Social Class
The place and role of social class within the American society

The issue of social class has been an agenda for discussion and even legislation over several decades now. The societal structure is such that groupings along the social classes cannot be wished away, the best that can be done is to ensure mutual co-existence of people between these classes within the community. Many scholars have come up with studies on social class and how this can be ended but little practical actions have been successfully executed so far, which then begs the question of the place of social class, the role and the influence that social class has on the society in the contemporary society.

In order to get the explanations to the above, it will be the pursuit of this paper to look into several aspects, concepts and perspectives to do with social class. It will highlight the historical…...

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References

Fieldes D., (2004). From Exploitation to Resistance and Revolt: The Working Class. Retrieved November 21, 2014 from https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/42632/2/Working_class.pdf

US Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration, (2010). Middle Class in America. Retrieved November 21, 2014 from  http://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/documents/migrated/Middle%20Class%20Report.pdf 

Veblne T., (2003). The Theory of the Leisure Class. Retrieved November 21, 2014 from  http://www.thevenusproject.com/downloads/ebooks/theory-leisure-class.pdf 

Wicks-Lim J., (2012). The Working Poor: A Booming Demographic. Retrieved November 21, 2014 from  http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/other_publication_types/magazine____journal_articles/Fall_2012_Wicks-Lim.PDF

In society, there are examples of people who have been able to transcend their class. For example, basketball stars like Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas were able to ascend from abject poverty to extreme wealth through their athletic achievements. However, despite their wealth one can reasonably raise the question of whether these individuals were ever able to transcend their class. Indeed, "transcendence" implies that one has completely dissociated himself from his prior class, and this is unlikely or perhaps even impossible. The very fact that people constantly laud how Michael Jordan has gone from "rags to riches" exemplifies how one can never shed their original class identity. In this regard, the question of whether one can transcend their class depends in large part on the specific definition of transcendence, class status, and the attributes of the constituent classes.

Invariably, if one wishes to transcend class, they must adopt the values of…...

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References

Berreman, G.D. (1960, September). Caste in India and the United States. The American Journal of Sociology, 66(2), 120-127.

Kroeger, B. (2003). Passing: When People Can't Be Who They Are. Cambridge: Perseus Book Group.

Social Stratification and Intolerance to Change in "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
Discussions of issues regarding human suffering is an explicit theme commonly found in most American literary pieces. Human suffering is often illustrated through the interaction of the individual and the society, which is often illustrated as intolerant of social changes. In the short story, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, which was published in 1948, the social issues governing the American society during the mid-20th century American society is discussed. In addition to the discussion of intolerance to social changes and rigidity of the norms and rules within the society, "The Lottery" is also a study of the social dynamics that occur within the traditional and rural American family and community. These dynamics are best illustrated on how social classification is identified and perpetuated within the society.

For the purpose of this research, "The Lottery" will be analyzed according to the…...

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Reference

Jackson, S. E-text of "The Lottery." Available at http://mbhs.bergtraum.k12.ny.us/cybereng/shorts/lotry.html.

Social Stratification and the Dominance of the Elite in "The Power Elite" by C. right Mills
The changing patterns in of social life in the American society at the turn of 20th century had created a 'rehabilitation' of the social landscape of the society as we have it at present. It is evident that with the beginning of a new century, new social order has been established, especially after the world had experienced two tumultuous world wars (orld ars I and II). Deriving from this experience, this new social order is motivated by economics and politics, which are essential factors in establishing a prosperous and orderly nation/society, respectively. It is also apparent that the interdependence of wealth with power (and vice versa) has become so pronounced lately, as American society is growing to be (characteristically) the world's biggest capitalist nation.

Taking cue from these observed social changes, Charles right Mills introduced in…...

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Works Cited

Mills, C.W. (1956). The Power Elite. Oxford: Oxford Press.

Social stratification and mobility in the United States The US is divided into three major social strata namely the upper, middle and lower class. The social mobility refers to the movement from one class to the other. In the recent past, the upward mobility in the US has slowed down significantly and almost all Americans agree that this is a bad thing to the society and the economy. There is great inequality in the US and the gap keeps increasing with slowed mobility with vast wealth accruing to the tinny elite (The Economist, 2014).
The global level of social stratification comes in two major parts; the developed and the undeveloped. These two are often referred to as the first world for the developed and third world for the undeveloped. However there is a new set of nations that have come to be, these are not yet first world in their status but…...

