Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Achieved Status Versus Ascribed Status in Sociology

Achieved Status Versus Ascribed Status in Sociology Status is a term that is used often in sociology. Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of status, achieved status and ascribed status. Each can refer to ones position, or role, within a social system- child, parent, pupil, playmate, etc.- or to ones economic or social position within that status.   Individuals usually hold multiple statuses at any given time- lawyers, say, who happen to devote most of their time to pro bono work instead of rising through the ranks at a prestigious law firm. Status is important sociologically because we attach to ones position a certain set of  presumed  rights, as well as presumed obligations and expectations for certain behaviors. Achieved Status An achieved status is one that is acquired on the basis of merit; it is a position that is earned or chosen and reflects a persons skills, abilities, and efforts. Being a professional athlete, for example, is an achieved status, as is being a lawyer, college professor, or even a criminal. Ascribed Status An ascribed status, on the other hand, is beyond an individuals control. It is not earned, but rather is something people are either born with or had no control over. Examples of ascribed status include sex, race, and age. Children usually have more ascribed statuses than adults, since they do not usually have a choice in most matters. A familys social status or socioeconomic status, for instance, would be an achieved status for adults, but an ascribed status for children. Homelessness might also be another example. For adults, homelessness often comes by way of achieving, or rather not achieving, something. For children, however, homelessness is not something they have any control over. Their economic status, or lack thereof, is entirely dependent on their parents actions. Mixed-Status The line between achieved status and ascribed status is not always black and white. There are many statuses that can be considered a mixture of achievement and ascription. Parenthood, for one. According to the latest numbers gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 50 percent of pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, which makes parenthood for those people an ascribed status. Then there are people who achieve a certain status because of an ascribed status. Take Kim Kardashian, for example, probably the most famous  reality television celebrity in the world. Many people might argue that she would never have achieved that status if she had not come from a wealthy family, which is her ascribed status.  Ã‚   Status Obligations Probably the greatest set of obligations are conferred upon the status of parenthood.  First, there are biological obligations: Mothers are expected to care for themselves and their unborn child (or children, in the case of twins, etc.) by abstaining for any activity that could cause either of them harm. Once a child is born, a host of legal, social, and economic obligations kick in, all with the purpose of ensuring that parents act in a responsible manner toward their children. Then there are professional status obligations, like doctors and lawyers whose vocations bind them to certain oaths governing their client relationships. And socioeconomic status obligates those who have achieved a certain high level of economic status to contribute portions of their wealth to help the less fortunate in society.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

3 Simple Ways You Can Be More Positive at Work

3 Simple Ways You Can Be More Positive at Work To be perfectly honest, I find working closely with groups of people somewhat stressful. I notice plenty of details and lots of them are irritating. You may work with griping colleagues, grouchy colleagues, hypercritical colleagues, or just complaining ones.How can you channel that nitpicky attitude into something that benefits the whole team? And how can you make sure you’re not a drain on the office yourself? Eve Ash, over at SmartCompany.com, has some helpful tips for you and your team.1. Make Negativity More ProductivePut that judginess to work! Your detail-oriented approach will help you identify errors or inconsistencies and address them before they hurt your company’s profile. Use your always see the problems skills to be your teams editor or worst-case-scenario planner. If youre going to find fault in things, you might as well fix them!The challenge is making sure your diplomacy skills are also well-developed, too- Mary Poppins was on to something with her spoon ful of sugar idea.2. Work On YourselfWhether you work with colleagues  who are negative or find yourself bogged down in self-critical or irritable thoughts, look for ways to turn your attitude around. Try to appreciate the passion behind  a cub-mates inquiry or the opportunity to have them vet your work before a higher-up or a client sees it. Lower your defenses to hear their corrections as a sign of their investment in your shared work, not a criticism of you!3. Encourage Others When You CanIf you’re receiving feedback that feels relentlessly negative or you find yourself caught up giving  harsh critiques without softening them with some more complementary responses, make an effort to accompany every criticism with a constructive suggestion (and to ask that your colleagues provide the same). Make sure you acknowledge a job well done, even if it involves correction of your own work or what feels like a challenge to your authority!

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Criminology - sociology -philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminology - sociology -philosophy - Essay Example According to Phillipson, traditional criminology fails to understand criminal law. The subject matter of criminology is defined by non-criminologists thus placing limits on the discipline (Phillipson:4). Even though criminology is acknowledged as the study of crime and criminals, it fails to understand criminal law because sorts of behaviours that are branded as crimes and the people who are convicted as criminals emerge out of social processes which are independent of the professional criminologists’ activities (Phillipson:3).. Traditional criminology, therefore, has his subject matter given to him through the society’s formal definitions of crime (illegal behaviours). It is also the society that identifies the individuals who commit criminal acts and not criminal law. In addition, traditional criminology has been a failure because legal definitions of what is a criminal behaviour vary within any society (Phillipson:6).. This is because what is regarded as  a crime i n a  given  Ã‚  society may not be in another because different societies have different definitions of criminal behaviours. For instance, some societies accept homosexual behaviour, gambling and drug use while others consider them criminal offenses. This, therefore, means that there is no one universal behaviour that is always and everywhere criminal because societies’ reactions to crime change with regards to time and place (Phillipson:5). Traditional criminology has ignored social processes upon which criminal law is made. It however rests upon an implicit acceptance of the legal status quo. This unquestioning acceptance of upheld values limit the questions criminologists ask as well as the answers they get from questions relating to the causes of crimes (Phillipson:7). This restricts the focus of traditional criminology in search of causes to individuals who were officially convicted of criminal offences. The limited vision of