Sociology Research Essay Example for Free

Sociology Research Essay Sexism is also known as  gender discrimination  or  sex discrimination, is defined as prejudice or discrimination based on sex; or behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex. Sexism is a form of discrimination or devaluation based on a persons sex, with such attitudes being based on beliefs in traditional stereotypes of gender roles. The term  sexism  is most often used in relation to discrimination against women, in the context of patriarchy. Sexism involves hatred of or prejudice towards a gender as a whole or the application of gender stereotypes. Sexism is often associated with gender-supremacy arguments. Gender stereotypes A 1952 magazine feature stereotyping women drivers. Gender stereotypes are widely held beliefs about the characteristics and behavior of women and men. Gender stereotypes are not only descriptive, but also prescriptive beliefs about how men and women should be and behave. Members of either sex who deviate from prescriptive gender stereotypes are punished; assertive women, for example, are called bitches whereas men who lack physical strength are seen as wimps. Empirical studies have found widely shared cultural beliefs that men are more socially valued and more competent than women at most things, as well as specific assumptions that men are better at some particular tasks (e. g. , mechanical tasks) while women are better at others (e. g. , nurturing tasks). For example,  Fiske  and colleagues surveyed nine diverse samples, from different regions of the United States, and found that members of these samples, regardless of age, consistently rated the category men higher than the category women on a multidimensional scale of competence. Gender stereotypes can facilitate and impede intellectual performance. For instance,  stereotype threat  can lower womens performance on mathematics tests due to the stereotype that women have inferior quantitative skills compared with men. Stereotypes can also affect the assessments people make of their own competence. Studies found that specific stereotypes (e. g. , women have lower mathematical ability) affect women’s and men’s perceptions of their abilities (e. g. , in math and science) such that men assess their own task ability higher than women performing at the same level. These biased self-assessments have far-reaching effects because they can shape men and women’s educational and career decisions. Gender stereotypes are sometimes applied at an early age. Various interventions were reviewed including the use of fiction in challenging gender stereotypes. For example, in a study by A. Wing, children were read  Bills New Frock  by  Anne Fine. The content of the book was discussed with them. Children were able to articulate, and reflect on, their stereotypical constructions of gender and those in the world at large. There was evidence of children considering the different treatment that boys and girls receive, and of classroom discussion enabling stereotypes to be challenged. Sexist and gender-neutral language Research has found that the use of  he  as a generic pronoun evokes a disproportionate number of male images and excludes thoughts of women in non gender-specific instances. Results also suggest that while the plural  they  functions as a generic pronoun for both males and females, males may comprehend  he/she  in a manner similar to  he, as  he  usually is placed before the dash and  she  after. This is usually done because the word  she  already contains the word  he  so it is positioned after the dash. It also has nothing to do with stereotypical gender roles. Nearing the end of the 20th century, there is a rise in gender-neutral language in western worlds, which is often attributed to the rise of  feminism. Gender-neutral language  is the avoidance of  gender-specific job titles, non parallel usage, and other usage that is considered by some to be sexist. Supporters claim that having gender–specific titles and gender–specific pronouns either implies a systemic bias to exclude individuals based on their gender or else as unnecessary in most cases as race-specific pronouns, religion-specific pronouns, or persons-height-specific pronouns. Some of those who support gender-specific pronouns assert that promoting gender-neutral language is a kind of semantics injection itself. Anthropological linguistics and gender-specific language Unlike the  Indo-European languages  in the west, for many other  languages  around the world,  gender-specific pronouns  are a recent phenomenon that occurred around the early 20th century. As a result of  colonialism, cultural revolution occurred in many parts of the world with attempts to modernize and westernize by adding gender-specific pronouns and animate-inanimate pronouns to local languages. This resulted in the situation of what was  gender-neutral pronouns  a century ago suddenly becoming gender–specific. (See for example  Gender-neutrality in languages without grammatical gender: Turkish. ) Gender-specific pejorative terms Gender–specific pejorative terms intimidate or harm another person because of their gender. Sexism can be expressed in a pseudo–subtle manner through the