Structural Theories Essay Example for Free

Structural Theories Essay Motives are believed to be the reason behind the action of people. Whether negative or positive, they are the cause of an individual’s action. Since motives help us better recognize why a person would do something, a lot of research has been committed to understanding the pattern of people or group of peoples motives. Knowledge of patterns is crucial to many aspects of human behavior but especially those relating to crime. Knowing a pattern helps one to predict, and hopefully help educate others on future crimes. The research of crime is so extensive that researchers have created not only theories but also various subculture theories of crime. Subculture theory of crime is a set of theories arguing that certain groups or subcultures in society have values and attitudes that are conducive to crime and violence. Subcultural theories of Cloward and Ohlin, Wolfgang and Feracuti, Elijah Anderson, and Walter Miller offer a great deal of insight on why different groups of people choose to engage in the crimes that they participate in. Although these theories are broad and shed light on what certain groups will attribute to crime, it is not an exact science. A lot of these theories come along with critiques that question the basic points the researchers are trying to prove. Cloward and Ohlin theorized illegitimate opportunity structures, which argues that in order for someone to obtain and take advantage of the most rewarding illegitimate opportunities, aspiring delinquents often need an â€Å"in†. Within the illegitimate opportunity structure there are different subcultures and cub cultures. Cloward and Ohlin go on to split people into different subcultures of criminals who do not have an â€Å"in†. The subcultures of the criminal structure that are offered are Conflict subculture, conflict gang, retreatist gang, and retreatist cub culture. Those who fit in Conflict subculture turn their frustration at failure in both the legitimate and illegitimate opportunity structures into violence and those that are in gangs aim to make money through a variety of illegitimate avenues. While conflict gangs engage in violent activities, doing whatever is necessary to maintain their status in the streets and finally retreatist gangs are considered â€Å"double-failures† no success in either legitimate or illegitimate opportunities turn to drugs. Some critiques to Cloward and Ohlin have been that they fail to realize that the different subcultures can overlap. For example, gangs involved in conflict subculture often deal in and use drugs, and make large sums of money in the process. Unlike Cloward, Ohlin, Wolfgang and Feracuti, Walter Miller argued that crime is simply an extension of normal working class values, not a distinctive set of alternative values. Miller argued that the lower classes create their different value system as a response to the monotony of working –class jobs and a life of poverty. Working-class subculture is a mechanism full of processes, which allow working-class people to cope with their situations. He termed this focal concern. These focal concerns are fate, autonomy, trouble, excitement, smartness, and toughness. Due to the fact that these characteristics can be distributed throughout society, Walter Millers theory is thought to be too fixated on working class values. His theory also has too much of a focus on boys. Wolfgang and Feracuti argue the subculture of violence; they believe that violence is a product of conformity to a pro-violent subculture that is in direct conflict with the dominant culture. They suggest that violent reactions to perceived threats to reputation or honor are culturally prescribed, given that a failure to react defensively may result in life-threatening consequences. These researchers even go on to apply this theory outside of disadvantaged neighborhoods, such as the American south, athletes, and postal workers. Still critiques feel as though Wolfgang and Feratuci infer the existence of subcultures of violence based on statistical indicators of high rates of violence in poor racialized neighborhoods. Another important critique is that not everyone follows the values and norms of violence. This critique was then explored in Anderson’s study. He revealed â€Å"street† and â€Å"decent† value orientations among families in Philadelphia neighborhood. In Elijah Anderson’s â€Å"code of the street† he proposes that the high  rates of violence amongst inner-city residents can be attributed to a â€Å"code of the streets.† This code, he notes, functions as a â€Å"set of informal rules governing interpersonal public behavior† that encourages the use of violence for the purposes of maintaining honor and defending reputation. Just like Cloward and Ohlin’s Conflict gang subculture and Wolfgang and Fercuti’s subculture of violence, Anderson believes that crime occurred in certain neighborhoods in order to maintain status and respect. However new improvements on this contemporary theory were added when Anderson included the variations of families that lived within this pro-violent culture. He concluded that while both contingents experience the hardships of race and class oppression, â€Å"rather than dwelling on the hardships and inequities facing them,† Anderson argues, â€Å"civilâ₠¬  individuals tend to â€Å"accept mainstream values more fully than â€Å"street families† and make the best of what they have (Anderson, 1999: 38). Although this theory goes on to prove that not everyone in a pro-violent environment upholds the same values, it fails to clarify the specific processes that had led the residents of Germantown Avenue’s inner city to embrace pro-violent values and attitudes. Subcultural theories do not adequately explain racial disparities in crime. All these theories have a focus on African-Americans in impoverish areas. The subcultural theories offered also have a concentration on street crime. No theory seems to offer reason as to why the elite commit white-collar crimes. Furthermore these various subcultures that focus on pro-violent cultures do not give insight on how the pro-violent cultures came to be in the first place.

