Durkheims Approach to Sociological Analysis

Durkheims Approach to Sociological Analysis Outline the main features of Durkheims approach to sociological analysis, and discuss how this may be used to understand suicide rate. Durkheim was a French positivist, with an emphasis on functionalism, which revolves around a biological analogy where in society, is seen as an organic whole with each component working to maintain the others, similar to the human body. Its main interest is seeing how these parts create a stable whole. One of the main areas of Durkheims approach is the focus on social facts, these are social phenomena and ways of thinking and behaving that restrain individuals in some manner or other and can include institutions such as the state and education. They appear from collectively formed rules and practices, be they religious or secular and are beyond our control as individuals. Because of these social facts individuals have littler or no control over their own actions, rather than constructing their own world they are directed by the system as society needs certain social behaviours and phenomena to survive. These social facts are passed on from generation to generation and shared among the individuals. From this perspective it is not individual will that drives behaviours but rather the common norms and values of society that shape ones consciousness. Not only are these types of behaviour and thinking external to the individual, but they are endued with a compelling and coercive power b y virtue of which, whether he wishes it or not, they impose themselves upon him (Durkheim, 1895 pp50). These social facts form the basis of a collective consciousness, which Durkheim sees as the body of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society (Durkheim, 1893). This collective consciousness promotes solidarity, forging a common bond between individuals in a society, creating a form of order and stability. Without a form of moral consensus there would be conflict and disorder From where interest is the only ruling for each individual finds himself in a state of was with every other (Durkheim, 1973, p89) Since the collective consciousness is a social fact it too constrains individuals to act in terms of the greater good and for the good of the society and is deeply imprinted on the individual as without it there would be no society as we know it. These social facts can have problems if they regulate too much or not enough, without enough control the individual would give in to their own wants and desires, with too much they would feel repressed, inevitably both will lead to deviance, that being going against the norms and values of society. From a collective consciousness come two forms of solidarity, organic and mechanical. Organic solidarity is based upon a dependence that individuals in an advanced society place on each other. It is common among societies where the division of labor is high. Though individuals perform different tasks and often have different values and interests, the order and survival of society depends on their reliance on each other to perform their specific tasks. Mechanical solidarity on the other hand is based upon the similarities among individuals in a society, within it people feel connected through similar work, education and religious practices. It primarily exists in societies that possess a low division of labour where this is little interdependence between individuals and where there is a basic or lack of organisation and compared to societies with organic solidarity there is more value placed on religion, society and its interests and there is a greater collective consciousness and les s emphasise placed on individualism, that being where you count yourself as an individual rather than part of a group, putting yourself first etc (Haralambos 2004 pp). From organic solidarity and individualism can come anomie, this is a sense of normlessness, where norms themselves are unclear, broken down or unregulated If the rules of the conjugal morality lose their authority, and the mutual obligations of husband and wife become less respected, the emotions and appetites ruled by this sector of morality will become unrestricted and uncontained, and accentuated by this very release; powerless to fulfil themselves because they have been freed from all limitations, these emotions will produce a disillusionment which manifests itself visibly(Durkheim, 1972, p. 173) He noted that it was common in societies that possessed a less defined collective consciousness and a higher amount of individualismThe state of anomie is impossible whenever interdependent organs are sufficiently in cont act and sufficiently extensive. If they are close to each other, they are readily aware, in every situation, of the need which they have of one-another, and consequently they have an active and permanent feeling of mutual dependence.(Durkheim, 1895, p184) Imbalances in the amount of regulation caused by social facts and the amount of integration from solidarity are one of the main factors within suicide, less advanced societies having too much integration and regulation and industrial societies have too littler of either. Durkheim said that suicide was a social act, not entirely an individual one revolving around the relationships between the individual and society. He found that there was a correlation between the suicide rate and various social facts. For example he found that suicide rates were higher in protestant countries than catholic ones, he also found that there was a low rate during times of social and political upheaval due to the amount of solidarity that such events creates (Durkheim in Marsh, pp66-69). He laid out four types of suicide, depending on the degree that individuals were involved in society and on the degree that their behaviour was regulated. The four types being egoistic, anomic, altruistic and fatalistic. Egoistic suicide is common in industrial societies with high amounts of division of labour and comes from a high amount of individualism, which stems from a low amount of integration due to a weak collective consciousness from the social groups from