Sociological Perspective Drug Use And Addiction - 969 Words

Sociological Perspective: Drug Use and Addiction The use and misuse of illicit drugs in today’s society can be blamed on both individual, and societal factors. With the use of societal factors researchers can show the effect for a larger population, and provide better information of the population. Blaming the individual for developing the addiction will not fix issues that lie in society that worked against the individual, the underlying issues of poverty and addiction, many scholarly articles mention bad neighborhoods, low income, and loose family ties with future drug use. I will be using evidence from articles involving both teen and adult drug use and addiction, as the effect on society is noticed in both age brackets. â€Å"Substance use is considered a problem by individual addicts who seek treatment, by institutions within society (such as the police or the medical system) that deal with substance use and its consequences on a day-to-day basis, and by national organizations such as governments or supranational orga nizations, such as the International Narcotics Control Board (a United Nations agency located in Vienna). (Adrian) I will be using scholarly articles to explain the sociological reasoning behind drug use, with theories involving low-income neighborhoods, leading to lessening of family involvement which can lead to drug use. â€Å"Drug abuse affects a community s living conditions and economy, its youth, and the environment for crime.† (Watts) Low-incomeShow MoreRelatedThe Sociological Paradigm Of Drugs And Drug Use1396 Words   |  6 PagesSocieties define both the meanings of drugs and drug experience, with the definitions differing radically among different societies as well as subcultures and subgroups within the same society. Social groups and cultures define what kind of drug taking is appropriate, for example, alcohol use might be seen as appropriate among one group and inappropriate among other groups, such as among women and men. They also define which drugs are acceptable and which are not. Society also spell out the socialRead MoreThe Problem Of Drugs And Alcohol Abuse765 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction My chosen contemporary social problem is drugs and alcohol abuse. It goes without saying that drugs and alcohol abuse is one of the most significant social problems not only in the United States but also around the world. As a matter of facts, drugs and alcohol abuse is a problem with innumerable effects both on the body and mind of a person. Many times, these adverse impacts affect the families, friends, and acquaintances of the addict whereby, for instance, the latter may lose theirRead MorePaper Drug Abuse Drug Addiction1403 Words   |  6 PagesKeisha Ellis Drug Abuse Drug Addiction SOC 203 Social Problems Instructor Ely May 11, 2015 Numerous individuals do not comprehend why individuals get to be dependent on drugs or how drugs can change the mind to cultivate enthusiastic drug abuse. They erroneously view drug misuse and dependence as entirely a social issue and may describe the individuals who take drugs as ethically powerless (Alving, Matyas, Torres, Jalah, Beck, 2014). One extremely regular belief is that drugs abusersRead MoreSubstance Abuse : A Social Problem1608 Words   |  7 Pageshazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs† (Substance). Individuals who become victims of substance abuse become dependent on and overindulge in substances such as drugs and alcohol. The outside forces in our world today influence behaviors including substance abuse, ultimately displaying the connection between social structure and an individual’s situations. In order to ameliorate substance abuse, it is important to understand the difference between addiction and substanceRea d MoreDrug Abuse And The Unwinnable War1462 Words   |  6 PagesDrug Abuse and the Unwinnable War Drugs are not a new thing by any means and have been commonplace in most cultures at one point or another. Throughout the known history of the world humans have used drugs to provide mind and mood altering experiences. Evidence of the production of alcohol can be traced back to the description of a brewery in an Egyptian papyrus as early as 3500 B.C (Fort, J. 1969). On a seemingly primal level, humans have always had some incessant need to alter their state of consciousnessRead MoreEssay on Heroin Addictions in Females1206 Words   |  5 Pages To look at the heroin addiction in females, we will first have to look at where it all began. A study done by Deborah L Rhoads shows that, in the early 19th century, â€Å"Society considered it a wealth or status symbol for most middle and upper middle-class women to need to have numerous home visits from their male doctors who often prescribed opiate medicine for â€Å"female† complaints. A lady was expected to need of chemical assistance, and Laudanum, a liquid opiate preparation, was the female medicationRead MoreEssay on Social Aspect of Substance Abuse1001 Words   |  5 PagesAddiction is a difficult disease that involves several different factors including biological, psychological and sociological aspects. Anderson (1997) states that substance use refers generally to the ingestion of illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, opiates, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, PCP, amphetamines, etc. The use of illicit drugs, such as alcohol and nicotine, are less frequently in cluded in this definition, despite their widespread use and undisputed potential for harm. Substance abuseRead MoreThe Ethics of Drug Use and Drug Abuse1579 Words   |  6 PagesEthics of Drug Use and Drug Abuse For any professional working in the substance abuse treatment field, they will very likely come across situations and be presented with dilemmas relating to personal beliefs, judgments, and values. Drug or substance use and abuse have been a controversial and heated topic around the world for centuries. Drug abuse, in a way, is a facet of human culture that has been present for a great deal of human history in general. Every culture handles the issue of drug abuseRead MoreChemically Impaired Nurses1052 Words   |  5 Pagesnurses have substance abuse problems. Substance abuse is defined as using excessive amounts of drugs or alcohol beyond their specified purpose. I chose to research this particular social problem because it concerns me that so many individuals are choosing to enter the nursing field to specifically help or care for the well-being of others, but are putting lives in danger by working under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Nurses handle, measure, and administer mo st of the medication given to hospitalizedRead MoreAbstinence vs. Harm Reduction1733 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Abstinence Vs. Harm Reduction† â€Å"Drug policy regarding the control of the traditional illicit substances (opiates, cocaine, cannabis) is currently moving through upbeat times in almost all Western countries. Prohibition on the basis of repressive law enforcement not only seems to fail on a large scale, but also to create vast additional costs, problems, and harm for drug consumers, who often find themselves in extreme social, economic, and health conditions† (Fischer 1995: 389). Western countries

