Sunday, September 29, 2013

Social problems: Study guide for midterm 2


Social problems
Study guide for midterm 2

Chapter 15: Social Problems of Marriage and Family

myths about the American family, Stephanie Coontz
median age of first marriage statistics
reasons why the rate of cohabitation has increased over the last 40 years
type of household with lowest family incomes
problems that children who are raised in single-parent families have
percent of gay couples that have children
couples most likely to be married 5-7 years after beginning cohabitation
the outcome of a trial marriage after 5-7 years is likely to be
compare married people with single people
as of 2006, the cost of raising a child until the age of 17
in the 1950s, the percentage of marriages lasting 10 years or more
risk factors for divorce
David Popenoe
in 2007, number of child fatalities due to neglect or physical abuse
age children most likely to be subject to fatal abuse and neglect
After no-fault divorce was legalized, what generally was the result?

CHAPTER 12: SEX AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO SEXUALITY

attitudes toward homosexuality from 1973-2008
characteristics of gay and lesbian youth
Who is likely to earn the higher salary? a. married heterosexuals, b. single heterosexuals, c. single homosexuals, d. female homosexuals
statistics from Edward Lauman’s research: percent of men and women engaged in some form of homosexual behavior, percent of men and women who consider themselves gay
laws restricting abortion in the early 1800s
age group with the highest rate of abortions
Michel Foucault
queer theory
why gay couples seek to marry
Kingsley Davis, prostitution
Wendy Chapkis, interviews with prostitutes
Meese commission
Roth v. United States
Miller v. California
federal prosecutions for pornography between 1995 and 2006

CHAPTER 9: PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION

percentage of the Gross Domestic Product spent on education in US (what rank among countries?)
the area of the world with the least literate people
functionalism
Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis
conflict theory
relationship between earnings and education
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act
charter schools
teacher expectancy effect

Lecture material: family

compare divorce rates by level of education
Daniel Lichter, cohabitation and divorce rates

Marriage & Family: What Does the Scandinavian Experience Tell Us? Comparison of family trends & child wellbeing in the US and Sweden

 According to David Popenoe, what factors that once held families together are weakening in Sweden?
What does David Popenoe think the root cause of family breakdown in advanced industrial societies is?

Lecture material: sex and sexual orientation

Statistics about prevalence of gays, lesbians and bisexual men and women ages 18-44 from the 2006–2008 National Survey of Family Growth
Statistics about same sex sexual activity for men and women ages 18-44 from the 2006–2008 National Survey of Family Growth
“Gender and Sexual Orientation Differences in Sexual Response to Sexual Activities Versus Gender of Actors in Sexual Films”: What gender gender differences did this study find?
Statistics related to American attitudes about the morality of homosexuality, acceptable lifestyle, right to certain occupations (you do not have to know exact statistics for this question)
correlates with respect to negative attitudes toward gay people; for example, gender, age, income, religiosity, political party, political perspective (conservative or liberal), levels of psychological authoritarianism, sexual permissiveness, support for traditional gender roles, belief that a homosexual orientation is freely chosen
In a 2007 Gallop poll, what percent of Americans stated they believe homosexuality is something a person is born with?

2009 National School Climate Survey

percent of respondents who were verbally harassed (e.g., called names or threatened) at school because of their sexual orientation
percent of respondents who were physically harassed (e.g., pushed or shoved) at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation

Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey

percent of transgender and non-gender conforming respondents that reported attempting suicide
percent of respondents who reported that they had lost a job due to being transgender or gender non-conforming

Roddrick Colvin. “The Extent of Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Topeka, KS”

Referring to the 2004 survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents of Topeka, Kansas, % of respondents that reported that they were fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, % of respondents that reported experiencing discrimination buying or renting a home, % that reported that they were denied a promotion

McVeigh, Rory; Diaz, Maria-Elena D. “Voting to Ban Same-Sex Marriage: Interests, Values, and Communities”

McVeigh and Diaz, examining initiatives proposing to ban same-sex marriage in 28 states from 2000 through 2008, found that opposition to same-sex marriage is strong in communities characterized by the predominance of traditional gender roles and family structure, and that the effects of traditional family structure and gender roles are especially strong in counties characterized by weak community cohesion.

Lecture material: education

According to the slide “Eight Grade Mathematics Curriculum Taught, Known Previously, and Learned by Type of Mathematics Program,” in which class type was the most amount of material taught?   
According to the slide “Eight Grade Mathematics Curriculum Taught, Known Previously, and Learned by Type of Mathematics Program,” in which class type was there the least amount of learning?   
According to the article “Lasting Consequences of the Summer Learning Gap,” the high SES-low SES achievement gap in ninth grade mainly traces to what?

Internet article: “Cultural Capital”

According to Pierre Bourdieu, what are the characteristics of cultural capital?

