SHORT ANSWER ONLY Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SHORT ANSWER ONLY - Assignment Example It can be described as the stage that a particular society or individual has reached e.g. stone age culture. It covers such things as shared ethics and beliefs as well behaviour. As long ago as 1889 Taylor defined culture as ‘ the complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities acquired by man as a member society.’ Anthropology is the study of these various cultures. I belong to early 21st century westernised socity. Culture is affected by environment, but also by what the group want. Breen declared ( 2006)that culture was society’s answer to life’s basic questions. Human society has come up with many different answers over time , as varied as Egypt under the Pharaohs to modern street culture. 2. Reciprocity, General, Balanced and Negative. In general reciprocity refers to relationships . These can involve only two individuals or many more as in a village or town, a team or a school class. A balanced recip rocity is a situation involving trust on both sides, where each benefits equally from a relationship e.g. a loving couple. It could also refer to the common negative aspects of this, such as some lack of individual choice and freedom. Negative reciprocity occurs when, in one of many ways, resources are broken down. Some factors involved are accepted by society e.g. a trader needing to make a profit. As a customer I realize this and am happy because he has given me something, even at a cost. Slave labor is an example of a very negative reciprocity. These various relationships are studied by anthropologists in order to better understand society in its many forms. 3. Extended Family - this refers to all the people one is related to, however distant the relationship. It includes both blood relationships, and also those who are related by marriage or partnership with a blood relative i.e in-laws and partners. This means not just a set of parents and children, but their spouses, cousins, aunts and all the rest. A clan or tribe can , in many instance, be considered as an extended family, and all humans belong to the world wide family of humanity, both those alive and those who preceded us. Perhaps this is why I can see a face from far away and recognise family likenesses. A nuclear family refers to one couple and their offspring as an isolated unit. In many instances in modern society this nuclear family will live alone, away from other extended family members. According to Sixth Sense’ ( 2005) functionalists see this type of family as positive as it means that the human race is continuing. Study of both kinds of family can help with planning for such things as education, marketing, house building and economics. 4. Kinship . This is defined as a relationship by blood ( consanguinity) or adoption and generally refers to family relationships . Often in a kinship group there will be shared characteristics such as dark hair, or great height. The members of such a group may also share common ethical and moral ideas, which is why some family members find it difficult when a member joins , perhaps in marriage, with someone from a very different group who hold differing ideas. The term can also be used for those , not necessarily related, but who share an affinity in that there are common bonds such as my fellow students in college, in that what affects one affects the others e.g. the price of accommodation or a liking for a certain type of music.. The term is defined by the Sociology Dictionary (

The Social Construction of Deviance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Social Construction of Deviance - Essay Example It can be said that one's behavior is "deviant" when it strays from cultural norms. In today's society, body weight and size are of great importance in terms of fitting in or being considered attractive. Obesity has become something that society as a whole, frowns upon. The market is flooded with diet pills, health food, diet books, medical procedures, gym memberships and exercise equipment. This has been the case for several decades but is increasingly more and more of a sociological issue. Being "thin" is synonymous with the institution of being attractive or socially accepted. The first step to relating obesity to deviant behavior is to look at "who" is being labeled as deviant. Naturally, it is safe to assume for the purposes of this paper that any individual, who is of a body weight greater than what is "normal" for their height and bone structure, can be considered deviant. The definition of obesity declares that in order to be obese, one must weight 30 lbs or more above the acceptable weight for their height and bone structure, to be considered obese, "Approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million are obese (Body Mass Index or BMI > 30) and 9 million are extremely obese (Body Mass Index or BMI > 40)" (http://www.obesityinamerica.org/bythenumbers.html). These acceptable weights are listed in body mass indexes and can be found in almost any physician's office. When we observe that individuals who can b... This is the social norm that has been deviated from by individuals who are said to be obese. Next, let us examine who is constructing obese individuals as being deviant. In other words, let us discuss who is setting these social norms that are being deviated from and who is deciding that individuals who are obese are in fact deviating or socially deviant. "In 1991, only four of 45 states participating in the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System had obesity prevalence rates of 15 to 19 percent and none had obesity prevalence rates greater than 20 percent" (http://www.obesityinamerica.org/geographic.html). According to this statement, the CDC is one specific organization that is essentially labeling obesity as "high risk behavior" and therefore it can be said that the CDC is one aspect to the social construction of obesity as deviant. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) is a health organization responsible for identifying and helping prevent the outbreak of rapidly occurring diseases. This organization seeks to keep any wide spread disease from becoming an epidem ic or pandemic. Clearly, obesity is being labeled as not only a deviation from social norm but also a disease of epidemic proportion. The CDC is not the only health organization concerned with obesity; virtually any major health organizations contain some facet to address the problem of obesity. In addition, virtually any television show or movie will display individuals as quite thin, and this is to be interpreted as normal. This is established as a uni-cultural standard among virtually any television or Hollywood production. It is important to note however, that the individuals responsible for the web site pertinent to this discussion are a part of