bridgetmeyer-blog

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Introduction to my Blog!

Hi my name is Bridget, I am currently going into my fourth semester of nursing school at PA College of Health Sciences. I have always been what you call “people watcher,” I love to see how people interact with each other and in certain situations. When I was younger my favorite thing to do was to go to the mall with my Grandma and see all the people shopping. I always felt like it was something weird to say I do but I own it now! I think the world  is so fascinating. 

The purpose of this blog is as a final project for my Sociology class. We must write 10 posts containing concepts from previous chapters we read. They will contain topics about theory of sociology, research, culture, socialization, deviance, social class, globalization, gender, race, and social movements. At first I was a bit scared of this assignment but now I am excited because I love learning new things about the world around me.

Thank you for reading!

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Always Watching

“You find yourself watching black people. (The stealing) only happens once in a while, but it changes your perception.....Like it or not, I’m going to have a preconceived notion of races from my experiences. As much as I would like to force my brain not to think like that and put everyone on an even playing field, stereotypes play a role in our society...we skew the view of people as individuals.” -Unknown College Graduate

The college graduate that said that quote related her experience with consumer racial profiling (CRP) with in a liquor store that resided in a predominantly white area. She reported her experience with people stealing from the store she worked at it was always predominantly black people being caught. But every race shoplifts, its not something that is just a black persons doing (Williams, 2013). 

In today’s society African Americans have a concept of double consciousness. Double consciousness is looking at yourself through the eyes of someone else (Conley, 2015, pg 28). With this when an African American goes shopping they are fully aware that they will be watched very closely and will make and effort to get in and out of the store quickly (Conley, 2015, pg 28). This concept is very sad that our society has come to discriminate African Americans and black people in general as thief's when every race has people who steal (Conley, 2015, pg 355).

Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: an introduction to thinking like a sociologist(4th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton.

Williams, J. D. (2013, November 21). A Message to Ponder on for Barney's, Macy's and the NYPD: Shoplifting Comes in All Sizes, Shapes, and Colors. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerome-d-williams/barneys-shoplifting-racial-profiling_b_4318452.html

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Facebook is Hard to Resist

I saw the title to this article and it was interesting to me. I am on social media at least five times a day myself, for an unknown amount of time. So I started to read and not even three paragraphs in I reached for my phone to check on  my own Facebook.

The article is written by a woman named Allison Eden who is the assistant professor of the Department of Communication at Michigan State University. Her study started out by stating that even a brief exposure to a Facebook-related image can cause a pleasurable response in someone. She preformed two studies that looked at how people feel when exposed to Facebook or the idea of Facebook (Eden, 2017).

Her first study took regular, heavy, Facebook users and less frequent Facebook users. They were each shown an image of something Facebook related and then a Chinese symbol (Eden, 2017). After they were asked if the image was a pleasurable one or not, heavy Facebook users often said it was pleasant more frequently than less frequent Facebook users (Eden, 2017).

The second study the participants were given a survey on how much the craved for Facebook (Eden, 2017). The participants expressed feeling guilty for the use of Facebook but most reported failure to cut Facebook out of their lives (Eden, 2017). In her conclusion she suggests that if someone wants to get rid of Facebook to eliminate any cues from their environment (Eden, 2017).

Each study used quantitative methods of gathering data, collecting information that cannot convert into a numeric form (Conley, 2015, pg 45). This study is also a great example of how our society has become a material culture (everything in the physical environment including technology). The majority of the Millennial generation is a part and participating in social media not just Facebook.

Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: an introduction to thinking like a sociologist(4th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton.

Eden, A. (2017, August 3). Why Facebook is so hard to resist. Retrieved from https://phys.org/news/2017-08-facebook-hard-resist.html

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No more “One-Child Policy”

A huge part of Chinese culture was their “one-child policy” where families were only allowed to have one child per couple. This policy started a huge issue with families desiring a baby boy over a baby girl. If a family had a baby girl she would most likely of been left somewhere or taken into the foster system. Males were so desirable to the Chinese family because they would support their parents and take care of them in old age. While the girls would go off and get married and move in with their husband and his parents.

In October of 2015, China lifted their “one-child policy” due to the demographic implications that it had on the country. There would be no girls for the men to marry when they grow old enough. So China lifted its “one-child policy” to try and fix the issue after 35 years of being regulated (Hall, 2017). 

Since the policy had been lifted there was a 45% increase in families having a second child and the number of newborns increased by 1.31 million. Yong Cai, an expert in Chinese demography said that the two-child policy is “too little too late to reverse the declining trend of fertility in China,” (Hall, 2017).

