Assess the Usefulness of Official Crime Statistics to a Sociological Understanding of Crime

Assess the Usefulness of Official Crime Statistics to a Sociological Understanding of Crime The Government publishes official statistics on crime in Britain annually. The main source of these statistics are gathered from recorded crimes by the police and courts and through the British Crime Survey (BSC) which is a large-scale victim survey conducted annually by the Home Office. The combination of both of these statistics should provide a picture of the full extent of crime in Britain, however, sociologists believe there are a number of factors that influence these figures and that these official statistics do not reflect a true representation of crime in Britain today. We shall explore these factors and perspectives further to assess whether the official statistics do serve a purpose in the reporting of crime in Britain. From the functionalist perspective Emile Durkheim stated that deviance is a necessary part of all societies and that police and the courts are necessary to keep deviance in check and to protect social order. Durkheim argued that crime is an inevitable part of society and that all social change begins with some form of deviance and in order for change to occur, and that yesterday's deviance must become today's normality. That a limited amount of crime is necessary and beneficial to society and that society could not exist without some form of deviance and it

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Examine the contribution of functionalist explanations towards an understanding of the family

JOHN SMYTH SOCIOLOGY ESSAY (1500 words) EXAMINE THE CONTRIBUTION OF FUNCTIONALIST EXPLANATIONS TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE FAMILY Functionalists believe that the family is a positive institution and view the ideal modern family as being the Nuclear Family. The nuclear family is described by Giddens (1989, p385) as a family 'which consists of two adults living together in a household with their own or adopted children'. Abercrombie et al (2006 p168) defines the nuclear family as 'Social units comprising a man and a woman living together with their children' Regardless of individuals definitions of what the nuclear family is, it is perceived as a family consisting of a father, mother and their children.The functionalist view (most popular in the 1960's) of the nuclear family comprises of a breadwinner husband and dependant wife and children - the 'cereal packet family' (Leach 1968) - this view of the family is also taken by sociologists like Murdock and Parsons. Functionalists take a consensus approach towards society and believe social institutions such as a family play an important part - i.e. the family makes a positive contribution towards society. Although Murdock and Parsons put across are similar themes - they believe that a nuclear family is best suited for a healthy society. Functionalists see the family as essential to the smooth running of society, therefore they

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Comparison Of Marxist And Functionalist Views On Education

Comparison Of Marxist And Functionalist Perspectives On Education Education is important in society; the structure and processes of education systems are related to the general process of socialization. All sociologists agree with this statement, but different sociologists have many views about how societies are structured, they have different views about the role of education in society. The Marxist perspective tries to explain everything about an area it has identified, such as education. It tries to look for correlation in certain field of data, to explain and understand the reasons for how things are how they are. A Marxist perspective on school would state that it was constructed and built upon the principle of a hierarchy. Hierarchy is a key idea in Marxism, as it is a structuralist perspective. The teachers are seen as in charge and the students follow any instructions put by teachers. Marxist views would also state that education is a system of social inequality, meaning that not everyone passes, schools justify this by saying that the inequality it produces is just and reasonable, and the students who have received high grades deserve them. The Functionalist perspective looks at Education as a type of sorting station in which students undergo thorough training and testing so that they are given their appropriate place in society, this all depends on how well they

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The chivalry thesis claims that women will be treated more leniently for committing certain crimes, generally shoplifting is often associated more with females than males, but the statistics suggest that males commit many more acts of theft than women, an

Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the value of 'chivalry thesis 'in understanding differences in crime. gfg Pollak (1950) was of the opinion that police and magistrates tended to be more 'chivalrous' and 'lenient' towards female offenders, resulting in sentence disparities, and as a result, criminal statistics underestimate the amount of female offending. (Item A). Pollak (1961) argued that men - namely in this case police officers, magistrates and judges, are socialised to be protective towards women and thus are less likely to chare or prosecute them, and are also treated more leniently in court. Pollak goes further to argue that women are accustomed to deceiving men, for example in faking orgasms during sex, or lying in a relationship to gain material wealth. This skill in deceit mean that their crimes, such as poisoning and infanticide, are less easily uncovered (item A) leading to women being underrepresented in criminal statistics. The chivalry thesis claims that women will be treated more leniently for committing certain crimes, generally shoplifting is often associated more with females than males, but the statistics suggest that males commit many more acts of theft than women, and this may be because females are let off with a warning rather than a conviction. This could be because the statistics of crime are so male dominated, a police officer may

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Critically Evaluate the Functionalist Perspective on Education

Critically Evaluate the Functionalist Perspective on Education For the Functionalists, education performs a positive function for all individuals in society and has a powerful influence over it. The education system serves the needs of an industrial society by providing a more advanced division of labour; socialising new generations into societies shared norms and values and, according to meritocratic criteria, allocates roles in. Education supposedly meets societies through three related economic roles; socialisation; allocation and vocational training. Firstly, Durkheim and Parsons (1956-9) stated that the education system involves the transmission of socially agreed norms and values, known as the 'Value Consensus', to future generations. This was done through both the 'formal' curriculum and the 'hidden' curriculum, and its economic role is referred to as socialisation or social control. The formal curriculum is more commonly known as the National Curriculum and so is thus the timetabled lessons the state lays out for students to undertake. However, the hidden curriculum teaches such moral lessons as the reward and punishment system, by which students must conform to and obey more authoritative persons (teachers), and installs a sense of work ethic, like punctuality and co-operation. Functionalist theorists believe that this internalisation of norms and values results