attachment of terms which have negative gender oriented implications  such as through  condescension. Many examples include swear words. A mildly vulgar example is the uninformative attribution of the term hag for a woman or fairy for a man. Although hag and fairy both have non-sexist interpretations, when they are used in the context of a gender–specific pejorative term these words become representations of sexist attitudes. The relationship between rape and misogyny Research into the factors which motivate perpetrators of  rape  against a specific gender, for example, women, frequently reveals patterns of hatred of said gender and pleasure in inflicting psychological and/or physical trauma, rather than sexual interest. Researchers have argued that rape is not the result of pathological individuals, but rather systems of male dominance, cultural practices and beliefs that objectify and degrade women. Mary Odem, Jody Clay-Warner and Susan Brownwiller consider sexist attitudes to be propagated by a series of myths about rape and rapists. They state that contrary to those myths, rapists often plan a rape before they choose a victim and that acquaintance rape  is the most common form of rape rather than assault by a stranger. Odem also states that these rape myths propagate sexist attitudes about men by perpetuating the thought that men cannot control their sexuality. In response to  acquaintance rape, the Men Can Stop Rape movement has been implemented. The US military has started a similar movement with the tagline My strength is for defending. Occupational sexism Occupational sexism refers to any  discriminatory  practices, statements, actions, etc. based on a persons  sex  that are present or occur in a place of  employment. One form of occupational sexism is  wage discrimination. In 2008, the  Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development  (OECD) found that while female employment rates have expanded considerably and the gender employment and wage gaps have narrowed virtually everywhere, on average, women still have 20% less of a chance to have a job and are paid 17% less than men. Moreover, the report stated: [In] many countries, labor market  discrimination  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ i. e. the unequal treatment of equally productive individuals only because they belong to a specific group – is still a crucial factor inflating disparities in employment and the quality of job opportunities [ ] Evidence presented in this edition of the  Employment Outlook  suggests that about 8% of the variation in gender employment gaps and 30% of the variation in gender wage gaps across OECD countries can be explained by discriminatory practices in the labour market. The report also found that despite the fact that almost all OECD countries, including the U. S. have established anti-discrimination laws, these laws are difficult to enforce. Gender stereotypes Gender roles  (or sex roles) are attitudes and activities that a society links to each sex. A culture that defines males as ambitious and competitive encourages them to seek out positions of leadership and play team sports. To the extent that females are defined as deferential and emotional, they are expected to be supportive helpers and quick to show their feelings. According to the  OECD, womens labor market behavior is influenced by learned cultural and social values that may be thought to discriminate against women (and sometimes against men) by stereotyping certain work and life styles as male or female. Further, the OECD argues that womens educational choices may be dictated, at least in part, by their expectations that [certain] types of employment opportunities are not available to them, as well as by gender stereotypes that are prevalent in society. There is a long record of women being excluded from participation in many professions. Often, women have gained entry into a previously male profession only to be faced with additional obstacles. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive an M. D. in the  United States  and  Myra Bradwell, the first female lawyer in the state of  Illinois, illustrate the prevalence of women being excluded from certain professions and the changing culture. Professional discrimination continues today according to studies done by  Cornell University  and others. Some have hypothesized that gender bias has been influencing which scientific research gets published. This hypothesis coincides with a test conducted at the  University of Toronto  led by Amber Budden. The study showed that, in the journal  Behavioral Ecology, after implementation of double-blind review in which both the author and reviewer identity is concealed, there was an increase of 7. 9% in the number of papers authored by women. This was more than three times the increase of female ecology graduate students in the United States. In addition, women frequently earn significantly lower wages than their male counterparts who perform the same job. In the U. S. , for example, women earn an average of 23. 5% less than men. In 1833, women working in factories earned only one-quarter of mens wages, and in 2007, womens median annual paychecks reflected only $0. 78 for every $1. 