What is a Child? Discuss how a scientific, a social constructionist and an applied approach attempt to answer this question.
What is a Child? Discuss how a scientific, a social constructionist and an applied approach attempt to answer this question. This essay will attempt to discuss how sociologists have attempted to answer the question. Childhood is viewed differently, depending on the country being considered, the period of time being studied or a personal viewpoint. According to the UN convention, a child is anybody under the age of eighteen. Several studies have been undertaken by sociologists to examine childhood. This essay will attempt to discuss three major approaches: 1) a scientific approach tries to study this objectively by observation and experimentation to prove a theory. This essay will discuss Kohlberg's theory of "Moral development". It will not include Piaget's theory as Kohlberg's theory used Paiget's theory as a building block to his theory. 2) A social constructionist approach studies this by exploring social and cultural beliefs. The two discourses are the Romantic and Puritan discourses. 3) And an applied approach draws on both the scientific and social constructionist theories and uses the studies to understand the practicalities of Children's rights through law, policies, and professional practices and the children themselves. The models used are the justice and the welfare model. The Scientific theory researches and endeavours to establish objective facts by
What did Marx mean when he stated that capital is not a thing but social relations between persons?
What did Marx mean when he stated that capital is not a thing but social relations between persons? Marx was consistently fearless in his opposition of orthodox beliefs, and his brashness in thought is one of the most striking aspects of his multiple works, differing as they do in subject matter and objective. Although it is quite often a challenge to establish exactly what Marx thought, due to the bulk of his material remaining incomplete or unpublished, and with the changing and developments of his thoughts over time, we do know that he remained adamant in his stance that capital is not a thing, but in fact social relations between persons. In order to come to some conclusion as to why exactly Marx felt it necessary to oppose all contemporary economic thought of the time, I will first of all examine the very thought processes and traditions he disagreed with, those which others thought to be the definitive explanations of capital, and then move on to develop a fuller picture of capital as an abstract concept, using his own theories of the Circulation and Fetishism of commodities, and the Alienation and Exploitation of the worker. Before backing up Marx's above argument, it is first necessary to have a clear idea of what exactly he was refuting. Thus, in his Wage-Labour and Capital thesis he lays down a clear explanation, according to 'economists' of the time:
Mathew Arnold, Stanzas From the Grande Chartruse - 19th Century Britain.
Erik Jaccard English 230 AB---Dalley 3/14/2001 Final Exam Part I "Wandering between two worlds, one dead, The other powerless to be born, With nowhere yet to rest my head, Like these, on earth I wait forlorn." ---Mathew Arnold, Stanzas From the Grande Chartruse As these portentous and transitory lines suggest, 19th century inhabitants of Britain existed very literally beneath the outstretched and looming arms of an immense and ambiguous shadow. After all, it was in 19th century Britain that humankind was first introduced to the intensely exponential rates of change that would come to define the endeavors of humankind thereafter. Slumped loosely upon the errant back of "progress" was the concept of time, which had for eons before, rolled along with all the ferociousness of the river Thames. With the inception of the Industrial Revolution, however, the pace at which humankind lived, loved, and lost began to burgeon into something altogether mysterious, hopeful, and, at the same time, terribly frightening and uncontrollable. Each succeeding generation began to be defined by the technology and controversy of its day, each "age" noticeably marked by the incipient generation to succeed it and the lamented generations already fading into memory. Technology advanced with lightning-quick speed, carrying with it new mediums of expression (particularly within the sphere
To what extent do the mass media influence their audience?
To what extent do the mass media influence their audience? It is generally believed that daily newspaper's, television, radio, films, the Internet, or any form of message communication that is targeted at a large audience has an influence on behaviour, (Moore 1996) but to what extent? How much influence do the 'mass media' really have on society and the individual's within a society that have now become a media 'loyal' audience? (Moore 1996) and how do people gauge the extent of this influence? The aim of this essay is to look at the theories of the mass media effects. Such effect theories as the 'hypodermic-syringe' model, the 'cultural effects' theory, the 'two-step flow' model, and the 'uses and gratification' theory, and then determine from these theories the true extent of the mass media influence upon society. The 'Hypodermic-syringe model', that is also referred to as the 'silver bullet model' (Schramm & Porter 1982) is the idea that the mass media are so powerful that they can 'inject' their messages into the audience. Or that, like a magic bullet, they can be precisely targeted at an audience, who irresistibly fall down when hit by the bullet. In brief, it is the idea that the makers of media messages can get people to do whatever they want them to do. (Schramm & Porter 1982) Whilst it could be argued that no media analyst holds such a view today, it remains
Concepts of C. Wright Mills The Promise of Sociology
Concepts of C. Wright Mills' The Promise of Sociology C. Wright Mills was an astounding sociologist, social critic, and idealist. His writings and character sparked debate within the sociological community. He advocated that one key purpose of a sociologist was to create social change against the oppression of government. In The Promise of Sociology, C. Wright Mills explores the imagination of a sociologist through the understanding of social analysis and the idea that society interrelates with an individual's life. The sociological imagination gives a person the ability to understand the factors such as biography, history, and lifestyle that impact and influence the individual. It allows the study of how a person's surroundings change their perception of the society around them. To comprehend the sociological imagination is to understand the principles of personal troubles and public issues. Modern sociologists do not study society to merely maintain it, but also to correct it through social change. What allows modern sociologists to gather, analyze, and correct the pillars of civilization? In Mills' view, a person must have the sociological imagination in order for any change to occur. If Mills' assertion is correct, one cannot be a true sociologist without this imagination. According to Frank Elwell, the sociological imagination is "a term referring to the
