Blog #6: Privatization of Prisons

There are many pros and cons regarding the topic of prison privatization. The tough times our economy has been and is currently facing is at the center of this debate, but rising incarceration rates play a role as well. Some believe that the issue of space and overcrowding within state prisons would be resolved by transferring more inmates to private prisons. This could save state funding that goes to supporting the current inmate population. The threat of violence within prisons may also be reduced if overall living tension were to be eased. However, there is the possibility of violent, dangerous inmates being prematurely released if the private company were to go bankrupt and shut down the prison. Another factor in the argument has to do with budget predictions. The cooperation between the state and private prison facilities could allow for capping the amount of inmates in state-run facilities, and the estimated cost of supporting each inmate per day could be made more accurate. This increased accuracy would benefit during budget predictions and analysis or when applying for grants. However, it would be possible for private prisons to increase overall fees or claim that costs are increasing for other reasons, and the state would have the same financial strain or even more. Private prison facilities have the money and ability to expand building sizes and structure buildings specifically as the inmate population grows and requires different things. The con to having privately-run prisons is that these prisons would have freedom in the regulation and restriction placed upon the types of inmates they would accept, taking more inmates with lesser offenses compared to more serious ones. Job creation within local communities is one benefit that privatizing prisons could offer; this would strengthen local economies. It may be difficult getting approval, however, to build those prisons near communities or in outlying rural areas because of overall financial fears of ongoing costs to run the facility. In addition, the fact that conditions in private prisons would not be able to be regulated as much as in state prisons and that the procedures of private prisons in notifying the community of an escape may be less rigid is a concern to many. I do not support this privatization for all the cons I have discussed and also because I believe that private prisons would be run even more like businesses, with money at the center of everything. Everything would be done with the object of saving money in mind, and as a result conditions would be worse than in state prisons.

RADIO & Socialization - Blog #5

Lack of socialization is the cause for Radio's daily behavior before he is taken in by Coach Jones and the students at Hanna High School. Radio would walk around town and along the train tracks in the woods every day with his shopping cart containing his things (most importantly, his radio). He was content to be on his own with his radio; he didn't look up much when he came into contact with others, and he listened much more than he spoke. As a result of his incapability to socialize, Radio was very lonesome but didn't really feel like he was missing anything because solitude was all he really had ever known (especially with his mom at work all the time). Radio was very hesitant to socialize with Coach Jones and the football team at first because he had very little experience with socializing before this time. He was obedient and helpful basically right off the bat, but it took him a while to really warm up to the football team and coaches. The first moment we really see him starting to socialize with Coach Jones and the assistant coach is when the assistant coach offers him a burger and soda. Radio gladly accepts the meal and happily chows down, with the assistant coach's radio right beside him. Both coaches are pleased to see Radio's face light up with a genuine smile. It is not long before we can tell that Radio looks up to both coaches and trusts them; it is also clear that Coach Jones becomes a true father figure to Radio. Radio begins to learns the in's and out's of acceptable behavior at school, on the football field, and in public with the help of Coach Jones and a few misunderstandings here and there. The emergence of socialization in Radio's life wasn't a walk in the park; he was so trusting of the football players and loyal to their wishes that, for example, he once entered the occupied girls' locker room as a result of a specific player's trickery. Coach Jones really gained my admiration especially at this point in the movie when he confronted the boy, who eventually became one of Radio's biggest fans. By the end of the movie, it is evident that Radio has become very socialized, capable of understanding right from wrong, interacting with many different types of individuals, verbalizing and dealing with his emotions and feelings, and winning the hearts of an entire community. I truly enjoyed this film and was inspired by the story. Tears came to my eyes at the very end when the real-life Radio was shown and when he hugged the real-life Coach Jones. It made me so angry to see some of the players blatantly take advantage of Radio's handicap to humiliate him, and Frank's efforts to get rid of Radio infuriated me. The acceptance of the community and the football team is truly admirable and heartwarming; more stories like these need to be heard in order to inspire the rest of us to do something similar for those in need in our communities. Radio was absolutely lovable, and Coach Jones' strength, perseverance, dedication, and compassion really touched me.