which they originally belonged; in effect society allows the individual to escape it In this case the bond attaching man to life relaxes because that attaching himself to society is itself slack (Durkheim in Marsh pp67). This sort of suicide Durkheim said accounted for the differences of suicide rates between Protestants and Catholics, with Catholicisms demanding a higher amount of conformity, in comparison to the Protestant church that encouraged the individual to interpret the religious texts in their own way without stigma. Another type of suicide common in industrial societies is anomic which results from a low amount of regulation. It occurs when norms and values are disrupted by social change, procuring feelings of uncertainty with in the individual. Whenever serious readjustments take place in the social order, whether or not due to a sudden growth or to an unexpected catastrophe, men are more inclined to self destruction (Durkheim in K. Thompson, 1971, pp109) Durkheim found that suicide rates rose during positive as well as negative directions of social change. He noted that there was a rise after the crash of the Paris stock exchange in 1882 and the conquest of Rome in 1870 by Victor-Emmanuel which resulted in rising salaries and living standards but also a rise in the suicide rate. On the opposite side of the spectrum is altruistic suicide that comes from a high amount of integration and strong feeling of society and solid collective consciousness. This form of suicide is mostly present in pre-industrial societies who possess mechanical solidarity. This was seen as a self sacrifice for the good of the group This sacrifice then is imposed by society for social ends (Durkheim in Marsh, pp68). It is not done because it seen as the best option but more out of a sense of duty to said group. For someone to do such an act out of duty then they must have little self worth, the individual being fully submerged into a group and feeling like just a part of a greater thing, thus highly integrated. For society to be able to compel some of its members to kill themselves, the individual personality can have little value. For as soon as the latter begins to form, the right to existence is the first conceded (Ibid, pp68) Various examples of this can be seen throughout history, Vikings considers it dishonourable to die of old age or sickness and so ended their own lives to avoid social disgrace. Durkheim placed no importance on fatalistic suicide, saying that it had more place in history than in modern societies. It occurred when society restricted an individual so much that they were repressed, feeling that they had no futures or dreams. One of the major criticisms of Durkheims analysis is his concepts of integration and regulation. Durkheim gives no hint as to how one would measure integration or regulation for example he simply asks us to assume that such underlying concepts are significant in relation to the explanation of suicide. He assumes that suicidal behavior results from a deviation from normal levels of integration and regulation. We are given no idea what exactly is a normal level, so we cannot say what amount of regulation and integration is normal or abnormal (Web ref 1). However with some work, it could be possible to come up with various test relating to theses concepts, so that we could measure them among different groups in society. A second criticism is that his work on suicide is based upon official statistics from the 19th century He gives us little idea about the reliability of the source of the statistics and the methods used in recording them could not be up to scratch, some could be wrong, s ince they were hand written things could be misread and so on. Another factor is that the determination of suicide involves is process of interpretation by numerous people such as policemen, doctors, coroners etc (Ibid). In this respect, we have no real way of determining either the reliability or validity of suicide statistics. The coroner is the one who decides whether death was due to suicide or not and various factors can sway his judgment towards it not being so. The individuals verdict depends on their outlook on their work and on their outlook on suicide. Some would be thorough in the investigation whilst others would be concerned about not intruding upon the rights and feelings of the surviving relatives. For example if the victim was Catholic, since traditionally the Catholic Church view suicide as a sin, the coroner may well make his decision based on the effect that the stigma that a suicide verdict carries may have on the relatives. It is known that coroners in Catholic countries such as Italy and Mexico are more-reluctant to classify a suspicious death as suicide than coroners in non-Catholic countries. Another fact is that some countries suicide is classified as a crime, in such countries, coroners tend to be more-reluctant to classify a death as suicide than in countries where such a law does not apply, for example when suicide was illegal in Britain the punishment was that deceased property would be ceased by the state, so it would be justifiable to deem a suicide as something else to avert any more tragedy. Also where the victim was insured against death, coroners tend to be less likely to classify death as suicide than in instances where there is none, as such an act can void the coverage. One final criticism is that he does not take into look into individual action as a cause; however he does briefly acknowledge it but claims that it has no part in sociology (Ibid) Bibliography Durkheim, E (1973). Moral Education. Macmillan USA Durkheim, E (1975). On Morality and Society. revised ed. Chicago: Chicago University Press Durkheim, E (1982). The Rules of the Sociological Method. revised ed. London: The Free Press. Durkheim, E (1997). The Division of Labour in Society. revised ed. London: The Free Press Haralambos and Holborn (2004). Sociology themes and perspectives. 6th ed. London: Collin Marsh.I (1998). Classic and Contemporary Readings in Sociology. London: Pretince Hall. Thompson.K and Tunstall.J (1983). Sociological Perspectives. 9th ed. London: Penguin Books