Social Unit
My social unit is Canada, which is a sovereign nation. I'm not sure how to redefine it, unless Canada expanded its borders or something. Perhaps by expanding the definition from strict geographic borders to incorporate all Canadians, living anywhere in the world. Canada is one of the most globalized nations in the world. As an immigrant nation, it features cities with some of the highest percentages of foreign-born people. Furthermore, with a large and globalized economy, Canada scores highly on many globalized indexes, and would score higher if those indexes took into account having immigrants from all over the world.

The first article is Zhang & Smith (2012). This article outlines the effects of globalization on workplace performance in Canada. There are a few different dimensions to this paper. The authors make several findings. First, they find that productivity is higher at foreign-owned firms, and productivity is also higher at…...

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References

Laroche, M. (2011). Globalization, culture and marketing strategy: Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Business Research. Vol. 64 (9) 931-933.

MacDonald, A. (2013). Consideration of identity in teachers' attitudes toward teaching controversial issues under conditions of globalization: A critical democratic perspective from Canada. Ontario Institute for Studies. Retrieved February 22, 2014 from  https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/35891/1/MacDonald_Angela_M_201306_PhD_Thesis.pdf 

Slaymaker, O. & French, H. (2012). The changing Canadian cryosphere, globalization and global environmental change. Changing Cold Environments: A Canadian Perspective.

Zhang, H. & Smith, M. (2012). Globalization and workplace performance in Canada: Cross-sectional and dynamic analyses of productivity and wage outcomes. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. Vol. 30 (3) 310-327.

On the other hand, one lesson of the Industrial Revolution is that human suffering and exploitation can never be used as a coin with which to pay for material progress or wealth. Likewise, the Industrial Revolution teaches that neither the welfare of the contemporary wealthy and fortunate, nor even the future well-being of subsequent generations is ever justified as the fruits of the suffering of other human beings.

In retrospect, the progression from agrarian to industrial economies need not have required the degree of suffering with which it was, unfortunately, associated, particularly in the nineteenth century. The best evidence for this proposition seems to be the efforts, most of which were successful, on the part of Bismark, in Germany, while workers suffered greater hardships, by comparison, in the rest of the newly industrialized world. Greed and callousness, is, unfortunately, characteristic of many elements of human life, which was not necessarily any…...

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Works Cited

Burchell, S.D. (1968) Age of Progress.

Time Life: UK

Faissler, M., Hayes, C. (1966) Modern Times: Mainstreams of Civilization.

Macmillan: New York

Social Significance of Food in Early Modern Europe (c.1350 -1800)
Today's society is bombarded with mass produced food competitions and cooking shows. Restaurants and food carts pop-up at every corner, and grocery shops are constantly stacked with most everything that one could imagine. Exotic foods are available year-round, and some are even affordable. Food is truly everywhere in this country, and everybody is trying to cook the latest experience. As one of the most basic of human necessities, food has become part of an expanding "material culture" and, in some instances, part of a luxury culture (van der Veen 003, 405).

Yet this basic human necessity, this basic experience, was not always readily available and, hard as it may be to believe, many people still cannot afford to eat well, even in this country. Just as it did in Ancient Rome, different societal status often means better food, even today. This particular…...

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2. Ken Albala, Food and Class: Eating Right in the Renaissance (Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2002), 184-216.

3. Marijke van der Veen, When is Food a Luxury? (London: Routledge, 2003), 405-427.

4. Massimo Montanari, The Culture of Food (Cambridge: Blackwell, 1996), 68 -- 97.

Obesity, overweight and underweight all have impacts that are negative on self-esteem of many children and adolescents that if not checked can have long-term effects on the success in lives of these children and their general happiness in the future (Moran, 1999).
The persistence of chronic diseases in more in the developing than in the developed countries. The World Health Organization posits that by 2020, a quarter of deaths in the least developed countries will be caused by the so called non-communicable diseases, WHO, (1997). In this regard, a major mind blowing public health problem in the developing world may the reality of increasing obesity in children populations which might result to major social and economic burdens on these developing nations in the coming years, (Freedman et al., 2001).

This health care problem is present in almost all parts of the world and the Arabian Gulf region is not exempted. Surveys…...