Richardson's Pamela and Dafoe's Roxana provide us with two very different, yet similar examples of how the social values of the time work against women
Heather J. Glazier Dr. David Oakleaf English 519.08 3 Dec. 2004 Marriage in Pamela and Roxana Eighteenth century England's social values irrevocably intertwined woman's virtue and marriage, particularly for the upper class. This intertwining arose from the fact that wealth was land, and in order to make certain that the land passed down to a legitimate heir the mother's virtue must be beyond doubt, ensuring that family honor remain unblemished and wealth followed the proper line of succession. As a result virtue, followed by pedigree, became the single most important asset any girl could possess since its loss marked a girl as ruined and precluded any chance of a successful marriage, the only acceptable career open to a woman of upper class status. I propose that this type of arranged marriage, where little or no consideration is given to choice, permits little chance of happiness and also renders the woman, who loses the minimal personal freedom and economic control she might have, little more than a pawn to the social values of the period that endorse virtue and body as a commodity. In a time when being female means being powerless marriage becomes little more than a breeding program designed to ensure the proper passage of land as many of the books written about the period suggest. Richardson's Pamela and Dafoe's Roxana provide us with two very different, yet
Economics and the Changing World
Report based on presentation 26th October 2004 2pm-3pm Group 2 Communication Studies Economics and the Changing World Presented to: Jim Rogers Social and Economic Studies Presented by: Eimear Keller Sinead Keane Caroline Kelly Stephen Kean Introduction Our first impression to this assignment was utter dismay, as the reading list comprised mainly of capitalist subjects. After research and discussion we realised that this area was too complex, as we had no basic understanding of economics, which disabled us from communicating with our seminar group on the subject matter. Due to this we decided to cover the broader aspects of economics and give a basic introduction to the economic world. Our aim was to display to our audience the major effect economics has on our society and the rapidly changing world we reside in. We also wanted to illustrate to the audience the relationship that we as members of society have with economics. As the area is so vast, we divided the presentation into four titles with each of us focusing on one particular area, which we would research, and present. We examined economics under the headings of: the basics of economics, a historical background, the social impact and economic development and cultural change. Economics -An Introduction: Eimear For my part of the presentation I intended to give the seminar group a
What is Cultural Studies, what does it do, and does it matter?
Student number: 5 3 2 4 0 3 November 2003 What is Cultural Studies, what does it do, and does it matter? Cultural Studies is a complex and wide-ranging topic. Unlike conventional subject areas, there is no one clear definition of what it essentially is. However, throughout contemporary history, many writers have tried to explore what is involved within and around the themes associated with Cultural Studies itself. It is during this essay that I will try to investigate what these various writers believe and maintain as their standpoints. I will also account for what I think Cultural Studies is, what it does and whether or not I think it matters intellectually and politically and why. The term 'Cultural Studies', according to Barker, 2000, page 4, constitutes what is known as the 'language-game of Cultural Studies'. By this, Barker is explaining that what comprises Cultural Studies is the variety of interpretations developed by diverse writers, across different times and places. However, these interpretations are based on certain topics, which, although may change over time, focus on constant features making Cultural Studies what it is or what it is perceived as being. One such topic, that Cultural Studies deals with, is power and its subsequent relationships. This implies that by looking at how power is distributed amongst society, cultural practices can be more
How successful was Durkheim in establishing the objective reality of social facts?
How successful was Durkheim in establishing the objective reality of social facts? "When I fulfill my obligations as brother, husband, or citizen, when I execute my contracts, I perform duties which are defined, externally to myself and my acts, in law and in custom. Even if they conform to my own sentiments and I feel their reality subjectively, such reality is still objective, for I did not create them; I merely inherited them through my education...These types of conduct or thought are not only external to the individual but are, moreover, endowed with coercive power, by virtue of which they impose themselves upon him, independent of his individual will."1 Giddens describes social facts as an aspect of social life that determines the human's action, thought as well as felling. They have an "objective" reality, as they are external to a single person.2 Society and its rules, mores and norms are shaping the individual's life. Society has been established before the individual was born and will remain after he is gone. This explains Durkheim's theory of objective reality. Social facts have a reality beyond private lives.3 Further, social facts are of coercive nature. The individual does not experience their coercive power as such. Even if one believes to be acting out of free will, it is the constraining influence of these facts that are imposing themselves upon the
The study of emotion has seen many contesting theories which attempt to explain the processes which the human body or in some cases the animal body, utilize when experiencing emotion.
HND Social Science 'C' Unit Psychology Student: Alex Leckie Lecturer: Jon McDermott Langside College Glasgow 08/11/02 The study of emotion has seen many contesting theories which attempt to explain the processes which the human body or in some cases the animal body, utilize when experiencing emotion. Perhaps one reason for so many different theories is the lack of definitions used to identify what emotion is. "Historically this term has proven utterly refractory to definitional efforts; probably no other term in psychology shares its nondefinability with its frequency of use." (Reber 1987 p234) What Reber means by this is that most authors whom frequently use the word make little attempt to define its meaning. Instead they present theirs or others evidence or theories and hope that a definition will be apparent from the text. If psychology claims to be scientific, then to compare and contrast theories we must first ensure the opposing theories are pertinent to an identical subject. For this reason a clear definition of emotion is a fundamental requirement. The word emotion is derived from the Latin emovere which translates as to excite, to agitate, to stir-up or to move. A combination of events, cognitions, and physiology. Or similar sentences are frequently used to define emotion when associated with human behaviour. However, these conditions may be present