Elaboration Likelyhood Essay -- essays research papers

Elaboration Likelihood 2 Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Recently the nation was bombarded with political ad campaigns of all shapes and sizes. There were the ads for and against succession, the ads that attempted to show Gray Davis as someone who could actually run the state of California, and the ads that didn’t really seem to have any purpose at all. It is obvious that each of these campaigns was focused on a specific target audience. What may not have been so obvious was that each of the ad campaigns was also based upon the involvement or interest of the voters (Perloff, 1993). This involvement or interest is a component of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. This theory helps advertising consultants decide what elections are important to voters and what elections have no relevance to anyone but lawmakers (Perloff, 1993). Important elections, such as the gubernatorial race will have strong arguments and depth while not so significant elections, such as the clean water initiative will rely on cues that are undem anding in terms of the amount of brain power used (Perloff, 1993).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The application of the Elaboration Likelihood Model to political campaigns is just one of the many practical uses of this theory. But before it is possible to examine other possible applications of the ELM, one must understand the basic ideas and factors that make it work. After a clear understanding of the ELM is devolved it will be shown in relation to the specific communication perspective that it fits into, and then used to evaluate a real life situation. Subsequent to the evaluation of the practical application the ELM will be scrutinized and summed up, but first the basics. Description of Theory   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elaboration Likelihood 3 The elaboration likelihood theory was created by two social scientists, Richard Petty and John Cacioppo, who sought to create a model of persuasion that was more inclusive in terms of the range and depth in which the theory covered (Perloff, 1993). Petty and Cacioppo’s theory is a culmination of their research in the area of â€Å"cognitive responses to persuasion† and theories of attitude change (Perloff, 1993, p. 118). The ELM is a theory of persuasion with a central premise that seeks to explain how deeply an individual will elaborate the arguments of a persuasive message by examining the ind... ...ovements. First of all, Perloff (1993, p. 132) makes the point that there should be more consideration of â€Å"situational and personality factors that might interact to influence the processing strategy.† Perloff (1993, p. 132) also would like to know â€Å"how do people simultaneously process central and peripheral information?† Elaboration Likelihood 10 References Bargh, J. A. (2002, September). Losing Consciousness: Automatic Influences on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Consumer Judgment, Behavior, and Motivation. Journal of Consumer Research,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  29 (2).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Littlejohn, S. W. (2001). Theories of Human Communication. Albuquerque, NM:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wadsworth. Perloff, R. M. (1993). The Dynamics of Persuasion. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Eribaum   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Assoc. Sereno, K. (2002, Fall). Comm 200: Communication as a Social Science. Lecture Notes. Stephenson, M. T., Benoit, W. L., Tschida, D. A. (2001). Testing the Mediating Role of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cognitive Responses in the Elaboration Likelihood Model. Communication   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Studies, 52 (4), 324-338.

Wendell berry, what are people for?