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Evaluate Sociological Explanations of the Relationship between Religion & Social Change

Evaluate Sociological Explanations of the Relationship between Religion & Social Change The relationship between religion and social change has forever wielded many sociological explanations attempting to comment on this ambiguous issue. While some favour the view religion does indeed promote social change (Weber), others argue religion inhibits social change (Durkheim). Firstly it's important to understand what is meant by the concept social change. From a sociologists view point, social change in terms of religion can be used to change the politics, economics, or values of a society. This can be illustrated from a contemporary standpoint by reflecting on the Buddhist monks in Burma. These monks are using their religious and spiritual beliefs to change the society they live in. Speaking from a more historical context however, we can see that the religions of Ghandi, Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa, have been used and some may argue exploited; to change wider society. However some sociologists disagree that religion can change society. Functionalists such as Durkheim argue religion is a conservative force which promotes the 'collective conscience'; the morals and values a society abides by. Functionalists see religion as the 'social cement' which is needed for society to stay healthy and bind the masses together. There are examples to support this view. Firstly, the

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Examine the weakness of different types of documents used in a sociological research. Examine why positivist prefer quantitative data whilst interpretivists prefer qualitative data.

a. Examine the weakness of different types of documents used in a sociological research. (20 marks) Documents are secondary data developed by individuals, groups, and organisations, in which sociologist may find particularly advantageous in their research. Taking that into account, there are two types of documents both personal and public. Public documents are items such as letters, diaries, autobiographies, notes and photo collections. Personal documents may be noted as unrepresentative, because some groups are unlikely to produce personal documents such as diaries and letters, because they have got limited leisure. Therefore, their views may not be represented, whilst those with the time and literacy skills may be overrepresented. When it comes to examining the personal documents, it somehow lacks the authenticity. There may be possibly missing pages, or someone must have reproduced another copy, making it seem fake. For example, there was claim that Hitler diaries were fakes. Personal documents may also potentially lack the credibility. Documents may be difficult to believe, when considering the author's sincerity. For example, politicians may write diaries that inflate the own importance. The availability of personal documents may be difficult for researchers to gain access to. For example, private documents such as diaries are becoming less available sociologist.

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Assess the sociological views of the relationship between the family and industrialisation

Assess the sociological views of the relationship between the family and industrialisation Most sociological debates of family diversity have centred around three questions. Firstly, is the nuclear family universal, Secondly, is the nuclear group the only one that can carry out the vital functions of the family, and thirdly what is the link between the nuclear family structure and industrial society, did the nuclear family break away from this extended family system as a result of industrialization? The relationship between family structure and industrialisation remains a popular question, as it is linking the family with social change. ‘Pre Industrialisation’ refers back to the society before industrialisation, it was largely agricultural and work was centred at the home, people were given ascribed occupational roles this was known as the domestic industry. Family during the time was extended commonly and played a major role in looking after dependent children and had main responsibility for health and welfare of the young, and those of old age who couldn’t work. Before the compulsory education act in 1880, the family performed the acts of primary and secondary socialisation. Working class families had high illiteracy rates. However, during the Industrial revolution the nuclear family became more dominant in society. ‘Industrialism’ refers to the mass production

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Outline and evaluate the functionalist view of the role of the family in society [33 marks]

Outline and evaluate the Functionalist view of the role of the family in society [33 marks] Murdock, a functionalist, describes the family as a universal institution based on the nuclear family model. The functionalist view of the role of the family in society is that it maintains social order. The family is a tool for socialisation and a key social institution in sustaining the value consensus. Murdock identified four main functions of the family: the sexual, reproductive, economic and educational. These four functions cover the role of the family in society. The sexual and reproductive functions are what keep society populated—if they became dysfunctional then society would not have the people inhabiting it. The economic function is the parent’s responsibility to take care of their family financially, usually through the division of labour where the man will take on the instrumental role and provide for the family while the woman will adopt the expressive role and take care of the home and family members. Marxists would contest this viewpoint—arguing that the division of labour is capitalist dogma used to control the labour force and stop them from developing consciousness. The final function identified by Murdock was the educational functional—this is the socialisation function of the family. It is this function that maintains the value consensus which allows

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Assess the extent to which roles within the family are becoming more equal or shared

‘Assess the extent to which roles within the family are becoming more equal or shared’ There are many different opinions regarding the hierarchy of a family. As society has developed through the ages, numerous additions to the standard nuclear family have arisen. Because of this, sociologists are often coming up with new theories, including how power is shared within those families. In this essay I will be evaluating various judgements belonging to sociologists, regarding gender roles and whether influence is evenly distributed throughout families. Barrett and McIntosh state that men gain much more from women doing domesticated jobs than they give back in financial support from being the main breadwinner. This suggests that they believe women are the ones that really do the important things such as maintaining the home and looking after children. Following on from this, they also think that the financial support provided by the men often comes with ‘strings attached’, so the women have to find a way to repay their husbands and show their gratitude. Also, they believe that men are the ones that usually take charge when making important decisions. This collaboration seems to have a feminist perspective because their beliefs suggest that men hold women back and do not allow them to become their own person in the way they should. A criticism is that this feminist view

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