First, there is a need for resource mobilization which is obtained when there is increased organizational and material resources (Pasiak, 2020g). The social movement against the brutal killing of stray dogs has managed to garner the support of many organizations which present it with resources needed to send out the message and even pressure the government. Because of these resources, the message can be shared far and wide, meaning that more individuals will learn about the movement and even offer their support where needed. Second, political opportunities for movement growth are also necessary for success (Pasiak, 2020g). Although some politicians, such as Mayors have offered their support and loyalties to the movement, a challenge still exists in the fact that the most influential individuals are not seeing the cause as a worthy one. Therefore, not much attention is being triggered especially from those who are not animal lovers. Lastly, it is important to know how to avoid social control which may occur when the authorities try to overpower the social movement (Pasiak, 2020g). The current movement has been successful in avoiding the control by authorities through its ability to refuse coercion and the attention it has garnered across the world.

5b.       Frame alignment refers to the process through which the interests, beliefs, and values of an individual become compatible with the goals and ideologies of a social movement. There are various frame alignment techniques that can be used by social movements to get the support they need from the population. First, the leaders may choose to approach organizations which appear to be sympathetic to the cause of their movement (Pasiak, 2020g). For instance, the movement against the brutal killing of stray dogs may approach companies that produce animal meals and grooming products such as shampoos. That is because the main consumers of these products are the dogs which are now being brutally killed. It is in their best interest to show support for the dogs as their customers are expected to be animal lovers. Second, the movement activists may decide to stress popular values that have not been given attention in trying to win over potential recruits (Pasiak, 2020g). In the current example, the focus may be on promoting the fact that animals are also living things that are in need of care and support, rather than being brutally killed. The same way human beings have their rights is also the same way that animals should be treated. They should not be subjected to torture especially since there are many animal orphanages that will be willing to take them in. It is inhumane to brutally kill the dogs instead of taking them to these orphanages where they will have the opportunity of being adopted by loving families.