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Criteria of identifying social problems
How are social problems identified
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The Life Cycle of a Social Problem A social problem is a condition that a group of people view as being undesirable. These can be a variety of different “problems.�They can occur in your community, school, church or any place that people interact with each other or an object. When a social problem arises there is a general way that they are handled. The earliest of definition on how a social problem is reconized was made by Richard Fuller and Richard Myers. There cycle had three stages. The first stage was that the group had to some situation or behavior as a problem. Once they stated that there was a problem the next step was to transforms the situation or beahvior into a public debate to discuss that certain problem and how it could be dealt with and how the problem existed in the first place. This was a long process in which both sides discussed how it would be handled and also what would make both sides of the argument happy. The final stage is reform. This is the stage in which the solution to the problem would actually be put forth to the public so it would resolve or in many cases make the problem much more easy to live with. The previous form of the stages of a social problem was thought to be the guidelines until Robert Ross and Gramham Staines revamped the cycle. In their cycle there were a few more details and checks that a social problem had to go though to complete the cycle. The first stage in the life cycle of a social prolem is when group of people that has determined that a situation or behavior is presienaic in terms of their ideas and or beliefs.Why the cycle started this way was pretty simple, without someone or a group of people having a problem with a situation or particular thing then there couldn't be a social problem in the first place. The next stage in the life cycle cycle was to turn the issue into public knownledge. They could demonstrate for there solution or they could even write into a newspaper and tell them there story and how they would like it too be handled. The most important aspect in this step is by far the media. Although the people that are opposed to your point of view might try to sway the publics views on the situation by making you look like the guilty party, the media can always show s... ... middle of paper ... ...is is if that just because the crusader has achieved a victory today doesn't mean that they should stop to bring a constant reminder to the public that if someone would try to change a law or rule that was made that it would be detrimental to the whole community in there mind and their supports. This is also known as never being happy with anything that you have done or said because if so then why did you lobby for it in the first place. Lastly an important part that is associated with the life cycle of a social problem is resource mobilization. This is a part of all of the step of the life cycle. This is because if you dot have the means to argue or put thought a problem then there isn't a way that it will even become a social problem. Also there is the point that people that are well off are more likely to help with a social problem then people or groups that are not. In conclusion the life cycle of a social problem is a very structured cycle these days. It has four parts that any problem will have to overcome in order to be classified as one. Lastly with every problem the solution that come out will not nessarly be the best one but it is a start.
The general definition of a personal problem, is one in which it's causes and solutions lie within the individual. That is, they are caused by an individual's own feeling about a given situation. For example, someone commits a murder because they are sad or angry. That act was caused by an emotion, and their anger can only be controlled if they learn how to deal with it. A social problem, on the other hand, is one whose causes and solutions lie outside the individual. Which means, there has to be some external factor that has caused an act to take place. For example, someone commits a murder in self-defense. Here the person was forced into committing the act. They had no control over their actions; it was either kill or be killed. This is where the difference between the two lie, one is due to an individuals feelings where as the other is due to another individual or some external factor.
A social problem is an issue that is defined by society to be exactly that; an issue. This can range from issues such as murder; which is commonly agreed on in Australia, or to issues such as smoking or loud music being played in parks, where only certain individuals in society see it as a problem. Unemployment in Australia is considered to be a social problem, due to it affecting around 6 percent of Australia’s population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014). If unemployment only affected a few people then it could be said that those individuals being lazy or could not hold down a job, but due to it affecting a majority of society it then becomes a social problem.