00 earned by men. A study showed women comprised 87% of workers in the child care industry and 86% of the health aide industry. Some experts believe that parents play an important role in the creation of values and perceptions of their children. The fact that many girls are asked to help their mothers do housework, while many boys do technical tasks with their fathers, seems to influence their behavior and can sometimes discourage girls from performing such tasks. Girls will then think that each gender should have a specific role and behavior. A 2009 study found that being overweight harms womens career advancement but presents no barrier for men. Overweight  or  obese  women were significantly under-represented among company bosses, whereas a significant proportion of male executives were overweight or obese. The author of the study stated that the results suggest that the glass ceiling effect on womens advancement may reflect not only general negative stereotypes about the competencies of women, but also weight bias that results in the application of stricter appearance standards to women. Overweight women are evaluated more negatively than overweight men. There is a tendency to hold women to harsher weight standards. At other times, there are accusations that some traditionally female professions have been or are being eliminated by its roles being subsumed by a male dominated profession. The assumption of baby delivery roles by doctors with the subsequent decline of  midwifery  is sometimes claimed to be an example. Wage gap [pic] Euro stat  found a persisting gender pay gap of 17. 5% on average in the 27  EU Member States  in 2008. Similarly, the OECD  found that female full-time employees earned 17% less than their male counterparts across OECD countries in 2009. In the U. S. , the female-to-male earnings ratio was 0. 77 in 2009, meaning that, in 2009, female full-time, year round (FTYR) workers earned 77% as much as male FYTR workers. Womens earnings relative to mens fell from 1960 to 1980 (from 60. 7 percent to 60. 2%) and then rose rapidly from 1980 to 1990 (from 60. 2% to 71. 6%), and less rapidly from 1990 to 2000 (from 71. 6% to 73. 7%) and from 2000 to 2009 (from 73. 7% to 77. 0%). At the time when the first  Equal Pay Act  was passed in 1963, female full-time workers earned 58. 9% as much as male full-time workers. The gender pay gap has been attributed to differences in personal and workplace characteristics between women and men (education, hours worked, occupation etc. as well as direct and indirect discrimination in the labor market (gender stereotypes, customer and employer bias, etc. ). Studies always find that some portion of the gender pay gap remains unexplained even after controlling factors that are assumed to influence earnings. The unexplained portion of the wage gap is attributed to gender discrimination. The estimates for the discriminatory component of the gender pay gap vary widely. The OECD estimated that approximately 30% of the gender pay gaps across OECD countries is due to discrimination. Australian research shows that discrimination accounts for approximately 60% of the wage differentials between women and men. Studies examining the gender pay gap in the United States  show that large parts of the wage differential remain unexplained even after controlling for factors that affect pay. One study examined college graduates and found that the portion of the pay gap that remains unexplained after all other factors are taken into account is 5% one year after graduating college and 12% 10 years after graduation. Research done at  Cornell University  and elsewhere indicates that mothers are less likely to get hired than equally qualified fathers and, if hired, would be paid a lower salary than male applicants with children. The  OECD  found that a significant impact of children on women’s pay is generally found in the United Kingdom and the United States. ]  Fathers, on the other hand, earn  $7,500 more on average that than men without children. Glass ceiling The term glass ceiling is used to describe a perceived barrier to advancement based on discrimination, particularly gender discrimination. In academic achievement, great improvements have been made. However, as of 1995 in the United States, women received about half of all Masters degrees, but 95 to 97% of the senior managers of Fortune 1000 Industrial and Fortune 500 companies were male and in the Fortune 2000 Industrial and service companies, only 5% of senior managers were women. The  United Nations  asserts progress in bringing women into leadership and decision making positions around the world remains far too slow. Objectification Some argue that  sexual objectification  is a form of sexism. Some countries, such as  Norway  and  Denmark, have laws against sexual objectification in advertising. Nudity itself is not banned, and nude people can be used to advertise a product, but only if they are relevant to what is being advertised. Sol Olving, head of Norways Kreativt Forum, an association of the countrys top advertising agencies, explained, You could have a naked person advertising shower gel or a cream, but not a woman in a bikini draped across a car. Sexism in