Blog #4: Socialization of Gender...Everywhere!

1) While men are expected to be "chivalrous" in various settings and with different behaviors, it seems to me that women are expected to be polite and "ladylike" at a much younger age. I rarely witness girls in the cafeteria eating their lunch without using utensils if appropriate or chewing with their mouths noticeably open. At this age girls are already trained to eat in a ladylike, proper manner and to have table manners in all settings, whereas it seems like that boys at this age do not have much expected of them unless they are at the dinner table with their families. Many boys in the cafeteria do not seem to be paying any mind to what they look like while they are eating, but it is not necessarily looked down upon too much.

2) As an athlete, the ways in which men and women are socialized through sports are very obvious to me. Boys are often brought up to have an interest in sports, starting with the types of things their relatives and families buy them as young as when they are infants. This pressure can continue into the early school years up until high school. An athletic boy is always approved of. Girls, on the other hand, do not face this type of pressure as frequently. Once both boys and girls reach the competitive level of athletics in high school, female athletes, in my opinion, are not always respected as highly as male athletes. No matter how talented a girl is in her sport, there is always a boy who refuses to admit that she can be better than him. Girls will recognize a talented male athlete when they see one. From my observation, competition amongst boys participating in a sport and amongst girls participating in a sport is prevalent and reveals itself in some similar ways as well as some different ones.

3) The ways in which boys and girls are socialized in regards to fashion and appearance are very different. From a young age, most girls are influenced in such a way that they feel they need to maintain a clean, well-kept appearance. This influence--or pressure, as it may be considered--to look nice comes from family, friends, the media, and society itself. Girls comment on each other's clothing, jewelry, shoes, and hair beginning at a very young age, reinforcing the sense that looks truly matter and are important to a girl's character. As girls grow older this sort of awareness about appearance becomes even stronger; now girls are wearing makeup and boys are taking an interest in the "pretty" girls or the girls who wear things that catch their eye. Boys, on the other hand, as a whole do not care as much about the clothes they wear or how they style their hair. Among youth this is for the most part acceptable; most girls do not judge a boy as sloppy or lazy if he wears sweatpants.

4) Women socializing with women tends to be very different from how men socialize with each other. Women can sit down with cups of coffee and talk for hours about anything and everything, from food, TV shows, and men to family life, their jobs, and the weather. Men, on the other hand, tend to not be talkers as much, gossiping and chatting about anything from trivial topics to personal, intimate feelings. Society seems to support this. It becomes different when a man and a woman are in a relationship, but it is common for men to engage themselves in other activities (usually physical) when together.

5) When it comes to the media, it does not take much for a male celebrity to be considered very attractive. For example, a male celebrity who has a toned body and a handsome face possesses qualities that can earn him status as a very attractive star. Even if his face is scruffy, he may be considered ideal. Females, however, must have more going for them to be considered to be at this "attractive" status. Luscious hair, clear skin, shaped eyebrows, plump lips, a proportional nose, long legs, curves yet also thin in the right places--these are all physical qualities that tend to go along with being considered attractive among female celebrities. Then comes the way they present themselves; fashion plays into attractiveness much more among females than males. The rest of society looks up to these celebrities, sees the way the media portrays them, and begins to try to emulate their attractive characteristics as a result.

Blog #3: Sociological Research and Me

1) One research assignment that I found to be very interesting was the one about piercings and tattoos. I feel like people are very quick to judge people based on these two characteristics, and I know there have been times where I have judged people in this way myself. It is truly mind-boggling to think about how stereotypes such as this one come to creation and how they catch on to become mainstream stereotypes. Tattoos and piercings do not define a person's character, but for some reason society tends to think they do. I have myself observed that there are different levels of feelings as to tattoos and piercings. For example, some people frown upon an excessive amount of tattoos and piercings. There are others who are not fond of even one tattoo or too many piercings in a girl's ear. My mom doesn't want me to get a third ear piercing because it appears she thinks it will drastically change my appearance (which I certainly don't agree with)! I think it was probably difficult to measure people's opinions on their appearance, health and weight because many are not comfortable with openly sharing their views on these personal topics.

