After reflecting on the three areas that I have learned through the Sociology Department: : inequality, Institutions, and Methodology I am going to focus on Inequality. I have taken some classes that have reflected what I have learned about it.
In SOCL 233: Social Inequality Difference I learned about the different cultures and the different hierarchies within the social classes.
Assignment:
The Race Between Education and Technology
Inequality in the 21st Century Textbook
This article talks mostly about the levels of education and the wage that workers receive
in the United States. It explains the changes in the national economy and what
education had to do with that. The biggest argument that was talked about was
technological changes requiring employment for higher skilled workers. The challenge
with new technology is people with higher education are able to pick up faster on new
skills. People that are slower were either not promoted and were paid lower. With
income inequality, it started at a lower level then began to increase over the years.
This relates to earlier course material when we talked about social stratification. This is
the ranking of people and groups in society. You can think about it like layers of a rock. If
you have access to fewer resources than you are in the lowest layer. You are born into
the class you are in and some people do not have the resources to get the higher
education to be able to be promoted to higher technology changes with their jobs.
I learned that by the intersection of the downward sloping relative slope and the upward
slope relative supply curve, determine the wages for two groups. The two groups include
the skilled or highly educated or the unskilled and less educated. This plays a big factor
in the rising of supply and wages for college students. After looking at the income inequality and education levels of Americans and college students, what would happen if we factored in men and women. We looked at data tables and supply and demand curves but would the graphs change dramatically if we added in the employment and pay of men and women.”
Class: 326 Sexuality and Society
Poly Orientation
“ 1. The most significant point in this reading is first when it talks about polyamory. This
type of relationship remains open and having multi partners. This can include people
that are gay, lesbian, trans, bisexual and so on. One of the most important values of
this is sex and love rather than jealously. Some people say that this can be a type of
orientation because you are agreeing to have this polyamory relationship with
whom ever. The article focuses mainly on the sexual orientation framework with
polyamory. With polyamory being that there is same sex and opposite sex
relationships there is an umbrella that goes along with it so it can be considered as
sexual orientation. Most people identify as this because this is their sexual desires
and attractions.
- The text has a lot of relevance with the community because in history there was a
lot of question with homosexuality and heterosexuality and what was considered
normal. With people choosing who they identify with and making choices with their
relationships, it raises questions within society. In the 19th century people started to
explore desire through the frame deviation and how sexology effected the
construction of novel subjectivities. Now in society people are more accepting with
who you choose to be with. In history people were confused and may have had
some research done before they could say what they believe in. - I can relate this reading to “Same Sex Sexuality” reading because it talks about
sexual identity and who people identity with. There was a section when the reading
talked about Polyamory being an identification. Just like if someone were to say they
identify as bisexual it would be the same as saying you identify as polyamory.
Same Sex Sexuality - One of the points that the reading makes that has to do with history is when it talks
about citizens of Athens. This was a society were age different between older and
younger men had ways they engaged in sex acts. The lack of age was considered deviant
but same sex and different ages were not. Adult male citizens would penetrate women,
men, boys, slaves, and foreigners. - If I had to choose one thing to be left out of this reading I would say when they are
comparing the age differences between older and younger women. They gave an
example of breast-feeding other families’ kids because that is part of their culture. I think
they should have given another example of the same-sex foreign interactions through
spiritual, political, and economical ways than just the breast feeding one. Including more
examples so the reader can grasp the understanding a little bit better. - I can connect this text to the invention of sexuality that we read in the beginning of the
semester. That reading talked about how same sex relationships were known as deviant
and some religions did not accept that. “Same Sex Sexuality” reading talks about that
everyone had different cultural norms even if it was not looked at as normal to other
people. Just like religion, some people do not support other gender identifies because
they feel it is going against their belief.”
Class: PSYC 356 Disorders
“ Unique Disorder: PANDAS
A unique disorder is PANDAS, which can also be referred to as Pediatric Autoimmune
Neuropsychiatric Disorders and is associated with streptococcal infections. This disorder
typically affects children and adolescents, with 1 in 200 children being diagnosed out of the
population. For most patients struggling with PANDAS, it is common for OCD-based tendencies to not be present prior to facing a strep infection. Individuals who are dealing with PANDAS have also been reported to be potentially irritable, experience anxiety attacks, or show separation anxiety from important people to them such as their parents (NIMH, 2019). PANDAS can have very serious symptoms that can disrupt the patient’s daily life.
In a research article discussing a 13-year-old boy struggling with PANDAS, the disorder
began with a sudden onset of motor tics and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, which was
followed by a group A-beta hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) infection (Ayaydin, 2010). OCD
symptoms manifested with ongoing compulsions or obsessions and distress, which inhibited the patient for more than one hour per day. The symptoms led to major interferences with the child’s daily functioning (Ayaydin, 2010). Types of compulsive behaviors that the child developed included touching, checking, and repeating rituals (Ayaydin, 2010). The patient frequently touched his belongings with his fingers, continually checked doors to see if they were locked, and repeated rituals such as sitting down and standing up from his chair (Ayaydin, 2010). His school performance was negatively impacted after getting PANDAS, and his relationships with friends and family began deteriorating due to his compulsions becoming a more significant aspect of his daily life (Ayaydin, 2010). Clearly, PANDAS goes beyond just the obstacles of strep throat due to the obsessions and compulsions that come along with it.