the Workplace Sexism in education is clearly associated with sexism in the workplace. When women are expected to â€Å"stay in the home,† they are unable to access the necessary educational resources to compete with men in the job market. If by chance they are able to secure a position, women may be less prepared educationally for the task, and thus draw lower wages. In recent decades more women have entered the United States workforce. After WWII (from about 1947), about 30 percent of women were employed outside the home; today, at the start of the 21st century, the figure is well over 50 percent. (Some estimates approach 75 percent if â€Å"part-time† jobs are included. Yet women are far from treated equally on the job. Typically, they hold lower-paying, lower-status jobs than men. In fact, women may account for only 25 percent of the upper-level managers in large corporations. And although half of the employees in the largest, most prestigious firms around the United States may be women, perhaps as few as 5 percent or less actually hold senior positions. In general, women are under-represented in the higher-status, higher-paying occupations, such as university teaching, law, engineering, and medicine. In contrast, women are over-represented in the lower-paying occupations, such as public-school teaching, nursing, and secretarial work. In stereotypical female jobs, referred to as  womens ghettos, women are subordinate to the positions of men. For example, executives supervise secretaries who are likely to be women, and lawyers supervise paralegals, who are also likely to be women. Women in the same jobs as men usually earn less, even though these women may have the same or better training, education, and skills. As a general statistic, women make only 60 percent or less than men in comparable positions. Why this disparity? Sociologists speculate that, in some cases, the fact that women often must take time off to have and raise children interrupts their career path. As much as Americans may hate to admit it, women in the United States still bear the primary responsibilities of child-rearing. Conflicting demands may partly explain why married women with children are more likely to leave their jobs than are childless and single women. Also, men are seen as the â€Å"chief bread winners,† so the belief is that they should be paid more than women in order to support their families. Whatever the reason, paying women less than men for equally demanding work is discrimination.

WHO CAN CATCH A LIAR?’, Ekman and O’Sullivan, 1991. Essay -- English L

WHO CAN CATCH A LIAR?’, Ekman and O’Sullivan, 1991. What is the definition of lying or indeed deception? Well deception can be defined in many ways, but it was termed by Vrij (Vrij, 2000, p.6) as a successful or unsuccessful deliberate attempt, without forewarning, to create in another a belief, which the communicator considers to be untrue. Telling lies is a daily life event, which varies in quite complex ways depending on the situation the person is in and the person being lied to. People lie for all kinds of reasons. However half the lies are either self–orientated, and are therefore intended to make the liar appear better or to gain personal advantage (DePaulo et al., 1996). Self– orientated lies consist of people lying in order to avoid punishment, to make a positive impression on others or to protect themselves. Some lies are other–orientated, to make another person feel better or for another’s benefit. How can you tell if someone is lying to you? People generally believe that nonverbal cues to deception exist and they know what these cues are; but how accurate are people at detecting lies? In laboratory studies concerning detection of deception, observers are given videotaped or audiotaped statements of various people who are either lying or telling the truth. After each statement the participant is asked to judge whether the statement are true or false. In most studies reported, people have not been very good at judging when people are lying. Average accuracy in detecting deceit has rarely been above 60% with 50% being chance and most people have performed below 50%. Studies revealed that in three separate experiments conducted by Kraut and Poe (1980) DePaulo and Pfeifer (1986) and Ko... ...ussed in the appropriate section of the study, therefore this could be an area that could be further explored in the future. On the whole in conclusion, the study has established the extent to which people are able to detect lies by observing physiological responses. Mistakes in lie detection are inevitable, but perhaps with the correct training, experience and motivation we may become specialists in detecting lies. But is this possible?. In my opinion in both theoretical and practical terms; this is a sound work on a vital subject. Although room for further research is needed. REFERENCES ---------- Aldert Vrij, (2002) ‘Telling and Detecting Lies’ chapter 4, in Nicola Brace and Helen Westcott (ed) ‘Applying Psychology’ The Open University Journal article – Paul Ekman and Maureen O’Sullivan (1991) ‘Who Can Catch A Liar’ Vol.46, no 9, pp.913-930

“What Factors Contribute to Infant Mortality in Developed and Less Developed Countries?”