Michael Jordan :: Free Essays

Michael Jordan Michael Jordan is an American Professional Basketball Player . I picked Michael for my biography because I consider him to be the best basketball player in the NBA . Michael is recognized for his spectacular ball handling skills and for his outrageous dunks . He is also the leading scorer in the NBA , and a winner of three NBA most valuable player award in 1988,1991, and 1992 . Jordan was born in Brooklyn , New York , and raised in Wilmington , North Carolina . He accepted a basketball scholarship at the University of North Carolina and as a freshman he scored the winning shot in the 1982 NCAA championship game .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1984 Jordan led the U.S. basketball team to victory in the Olympics . After that he left college to play for the Chicago Bulls . Jordan was successful as a professional from his first season , Leading the NBA in the 1984-85 season in points scored . He also was named rookie of the year and started in the All Star game .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the 1986-87 season Jordan became the second player ever to score 3000 points in one season . In the following six seasons he led the NBA in scoring averaging more than 30 points per game . Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to their first NBA championship tittle in 1991, and did it again in 1992 and in 1993 . Jordan retired from basketball in 1994 to play baseball . He only played for about one year but he didn't have what it took to be a baseball player . He came back to play basketball in the middle of the 1995 season to lead the Bulls into the first round of the playoffs where they where beat .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jordan was the NBA's most valuable player for the 1987- 88 season and again for the 1990-91 and the 1991-92 season . This is the first time a NBA player won for two consecutive seasons .