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References

Ali, H,2010.Major characteristics of Saudi hospitals  http://bit.ly/kdNzPX 

Al-Quaiz, Al-Joharah M.2001. Current concepts in the management of obesity. An evidenced-based review. Saudi Med J. 2001; 22: 20

Amin, T.T.,Al-Sultan.,A.I.,Ali.,A, 2008.Overweight and Obesity and their Association with Dietary Habits, and Sociodemographic Characteristics Among Male Primary School Children in Al-Hassa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Baum, F. 2008 The new public health (3rd Edition) Oxford University Press, Melbourne

Holly Sklar writes, "the gulf between the rich and the rest of America will continue to widen, weakening our economy and our democracy. The American Dream will be history instead of poverty."
With the advent of more billions into the ranks of the Fortune 400, so it is; instead of witnessing the booming middle class that marked the Scientific and Industrial evolutions, America is undergoing a transformation that more clearly limns the demarcation between classes than ever before.

With economic segregation an ever more encroaching reality, the distinctions between race, age, and gender come increased under review as Americans are forced to examine the origins of social class, its solidification in early childhood, and its place in the national life.

In academic circles, social class describes the relationships between individual agents and groups as they struggle through social hierarchies. Weber famously defined the social stratification as a three-component theory frequently adopted my…...

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References:

Adair, Vivian C. "Branded with Infamy: Inscriptions of Poverty and Class in the United States." Signs. Vol. 27, No. 2. (Winter, 2002.)

Collins, C. & Yeskel, F. "Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality & Insecurity." New York: The New Press, Oct. 31, 2005.

Conley, Dalton. Being Black and Living in the red: Race, Wealth, and Social Policy in America." Berkley: University of California Press, 1999.

Kotlowitz, Alex. There Are No Children Here. New York: Anchor Press, 1992.

Crime and Violence: Cultural eliefs and iases
Religion and Stereotyping

Diverse sociocultural customs promote diverse forms of aggression; e.g., the conventional idea that males are authorized, by nature, to discipline or control females renders the latter susceptible to sexual abuse and spousal violence. Societal tolerance towards such hampers external intervention, preventing victims from protesting and seeking support. Sexual abuse reporting is also hampered by the stigma certain cultures attach to victims. Further, the powerful link between violence and drunkenness implies societies' and cultures' alcohol utilization trends and the related impacts also promote and warrant violence. Several nations report alcoholism accounting for sixteen percent of female and twenty-six percent of male DALYs (disability-adjusted life-years) loss due to murders. Initiatives challenging socio-cultural customs supporting aggression are normally combined with other strategies (WHO, 2009).

Prior studies have revealed a consistent association between religious participation and positive conduct in society among youngsters. Religious organizations help reduce criminality…...

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Bibliography

Armstrong, A. C. (2015). Race, Prison Discipline, and the Law. UC IRVINE LAW REVIEW, 759.

Barak, G. (2009). Class, Race, and Gender in Criminology and Criminal Justice: Ways of Seeing Difference. Second Annual Conference on RACE, GENDER and CLASS.

Blow, C. M. (2014). Crime, Bias and Statistics. Retrieved from The New York Times:  https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/08/opinion/charles-blow-crime-bias-and-statistics.html 

Becker, Gary S. "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach." Journal of Political Economy 76 (1968): 169 -- 217.

Social Implications of Sexual Identity Formation and Coming Out Process
Chad Mosher's article, "The social implications of identity formation and the coming-out-process: a review of the theoretical and empirical literature" provides a fairly comprehensive look at the theories and realities of individuals asserting their homosexual tendencies to the world. The article is widely written as a source of material and instruction for psychologists who are employed in a therapeutic or counseling capacity with such individuals, as there are implications for them to incorporate into their practice in the article's conclusion. In addition to discussing the two principle theories regarding coming out, essentialism and social constructionism, the author discusses aspects of the theories that are integrated as well as the effect of coming out on both the audience and the homosexual perception. Audiences are stratified into three distinct categories: family members, heterosexuals, as well as homosexuals and those somewhere in between these…...

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References

Mosher, C. (2001). The social implications of identity formation and the coming-out-process: a review of the theoretical and empirical literature. The Family Journal. 9 (2): 164-173.

Social Work Informatics in Child Protection
Social Work esearch

The research design for this study utilizes mixed methods in order to identify variables that function as benefits and inhibitors of the use of technology by child protection case workers. Surveys that are a hybrid of quantitative (correlational survey techniques) and qualitative approaches will be conducted with case workers (Creswell, 2009). Survey questions that will permit inclusion of qualitative data in this study are considered to be essential by this author as they yield data that provides depth and detail from which to create understanding of the phenomena under study and the lived experiences of the survey respondents, which in this instance are case workers who provide child protection services (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Accordingly, the survey will contain both close-ended and open-ended items, such that quantitative data is available for analysis of correlations and qualitative data is available for grounded theory analysis…...