â€Å"What factors contribute to infant mortality in developed and less developed countries? † â€Å"Infant mortality is the number of deaths among live-born infants from birth to under age one† (Sidscenter. org, n. d. ). According to a National Vital Statistics Report in 2006, the leading causes of Infant Mortality in the U. S. were deformities, low birth weight, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, maternal complications, unintentional injuries, respiratory distress of the newborn, bacterial sepsis, neonatal haemorrhage and diseases of the circulatory system (Heron, M. P. , Murphy, S. L. , Xu, J. Q. , Kochanek, K. D. , & Tejada-Vera, B. , 2006). Studies show that in less developed countries around the world some factors contributing to infant mortality are economic development, level of educational attainment, level of female educational attainment and level of expenditure on public health (Nobles, J. , Shandra, J. M. , & London, B. , 2003). In underdeveloped countries around the world, many actions need to be taken to decrease the infant mortality rate. Because of low female education about pregnancy, unlike in developed nations, women are not aware of the importance of breastfeeding in the first six months of a newborn’s life, vital antibodies are given to the child through breastfeeding. Babies in underdeveloped countries who are supplemented with tap water are at risk of infection because of contamination due to the lack of sanitation systems, this means children can die from infection, or, more commonly, dehydration from diarrhoea. In countries with malaria carrying mosquitos and other disease carrying insects, the use of insecticide sprayed sleeping nets is available, but due to low income, the cost of these nets, around five dollars, is a large percentage of many people’s gross incomes (Balbierz, A. N. n. d. ). â€Å"The goal of these nets is the protection of sleeping infants from contractile diseases† (Balbierz, A. N. n. d. ). Vaccination is another important way to prevent disease and therefore, infant mortality. UNICEF developed a network of vaccine refrigerators and trained health care workers that were strategically placed in disease stricken areas of developing countries. † (Peck, P. , 2003). Nutrition for all people as well as mothers and infants needs to be addressed in these underdeveloped nations, prenatal and postnatal care, vaccination and health promotion would all help in reducing the infant mortality rate in many countries around the orld, as well as increasing the health a nd quality for life for all the people in these countries (Peck, P. , 2003). The Academy for Educational Development, AED, is an organization that is working hard to make infant mortality rates decrease, â€Å"each day 80 newborns die in Mali, every three hours a woman in Mali dies due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth† (Academy for Educational Development [AED], 2004). The AED has created a team of 20 people; including a mid-wife, paediatrician, statistician, economist, sociologist, and educator; these people have â€Å"reviewed both local and international surveys, studies, and reports to estimate the cost of inadequate maternal and newborn health services in terms of the number of lives lost and the economic impact on their country† (AED, 2004). Two ways this team of professionals plans to address infant mortality in Mali is by the ‘Reduce’ and ‘Alive’ approaches. The ‘Reduce’ strategy will look at mothers not seeking help in time, not being able to reach health care services due to lack of transportation, and the delay of help when they do reach hospitals or clinics. The ‘Alive’ strategy will look at the cleanliness of the delivery and the cutting of the umbilical cord, the wrapping of the baby in blankets and the cleaning of the baby after delivery, and breastfeeding lessons soon after birth. Breastfeeding is one of the most important factors in this strategy, especially because of the Colostrum which is produced in the mother’s mammary glands which helps build the infants immunity. Income, education and medical care are key factors in the infant mortality rate in underdeveloped countries, as well as community influence and its social and economic wellbeing, an infant needs support from family, community and the government to ensure infant survival (Buckely, K. A. , Koontz, A. M. , & Casey, S. , 1998). Infant mortality in developed countries is declining in recent years, in Australia the Infant Mortality Rate is higher due to the deaths among Indigenous infants. The decrease in the amount of deaths is largely due to improvements in social public health conditions, immunisation, and antibiotics. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome has been reduced due to the education of mothers in wrapping their children tightly and placing them on their back or side when sleeping (New South Wales Department of Health, 2008). The main causes of Infant Mortality in developed countries is eformities that develop during the growth of the foetus in the womb, disorders developed due to premature births and low birth weights, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, maternal complications during pregnancy, and respiratory distress in a newborn (International Medical News Group, 2004). Unlike in underdeveloped countries, lack of education and poverty is not as much of a prevalent cause for the death of infants, developed c ountries also have less exposure to diseases, especially ones carried by insects etc. However, when we look at the highest Infant Mortality Rates around the world, and discover that they are highest in poor and underdeveloped countries, we cannot assume its causes are only present in here. For example: the Indigenous people of Australia have higher Infant deaths because they are not educated as well as caucasian citizens, their involvement in the education system is often small and their socio-economic status is often low (Richer, K. , Godfrey, J. , Partington, G. , Harslett, M. , & Harrison, B. , 1998). All around the world developed countries have ghettos or poor areas, and in these areas similar conditions could be causes of Infant Mortality like in underdeveloped nations. Infant Mortality cannot be eliminated, but it can be combated and reduced significantly worldwide. Public Health issues are highly affected by poverty, to which there is no solution. Even though poverty does make the Infant Mortality Rate a lot higher, it does not mean the mortality rate discriminates to one class of people either. Infant Mortality is found in all income levels, urban and rural areas, in all countries all over the world. In 2004, the Institute of Medicine said that â€Å"a lack of health insurance coverage causes 18,000 unnecessary deaths per year† (James, J. S. , 2010) in the U. S. alone. This could be reduced significantly, and with volunteers and international cooperation, Infant Mortality Rates can be reduced. BIBLIOGRAPHY Academy for Educational Development. AED Advocacy Models Help Combat Infant and Maternal Mortality. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www. aed. org/News/Stories/reduce-and-alive. cfm Balbierz, A. N. (n. d. ). Infant Mortality. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www. cwru. du/med/epidbio/mphp439/Infant_Mortality. htm Buckely, K. A. , Koontz, A. M. , & Casey, S. (1998). Fetal and Immortality Review. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www. acog. org/departments/dept_notice. cfm? recno=10&bulletin=4752 Heron, M. P. , Murphy, S. L. , Xu, J. Q. , Kochanek, K. D. , & Tejada-Vera, B. Deaths: Final data for 2006. National Vital Statistics Reports, 57(14). International Medical News Group. (2004). Top five causes for infant mortality. OB/GYN News. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0CYD/is_10_39/ai_n6078883/ James, J. S. (2010). Institute of Medicine Calls for Universal Health Insurance by 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www. aidsnews. org/2004/01/IOM. html National Sudden and Unexpected Infant/Child Death & Pregnancy Loss Resource Center. Definitions. Retrieved March 28, 2010, from http://www. sidscenter. org/definitions. html New South Wales Department of Health. (2008). International rankings of infant mortality. Sydney: Report of the Chief Health Officer. Nobles, J. , Shandra, J. M. , & London, B. (2003). â€Å"Dependency, Democracy, Education, and Infant Mortality: A Quantitative, Cross-National Analysis of Less Developed Countries†. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Atlanta Hilton Hotel, Atlanta, GA Online . 2009-05-26 from http://www. allacademic. com/meta/p107575_index. html Peck, P. (2003). 11 Million Forgotten Children. Retrieved March, 29, 2010, from http://www. countercurrents. org/archive02-01150703. htm Richer, K. , Godfrey, J. , Partington, G. , Harslett, M. , Harrison, B. (1998). Attitudes of Aboriginal students to further education. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www. aare. edu. au/98pap/ric98095. htm

Amy Beach (Mrs. H. H. A. Beach)