social problems
what is a social problem?
A SOCIAL CONDITION OR PATTERN OF BEHAVIOUR
• HARM TO MANY PEOPLE OR IMPORTANT PEOPLE (OBJECTIVE)
• WARRANTS PUBLIC CONCERN (SUBJECTIVE)
• REQUIRES COLLECTIVE SOLUTIONS IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE
what are the levels of analysis?
micro , meso, macro, global
why use the sociological imagination?
Assess the ‘truth’ of “common sense
Understand the opportunities and constraints in our lives
Empowers us to be active participants in society
Live effectively in a diverse world
what is a critical conctructivism?
Critical (conflict) theory approach
• Emphasis on social constructionism (how people create shared reality (4 basic assumptions, according to Burr 1995):
– The world does not present itself objectively to the observer – Historical and cultural specificity must be recognized
– Knowledge is sustained by social process
– Knowledge and social action go together
• Examines how meanings of various social problems are constructed
• Examines how these constructions often favour (are made by) elite interests at the expense of lower and middle classes
what are the 7 values preference of critical contructivism?
• Life (vs. death)
• Health (vs. sickness)
• Knowledge (vs. ignorance)
• Co-operation (vs. conflict)
• Freedom of movement (vs. constraint)
• Self-determination (vs. direction by others)
• Freedom of expression (vs. restraint of communication)
what is Improvisation?
• RespondingtoWhatCameBefore
• AnticipatingResponsesthatFollow.
• Agency
• Accountability
• NewSolutions
what is accompaniment?
• Rise above our training
• Think better than we have been
taught
• Develop a listening habit
• Make ourselves available to intelligence
• Seek out teachers from all backgrounds and all walks of life
• Learn at every turn
• Focus on cooperative outcomes, rather than personal recognition
what are the sociological perspectives?
Functionalism Conflict/Critical Theories Symbolic interactionism Institutional Ethnography
what are science solutions?
Inaccurate Observations
• Deliberate observations and measurement devices
Overgeneralization • Replication of study
Selective Observation
• Special attention to deviant cases
Illogical Reasoning
• Question the grounds of theory
what are the Academic research Articles follow the form of the research cycle?
Generalizability
Theory
Discussion
Introduction/Backg round
Problem
Analysis of Data
Collection of Data
Hypothesis or Research Question
Design And Measurement
Deduction
Adapted from Wallace,
Methods/ Methodology
How to cite a website using ASA?
• Bibliographic Reference:
Author. Year. Title. Accessed Date. URL.
(Should have Hanging Indent!!)
City of Vancouver. 2023. “New Housing agreement would deliver more than 650 affordable homes in False Creek North” Accessed February 14, 2023. https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/new-housing-agreement-would-deliver- more-than-650-affordable-homes-in-false-creek-north.aspx
• In-text citation (Author, year: pages)
– Example: (City of Vancouver, 2023: New Housing Agreement...)
what are the moral entrepreneurs?
1. People who “discover” and are “disturbed” by certain behaviours or social conditions which they define as evil or bad.
2. Crusaders who try to publicize patterns of behaviours or social conditions of moral concern.
– Aim to produce a “moral panic” (the subjective
aspect of a social problem)
3. They do not rest until something is done to “correct the problem”
what is an ethiology of a Moral Panic?
Unease social change viewed as threat to moral order powers that be Media Frenzy Bad “things are afoot” Creation of “folk devils” Children playing computer games are now filled with murderous thoughts and planning on killing people
what is an ethiology of a moral panic?
Make moral judgments about how evil people are who do the “bad thing” Create laws to punish those who do “the bad thing” to show those “folk devils” that the world is going to remain the same Restrictions of behaviours But people keep doing those things, and over time, people wonder: the world has not ended What were we so worried about?
how do we detect a moral panic?
• Unsubstantiated claims (no references to peer-reviewed research, or claims do not accurately reflect the research
• Use of moral or aesthetic language to make value judgements:
– Unfair
– Bad/good
– ugly
– Disgusting
– Focus on actions of one collection of people, but not on others who do the similar things
what is an ascribed vs achieved status?
Ascribed Status
• Aspects of our status and identity that are given to us by the society in which we live.
• E.g. Age, race, SES of family of origin, religion, sex, gender, nationality, ethnicity,
Achieved Status
• Aspects of our status that we accomplish through our own actions.
• E.g. educational attainment, occupation, income,
what are the paradigmatic understanding of health?
Structural-Functionalism
• Sickness as deviance
• Durkheim’s suicide study
• Sick role (Talcott Parsons)
Conflict/Critical Theories
• Medical Industrial Complex
• Medicalization
• Iatrogenesis
Symbolic Interactionism
• Labelling
• Medicalization is labelling
• Passing as well (or sick) - Malingering
define health?
Biomedical Model
• Health is absence of illness or injury
• Health is a passive, normal state
• Focusoncuring
Biopsychosocial Model
• Healthiswell-being
• Healthisapositivestateof existence characterized by happiness, prosperity and the satisfaction of basic human needs
• (WHO) “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being”
what are the social Determinants of health?
1. Early life
2. Education
3. Food security
4. Housing
5. Employment security and work conditions
6. Income inequality
7. Social exclusion
8. Aboriginal status
9. Social safety net
10. Health-care services
what are the citizenship and nationality the creation of foreign status?
Immigrants Migrants Refugees
integration
regularization
normalization
Segregation (Foreign status)
what are the ideal of the worker citizen?
• Taxpayer
• Deserving of rights
• Two types of undeservingness:
• Idleness(theunemployed
citizen)
• Notbelonging(theuncitizened employee)
what are the common interests collapse binary distinctions?
Students
Affordable housing that is adequate and in good repair
Movement between nations (to attend school and work while in school)
Contact with family while in school
Precarious Workers
Affordable housing that is adequate and in good repair
Stable housing when work is not stable
Ability to move to where work pays well
Ability to live with family while working
Migrant Workers
Secure housing and adequate housing that is in good repair
Job stability
Ability to be with family while working
Disruptions to family of migration
what are the repertoire of contention?
1. Public Campaigns
2. Legal supports
3. Sanctuary provisions and personal supports
4. Political infrastructure and capacity-building
5. Material, cultural, functional and emotional supports
6. Other Direct Actions
7. Squatting (Not going away; staying in a space)