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References

Creswell, J.W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A.L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine.

Labuschagne, A. (2003, March). Qualitative research -- Airy fairy or fundamental? The Qualitative Report, 8(1). Retrieved   / ssss/QR/QR8-1/labuschagne.htmlhttp://www.nova.edu 

Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Social Psychology: Examining the Principles of Persuasion Influencing Group Behavior
Introduction & Outline of the

esearch Evaluation

Concepts of Social Psychology

Attitudes and Persuasion

Social Identity Theory

Social Influences

Cultural and Gender Influences

Social Psychology: Examining the Principles of Persuasion Influencing Group Behavior

Introduction & Outline of the Essay

Social psychology deals with different aspects of social life and social behavior. People not only have feelings and opinions about nearly everything they come into contact with, but the argument has been made that we need to have these feelings and opinions. The current essay is aimed at exploring the principles of persuasion influencing group behavior. The foundation for this essay is text book "Social Psychology" by Myers (2010) which discusses the attitude theory and persuasion, reviewing how attitudes are structured and how this structure influences their susceptibility to change

The essay is divided into four sections. In the first section the researcher will evaluate latest research and pertinent literature allied to…...

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References

Baker, David P. And Deborah Perkins Jones. 1993. "Creating Gender Equality: Cross-national Gender Stratification and Mathematical Performance." Sociology of Education 66:91-103.

Bassili, J.N. (2008). Attitude strength. In W.D. Crano & R. Prislin, (Eds.), Attitudes and attitude change, Frontiers of social psychology. New York, NY; Psychology Press, pp. 261-286.

Cialdini, R.B. 2001. Influence: Science and Practice. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Eagly, A.H. & Chaiken, S. (1993) The Psychology of Attitudes. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

elationships and Social Lives
This is the hierarchical way in which large social groups based on their control over basic resources. A key characteristic of stratification systems is the extent to which the structure is flexible. Slavery, a form of stratification in which people are owned by others, is an extreme type. In a caste system, people's status is determined at birth based on their parents' position in society

The class system, which exists in the United States, is a type of stratification based on ownership of resources and on the type of work people do. Functionalist perspectives on the U.S. class structure view classes as broad groupings of people who share similar levels of privilege based on their roles in the occupational structure. According to the Davis-Moore thesis, positions that are most important within society, requiring the most talent and training, must highly rewarded. Many people define classes as those that…...

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References

1. Eichar, Douglas (1989). Occupation and Class Consciousness in America. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

2. Gilbert, Dennis (1998). The American Class Structure. New York: Wadsworth Publishing.

3. Thompson, William; Joseph Hickey (2005). Society in Focus. Boston, MA: Pearson.

4. Levine, Rhonda (1998). Social Class and Stratification. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Social class is an incredibly complex concept.  Many people assume that it is primarily defined by socioeconomic status.  However, while wealth or the lack thereof may play some role in determining social class, it is not the only determinant.  Other factors in addition to class can help determine social stratification.  In the United States, this concept can often be looked at new money versus old money.  If these delineations are preset, is social mobility even possible? 

To really understand this issue, it is important to look at the concept of social class and stratification.  Social class....

1. The Impact of Social Structure on Career Choices

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3. How Social Class Influences Occupational Opportunities

4. Gender and Social Structure in the Workplace

5. The Role of Education in Job Placement and Social Mobility

6. The Intersection of Race and Social Structure in Employment

7. Social Networks and Job Advancement

8. Social Status and Occupational Prestige

9. The Effects of Economic Inequality on Job Opportunities

10. The Evolution of Social Structure and its Impact on the Job Market
11. Power Dynamics and Social Stratification in the Workplace
12. The Stigma of Low-Status Jobs in Society
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1. "From the Mailroom to the Boardroom: A Journey Through Social Stratification and Job Opportunities"

This title highlights the hierarchical nature of social structure and job opportunities, suggesting a progression from lower-status jobs to higher-status jobs. It also emphasizes the idea of social mobility, as individuals can potentially move up the ladder through hard work and dedication. The title is concise and descriptive, while also providing a clear framework for the essay.

2. "The Interplay of Class, Status, and Power in the Labor Market: How Social Structure Shapes Job Opportunities"

This title delves deeper into the sociological concepts of class, status, and power,....

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