Gusfield, J. (2011). How Do We Decide What are Social Problems? Retrieved April 6, 2011 from http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/soc235ch02.html
...m http://www.bolender.com/Dr. Ron/SOC1023G Social Problems/Units/Unit 1 Thinking about Social Problems as a Sociologist/Unit 1 Theoretical Perspectives.htm
For example, some people may believe an airline crash every year could be considered a social problem, but this does not follow the definition of a social problem because it does not affect a large group of people. If planes began crashing all the time, then one may be able to determine whether or not plane crashes are a social problem by looking at claims of the condition. I choose to include the specific criteria, in the previous paragraph, when utilizing my definition of a social problem because I believe that everyone has a subjective outlook on life and although someone may deem something as a social problem, someone else may not feel the same way. I believe discovering the claim and determining how something emerged, as well as discovering why it spread can help direct the general public when deciding if something is a social problem or not. Although claims are important, I still believe a social problem is also something that affects a large group of people. Similarly, I believe a social problem in the United States follows the same definition and criteria but it may be viewed differently. For example, “some societies with large populations of poor people have not viewed poverty as a problem. In contrast, in the United States poverty is considered a social problem” (Best 10). Overall, a social problem in the United States depends on
One social problem that has caught my attention is racial inequality. Racial inequality refers to the racial advantages and disadvantages among different races. These might be shown in the appropriation of riches, influence, and life openings stood with individuals in view of their race or ethnicity, both noteworthy and cutting edge. These can be viewed therefore of noteworthy abuse, imbalance of legacy, or general partiality, particularly against minority bunches. Race inequality is not a new issue, just an issue that has been swept under the rug. It was more of a problem during and after segregation, but is reportedly no longer exist.
These social problems are usually socially constructed, due to culturally defined values and beliefs, as well as policies. Change in societies and adapting to new conditions or failing to successfully adapt to change causes social problems as well. It is also important to note that although not all social problems affect every individual, it must affect a great majority of people for it to be considered a social problem. A good example of this is crime. Crime affects everyone on some level. It affects the victim of the crime, the person who committed the crime, as well as the society in which the crime is committed. Through the functionalist perspective, crime is seen as being ‘normal’ and also, an integral part of all healthy societies. While too much crime constitutes a threat to social order, too little crime or deviance is unhealthy (Weineck, 2007). It is in the way that society responds to crime that contributes to the health and growth of a society, by establishing laws and policies that provide a foundation for society’s values. An example that Emile Durkheim gives in relation to a crime which reaps benefits in a society is protest. Protest involves a small or large group of people standing to raise awareness on an issue that is found to be discriminatory or unfair. For example, take the protests that occurred to raise awareness and bring on laws to allow gay marriages. States throughout America have held protests sometimes ending up in violent behavior. The violent behavior and that was partaken during these protests, symbolically, made people aware of how important this issue was to a great number of people. It is in these events that issues such as gay marriage have brought on change in policies and revolutionized society’s way of
In the Cycle of Socialization written by Bobbie Harro, the article accurately shows how the world influences our thoughts and opinions. In the first step of the diagram called “The Beginning”, Harro makes the point that we were born on a clean slate and the world is not. Thus making the situations, such as our class, cultural group, and sexual orientation around us uncontrollable. Furthermore, we don’t know anything about ourselves. We are just innocents that are placed into an already established society. In the next step called “First Socialization”, we begin to learn from others around us. We start to learn from our caregivers so our thoughts are not really our own. The caregivers can come from your family or just people around you that
In the end, the Social Process Theory shows a relationship of deviant behavior and how this behavior is learned. It also shows how people react to social norms in a community. Then people are labeled and respond to those labels if they cannot rise above them.
Social problems that are directly changed by a structural change of behavior can target the attention of young audiences. Once young people in the world recognize something that should be improved, chances are they are going to enact social
considered separately as causes of change in the society. He used the relationship between society and the individual to explain the causes of change in terms of social development.
A social inequality that I would say I’m concerned with would be, racial and ethnic inequality. Racial or ethnic inequality is often established based on characteristics such as skin color and other physical characteristics, or a person’s place of origin or culture. Another meaning of racial inequality would be the advantages and disadvantages that affect different races within the Unites States. Race has become a socially constructed category capable of restricting or enabling social status. Racial inequality can lead to diminished opportunities, which can also lead to cycles of poverty and political problems. With this minority members in a society can result in discriminating actions such as; exclusion, oppression, expulsion, and extermination.
In its most simplistic and practical form the term 'social change' refers to modifications in the social behavior patterns or relations of people, communities or society. Social change is "the significant alteration of social structure and cultural patterns through time.” A majority of the worlds population nowadays are struggling to create change; to push forth and implement social and/or environmental impacts through out the world whether it may be from social entrepreneurs to peo...
social problems are inevitably subjective, and that a more valid definition could be sought in
The second idea is from the perspective of responsibilities of different actors in handling social and economic issues. And the boundaries between different actors in exercising their power an...