14. April 2010 by student.

Only a few years ago, transportation wasn’t a problem. Filling up a gas tank wasn’t a financial burden on our check books. Today, we check every gas station near and far to get the best gas prices the fill up the tanks in our vehicles. I find this social problem ridiculous. I remember the gas prices began to rise after the incident of 9/11. In 2001, gas prices were around $1.09. In 2009, I remember filling up my father’s gas tank and it equaling out to be 70 dollars to fill up the entire tank when it used to be around 30 dollars. Transportation has become a problem for some people. They say they can’t afford to fill up their tanks every week to get to the different destinations they need to get to. People now say they will carpool, walk, bike, or take the bus instead of waste money on gas.  People also invest in buying mopeds or motorcycles instead of a new car which has taken a toll on the automobile industry. People have also said that they put their vacations on hold or don’t plan them at all because they can’t afford the gas and traveling costs.People also say that we are using up all the oil in the world and we won’t have enough natural resources to supply the gasoline that we use all over the world for transportation and other purposes. I believe that it is a myth that we are running out of oil. I don’t think that the demand for gasoline has gone up because the price of gas increased. If anything, the demand for gasoline has probably gone down because people haven’t been buying gas or at least haven’t been filling up the tanks of their cars to full.According to the EIA, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 19.5 million barrels of oil was being consumed per day in 20008. 12.8 million barrels were imported of that estimated 19.5 million. Some people say that our country depends too much on foreign countries for oil. Some people want to find places in the U.S. to start digging up crude oil. However, it is surprising that 50% of the crude oil we use is from the western hemisphere of the world. About 20% of our imports of crude oil and petroleum products come from the Persian Gulf countries of Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. The most imports are from Saudi Arabia and Canada.Where we get our oil from and how much we actually spend on oil is getting out of hand. It is affecting our government the citizens of the United States. Gas prices are rising and it is crazy to think that in a few years that we could be spending 5 dollars per gallon of gas when some SUV’s only give 13 miles to the gallon. I think that the price of gas should be regulated or the U.S. should not import as much gas as they do because other countries are charging so much for it  which makes the gas companies in our country raise their prices to make a profit.

Posted in Social Problems | 3 Comments »

14. April 2010 by student.

Florida defines a felony as being a crime that is punishable by death or more than one year of servitude in a prison. Many nonviolent crimes receive sentences over one year. Sometimes people commit crimes out of desperation or plain stupidity but serving the given amount of time will, in some cases, turn their lives around. In Florida if you were punished for a nonviolent crime you must wait 5 years to become eligible to vote again. If you were convicted of a violent crime the waiting time is 15 years. I believe that everyone deserves a second chance and if a person has committed a crime one time and served the sentence that  their government ordered them to serve, then they should be allowed their rights once again. Once an ex convict gets out of prison they are still allowed and most likely will continue to live in the United states. If they can live here why shouldn’t they be allowed to have a say in who is in charge of their country? Of course there are exceptions to everything. A person should be given a time span of maybe two years. If they can stay  crime free  in that time they should be given their right to vote back. If they at anytime before or after that two year limit happen to fall back into any criminal activity then their right will be taken away and they should not have another chance to get it back.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

14. April 2010 by student.

I’ve always known that divorce rates were rapidly increasing and that it was becoming a huge problem in the United States, but nothing hit me quite as hard when it happened to my family. My parents divorced in 2007 after 25 years of marriage. It really shook up my life and changed my whole family dyanmic, but we all learned to adapt and live with it. So, when thinking of social problems I decided to look up the divorce statistics of the United States.

I looked up a table of divorce rates by states and I’ve found that in the last twenty years that the rate hasn’t increased very much. Some states that are experiencing high rates of divorce are Arkansas,  Florida,  Idaho,  Kentucky, Alabama, West Virgina Wyoming and Nevada. When I looked at this table I was shocked that see that most of the states where southern states and the rate in places like New England were much lower. I found that surprising because southern states are seen as more traditional and have stronger values and you’d think that marriages would stay together. Apparently not, but finding out that Neveda was the highest was NOT surprising at all. What? Going to Vegas to get hitched doesn’t make for a long and happy union? Who knew?! But in all seriousness seeing that a state like Idaho having a higher rate than New York really surprised me.