Internet article: “The 30 Million Word Gap” by Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley


Hart and Risley found that three-year-old children of professionals had a larger vocabulary size than adults on welfare.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Activity Assignment 2, option 2 – Families in the United States and Sweden

Activity Assignment 2, option 2 – Families in the United States and Sweden

 

Due date: The day of the second midterm

How to turn in:

Turn in a copy to Turnitin.com on the day we take midterm 2.

Point value:

This activity is worth 20 points. 

Considerations:

We will discuss this topic in class and you are encouraged to talk about this topic with your classmates outside of class. You can even read each other’s papers. However, simply copying and editing another person’s paper is considered plagiarism and you will, at a minimum, get a zero on this assignment. Turnitin.com is very good at catching plagiarizers. Please do not attempt.

Resubmission policy:

Any paper that receives a score of 19 or less (93%) can be revised and resubmitted. However, the resubmit option can only be used once. And the maximum score possible for a paper that is resubmitted is 19. There is a section on Turnitin.com where you can turn in a resubmission. You will have until the next exam to resubmit. No late resubmissions will be accepted. 

Assignment:

Read “Marriage & Family: What Does the Scandinavian Experience Tell Us? Comparison of family trends & child wellbeing in the US and Sweden.” Here is the link: http://www.stateofourunions.org/pdfs/SOOU2005.pdf. The article is from page 6 to 14. Summarize the claims that David Popenoe makes. Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?

Questions to think about:

Why is the divorce rate so high in the United States?

Why is the breakup rate so high in Sweden?

Why is the percentage of children not living with both biological parents higher in the United States than Sweden?

What feature of both societies does Popenoe claim is the root cause of the weakening family in both societies?

What do you think? Are families weakening? In what ways? Are families becoming stronger? In what ways?

 

Grading rubric:

1. demonstrated the sociological imagination

2. it is well written

 

3. it is at least one page, double-spaced (at least 300 words)

Monday, September 16, 2013

Activity Assignment 2

Activity Assignment 2

Due date: The day of the second midterm

How to turn in:

Turn in a copy to Turnitin.com on the day we take midterm 2.

Point value:

This activity is worth 20 points. 

Considerations:

We will discuss this topic in class and you are encouraged to talk about this topic with your classmates outside of class. You can even read each other’s papers. However, simply copying and editing another person’s paper is considered plagiarism and you will, at a minimum, get a zero on this assignment. Turnitin.com is very good at catching plagiarizers. Please do not attempt.

Resubmission policy:

Any paper that receives a score of 19 or less (93%) can be revised and resubmitted. However, the resubmit option can only be used once. And the maximum score possible for a paper that is resubmitted is 19. There is a section on Turnitin.com where you can turn in a resubmission. You will have until the next exam to resubmit. No late resubmissions will be accepted. 

Assignment:

Write an essay giving your reactions to Last Chance for Eden. In your essay, consider the questions below. You do not have to address all of these questions, and you can focus on other parts of the video that were of more interest to you.

Questions to think about:

What kind of thoughts and feelings did you have as you were watching Last Chance for Eden?

What insights did you get from watching the video?

What comments were the most insightful for you?

Think about the emotions expressed in the video. Did the expression of emotions help you to better understand the problem of race, ethnicity, and sexuality?

Why do you think that some of the participants felt little sympathy for the difficulties whites face when interacting with people of color?

Why did one of the participants have a problem with the comment that discrimination comes in all packages?

One participant stated "welcome to the pain." What is your reaction to her comment?

The same participant talked about how whites do not try to feel her pain. What is your reaction to her comments?

One participant expressed her pain caused by others that see her as a waste because she is a lesbian. What is your reaction to her comments?

What was the issue with saying, "I am not a racist"? What do you think?

Grading rubric:

1. demonstrated thoughtful introspection

2. it is well written

 

3. it is at least one page, double-spaced (at least 300 words)

Student E-mail, Accessing & Forwarding

http://academic.cuesta.edu/training/training_materials/Forwarding_Student_Email.pdf

Draft act ass 2

What kind of thoughts and feelings did you have as you were watching Last Chance for Eden?

What insights did you get from watching the video?

What comments were the most insightful for you?

Think about the emotions expressed in the video. Did the expression of emotions help you to better understand the problem of race, ethnicity, and sexuality?

Why do you think that some of the participants felt little sympathy for the difficulties whites face when interacting with people of color?

Why did one of the participants have a problem with the comment that discrimination comes in all packages?

One participant stated "welcome to the pain." What is your reaction to her comment?

One participant talked about how whites do not try to feel her pain. What is your reaction to her comments?

One participant expressed her pain caused by others that see her as a waste because she is a lesbian. What is your reaction to her comments?

What was the issue with saying, "I am not a racist"? What do you think?