China is trying to change is non-material culture and fix its growing issue of declining fertility in hopes that a baby boom will solve the problem (Conley, 2015, pg 78). The discrimination against having a baby girl is now going away and families have less pressure now to have a baby boy first (Conley, 2015, pg 355).

Hall, C. (2017, February 02). How has the end of its one-child policy affected China? Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/01/child-policy-affected-china-170129130503972.html

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Re-socialization in the Military

This YouTube video shows the beginning of a Marine Corps boot camp. When men sign up to protect and serve their country in one of the hardest branches of the military, and you can bet their boot camp is just that, hard. The goal of the boot camp is to re-socialize the men into what the military wants them to be. Re-socialization is the process of re-engineering someone’s social values, beliefs, and norms deliberately (Conley, 2015, pg 126). They start out by screaming at them and making sure they say “Yes Sir!” or “No Sir!”, if not they will get screamed at and singled out. Once the men leave the bus they were brought in on they are taken into a contraband room, where the Staff Sargent’s go through their belongings and ensuring everything is placed exactly where they want it (AiirSource Military, 2016). 

Here is where the men learn to listen very closely to what they are told or there will be consequences. You do not yell loud enough, well they will make you yell till they are satisfied with the level. You put something in the wrong play, you will be screamed at without a doubt (AiirSource Military, 2016). These guys go through something that is emotionally draining and drilling. Some of the men could experience culture shock in my opinion. It’s a foreign situation to most and no one can ever prepare to be screamed at repeatedly in the face (AiirSource Military, 2016).

The above image is from the end of the YouTube video where all the recruits are taken to have their head cleanly shaved (AiirSource Military, 2016). This is making each of them even more similar to each other creating a total institution. A total institution is when there is someone or something that controls basics of day-to-day life where there are no barriers (Conley, 2015, pg 127).

AiirSource Military. (2016, Mat 20). First Day Of Boot Camp – Contraband Room, Barber Shop [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWwULJvVmcM

Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: an introduction to thinking like a sociologist(4th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton.

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President Trump Breaking Presidential Norms

President Trump has been breaking social norms (how values tell us to behave) even before he was elected into office (Conley, 2015, pg 87). Trump is a billionaire real-estate developer who was elected into the United States Presidency where in past years was dominated by public figures whom have help some sort of public office (Walsh, 2016). 

Generally in the past when Presidents needed to announce policy or speak to the public it would be done through press conferences (Walsh, 2016). President Trump however, uses Twitter as his means of communication to the American people (Walsh, 2016). He is a very outspoken person and really doesn’t care what the American people think of him in general. He says what he wants and doesn’t really think twice about it.

President Trump being so outspoken and using a social media outlet to communicate eliminates a media-filter on what he needs to say. He is very socially deviant (transgression of the socially acceptable norms) and is making his own new Presidential norms (Conley, 2015, pg 187). The media (a platform or vehicle that presents or communicates information) then reports on this heavily because Twitter is the first place anyone will hear about what is going on with the Presidency (Conley, 2015, pg 90). 

At this point things that President Trump does aren’t surprising because of how crazy and radical some of the policies he has put into place have been. There was a time where President Trump was not going to use the White House as his primary residence (Walsh, 2016). It is expected in our society that the President of the United States resides in the White House and uses the Oval Office. President Trump however does not care for these social or expected norms that our society has.

Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: an introduction to thinking like a sociologist(4th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton.

Walsh, K. T. (2016, December 2). Shattering Convention. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2016-12-02/donald-trump-is-shattering-presidential-norms

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Inequity in Corporations

Dr. Andrew Ward, associate dean at the College of Business at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa.

When the economy crashed in 2008 there were thousands of lay offs. A report and in the article I read from NBC News, in 2008 the top 50 firms with the most lay offs took home 42% more money in 2009 than any other corporation in the United States (Jones, 2010). They made $12 million on average in 2009 compared to the other chief executives who made $8.5 million. The top 50 companies with lay offs reported laying off at least 3,000 workers between 2008 and 2010 (Jones, 2010).

This article goes onto explain that the top 50 CEO layoff leaders racked in in total $598 million dollars in 2009. That amount of money could have been used for unemployment benefits for 37,759 workers or one month of benefits for the 531,363 workers they all collectively laid off (Jones, 2010). 