Most statistics say that most marriages end within the first ten years. One set of data indicates that the rate is 48% for people under 18, 40% for ages 18-19, 29% for 20-24, and 24% for 25 and older. Some other variables that contribute to divorce are:

I’ve also learned that in most cases it is the wife that filed for divorce and in most cases the couple has children. The rate of women filing for divorce ranges from abouy sixty to seventy percent.

In other parts of the world I found that India and Sri Lanka have the lowest rate of divorce. Japan had a big incline of divorce in the mid 20th century, but in the last few decades the rate has decreased. The divorce rate in the United Kingdom is declining also and Ireland, even though it isn’t technically part of the UK, has the lowest rate. In the mainland of Europe the rate of divorce is generally low and hopefully in the future the United States can have it’s divorced rate lowered too.

 Divorce is changing the family structure of the United States and hopefully that will change one day. As a person who’s experienced it…it isn’t very fun and it hard to see your family go through that. Divorce is definietly becoming one of America’s biggest problems.

Posted in Social Problems | 3 Comments »

14. April 2010 by student.

In the United States, shoplifters steal about $25 million in merchandise from stores each day! That breaks down to an extra $300 each year that you and your family have to pay in higher prices to cover the losses caused by shoplifting.

Teen shoplifting is one of those things that may be difficult to detect. Teenage shoplifting is not limited to the troubled teens with problems. Many “model” teens who do their homework and get good grades, help out around the house and lets parents know where they will be have a problem with stealing. So, while teen shoplifting can be a sign of a troubled teen, it can also be a problem for teenagers with few problems beyond the typical behavior of a growing teen.

My own roommate just admitted to me just the other day how she used to have a really big problem with shoplifting. She said that at one point almost all of the clothes that were in her closet- were stolen. She explained to me a rush that she felt when she did it. “Getting away with merchandise that I should of spent money on, put me on like a high” she told me. And nothing would of stopped her…until she was caught. She knows that she was lucky not to have gotten arrested. And ever since that one time, she has never stolen anything again.

OK so why do they do it?

*There are several reasons for teen shoplifting. Some teens do it for reasons of rebellion, and others do it for the thrill. Being able to “get away” with something can be quite thrilling.

*Peer pressure is another reason for teenage shoplifting. If their friends are doing it, some teens feel as though they have to as well, in order to “fit in.”

*Complex reasons for teen shoplifting include cries for help. A teenager may be in an abusive situation, or feel a great deal of stress or anxiety. Stealing can give them a sense of control over their lives, and give them a sense of euphoria that they do not normally get. Some teenagers steal as a way to draw attention to themselves.

*Another reason for teenage shoplifting is a desire for things they cannot afford. Some teens shoplift brand name items so that they can keep up with fads. Others shoplift so that they can buy drugs or alcohol. In these cases, teen shoplifting serves as a sign of a teenage drug or alcohol dependency

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

14. April 2010 by student.

Right now in the Senate, a bill is trying to be passed that if approved, will in a sense change views of education and teaching forever.

“The 61-page bill would:

• Decrease the ability of local school boards and school districts to make a wide array of decisions having an impact on local schools and replacing them with a one-size-fits-all approach mandated from Tallahassee.

• Require that all teachers be retained, certified and compensated based on student test scores on standardized tests — not years of experience or degrees held.

• Penalize school districts that even consider length of service or degrees held when determining compensation or reductions in force.

• Order that teachers be issued probationary contracts for up to five years; then an annual contract every year after that … eliminating due process.

• Mandate more standardized testing for students (end of course exams for all subjects) and for teachers (additional certification requirements).

