Reflective Journal Chap. 4 & 8

September 29, 2012

In chapters four and eight, the book talked about crime and social control and problems in education. Overall the most interesting things we read about this week were probably that once a child gets labeled as a delinquent their tendency to actually commit crimes increases, I thought this was interesting because, from personal experience, courts try and make an example out of someone and give a child or teen a harsher sentence, but instead of helping the adolescent to not commit more crimes, they actually end up doing the opposite. So it’s surprising that even with that research courts would continue to hand out harsh sentences for smaller offenses. The other thing I found interesting was the amount of money that states need in order to fix up the schools, and that it’s mainly in neighborhoods that are poorer. I think it just always surprises me how little it seems people want to put into education but how they expect so much from it in return. I really enjoyed learning about schools that are “green”. I’ve heard of schools trying to do more for the environment, like recycling and the sort but I had not heard of schools that go to more extremes like solar panels and conserving water. I realize building schools like this is expensive to start with but with the amount of money they get back from it, that more schools would be willing to try and invest in greener schools. I feel as if in the chapter regarding crime and social control it would have been nice to see more stories and personal experiences that could possibly show the sociological theories at work. I would also like to have read more about what is being done to possibly have less people arrested for petty crimes and sent to corrections facilities that actually make them into more hardened criminals. The topic of education and not enough time and effort put into hits close to home because my mother has been an educator for over twenty five years and works at a school that teaches both English and Spanish. But because they aren’t a main stream school, they receive less funding and instead of being able to buy materials for their curriculum, they have to spend their own personal time translating everything made for other schools into Spanish so that they can use them. Also, the fact that parents complain about how large class sizes are, for her about 25 students,  but aren’t willing to somehow raise money or bills to help the schools lower class size numbers. 

Citations

2012. The Lead on UpdateWeb. 26 Oct 2012. <http://www.leadonnetwork.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/education21-300x214.jpg>.

Casavant, L. (2001, October 3). Illegal drug use and crime: A complex relationship. Retrieved from http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/371/ille/library/collin-e.htm

"College Tuition Rose As Financial Aid For Students Stalls Among Public Institutions: Board Advocacy & Policy Center Report." Huffington Post 24 Oct 2012, n. pag. Web. 26 Oct. 2012.

Flounders, Sara. "The Pentagon and Slave Labor in U.S. Prisons." Global Research. Global Research, 23 2011. Web. 21 Oct 2012.

Kui, Huang, dir. Ex-Detainee Describes Forced Labor in Chinese Prisons. 2008. Web. 21 Oct 2012.

Human Relation Media. (2010). Drugs: Crime and punishment [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yc4EDCvgP4

Katz, Basil. "Appeals court reinstates Vermont prison forced labor case." Yahoo News. Yahoo, 03 2012. Web. 21 Oct 2012.

National Institute of Drug Abuse. (n.d.). Medical consequence of drug abuse. Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/medical-consequences-drug-abuse

Ruggiero, Vincenzo. "Unintended Consequences: Changes In Organised Drug Supply In The UK." Trends In Organized Crime 13.1 (2010): 46-59. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Sept. 2012.

Reflective Journal Chap. 1, 2 & 3

September 9, 2012

In chapters one through three we read about an overall sociological view of social problems, physical and mental health and health care, and alcohol and other drugs. These chapters were to help us better understand these specific issues from a sociological perspective. I really found the chapter regarding alcohol and drug use to be the most interesting probably do to the fact that I am trying to get my degree emphasis in chemical addictions treatment. I also found out a few new things in the chapter that discussed health, one being that in the United States, 54% of those with HIV are from male to male sexual contact. To me this seems like an absurdly high amount when there is a pretty simple solution, like wearing condoms. One thing I thought should have been covered more in chapter three was personal stories or examples of what was being discussed. Like in chapter two, there was an example of a young boy who had gotten hurt and how health care played a role in his recovery. Another part of the reading that I found interesting was the part that discussed mental illness, like chemical addictions, this is another part I am studying in school and find to be fascinating, that a person can be fine one day and the next day come up with having a mental illness, whether it be depression or schizophrenia. Overall I liked chapters two and three more then chapter one, which discussed more of the theories and views of sociology on social problems, where as the other chapter discussed the social problem more in depth. Much of this information isn’t new to me, I have dealt with drug and alcohol addiction along with mental health issues since I was young, but by reading more about each topic it has allowed me to broaden my personal view on the topic. Much of what the chapters cover I agree with, the only part I disagree with is the theory that marijuana is a gateway drug, but only because in my experience it doesn’t seem to work that way, and that some people are just more prone to drug use then others. 

Societal Consequences of Drug Abuse

Societal Consequences of Drug Use and Drug Abuse comes from Chapter Three of the textbook. I chose this section to look into because I have dealt with drug and alcohol addiction and wanted to go more in depth as to the effects it has on not only people close to me but people in society as a whole.


http://ida.lib.uidaho.edu:3304/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=47531648-90b5-4c88-b07d-f0464ad13f4c%40sessionmgr14&vid=2&hid=9

This journal discusses the effects of drug use in an area in the United Kingdom. It discusses how with an increase of drug use there has also been in increase in property crime, gang violence and now organized crime.

(Project No Gangs)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yc4EDCvgP4
(Human Relation Media, 2010)

http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/371/ille/library/collin-e.htm
(Casavant, 2001)
This site talks about the connection between drug use and crime, it also discusses how the difference in legality of the drug can effect the amount of crime that tends to be involved. It also discusses what kind of crime happens more often when drugs are an issue.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/medical-consequences-drug-abuse
(National Institute of Drug Abuse)
In this website you will learn more on the medical consequences you could deal with when using different types of drugs. It also goes into explaining how drug addiction is a disease itself.

“Drugs are a waste of time. They destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with with your self esteem.” - Kurt Cobain

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My name is Alex and I'm a student at the University of Idaho. I am a Psychology major with an emphasis in Treatment of Chemical Addictions.

"No one can be perfectly free till all are free; no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral; no one can be perfectly happy till all are happy."
Herbert Spencer


I believe sociological research and theories can be beneficial in understanding and dealing with social problems around the world. One theory being a Structural-Functionalist Perspective, that society is made up of parts that have to work together as whole in order to keep a sort of equilibrium. There are two parts to this theory that try and explain the social problems that occur around us. One side being that social problems are happening due to a breakdown of different parts of society, like family, education, economy and so on. Another part describes how social norms and the disruption of social norms are causing social problems, like how drinking underage goes against social norms but then is portrayed on television as something cool. To me, sociological research does a lot in trying to explain the different parts that come about with social problems and it tries to find the root of the problem so instead of dealing with the symptoms of the problem, you deal with the problem itself.