Dr. Andrew Ward, associate dean at the College of Business at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa said,“What’s clear here is that CEOs who slash thousands of jobs certainly aren’t tightening their belts,” (Jones, 2010). This fact alone is creating a very negative stigma towards CEO’s of companies and the working class (Conley, 2015, pg 209). Not only that it is creating this sense of a bourgeois society where the CEO’s are more worried about maximizing their own profit at the expense of others (Conley, 2015, pg 242). If the CEO’s would take pay cuts instead of laying off people to increase their pensions, more American’s would be employed. We would see the middle class rising again and the upper 1% not just worrying about how big they can get their bank account.

Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: an introduction to thinking like a sociologist(4th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton.

Jones, R. (2010, September 01). CEOs lay off thousands, rake in millions. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/38935053/ns/business-us_business/t/ceos-lay-thousands-rake-millions/#.WYeHS4QrLIU

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Globalized Economy

When companies operating costs go down they increase their competitive edge on their competition. So they will diversify their products to reduce their risk and keep their company stable (Pologeorgis, 2017). The video goes on to explain that some economist believe that globalization has a positive effect on the global market (Pologeorgis, 2017). Trading amongst  other nations will promote growth and so does investing into companies (Pologeorgis, 2017).

Others who disagree with globalization say that its hard for less developed countries to compete with a more developed country on goods (Pologeorgis, 2017). And also when companies transfer their labor to another country it is eliminating jobs for the local people and damaging domestic industries (Pologeorgis, 2017).

As companies are able to fine countries with cheaper labor prices they will up an move their production to those areas. So you may have a company starting their labor somewhere in Brazil, South America, but they find out instead of paying someone $5 an hour they can move production to a cheaper area such as Bangladesh for less than a dollar an hour. That is a sad fact about globalization and spreading the work to make more profit. Its eliminating jobs for Americans because companies want to produce their products as cheap as they can to make that most profit possible. If they are able to lower their production costs they can increase their margins and take in more money for profit. This creates the bourgeois society where companies just want to maximize their profit even if it means shifting where their products are manufactured (Conley, 2015, pg 242)..

Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: an introduction to thinking like a sociologist(4th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton.

Pologeorgis, N. (2017, March 06). How Globalization Affects Developed Countries. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/10/globalization-developed-countries.asp

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Oppression in America

Since I first heard of President Trumps tweet about banning transgender individuals from serving in the United States military in and capacity I have been following the story. When president Trump was running his campaign for Presidency he made a promise to the American people. His promise was "As your President, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression from the hateful, foreign, ideology" (ABC News, 2017). Months later President trump uses Twitter as a means to tell the American people that:

He has now back tracked on what he said in his campaign and is now joining in the oppression of the transgender population. There are estimated 2,450 currently serving transgender troops. When the White House was asked what would happen to these already serving transgender troops they responded with “this is something that the department of defense and the White House will have to work together as the implementation takes place” (ABC News, 2017).

The overwhelmingly majority of Trumps cabinet and Pentagon did not see this Tweet coming and were just as surprised as the American people (ABC News, 2017). Why would the United States force willing and active service members to leave the military solely based on their gender identity. If someone feels as if they were born in the wrong body who is the government to say that you can not protect and serve your country because you will not identify as the sex you were born as (Conley, 2015, pg 277).

ABC News. (2017, July 26). Trump tweets sweeping ban of transgender people from serving in the military [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvDfRkKnRB4

Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: an introduction to thinking like a sociologist(4th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton.

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Forced to Teach Math

Above is a picture of Professor Seung-Whan Choi from University of Illinois at Chicago. This news article pulled me in because of its title. Seung-Whan Choi is suing the University because he said that he was forced to teach classes he did not want to bases on his race (Herreria, 2017).  

The lawsuit goes on to quote the department head as saying, “Asians, especially Koreans, are very good” at math (Herreria, 2017). Choi stated that since that statement he was forced to teach a statistics class that he didn’t want to teach, nor was he qualified for. “I’m supposed to be very submissive to the department head, who is white-American,” said Choi when being interviewed by the Chicago Tribune (Herreria, 2017). 

Choi has come out with statements of what his colleagues would say to him. Saying things like because hes a foreigner he doesn’t understand how American culture works and he needs to just be quiet (Herreria, 2017). They even went on to say that Choi lacked academic contributions and that he believes most of this hate is due to him filing a complaint to the  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2010. After he filed the complaint Choi was fired for an unknown reason and since the harassment has gotten worse (Herreria, 2017).

I don’t know the whole situation, only what I read in the article, but these people are discriminating Seung-Whan Choi (Conley, 2015, pg 355). Treating him unfairly and forcing him to teach something soley based on the fact that he is Asian and must be good at math. There is a bit of prejudice in that fact as well. Thoughts and feelings about Choi due to his racial group, and expecting him to just let them walk all over him and now speak out. 

Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: an introduction to thinking like a sociologist(4th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton.

Herreria, C. (2017, January 06). Professor Claims University Forced Him To Teach Math Because 'Asians Are Good At Math'. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/korean-american-professor-teach-math-university-illinois-chicago_us_586c4036e4b0de3a08fa1521?utm_hp_ref=racial-inequality

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Love Wins

2015 was a huge year for the LGBT community seeking legalization of same sex marriage. Gay rights activists were working so hard to get to this moment and on June 26, 2015 a divided Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage (Vogue & Diamond, 2015).

This all started with a case that was sent to the Supreme Court called  Obergefell v. Hodges.  Obergefell was the lead plaintiff in the case and had married his spouse months before he passed away in 2013. After his spouse had passed he began to fight back against states banning same sex marriage (Vogue & Diamond, 2015). 

 With a ruling of five to four a new civil right was established and handed the gay rights activists a huge victory (Vogue & Diamond, 2015).  Chief Justice John Roberts spoke out and stated that the decision the Supreme Court made had “nothing to do with the Constitution,” (Vogue & Diamond, 2015).

With this Supreme Court ruling, the article goes on to explain that, married same-sex couples will have the same rights as a heterosexual couple. They will also be recognized on official documents such as birth certificates and death certificates (Vogue & Diamond, 2015). 

At the time President Obama was very happy with this ruling and said that American’s “should be very proud” and have “slowly made and entire country realize that love is love,” (Vogue & Diamond, 2015).

The United States is now the 21st country in the world to legalize same sex marriage. 37 states in America allowed same sex marriage to be legal before this hearing (Vogue & Diamond, 2015). Its about time that people aren’t being judged on their sexuality, their desire or sexual preference, and allowed to be happy and love whom ever they want (Conley, 2015, pg 277).

Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: an introduction to thinking like a sociologist(4th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton.

Vogue, A. D., & Diamond, J. (2015, June 27). Supreme Court rules states must allow same-sex marriage - CNNPolitics. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/26/politics/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage-ruling/index.html

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Reflection

I really enjoyed taking a Sociology course. Before I never really thought just how much it was relevant to my everyday life until I started to dig in and really try to understand it. 

I use my knowledge I have learn from this class to help me interact and care for my patients and colleagues. I pull in things I never knew to even think about before into my work place because I am more self aware now. I know that people can look at me and judge me by my facial expressions so I try to be very friendly and not off putting. 

Ever since the globalization section I have been really thinking about things I am purchasing. I try to buy things that are made in America because it helps grow our economy. At the same time I can’t help but think about the people around the world who live off of pennies a day from things that we purchase and it really makes me sad. I will never take the life I have for granted, even if it can suck sometimes. There are people out there who have it way worse than me and people I know.

Another section that really hit home for me was the section where we talked about race. For my discussion board I talked about how there was hiring differences between a white male, black male, and a Latino male. Each time the white male no matter what was treated way better and that was shocking to me because I never really thought about that before. I have had black and Hispanic friends tell me they are giving their kids “white” names so that when they apply places they wont get overlooked. I never truly understood that until this class really opened my eyes to is and it is very shocking.

Thank you so much for everything Dr. J! I really loved your class and you are such an amazing professor!

Bridget

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Advice for Future Students

Dear Future Students,

When I first started Sociology I didn’t really know what to expect. But as the class started to get going and you start getting into the book and the different sections of this course it all starts to fall together. I would really recommend if your schedule allows for it to try and get ahead on the readings and take some notes. What really worked for me was to read the chapter before I watched Dr. J’s videos and take some notes. When I went to watch the videos I would check my notes and make sure I had what I needed or even added to them when she would give an example or explain something. I would not recommend saving everything till the day it is due, most of the weeks due to my crazy schedule in the summer, I was doing some of the work on the day it was due. For example finishing up this project and submitting it on the day it was due. Work ahead and make yourself less stressed about getting the work done. Post your tumblr blogs as you go through the sections so the content is fresh in you mind and you don’t have to worry about anything the last week before everything is due! 

Overall I loved this class and I hope you do too! If Dr. J offers a live chat on Google hangouts, go to them! She is so helpful and will answer all your questions! Don’t be scared of the projects either, they may seem like a lot at first, but they are very straightforward. 

Let yourself out of your comfort-zone and explorer sociology, it can be quite and adventure!