1.
Review the Pew Report on Breadwinner Moms (one of your required readings
for this week). Summarize three key findings that interested you
most. What findings surprised you? Concerned you? What impact do you
believe these trends will have on American society?
The fact that 32% of
mothers ideal work situation would to be to work full time was very interesting
to me. I grew up around a whole bunch of family oriented women that
considered being an at home mom was the only job that they would ever need, just
the thought of having a part-time job was like cuss words. In my family, my
generation are the total opposite, most of my female relative are either going
to school or are working full-time. What we learned is that kids grow up
and eventually move out of the nest and our parents are stuck cooking all the
time, trying to get the kids back home. Another interest was that 74% of
adults said that it was hard for parents to raise children when a mother is
working for pay and half of those adults say that it has made marriages hard to
be successful. This really hit home considering my husband and I both
work full time (military) and we make it work. We knew what was in store
fromt he get go and it has been working for 7 years. We make sure that we
are on the same shift and are able to still have family time and vacation. It
will work if you want it to work. The last interest was 51% of
respondents believe that if a mother stays home the children are better
off. Speaking from my personal experience, my kids are not
really bothered by me working. They are equally better off with
either one of us parents and love when they are with
the grandparents.
It surprised me to
read that over 50% party affiliations find that unwed mothers is a
“big problem”. I know lots of couples who have been together
for years and don’t have the desire to get married. So I don’t think that
it should be viewed as a negative thing, unless the survey specifically asked
if you are still with your significant other or other parent.
I believe the trends for working mothers will increase.
There continue to be more job opportunities for women to take advantage of, not
to mention that on-line education is continuing to be not only a brilliant idea
but a convenience for stay at home mother’s take the advantage earning a
degree, so when the children get of school age, they have that little bonus to
get in or back into the workforce.
2. Why is privacy important? How has privacy changed in the
modern digital age? Do you believe additional oversight and regulation is
needed to protect our privacy from individuals, governments, and/or businesses?
Why or why not?
Privacy is important because it helps in maintaining their
individuality and autonomy. Privacy also provides several functional benefits
such as privacy helps in preventing identity of people. It helps in managing
different pressures, the pressures that shape the “type” of person we are. It
includes separate place or space for play and work for self – development. It
also helps the individuals to manage their reputation by protecting them
against not only falsehood but also certain truths. Thus, it can be said that
privacy is the comprehensive right that is most valued by the free people. It
includes right to make personal decisions and right to lead the life as their
wish. Life could become miserable in the absence of privacy as it would result
in high control of others on the individual. Absence of privacy can lead to
tentativeness and inhibition and the individual cannot be spontaneous.
Privacy has been considerably changed in the current modern
digital age. This is so because in this age we are more and more dependent on
internet and the internet has the capability to threaten privacy in number of
ways. This is so because all the actions that we carry out on internet are
recorded most of the time. The government of different countries along with
several companies regularly monitors the electronic communication done via
internet. Even the privacy of employees is hampered in the current modern age
as employers usually monitor the communication and working of employees on
internet. The systems like Echelon, is capable of intercepting and decrypting
almost any kind of electronic message across the globe. Furthermore, techniques
like data mining, collies, spyware, etc. are used those results in hampering of
privacy of the individual and tries to understand the browsing activities as
well. Added to this, there are majority of places where we stay under
surveillance and thus, modern digital age has provided several advanced tools
that hampers the activities of individuals and can also result in several
negative consequences.
According to me, additional regulation and oversight is required
to protect our privacy from governments, individuals and/ or businesses.
Although, there are several laws such as the Privacy Act 1974, Department of
Justice guidance on the Privacy Act, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act 1986, Records
Management, etc. but still there are several cases of identity and other kind
of fraud that raise the question of mismanagement and privacy threat. Thus,
there need to be strict law of regulation that can help enforcing privacy in
the current modern digital age where in majority of cases the individual is
even not aware of the threat and becomes victim. It is important to note that
the US constitution does not contain any expressed right to privacy. The
government officials need to think on privacy decisions as it needs to be
strong enough to sustain the interest of individual and demonstrate to overcome
the claim made by the individuals that they have invaded a protected liberty
interest.
3. Identify three prison population trends. Why do you think
these trends have occurred? What do you think can be done to alleviate the
situation to reduce recidivism and ultimately the future size of the US prison
population?
Prison
population trends as well as these trends have occurred becauseamong
June 1993 as well as June 2012 the jail inhabitants in England along with Wales
enhanced through 41,800 jailbirds to in excess of 86,000. Approximately this
entire raise (98%) took place inside two parts of the inhabitants – those
punishment to direct custody as well as those recalled to jail for breaking the
situations of their release. And also the refuse in parole speed, and force of
a rising quantity of longer judgments in the prison inhabitants, reasoned a
slight raise in the standard proportion of determinate punishment provided in
custody from approximately 60%.
Prison
population trends and these trends have occurred becausecontains
breaches which accounted for three percent of the entire prison inhabitants
raise among 1995 as well as 2009. Projections through the section of Justice in
2009 expected a raise of 50% in the entirety federal jail population through
2007 if present trends sustained. (Alexander, 2009)
Prison
population trends and these trends have occurred becausetwo
factors reasoned the raise in the prison inhabitants of England as well as
Wales from 1993 in the direction of 2012: tougher punishment as well as
enforcement results, and a extra serious combine of crime groups coming sooner
than the courts. Governmental as well as policy transforms have made punishment
lengths longer for some crimes and enhanced the likelihood of criminals being
imprisoned for violates of non-custodial punishments or recalled to protection
for breakdown to comply with certificate conditions.
Alleviate
the condition to decrease recidivism as well as eventually the future extent of
the US jail population through post-incarceration would assist
decrease their recidivism as well as also give programs inside jails, as well
as ensuring middle provisions as prisoners re-enter civilization, the revolving
entrance of jail will work for numerous. Post-incarceration, might certainly
have an important force in declining the present speeds of recidivism.
(Arielle, 2013)
4. How would you define class? What is middle class? Explore
what is happening to class in the US today.
A class is usually used to refer to a group of people
that have similar position in the economy of a country. A class or a social
class is as a result of social stratification of different people with regards
to their differences in income and other aspects of economic status. In any
economy there are usually three classes that include the upper class who are
also regarded to as the rich, the middle class and the lower class who are
regarded to as the poor in the economy. In the United State, the middle class
is usually the most contested class. Majority of Americans falls under the
middle class. It includes people who may be considered as working class in
other countries.
In the United States, the concept of social
classes has always bee a center of several controversies. To begin with, it has
created several distinguished definitions and the consideration for one to be
regarded in a certain class. Most people in America believes in existence on
only three classes that is the upper, middle and lower while other states that
there are no economic stratification in the United States. In addition, several
sociologists like William Thompson has claimed that there are more than three
social classes. They have included other classes such as upper middle class,
Lower middle class and working class. Majorly, the economic stratification is
based on wealth and income but others include qualitative aspects that include
education and social status. Social classes are usually inherited; children of
members of a certain class usually enters into the same class but with some
exceptions. There is a very huge income and wealth difference between the lower
class and the top 1% which is believed to be about 35 times based on their
income.