• Exclude the salary schedule as a subject of collective bargaining. The state will decide what categories of differentiated pay will be provided for.

• The state will have a much greater hand in appraisals.

• Abolish an effective and popular program that rewards those who become National Board Certified Teachers, a rigorous national program that awards certification after a yearlong, independent review of a teacher’s work in the classroom and knowledge of their field.”

Why would we have a law in our Government based on how effective teachers are performing in the classroom?  Most teachers’ do their best in the classroom if they truly care about their jobs.  It is then the student’s decision whether or not to absorb the information, use it for good or bad, and how well they want to do on a test.  The teacher has no input on which answers the student decides to bubble in on a scantron.

If teachers’ salaries are based on standardized testing scores then curriculum is going to become even more focused towards teaching to pass the tests rather than teaching so their students can actually learn something.
Teachers should be evaluated on much more than test scores. In order to fairly evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, teachers should first be provided the resources they need and then be evaluated possibly by observation and their classroom performance.

Especially in Florida, the first 3 years of High School and the end of middle school is solely focused on passing and teaching about the FCAT. But, we are tired of it.  Students are tired of learning information only to pass a required test and then forget it as soon as the test is out of their hands.  The same goes for the SAT, which I won’t even start on.

It is completely unfair to have Teachers have 50% of their pay increases based on student’s test scores and teachers with more advanced degrees and/or experience should receive higher salaries.  Just because a teacher has a more advanced degree has nothing to do with the fact of whether the students decide to pay attention.  I really hope this bill does not get passed, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

http://feaweb.org/florida-teachers-express-opposition-to-senate-bill-6

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »

14. April 2010 by student.

Global poverty is an enormous issue that affects billions of people around the world. Global Poverty is usually a direct form of structural violence.  Structural violence is a form of violence in which a given social structure kills people by preventing them to reach their basic needs.            Global poverty is directly a cause of corrupt and failed countries. The only difference between both kinds of government is that a corrupt government is usually has some ability to help its citizens but usually just turn the other way;  while a failed government has no control over what is happening in their state. The quote famous “money only goes where it is wanted and stays where it is well treated” applies to global poverty because while help may be given to places with extreme poverty no real impact is done because the money is usually consumed, but never treated in a way that can help change the way the slum runs.             How is poverty really defined? Unfortunately that question has no real answer since poverty can be defined differently for almost everyone. Can having shelter, food, and clean water be enough to not be considered “impoverished”?  Life is not that simple. From other courses I have taken we have discussed how there are cities and villages across the globe that the citizens live next to garbage dumps.  These people scavenge through the garbage dumps to find anything useful that they may resell or trade in for money. While the dump may allow for the people to afford their food, shelter, and water that does not mean they are out of poverty.  The reality of their situation is that they live next to a garbage dump how can that mean they are not in poverty even if they can afford the basic survival necessities.  If we were to take away the garbage dump from them then the city would be filled with more poverty and their main source of income would be depleted. The garbage dump has become part of their daily life and because they have learned to adapt to it and take advantage of it would actually not be truly beneficial to remove the dump from the village. Unfortunately, this is not a rare example, across the globe billions of people live next to some kind of pollution that have horrible externalities upon these people.            Global poverty is a reality that affects billions and to define poverty as the state of not having enough money to take care of basic needs such as food, clothing, and housing, is actually no applicable to all situations. Many things play into account how global poverty came to be, whether the government is an indirect cause, whether the government is the direct cause, or whether we have chosen to let global poverty expand to what it is now is not the question we need to be asking. We need to ask questions such as what can we do, how we can accomplish these goals, and can we help them to help themselves. The answer requires more than just some free clothes, shoes, or computer sets, to make sure the “money stays where it is well treated” we need to come up with solutions that help the impoverished community take charge of their situation and begin making changes from within the community that actually help the community.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

14. April 2010 by student.

 Why do expecially college students procrastionate?  Is there really an answer to this question.  I know I am guilty of procrastionating too, but why do we do it?  At some point the project or the paper is going to have to get done.  Why don’t students just do it little by little so that it gets done without waiting until the last minute scrambling to get everything done.