Richard III: Power of Language and Own Villainy

Deformed in body and twisted in mind, Richard is in every way the dominant character of the play, to the extent that he is both the play’s protagonist and major villain. He is selfish, evil, corrupt, sadistic, and manipulative. His intelligence, political brilliance, and dazzling use of language keeps the audience fascinated and his subjects and rivals under his control. At the beginning of the play, it is made clear to the audience that Richard has no justification for seizing the throne. This is because England is obviously not oppressed or subject to tyranny as the lengthy civil war has just ended, and Richard’s oldest brother, King Edward IV, now sits on the throne. Richard himself, states that ‘All the clouds that loured upon our house’ (1. 1, 3), the house of York, has been dispelled by the ‘son of York’ (1. 1, 2), King Edward IV. However, Richard intends to upset the kingdom by seizing power for himself. He says that ‘since I cannot prove a lover to entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain’ (1. , 28). This simply means that since Richard was not made to be a lover, he has no use for peace, and will happily destroy peace with his crimes. This shows Richard’s unabashed enjoyment of his own villainy as he can so blithely toss aside all of the things that the rest of humanity cherishes. Richard III is an intense exploration of the psychology of evil, and that exploration is centred on the workings of Richard’s mind and the methods he uses to manipulate, control, and injure others for his own gain. Perhaps more than any other play by Shakespeare, the audience of Richard III experiences a complex, indefinite, and highly erratic relationship with the main character. Richard is clearly a villain as he declares outright in his very first speech that he intends to stop at nothing to achieve his ultimate goal of becoming king. However, despite his open allegiance to evil, he has such a charismatic and fascinating personality that, for much of the play, we are likely to sympathize with him, or are at least impressed by him. In this way, our relationship with Richard reflects the other characters’ relationships with him, conveying a powerful sense of the force of his personality. Even characters such as Lady Anne, who have an explicit knowledge of his wickedness, overlook his dishonesty and violent behaviour and allow themselves to be seduced by his brilliant wordplay, his skilful argumentation, and his relentless pursuit of his selfish desires. Richard’s long, fascinating soliloquys, in which he outlines his plans and gleefully confesses all his evil thoughts, are central to the audience’s experience of Richard. Shakespeare uses these soliloquys brilliantly to control the audience’s impression of Richard, enabling this manipulative protagonist to work his charm on the audience. In Act I, scene i, for example, Richard offers a pretext for his villainy towards others by pointing out that he is unloved, and that he is unloved because of his physical deformity. Richard himself is brutally honest about his appearance. He admits to being imperfectly shaped and blames premature birth for his condition. He knows that he is ‘not shaped for sportive tricks’ (1. 1, 14) and while others delight in ‘an amorous looking glass’ (1. , 14), his misshapen body creates a ‘shadow in the sun’ (1. 1, 26) that alienates him from others. Hence, Lady Anne calls Richard a ‘lump of foul deformity’ (1. 2, 57) in Act I, scene ii. This proves that Richard’s claim not only makes the other characters of the play seem like the villains for punishing him for his appearance, but also makes it easy for the audience to sympathize with Richard during the first scenes of the play and even hope that he will succeed despite his obvious villainy. It quickly becomes apparent, however, that Richard simply uses his deformity as a tool to gain the sympathy of others, including the audience. This is already noticeable in his very first speech as Richard seems to take a deliberate perverse delight in his outward shape. He chooses words such as, ‘cheated’, ‘deformed’, ‘unfinished’, ‘half made up’, ‘dogs bark’ at him as he passes by because of his ‘deformity’ to describe himself. Richard’s unabashed villainy is a much more natural part of his character than simple bitterness about his ugly body. Nevertheless, he still manages to use speech to win our trust, and he repeats this throughout his struggle to be crowned king. An interesting secondary theme of Richard III is the power of language, or the importance of language in achieving political power. Language may not always be a necessary instrument of power, but for Richard, it is a crucial weapon. As we have seen, it is with his extraordinary skills with words that allows him to ridicule, insult, taunt and deceive all who stand in his way to power. Richard’s skill with language and argument is what enables him to woo Lady Anne, have Clarence thrown in prison and blame the king for Clarence’s death, all at very little risk to himself. In conclusion, I feel Richard III’s unabashed enjoyment of both the power of language and his own villainy makes him a character worthy of both respect and admiration, and therefore I completely agree with this statement. This is because Richard’s unabashed power of language shows off the ingenious wit and intellectual cleverness of the character, actor and playwright, while his own villainy makes the play all the more fascinating and entertaining as his heinous acts become more chilling.

Cell Membrane essays

Cell Membrane essays Cell Membrane/ Electron Transport Chain Biochemical Pathway 1. The cell membrane structure is vital to the life of the cell. The cell membrane is shaped as having a phosphate head at the very outer surface, and two fatty acid tails hanging from it. The membrane is double, so at the tip of the fatty acid tails, there are two more fatty acid tails attached to another phosphate head. This is what it looks like: The reason the cell membrane is shaped like this is mainly to control the water flow in and out of the cell. Water is very important to the cell: if too much water enters the cell, the cell will explode, and if too much water leaves the cell, the cell will shrivel up and die. This is how the cell membrane controls water flow: the phosphate heads are polar, and slightly attract water. However, the fatty acid tails in between are non polar, and repel water, so the fatty acid tails prevent too much water from entering or leaving the cell. With this tough membrane, there has to be a way for things to enter the cell. This is where the channel proteins come in. They act as gateways to the cell. There are many ways to enter the cell. Some ways require energy, while others dont. The ways that require energy are put into a category called active transport, while the ways that dont require energy are put into a category called passive transport. An example of active transp! ort is the proton pump. The proton pump is an integral part of chemiosmosis, and it pumps protons from an area of low concentration to an area of high concentration. This requires energy since things like to move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. An example of passive transport is facilitated diffusion. This is very easy since the particle is moving from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration and through a channel protein made exactly for its size and shape. 2. These membranes are very importan...