The types of treatments used for PANDAS are cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). Cognitive behavioral therapy is used for most
psychological disorders. A few signs of PANDAS can include different psychological disorders,
such as the following: obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD), and motor or verbal tics (Pina, 2020).
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a form of therapy that helps patients work through and
cope with their OCD and ADHD with the PANDAS sub-type. Before CBT is considered,
psychologists have to think about the severity of the symptoms the patient is having. Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors are used in conjunction with
each other to help the patient improve and stabilize their symptoms (Pandas Physicians Network,2021). SSRIs are prescribed at extremely low doses for younger children, and it increases as the patient ages. Normally they stay on the medication until told otherwise by their psychiatrist(Pandas Physicians Network, 2021). Patients are in therapy for 5-20 weekly sessions, with each session lasting between 30-60 minutes. Potential limitations of PANDAS can include separation anxiety.
When it comes to a child having separation anxiety, they want to cling onto one person which is typically their parents. They have a difficult time relying on them and going long periods of time without them. During PANDAS, a child will have trouble eating or memory problems, which can lead to joint pains, bed wetting and loss of weight. Kids will develop abrupt side effects of mood changes, ADHD, OCD, tics, and neurological abnormalities (Sigra, 2018). Side effects of the infections are in the nose or sinuses, making it common to become diagnosed with PANDAS due to the symptoms of streptococcal. Children could also have a loss of social skills and be unable to function at school properly. If it is untreated, then they can experience cognitive damage. The primary treatment of PANDAS is SSRI medications and cognitive behavioral therapy (Swedo, 2017). The purpose of the therapy is to control the OCD symptoms. Some children may attend pediatric neurologists or behavioral developmental specialists to provide treatment for the child that is struggling with their education.
When the cases are severe, steroids and plasmapheresis are very helpful during the treatment (Swedo, 2017).
Another important way is treating the strep throat so the child experiences less symptoms. The aim is to control the immune system so that the child can function properly and is able to eat and have the nutrients they need. Children with OCD or tics can get PANDAS, which makes their previous conditions much worse. Symptoms include uncontrolled jerks, ADHD symptoms, anxiety attacks, depression, temper tantrums, joint pain, moodiness, sensory and sleep problems, and needing to urinate more often, including bed-wetting (Ali, 2020). Risk factors have been found among people diagnosed with PANDAS. An individual is more likely to get the disease if they have a family history of rheumatic fever, their mother has a history of an autoimmune disease, they are a child in his or her prepubescent years, and if the patient is a male (Nurse Registry).”
Race, Gender, Disability, Sexuality
Before taking these classes, I knew that there were racial disparities in this world but never had it broken down and explained the different types of ways that people may not think about that show racial inequality. Specifically my SOCL 233 class, comparing race and education. There is a race gap when it comes to African Americans and White people’s income. Where there is low income, there may not be the best education. Taking this class made me change my views about the different opportunities each race has and some may not be fair to others. Also, when there is income inequality, the technology needed for education may not be available to people that have lower income or do not make as much as the other race.
Beyond the sociology department, I also have taken a Gender and Crime class for Criminology that represents the inequality in the criminal justice system. Specifically women in corrections, women are treated differently because they are not manly or strong enough for that job. This class changed my views on how nowadays more women are doing jobs that only men did years and years ago. There is also a pay gap between men and women. Men are seen as the breadwinners and typically will get paid more than women. But women on the other hand are not only working but are the primary caregivers for their children. So they are working that double shift.
Not everyone has the same healthcare or they are living with some kind of disability that may be putting a stop to their opportunities. Some people with disabilities are not treated the same as opposed to someone without one. When having a disability people may look at you less than or seen as not capable. While I took my PSYCH class I started to really think about how people with disabilities, like PANDAS that I referred to in my paper, want to be treated the same and not always babied when it comes to learning and working because they do not want there to be inequality.
People have different sexualitys that they like to identify from other people in society. In my sexuality and society class we discussed different relationships in society and their meaning. Some people have the same sex partner or have multiple partners and not just one. This changed my view because people only know what they learn growing up, as you get older and see different versions of relationships you see others treating them with inequality just because they do not agree. Just because someone identifies as a different gender, does not identify at all, or having multiple partners at one time does not mean that they deserve inequality in society.
There is a lot of inequality in different classes because of peoples hierarchy, income, and power. If people have a lot of power and money they may treat people that are lower than them unfairly or not give them the same opportunities. If people are in the lower class then they are not given the same education, employment, or housing as people in the higher class. The concept that helped change my views was that if there were no barriers to classes and everyone was treated the same, someone from the “lower class” could have the ability to move up the ladder because they are given the resources that they need. People in higher class also have better health benefits so they have a longer life expectancy. Even with crime, people in the higher class have gated communities and less encounters with criminals. The lower class may be committing those crimes to gain money or having those crimes being committed around them.
This can affect my career moving on because I have to be cautious with what I say, who I include and my actions being taken because I do not want to leave anyone out or make them feel like they are less than a person due to their gender, beliefs, race, or sexaulity. Also I am able to point out and address when I see characteristics of inequality happening and know when to say something in a situation that may not be right in the work field. For example, if a male coworker is only gathering the men to assist them in a Juvenile or correctional setting then I know that the women are not getting the equal opportunity in their career and to do something about it. Letting it continuously happen in the work field can only cause a bigger separation in the facility.