2) When it comes to how I socialize with others, I am an outgoing person. Among those I know, I love to converse and make others laugh, but I also enjoy listening to the thoughts and ideas of others around me. I am not afraid to hold conversation with someone I do not know, and I feel that I am pretty competent at doing so. I have a hard time talking about my most personal feelings and issues with even my closest friends and my family sometimes, but once I am able to break the barrier and open up, I let everything out. My tendency to be a perfectionist and a worrier has its upsides and downsides. I am very thoughtful and careful as a result of these qualities about my personality, but sometimes I am very tense and stressed in addition. My strengths are my motivation and drive, whether it's to succeed on the field, on the track, or in the classroom. I also am a very passionate girl. My weaknesses stem from me letting my thoughts and emotions get the best of me. I will speak my mind when I have an opinion about something, even if it's controversial, but I tend to always agree with each side a little bit and find it hard to choose a side. I am very indecisive! I think my personality is greatly influenced by the home I grew up in, the people I call my family, and the people I have been exposed to these 18 years I have been alive.

3) “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” 
― Oscar Wilde

This quote is inspirational to me. It is so easy to go through every day just counting down to certain days or events, not doing much of anything on all those days in between and certainly not making the most of them. Sometimes I need a reminder to live in the moment, make the most of every day of my life, and feel as if I truly lived when I look back on my life in the future.

Blog #3: Me as Sociologist, Milgram & Elliott

1) I think my way of thinking about human behavior and our society falls under the perspective of symbolic interactionist. People are so strongly influenced by the world around them in ways they are aware of as well as in ways unknown to themselves. In evaluating their own actions, individuals take into consideration how their family, friends, and peers would evaluate these very same actions. Sometimes this sort of consideration is a conscious effort and sometimes it is absolutely unintentional or an unconscious decision. When I hear about all the crazy massacres and brutal murders in the media, I think to myself how each one seems to top the sickest one before it. Sometimes I wonder if people commit these acts simply to become a notorious figure in the American media. Peer pressure is a prime example of symbolic interactionist that I witness in my daily life as a high school student. Sometimes the decisions of teenagers do not reflect their own morals and beliefs but rather what they think will please others.

2) I think that the extent to which a person obeys authority is dependent on the individual. It was evident that some individuals in the experiment were feeling very distressed about what they were doing but swallowed down their nerves and guilt and continued to carry out the experiment. Simply because the authority was legal and willing to bear full responsibility if something happened, these individuals were willing to follow the orders given to them. This is a scary observation because I believe this fact applies to people in general. However, I also believe that there are those whose consciences are strong enough to give them courage to stand up to unethical authoritative demands. Some people are confident enough in themselves and firm enough in their own morals and beliefs to not only acknowledge when something is wrong but also to defy authority and refuse to obey.

3) I do not think Jane Elliott's experiment would be successful today. Most children--at least in the part of the country I live in--are well aware of how wrong racism and discrimination is. In addition, harassment, intimidation, and bullying are so pervasive in today's society and thus are strongly forbidden, so this type of experiment would not be permitted to be carried out at most schools today. Children would probably take the discrimination too far and do permanent psychological damage to each other. In order to teach and/or raise awareness about prejudice and bias, bullying and intimidation, recording devices could be attached to children's clothing or perhaps their backpacks. At the end of the school day they would be made aware of these devices and would be instructed to listen to all the things they said that day and see how much of their daily conversation falls under prejudice and bullying. 

Nature vs. Nurture

• eye color: influenced by nature; our eye color is determined by the genes we inherit from our parents
• height: influenced by nature; our height tends to be influenced by the height of our parents; our height is not influenced by society
• intelligence: I believe intelligence is influenced by both; if a child's parents are both very intelligent, I feel he or she is more likely to also be born with intelligence as opposed to a child born to two very unintelligent parents; however, an argument could be made that the child's intelligence is affected by the nurture of his or his parents and their respective intelligence; by the time we can evaluate a child's intelligence, there has been enough opportunity for the child's intelligence to have been influenced by the nurturing of his or her parents
• weight: although genes linked to obesity can be inherited, I believe nurture has much to do with weight; society and the people around us influence what, when, and how we eat as well as the amount of exercise we participate in
• risk taking: influenced by both; some people are risk takers from early childhood, even if they have not themselves been exposed to much risk taking; however, many adventurous people become this way after witnessing others take risks and finding they themselves are also interested in taking risks
• profession: influenced by nurture; no one is born with a natural inclination to do one thing for the rest of their life; the interests and passions people develop through nurture and exposure to society and everything that fills society is what leads people to their professions
• athletic ability: influenced by a little bit of both; some people are naturally very clumsy or perhaps unable to participate in athletics as a result of inherited health problems; however, being raised in an athletic family makes it much more likely for a child to have athletic ability as opposed to one raised in a non-athletic family
• smoking: influenced by nurture; it is absolutely a choice; those who make the choice to smoke ignore all the knowledge we have about the hazards of smoking and allow themselves to give in to pressures of society or their own temptations for whatever reason
• music ability: influenced by both; some people are born without musical tendencies are capabilities; for example, being tone-deaf; however, society (i.e. family, school) can lead people to develop a musical ability
• violent behavior: influenced by both; genetics can cause people to exhibit violent, aggressive behavior; however people can also become this way as a result of some sort of suffering or growing up in a violent household
• heart disease: influenced by both; heart disease can run in a family but it can also be brought on by lifestyle choices
• mental illness: influenced by both; can be genetically inherited but can also be brought on by traumatizing experiences
• humor: influenced by nurture; I think what we are exposed to by society is what allows our sense of humor to develop as we grow older; if I lived by myself in an empty room as I grew up, I do not think I would have any sense of humor!
• interest in math & science or arts & humanities: influenced by nurture; we do not really know what interests us until we learn about and are thus exposed to both areas of study
• skilled ability to perform in math/science or art/humanities: can be both; some people just seem to have a real knack for numbers, for example, but skilled ability in both can also be nurtured 

I think nurture is a bigger factor in influencing one's personality and behavior because much of how we think and act is affected by what we are exposed to. Nature plays a large role in some things that have to do with the physical characteristics of our bodies, but behaviors and actions are usually developed, not born with. Some factors weigh heavily on this debate, however; experts argue over whether behaviors like smoking or even weight are determined by our genes and whether individuals can be blamed for becoming addicted to nicotine or for becoming morbidly obese. I think we can learn more from this debate by analyzing what science tells us plays a part in each of these characteristics and behaviors to see how much of it is really a result of nature. What is not determined by nature must be determined by nurture.

Intro Blog

Senior year is flying by! I can’t believe we’re already past the halfway point. The first half of the year went by smoothly. It was weird starting a different schedule halfway through the year, but I like the new electives I am taking. College applications took up a lot of my time towards the end of the fall and throughout the holidays. Between the Common Application and all the extra essays, I spent just as much time working on things for college as my regular schoolwork—or maybe more! I was completely finished with all my applications only two days before the New Year; I was planning to be done much earlier in the school year, but things got pretty crazy towards the end of fall what with a very successful soccer season made even longer by Hurricane Sandy. It was awesome being undefeated League Champs, beating our rival Cresskill, and making it all the way to the state sectional finals for the first time in school history. I could not have asked for a better way to end my soccer career at New Milford High School. This season of indoor track has also proved to be my most successful yet, so I am definitely enjoying these last few weeks of indoor track before outdoor track begins a new season. I had four alumni interviews for colleges I applied to. So far I have been accepted to the University of Vermont and Villanova University, but I am still waiting to hear from six more colleges!