Wendell Berry’s essays â€Å"What Are People For? † and â€Å"The Work of Local Culture† both examine the farming profession, which has in recent years been demeaned as the rural population falls and large â€Å"agribusiness† replaces smaller family farms. Berry argues in both pieces that farming is not an outdated lifestyle, but a necessary profession. In â€Å"What Are People For? † Berry discusses the exodus from farm to city since World War II, attributing it to failures in agriculture.However, he disagrees with claims that failed farmers deserve their lot, or that the farm population has a large surplus; he comments that â€Å"It is apparently easy to say that there are too many farmers, if one is not a farmer† (123). Berry maintains that â€Å"our farmland no longer has enough caretakers† (124) and that the rural exodus has harmed both urban and rural America alike. Agribusiness has not only harmed small farmers but also the soil itself, and displaced rural people are not often absorbed into the urban economy.Berry sees farming as a necessary occupation, which is needed even more urgently in light of soil erosion and other damage done to fertile agricultural land. It is not simply a job or lifestyle, but a crucial stewardship of nature. Farming is a skill, and well-managed farms and healthy soil are proof; agribusiness’ reliance on machinery and destructive methods may be â€Å"modern† but ultimately counterproductive. What people are for, he implies, is to work and maintain the land.In â€Å"The Work of Local Culture,† Berry makes a more developed argument in favor of human stewardship of farmland and claims that a â€Å"good local culture† of farm people is required to perform this important work. He sees farmers not simply as a rural dweller, but as skilled professionals better able to manage agricultural land than big businesses, because they possess intimidate, detailed know ledge of the land, from the weather to its natural processes and its smallest attributes. Land is becoming rapidly despoiled, and only knowledgeable farmers can remedy this danger.â€Å"Practically speaking,† he writes, â€Å"human society has no work more important than this† (155). Farmers form the â€Å"local culture,† which he defines as â€Å"the history of the use of the place and the knowledge of how the place may be lived in and used† (166). It is based less on money than on community, shared knowledge and experiences, and rapidly vanishing skills of managing the land. The local culture can and must educate others in how to maintain and use fertile land, generate its own economy, and maintain its sense of community.Farming is more than a job, but also an important part of a rural way of life that is vanishing rapidly (and should not). Himself a farmer, Berry sees farming not simply in economic terms, but almost as an art or craft, requiring skills and attention to more than just economics. He does not pit city against country and argue for the latter’s superiority; instead, he sees their interdependence and spends relatively little time condemning urbanites.He also thinks rural dwellers are themselves partly to blame; they â€Å"connive in their own ruin . . . [and] allow their economic and social standards to be set by television and salesmen and outside experts† (157). Berry’s essays convey the importance of farming as a vocation devoted to caring for the land and providing a foundation upon which society is based. It involves more than simply growing food or raising livestock; it forms the foundation of rural communities and entails important skills required to keep land productive.In his view, agribusiness and modern economics are no substitute for the skills of a traditional farmer equipped with intimate knowledge of the land He does not disparage cities or modernity, preferring instead to firmly de fine and defend the agrarian way of life as the weakened foundation of American society – a foundation that urgently needs repair. Berry, Wendell. What Are People For? San Francisco: North Point Press, 1990.

The Use of Physical Education Essay - 906 Words

From prehistoric times, stamina and strength were key to mans ability to find food and survive. As time went on, other ancient civilizations such as China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome adopted this practice known as phsycal education. But, the Spartans and the Athenians were the first people to have any type of physical education programs. Physical Education (abbreviated PE) is definined as the process of education that develops the human body, specifically fitness and movement skills. PE helps you stay fit, healthy, and flexible. It can also prevent many diseases and lower your risk for getting a certain disease. Exercising can help your coordination and circulation. The primary aims of PE are to provide students with†¦show more content†¦Obesity is a growing problem around the world. People eat too much much junkfood and too many carbs. They watch TV, play videogames, or get on the internet most of the time. These people do everything but exercising and staying physically fit and healthy. So they gain weight in excess amounts and become very unhealthy. People can become very unhappy also. Because of their excess weight, poor health, and the buildup of toxins in the fat cells, it can bring on depression. And the fat cells can even grow cancerous tumours and make these people have cancer. Being obese can even cut years off of your life! But fortunately, there are people willing to help. Shows such as The Biggest Loser inspire people. But physical education isnt only exercising. It can be sports too. Even if your school doesnt have a PE program, they will most likely have sports. Some school sports are football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, ECT... Sports keep you active and movind around so they give you exercise. So, whether you spiking a volleyball or shooting some hoops, you are staying active. Walking is the healthiest, safest way to start a total fitness program. Its the most natural way to build you fitness. Its also a exellent form of aerobic exercise. It is the most flexible exercise as well. But even though walking is good in many ways, it can put pressure on your joints, but more-so with running. Too much pressure on yourShow MoreRelatedEssay on Use of Technology in Physical Education 1010 Words   |  5 PagesTeaching Physical Education in an elementary school can be a rather difficult task. Even when the subject of PE is brought up in a casual conversation the general response is something to the effect of â€Å"all you do is roll the balls out and watch the kids play.† If the teacher does not keep things interesting, class participation will fall by the wayside. There are many ways to combat this lack of understanding in PE. The teacher must always be able to relate classroom activities to the real worldRead More Adventure Education and Wilderness Sports1275 Words   |  6 Pageswhen you do something and do not receive the results you want? I know you are not and nobody is. 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