95% of people are affected by procrastionation.

     If we know that something is due and when the deadline is there is no reason that we should wait until the last minute to get everything all together. 

I found some helpful hints to help prevent procrastionation:

1. Breaking it down- If you just don’t wait until the last minute then it won’t be so overwhelming when the final product is due.

2. Taking quick bites- Just spending 5-10 minutes a day you will be more productive.  When you have a time limit you are more focused on getting the task done within that time frame.

 I think the biggest problem people have is how big the project is so they just keep putting it off until the last possible minute.  If you were to just start it earlier then the overall project could be better in the long run.  I’m sure none of this is news to any of us but then why do we still procrastionate and why is it so many of us are doing these blogs now instead of spreading them out throughout the semester?

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

14. April 2010 by student.

Why is every student writing these blogs? To fit into society. Why? Because they want to achieve good grades, which is the same as every other student wants. Everyone strives for happiness in life, so the reason why everyone is writing these blogs is for happiness in the future. Do we care about these particular events that much? Not really. Maybe a little bit. Maybe some of the people have a passion for this. Sociology can be looked at in desolated regions, regions that currency has no meaning and each individual strives for themselves, but in reality, that isnt too interesting of research.  Us students, will flood these pages last minute with tons and tons of blogs to brings our grades up to get an A in the class and move on with our lives. Do we pay attention in class? Sometimes. When we are not on Facebook, or texting our friends, we are listening to the famous Andoscia, the man who gets paid for the students posting blogs on his website. Only kidding… I think!

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »

14. April 2010 by student.

Prostitution. The oldest known profession. Illegal. Disgusting. These are some of the things that describe prostitution, the worlds oldest known professions that was made through children and women selling their bodies to men. Through the life outside the wicked door, people have been known to do bad things, but what exactly classifies them as such?  What defines an act to be bad, or one simply to be done to make money? Is it strictly considered a job or is it more than that? These questions are difficult to discern, but they are really through the eye of the beholder (with the sociological lens.) Human sexuality, as an American Sociologist Harriet Zuckerman demonstrated, bears a striking resemblance to the sexual behavior of monkeys and apes. The resemblance rests upon two orders of facts. The first being physiological and the second being sociological. We humans cannot act as if we are wired extremely different than simple apes. Although we may seem so advanced compared to their primitiveness, we are still considered a type 0 civilization compared to other possible civilizations that would be type 1 to type 5, declared by most physicists.  We are simple beings, so acting out sexual desires with other beings is something were are genetically geared to do, to produce more offspring, which implicates high reason to believe the reasoning of prostitution to be fairly understandable through a sociologists point of view.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »

14. April 2010 by student.

Prostitution. The oldest known profession. Illegal. Disgusting. These are some of the things that describe prostitution, the worlds oldest known professions that was made through children and women selling their bodies to men. Through the life outside the wicked door, people have been known to do bad things, but what exactly classifies them as such?  What defines an act to be bad, or one simply to be done to make money? Is it strictly considered a job or is it more than that? These questions are difficult to discern, but they are really through the eye of the beholder (with the sociological lens.) Human sexuality, as an American Sociologist Harriet Zuckerman demonstrated, bears a striking resemblance to the sexual behavior of monkeys and apes. The resemblance rests upon two orders of facts. The first being physiological and the second being sociological. We humans cannot act as if we are wired extremely different than simple apes. Although we may seem so advanced compared to their primitiveness, we are still considered a type 0 civilization compared to other possible civilizations that would be type 1 to type 5, declared by most physicists.  We are simple beings, so acting out sexual desires with other beings is something were are genetically geared to do, to produce more offspring, which implicates high reason to believe the reasoning of prostitution to be fairly understandable through a sociologists point of view.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »