Rastafarianism is a religion that was created in the early 1900 hundreds due to the social and poor economic conditions of the Black people in Jamaica.
Rastafarianism is a religion that was created in the early 1900 hundreds due to the social and poor economic conditions of the Black people in Jamaica. The Rastafarian religious and political movement has come under great scrutiny by society because of its beliefs and traditions. They have been referred to as a violent cult not only in Jamaica, but also in America and Canada, where many of the members and affiliates have migrated. In my opinion these myths are not accurate, and I believe this religion is no different than any other religion of today. The followers of Rastafarianism believe that Haile Selassie the former Emperor of Ethiopia, is the Black Messiah who appeared in the flesh for the redemption of all Blacks exiled in the world of white oppressors. The movement views Ethiopia as the Promised Land. The group has no individual leadership. Most of the members are men from thirty-five to fifty-five years of age. The older members are either ex-Graveyites (related to Marcus Garvey) or sympathizers of his movement. Women play an important role in the Rastafarianism today, but the majority are followers of their husbands. In 1965 the membership was essentially lower class, but this is no longer the case. They are found among the elite, some are students at prestigious University of the West Indies; some are in the medical and legal professions and other upper-class
Assess the view that the modern education system is meritocratic.
Assess the view that the modern education system is meritocratic. A meritocracy means a fair system where pupils will achieve success on the basis of their own efforts and ability. This view sees education as a system where the most talented and hard working will succeed. According to Item A, structural theorists have competing views as to whether education is meritocratic. The view held by Functionalists is that the education system performs an essential role in the selection process of people into appropriate roles in the economy. Parsons and Davis and Moore all saw education as meritocratic. They argue that individuals are not born intellectually equal. The role of the education system is to sift and sort people. This involves selecting the most able for the mot functionally important roles in society. Therefore, doctors and lawyers are naturally more intelligent than cleaners and porters. In Parson's view a meritocratic education system was essential in modern society. He saw the education system as a bridge between home and work. In the family individuals are judged on 'particularistic' values and have ascribed statuses. However, the education system, like the world of work is based on 'universalistic' values and the status is achieved. However, not all Functionalists share this view. Tumin said that Davis and Moore's work was too simplistic because there was no way
Choice of research method. here are various types of research methods available, such as questionnaires, participant observation, longitudinal studies and interviews.
Choice of research method By definition, sociology refers to the systematic study of human behavior and society. It is a popular debate in sociological research concerning the idea that the choice of research is mainly influenced by the theoretical perspective of the sociologist. However, it has been suggested that there are other factors that might as well influence the sociologist's choice of research method, those being the choice of the research topic and the practical and ethical considerations. There are various types of research methods available, such as questionnaires, participant observation, longitudinal studies and interviews. First of all, a sociologist's theoretical perspective plays an important role in influencing his choice of research method, those being the structural and interpretive perspective. Structuralist such as functionalist and Marxist see structure of society that affects the way human behave. They believe in positivism view concerning the idea that sociologist should confine themselves to study social facts which can be objectively observed and measured. And that sociologist should not be concerned with the internal meanings, motives, feelings and emotions of individuals as they exists only in the person's consciousness and cannot be measured objectively. As such, structuralist sees quantitative research method as being the most appropriate way
Evaluating the need for a junk food tax in America.
Junk food tax The United States of America, the nation that is "famous" for its population of obesity had trying to find ways to reduce this unhealthy population. Mainly because of the junk foods and fast foods people tend to experience a higher rick of obesity or the related diseases that is associate obesity. The "junk food tax" will improve the health of people, help educate the next generation, and reduce the burden of health care for the region. This may be a solution to all counties that are in risk of obesity. Imposing taxation on junk foods will reduce people from buying. In countries like America, Canada, countries that need to drive more than walking, people tend to exercise less. Their daily schedule is busy and they will not have the time and effort to exercise after a long day from work or school. They travel by cars and other public transport which does not require them to walk, the only so-call exercise will also be forgotten. Since people's busy schedule and rapid pace of life they not just missing the exercises furthermore they will not be able to provide themselves a healthy meal. Research shows that people who do not have time and a lower income families tend to purchase more junk foods, since this is the case, it will be harder for them to buy junk foods and turn their heads toward more health choices. Junk foods led to obesity, this is shown in the
Examine Recent Trends in Gender Attainment
Examine Recent Trends in Gender Attainment Gender gap in education between boys and girls has widened over the years. The tendency for girls to do better in the later years at school has become increasingly pronounced in the UK in the past two decades. Both girls and boys are doing better every year but, the facts and figures show that the performance of girls has risen at a faster rate in most subjects than boys. However, over the last 50 years, the educational performance of boys has steadily improved as well. Coffey (2200) suggests that girls achieving better results than boys hardly justifies labelling all boys as underachievers. Weiner (1997) is also sceptical about the sudden discovery of male underachievement. He argues that the media have created a misleading moral panic, which exaggerates and distorts the extent and nature of any problem. There are many reasons and theories to why girls are performing well at school and achieving extremely good results. There has been a change in the job market since 60s. Sharpe and Wilkinson suggest that young women have experienced a 'genderquake' in terms of profound changes in attitude and expectation. The 'genderquake' idea is based mainly on the fact that most new jobs are going to women, who now make up half the work-force. This isn't because women are taking men's jobs, but because of the changes in the economy with a
How to Do Qualitative Research. Do the Olympics cause their audience to act differently than when they are watching any other popular TV show? This question was chosen to clearly outline the process of ethnography, and how it is useful in f
Mini Project 1. Introduction: Qualitative research is about asking questions and gathering information through words, to then later analyze. One way of doing this is through ethnography. But before any research can be done, there must be a research question. In this case, "Do the Olympics cause their audience to act differently than when they are watching any other popular TV show?" This question was chosen to clearly outline the process of ethnography, and how it is useful in finding out the information needed to answer this research question. Methodology: An ethnography is "A Research approach to understanding the culture of a group (patterns of behaviour/attitudes, how they create meaning), by immersing oneself in the activities of the specific group over a period of time and then writing up a descriptive summary." (Savage 3). An ethnographic approach includes being engaged in and listening to conversations, taking regular notes and collecting "artifacts" of the group being studied (Savage 7). All of these things later help in writing up a summary of findings that where gathered from the ethnography. There are two main types of ethnography, first there is an overt ethnography where the participants are told they are being observed. This type of ethnography is most commonly used and is less risky because the participants are aware of the study that is taking place. The
Can and should sociology be science?