Essay on Christian Propaganda

Essay on Christian Propaganda Essay on Christian Propaganda This is a free example essay on Christian Propaganda: Throughout history, the Christian community has used various ploys in order to gain members. In the Ninth Century AD, monks, in England, recorded the folklore of their â€Å"heathen† neighbors in their own language. In the 11th through 18th centuries, in various areas, Catholics used raw torture and death to force conversion. And even today television stations such as PAX â€Å"family programming† is little more than tele-evangelists and trumped up â€Å"miracles.† Two prime examples of the texts written and some what enriched by the monks of England are, of course Beowulf and Judith. While it remains unclear as to exactly who wrote the original manuscripts, it is believed that it was a monk or priest, and it has been widely accepted that these stories were handed down, generation to generation, by oral tradition. The epic poem Beowulf directly precedes Judith in the same manuscript, leading us to believe they were recorded by the same persons, with the same motives. In Beowulf we read of a hero that destroys the enemy of his brethren, Grendel (and Grendel’s mother), believed by some to be the descendant of the biblical Cain, thus ending his lineage; a lineage that has been that of pure evil from the time of Cain’s brother Abel’s murder. Beowulf then leads his people into battle with the dragon, killing both the dragon and himself, much like St. George. In Judith we read of a heroine (interestingly an Israelite) oppressed b y a tyrant, Holofernes. Eventually Judith can take no more, and rises up and smites her oppressor, with, ironically, his own sword. Much as the Hebrews did in Exodus. We then must look at instances such as the various Inquisitions instituted by the Catholic Church for nearly eight centuries, the most commonly known being the Spanish Inquisition. Starting in the mid- 15th century (1478), the Spanish Inquisition was not suppressed until 1834. Over these 356 years hundreds of thousands of heretics, heathens and other â€Å"sacrilegious† persons were tortured and killed by some of the most horrible means possible; all for what they believed, or did not believe, as the case may be. People were hanged, burned at the stake, boiled alive, or worse, for no â€Å"good† reason except they were not Catholic. They were told if they renounced their faith, they would be spared, but as those who did found out, more often than not, they were lied to. As anyone would guess, word of these events traveled rather quickly, and the Catholic population in Spain grew rapidly. So we ask. why did the Inquisition last 356 years? The answer is it did not, at lea st not in practice. Granted there were the fanatics that continued to torture those accused of heresy, but as a whole the practice was discontinued after a relatively short period of time. The institution, however, was not officially suppressed by the Pope until July 15, 1834. If a person were to look at local television listings, the majority of what they would find would pertain to what the American public watches most, drugs, sex, and violence. However, there are a few networks, such as PAX that offer what they call family programming; what I call Propaganda. Over half of their programming consists of tele-evangelists. The network executives, rope in young parents with inoffensive material, hoping that they will watch their network almost exclusively. Before long, the children of these young parents are asking Mom and Dad, why they never go to church. Have they ever seen a miracle? And before you know it, this entire family is going to not only a Sunday worship, but Wednesday evening as well, not to mention the Tuesday-Thursday Bible Study; thus completing this vicious cycle. We have in this country, what is called Separation of Church and State, and freedom of speech. This is why we can turn on our television at five o’clock in the morning and s ee The Reverend Brother What’s his Face. But where does it stop? Will the church ever stop trying to brain wash us â€Å"heathens† into belief? ______________ is a professional essay writing service which can provide high school, college and university students with 100% original custom written essays, research papers, term papers, dissertations, courseworks, homeworks, book reviews, book reports, lab reports, projects, presentations and other assignments of top quality. More than 700 professional Ph.D. and Master’s academic writers. Feel free to order a custom written essay on Christian Propaganda from our professional essay writing service.

