SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Abstract
Social problems affect a large group of people in society. There are many categories of social issues in light and depth. Failure of people to allow the same right to others as they allow themselves has led to social problems in society. Different methods are used to solve social issues in the nation. The stages of social problems include legitimacy, alternative strategies, emergence and claims-making, and renewed claims-making. Some of the problems include violence, terrorism, gender issues, drug abuse, crime, murder, and traffic deaths. People view social problems from different perspectives. Failure to address social difficulties may lead to unhealthy and unsafety in the society which could influence the future generations. A massive societal reform is needed to solve social issues in the community. The offenders of social crimes should be subjected to severe punishment to help them change. Responsible authorities should make strict laws and implement them in society.
Keywords: Social problems, societal reforms, social crimes
Social Problems
A social problem is an issue that affects a large number of people within a community. Most social problems are issues that people see happening daily in society and are a consequence of the factors that extend beyond the control of human beings. Social issues are a source of conflicting view of what is morally acceptable or incorrect in social and personal life. Some social issues like immigration have both economic and social aspects, although most social problems are differentiated from economic issues. Other matters like warfare do not fall under any other category. Social problems can be combated in several ways, such as voting in the right leaders and donation of energy, money, time, and other resources. Mostly, volunteers and community organizations come together to find solutions to social problems. Social issues deeply divide society and should be discussed to bring insight to the members of the nation. In this context, the paper presents a summary of some of the social problems in society.
Charles, M. “What gender is science?”
Gender equality prevails as an issue of discussion across various platforms around the world. Inequality in gender is very evident in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology fields, primarily referred to as (STEM) fields. Most occupations are dominated by men in all areas of study, especially in the United States. For more than half a century, there have been laws prohibiting gender discrimination and the idea that women and men should be given equal opportunities and rights is practically unconcealed (Charles, 211, p.2). American firms and universities lag significantly behind other nations concerning women among STEM workers and students. The countries where women are represented adequately in mathematics, technology, engineering, and science are not viewed as typically gender progressive, or modern. Discrimination is the primary cause of sexual segregation in labor markets and occurs directly or through more complicated and systematic processes. From this article, I learned that peoples’ beliefs and contrasting natures lead them to assess task performance accordingly. Biases occur during assessment reinforcing the existing patterns of sexual segregation since most tasks are either regarded as feminine or masculine.
Most employers believe that men have mechanical and technical skills while women have to nurture capacity and therefore, gender conforming applicants are perceived to be better qualified. The article provides interesting information that nations differ in unexpected ways, even in cases where fields are defined more precisely. Most computer science geeks and hackers in America are male while in Malaysia, the act is viewed as theoretical, and most of the hacker are women (Charles, 2011, P. 4). Also, most of the graduates in engineering in countries such as Indonesia include a significant number of women. The new terminologies introduced by the author are comparative sociology and stratification. The author is in favor of increasing the number of women in science, mathematics, technology, and engineering to ensure that they are well represented in the fields. The study is beneficial to social problems in that avoiding the reinforcement of stereotypes about what boys and girls are good at will help in achieving greater STEM integration. Self-expression in post-materialistic societies should be encouraged to promote the expression and development of socially gendered selves effectively.
Perry, B., & Alvi, S. “We are all vulnerable’ The in terrorem effects of hate crimes.”
Policymakers and scholars have ironically referred to hate crime as ‘message crime.’ The effects of hate crime are not restricted to people who might have been assaulted, but the harm extends to the victim’s society (Perry & Alvis, 2012). Hate crime is informed by bias, making it challenging to encounter both collectively and individually. Members of vulnerable communities change their behavioral patterns to manage their vulnerability to hate crime and fear-induced violence. Hate crimes threaten the mobility and liberty of victims, and the desire to interact with others is limited (Perry & Alvis, 2012). There are different in terrorem effects, which include shock, anger, fear, and inferiority, which are all experienced by the affected communities. From the article, I have learned that hate crime has adverse and intense effects on the affected society and makes society members develop a feeling of vulnerability and unsafety. The author is in favor of establishing a community that is hate free and insists that the dynamic of differentiating non-bias motivated crime from bias-motivated crimes should be established to determine their influence on the broader community. New terminologies like in terrorem and victimization were introduced. The authors emphasize the need for more concentrated and extensive attention on the effects of in terrorem on hate crime. The study is beneficial to social problems in that naming and confronting a problem honestly can be an essential step in eliminating hate crimes and shedding light on the obstacles to a hate-free community. The historically driven institutional and structural foundations of oppression and hate can be exposed in honesty.
In conclusion, society is affected by social problems such as gender segregation in science and hate crimes. The field of science, mathematics, technology, and engineering has been affected by gender inequality in most countries. Sexual separation is mainly caused by discrimination and the belief that some tasks are either masculine or feminine in the labor market. Fear induced violence and hate crime have led to behavioral changes in most societies to manage vulnerability to hate crime, and the effects of crime extend from the victim to their culture. The mobility and liberty of communities affected by fear induced violence and hate crimes are threatened, and people do not have the freedom of interaction.
References
Charles, M. (2011). What gender is science? Contexts, 10(2), 22-28.
Perry, B., & Alvi, S. (2012). ‘We are all vulnerable’ The in terrorem effects of hate crimes. International Review of Victimology, 18(1), 57-71.