Living the Drama by David J. Harding is a text which draws on many sociological theories that are presently relevant to the lives of many individuals. Particularly this compilation of personal accounts and theoretical connections textbook focuses on the role of neighborhood and community’s effect on the lives of present day boys. The book provides real life examples are given to demonstrate two key topics being cultural heterogeneity and collective efficacy. In neighborhoods collective efficacy is relevant regardless of the racial or socioeconomic make up of the area, as it comprises the neighborhoods trust and cohesion with shared expectations of control, which in response determines the public order of that community. In these communities we then find cultural heterogeneity, which is defined as the existence of a myriad of competing and conflicting cultural models. Cultural Heterogeneity, according to Harding, is greater in disadvantaged neighborhoods especially in relation to the topic of academic ambitions and career aspirations of adolescents in these areas. Youth and juveniles are heavily effected by the collective efficacy of an area which determines how may different social models and norms there are in the area or neighborhood in question. In Living the Drama, examples are given which indicate that higher collective efficacy would likely result in less cultural heterogeneity. This relationship between the two theories Is important as it effects the collective leadership, direction and social norms of an area and plays a role in the success or failure of the youth from that specific neighborhood. We live in world where when we cross the street we may cross into a different society, with its own social norms and opposin... ... middle of paper ... ... to make them clear and emphasize their importance. Collective efficacy and cultural heterogeneity are present in our communities each day and have shaped who we have become and our cultural choices to get to university and such theories continue to mold young minds everyday. Works Cited Harding, D. J. (2010). Living the Drame: Community, Conflict, and Culture Among Inner-City Boys. Chicago, IL: The University Of Chicago Press. Ipsen, G., Professor of Scientific Communication and Sociology. (2003). Hybridity and Heterogeneity: The Balance of Interpretation [German Sociological]. European Sociological Review. Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy. Shaw, C. R., & McKay, H. D. (1969). Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas (Revised ed.). University of Chicago Press.
O’Neill, Jesse H. The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence. Hazelden Publishing & Educational Services, 1997 Print.
He is a decorated veteran, scholar and successful business leader upon graduating. In comparison to the other Wes Moore who never seemed to escape his childhood and ended up in prison. The theory that best explains the authors’ noninvolvement in a life of crime vs. the criminality of the other Wes Moore is the social disorganization theory. Shaw and McKay, the founders of this theory, believed that “juvenile delinquency could be understood only by considering the social context in which youths lived. A context that itself was a product of major societal transformations wrought by rapid urbanization, unbridled industrialization, and massive population shifts” (Lilly, Cullen & Ball, 2015). The theory is centered around transitional zones and competition determined how people were distributed spatially among these zones (Lilly et al., 2015). This model founded by Ernest Burgess showed that high priced residential areas were in the outer zones and the inner zones consisted of poverty (Lilly et al.,
Jenson, Jeffrey and Howard, Matthew. "Youth Crime, Public Policy, and Practice in the Juvenile Justice System: Recent Trends and Needed Reforms." Social Work 43 (1998): 324-32
Siegel, Larry J, and Brandon C. Welch. "chapter 5." Juvenile Delinquency: The Core. Princeton, N.J: Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, 2005. Print.
Thesis: Growing up in a certain neighborhood doesn’t have to determine where you go in life.
The book "Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys" is written by Victor M. Rios, who was a former gang member in his hometown and later turned his life around. He went to Berkeley and earned a doctorate in sociology. This book explores how youth of color are punished and criminalized by authorities even under the situation where there is no crimes committed and how it can cause a harmful consequence for the young man and their community in Oakland, California. The goal is to show the consequences of social control on the lives of young people of color and try to remind the authorities. This is important Since society plays a crucial part in shaping the lives of people. And the authorities have biases towards them and mistreat
Shaw and McKay’s social disorganization theory had a profound impact on the study of the effects of urbanization, industrialization and immigration in Chicago neighborhood on crime and delinquency rates. However, Shaw and McKay faced much criticism when they first released their findings. One criticism of the social disorganization theory had to do with researcher’s ability to accurately test the social disorganization theory. Although Shaw and McKay collected data on characteristics of areas and delinquency rates for Chicago communities and were able to visually demonstrate a relationship between by using maps and other visuals, their research did not have an actually test that went along with it (Kurbin, 2010). Kurbin (2010) states that “the
namely the simple fact that inner-city teenagers have had few, if any, adults in their lives who gave them unconditional love, taught them right from wrong, and reared them accordingly (6).
Thompson, W, & Bynum, J. (1991). Juvenile delinquency. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
However, such is clearly not always the case. As a place to develop and mature, one of the worst locales in America--and possibly the most misjudged--is suburbia. A vast wasteland of dressed-up emptiness, the typical suburban town promises an idyll it could never truly hope to deliver. An attempt at compromise between the country and the city, it instead combines the worst aspects of both. And as we shall see, children who grow up in this abyss will find their social lives constantly lacking and their cultural needs rarely met.
In many ways, today’s Los Angeles can credit Anglo immigrants of the late 1800s and early 1900s as the driving force behind their communal roots. Their imagined reality of a rural city, the process of creating, leaving and fighting for their neighborhood, have left traces in the city. These traces can be seen in the fragmented infrastructure of Los Angeles. They can be seen in the callous, sometimes violent, social interaction within the community. Yet as youth and minority groups continue to socially interact in increased acceptance, Los Angeles will begin to lose some of its fragmented feel. Each generation will continue to unite Los Angeles through shared social interaction and experiences.
Through our meeting, Jose and I could have built a relationship to combat the student, or adolescent, that falls within the middle; “at-risk” youth who are neither an academic scholar, or a perceived risk of dropping out of school, committing violence and selling drugs. After our meeting, we could eventually meet again to discuss our goals further and figure out next steps. However, do we know if these services already exist within another organization? If so, do we talk with them to figure out if we could join efforts? If not, do we conduct more one-to-one interviews to see if we could grow our collective effort? The effort to combat youth & gang violence, education, and other crime prevention in Worcester is a citywide effort. Main South is a piece to the puzzle, but is not the only neighborhood that is plagued with these issues. However, the social capital associated with the issue of gang and youth violence, along with high school dropouts, has a strong network in the Main South Neighborhood, making that community of youth development workers strong. Robert Putnam defines Social Capital as features of social organization such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit (Putnam: 2005). Though the term, “community” is not given to certain neighborhoods or cities, when we look at collective
Therefore, the community has informal social control, or the connection between social organization and crime. Some of the helpful factors to a community can be informal surveillance, movement-governing rules, and direct intervention. They also contain unity, structure, and integration. All of these qualities are proven to improve crime rate. Socially disorganized communities lack those qualities. According to our lecture, “characteristics such as poverty, residential mobility, and racial/ethnic heterogeneity contribute to social disorganization.” A major example would be when a community has weak social ties. This can be caused from a lack of resources needed to help others, such as single-parent families or poor families. These weak social ties cause social disorganization, which then leads higher levels of crime. According to Seigel, Social disorganization theory concentrates on the circumstances in the inner city that affect crimes. These circumstances include the deterioration of the neighborhoods, the lack of social control, gangs and other groups who violate the law, and the opposing social values within these neighborhoods (Siegel,
Sherman, L. (n.d.). Communities and Crime Prevention . NCJRS. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from https://www.ncjrs.gov/works/chapter3.htm
Bridges, K. M. Banham . "Factors Contributing to Juvenile Delinquency." Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 17.4 (1927): 531-76. scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.