Annotated Bibliography. Generation Challenges in the future of nursing Essay

Annotated Bibliography. Generation Challenges in the future of nursing informatics - Essay Example Moreover, the article indicates that they are expected to make a reasonable effort in addressing rising demand for the nursing care services, which are focused on increasing supply of nurses. In this case, the nurses can increase their efficiency in the provision of care through the use of health Information Technology that has been considered a crucial issue through numerous discussions. The article covers issues related to the effect of the health IT and health informatics through an outlook of the nursing profession. In addition, the vendors across the health IT field are urged to facilitate understanding of the nursing profession through gearing them to meet challenges for reforming new era attributed to collaboration in offering health care services. Ball, M.J. (1995). Nursing Informatics: Where caring and technology meet. New York: Spinger-Verlag The book focuses on markets in health care practice and education settings, whereby it aims to address the issues relating to nursing practice and students; in fact, issues discussed relates to nursing leadership, nursing faculty and nursing informatics specialists. Moreover, this book is designed meet the needs of professionals in the health care fields such are quality officers, administrators, health IT professions, who are in the health care facilities. ... /journal_of_nursing/challenges_in_nursing_informatics.htm> The article discusses challenges faced by nurses due to constrains associated with innovation technology. It also seeks to explore ways through which these challenges can be overcome. The article offers nursing documentation, thereby explaining dynamics and complexity of the processes. Moreover, the article focuses on bridging the gaps that are present in the nursing documentation to the electronic record. In addition, there are abilities of nursing students discussed in the article, thereby allowing them to understand challenges, which are involving the constants evolutions of technology. In this case, the article offers relevant issues related to nursing practice in relation to challenges. Kaminski, (2011). Organizational management and generation X. Nursing Informatics. Retrieved on 2 Feb 2012 from The article takes into consideration the challenges and threats that are faced by managers in organizations, whereby this mana ger are classified into echelon of Baby Boomer and senior Silent Generation managers. These challenges are attributed to the emergence of the work force referred to Generation X, who are considered to be offering dynamic solutions to meet the needs of the workforce. The article covers issues related to technological knowledge, thereby facilitating the adaptability to change and diversity. There are other issues discussed in the article relating to sharing of time and downsizing, which have become a challenge to the organization. In this case, the unique brands of workers that are acquiescent to the needs are reflected in various scenes, in the workplace. Ericksen, A. (2009). Informatics: the future of nursing. RN journal. Retrieved on 2

How SOX (SarbanesOxley Act of 2002) affects corporate governance and Research Paper

How SOX (SarbanesOxley Act of 2002) affects corporate governance and what additional improvements need to be added to SOX to improve corporate governance - Research Paper Example Oxley, thus the act’s nomenclature, and enacted on July 30, the act aimed to regulate and control the corporate and accounting sectors, particularly in the public company boards of management, and the management and public accounting companies (Shakespeare 333). The act goes by several names, considering its purpose. The act was referred to as the Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act when in the house, whereas in the Senate is as per the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act. The SOX (also Sabox) was proposed as an act that would protect investors by ensuring improvements in the corporate disclosures precision and trustworthiness for among other purposes pursuing the securities market and laws. The outcome of the act is sections that dictate the responsibilities expected of a public corporation board of directors, the criminal consequences to various misconduct, and creation of regulations by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on the compliance of public corporations to the act’s laws. The laws of the act are encased in eleven titles under the elements which include the Corporate Responsibility, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), Corporate and Criminal Fraud Account ability, Auditor Independence, White Collar Crime Penalty Enhancement, Enhanced Financial Disclosures, Studies and Reports, Analyst Conflicts of Interest, Commission Resources and Authority, Corporate Tax Returns, and Corporate Fraud Accountability. The section covers the legal provisions which include disclosure controls (302), Improper influence on conduct of audits (303), disclosures in periodic reports also termed as Off-balance sheet items (401), Smaller public companies (404), criminal penalties for influencing US Agency investigation/proper administration (802), criminal Penalties for CEO/CFO financial statement certification (906), and criminal penalties for retaliation against