Can and should sociology be science? By definition, sociology refers to systematic study of human behavior and society whilst science literally means knowledge collected in a systematic manner. It is a popular debate in sociology concerning whether sociological research should adopt similar methods to those of natural science. There are 3 main approaches relevant to this debate, those being the positivism, phenomenology and realism. First of all, positivists would argue that sociology can and should be a science. This is because positivists believe that some features of natural science can be found in the area of sociology. Positivists argue that sociology has methods and theories like science. Sociological study is empirical in the explanation of social world. As well as scientist, sociologist collects data as evidence in order to verify a theory. For example, the studies of Mods and skinheads conducted by Stanley Cohen in order to verify Marxist sub-cultural theories. Hence, positivist would support the view that sociology can and should be a science. However, phenomenologist would reject the view. For phenomenologist, studying the social world is fundamentally different from studying the natural world. Alfred Schutz argues that social world cannot be objectively observed and measured. Unlike inanimate objects, both sociologist and subject matters are human with
Differential Achievement
Differential Achievement Differential achievement consists of the conjecture that are some social groups that are successful while other social groups under achieve. This hypothesis can be determined, weighed, judged and selected by a person's social class, family background, social background, gender, economical background, resources ect, ect. One prime example of a way differential achievement can be judged is through social class. Inevitably this is a blatant way to differentiate certain social group. If a person comes from a social class that is receiving a low income society believes that there is a less chance of that person achieving as well in contrast to a person that is from a high income social class. Family background is also a way of distinguishing from certain social class. A child who was brought up by a single mother is assumed to not progress as well and becomes as successful as someone who was brought up by two parents. This can also be seen as an emotional barrier that deprives you from achieving well. For example, a child who has been brought up by a divorcee e.g. single mother, single father, would have a greater likelihood of suffering from depression, life of crime, neglect or even poverty/homelessness in comparison to one who was brought up in a happy home that did not undergo a loss of a parent through divorce or even bereavement. Social
Critically evaluate the functionlists aproach on Education
Education is a vital system in most societies, and is compulsory for all children up to the age of 16 in Britain, soon to 18. There are many different ideas as to why education is so important and the functions it fulfils within society, some more positive than others. Although some people say that education is only intended to teach the individual enough knowledge to pass exams and start a career, most sociologists believe it has functions which go beyond this surface view and in some way affect or serve society as a whole as well as the individual. Functionalism is a sociological theory which is based on the ideas that society has basic needs, the most important of which is the need for social order. Without order, society would tend to disintegrate and fall apart. Social order is largely based on social solidarity or social unity. Social solidarity results from shared norms and values, this means that social life is predictable and runs smoothly. Thus shared values usually result in people cooperating and pulling together in the same direction. Functionalism is no longer fashionable, however functionalist ideas on the role of education in society still influence some researchers. Emily Durkheim argued that social solidarity is essential for the survival of society. Social solidarity is based on 'essential similarities' between members of society. According to Durkheim,
Assess the view that the welfare state is the cause of poverty rather than the solution
Assess the view that the welfare state is the cause of poverty rather than the solution In the UK we have a welfare state, which allows the government to take responsibility for the well being of the citizens through a range of benefits and services. There are many reasons as to why there is such a high rate of poverty in the UK, for example exclusion and dependency based approaches, which also links in to the blame of the welfare state. The modern welfare state was first introduced in 1948 and since then there have been numerous reasons that suggest the welfare state causes poverty, which have been tackled by many sociological approaches. However, there are also benefits towards the welfare state. An obvious view that tackles the idea that the welfare state is to blame for poverty is the New Right approach by theorists such as Marsland; they argue that it is a direct and indirect cause to poverty that will always cause inequality between people. Marsland believes that in a Capitalist society wealth is created by the people who run the successful companies and the entrepreneurs, which everyone else then relies upon for jobs. Entrepreneurs are mainly motivated by money, and therefore if they are to be well rewarded they want taxation to be kept low. This then creates the problem in which the welfare state is seen as an indirect cause of poverty, because taxation is made so