Essay on Nisa Life and Words of a Kung Woman - 633 Words

Nisa: The life and words of a !kung woman:response â€Å"Nisa: the life and words of a !kung woman† written by Marjorie Shostak is a book about a woman named nisa of the !kung people. It entails the stories of her struggles and the many horrific tragedies in her life and how it shapes who and how she is. The book Is basically an interview of a fifty year old nisa, it is written in her perspective of what it is like to live in such a society. She suffered quite a few devastating tragedies as aforementioned which included, the death of four of her children, two as infants and two as adults. Even shostak says that none of the !kung women suffered tragedies the way nisa did. The story evokes the importance of women to the tribe. Most of the†¦show more content†¦When anyone tried to pick on me she would help me and it also helped to the fact that she was popular and all the boys wanted her and what she said was taken as gospel. She always had my back even when my mom wa s whipping me she’d make jokes about my mom having the propensity of killing me because I was small which made my mom stop at times. It is very similar to the way Nisa describes her older brother Dau and his protection over her except it’s the other way around . Nisa tells of stories of Dau and how she looks up to him time and time again. She remembers that some occasions Dau would bring her mongongo nuts because it is her favorite. In another occasion Nisa’s older brother would intervene when their parents treat her punitively because Nisa would sometimes disobey what her told her not to do. In conclusion, shostak acquired a lot of knowledge from her stay with the !kung people. She learned that their culture is not really different from that of western civilizations, though their culture is seen as embryonic in terms of technology and medicine. They are thought of as primitive and looked down on because they do no project the image of technologically sound people. Despite all these the !kung civilization is similar to our civilization by the social bonds we share with one another, love, hate, promiscuity, family we love and others we hate toShow MoreRelatedMarriage Play : The Life And Words Of A ! Kung Woman1151 Words   |  5 Pagesplays an essential part in lives of !Kung women. Marjorie Shostack in depth describes each step of Nisa’s life in her book â€Å"The Life and Words of a ! Kung Woman†. Nisa, a fifty year old !Kung San woman, tells about her numerous marriages, husbands and lovers. Nisa vividly described the relationships between men and women. Furthermore, she states that children become aware of sex at a young age because the children share a single hut with their parents. In the !Kung society, first marriages are arrangedRead More!Kung and Nisa Essay1238 Words   |  5 PagesThe book, â€Å"Nisa The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman,† written by Marjorie Shostak is a culturally shocking and touching book about a woman who had gone through many struggles and horrific tragedies in her life. This book also highlights the perspective of most of the women in the society. There are many issues in this book that the people of the !Kung tribe goes through. Out of all the women in the tribe Shostak had made close connections with a fifty-year-old woman named Nisa. According to ShostakRead MoreKung! Essay example864 Words   |  4 Pagesof women in Kung society. Make sure you use both part (l) and part (2) of Friedl’s argument. (Do not worry that Friedl’s argument is simplistic; she is not trying to say that women’s role in subsistence is the ONLY factor that affects their position in society.) Friedl states that the position of women is higher the more they are involved in primary subsistence, and the public distribution of that subsistence. I think this classes Kung! Women pretty high up the social ladder. Kung! Women, helpRead MoreMarjorie Shostak: the Life and Words of Nisa a Kung Women1257 Words   |  6 Pages| !Kung Women | | | | â€Å"Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman,† written by Marjorie Shostak; is a culturally shocking and extremely touching book about a woman who had gone through many struggles and horrific tragedies in her life. This book also emphasizes the perspective of most of the women in the society. There are many striking issues in this book that the people of the !Kung  tribe go through.  Marjorie Shostak, an anthropologist, has written this book and studiedRead MoreAnalysis Of Nisa The Life And Words Of A ! Kung1518 Words   |  7 PagesLife and death are experienced throughout the country, which occurs every day around the world. We all experience dealing with death or life rather it s pertaining to a family member, friend, associate or even a co-worker. Life and death effect the population rates amongst the globe. People views, practices, and feelings differ from different religions and cultures. Each culture is unique and obtains different beliefs and rituals. According to the book Nisa The Life and Words of a !Kung WomanRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh, By Ralph Waldo861 Words   |  4 PagesRalph Waldo wrote life is a journey, not a destination. This quote is occasionally used to give meaning to the trails one faces in their life. As for our protagonist, Gilgamesh, this quote embodies what he went through. Epic, stunishing and dramatic are adjectives easily given to describe this mythical script. By carefully analyzing Gilgamesh s story, we find hints of how he came to the glorious ending to his quest. Nevertheless, the women in this epic poem play a small but very powerful roleRead MoreThe Field Of Anthropology As A Field2218 Words   |  9 Pagesunderstand other cultures have seemingly existed all throughout human history, yet the methods for doing so have changed over time. The field of anthropology dates back to the late 19th century, and when it reached the United States, it became even more WORD-widespread? Since then, it has cont inued to develop as a field, with new approaches becoming standard about every twenty years. Two of the main approaches to writing works of ethnography include ethnographic accounts of a culture foreign to the writerRead MoreKung Women Essays1768 Words   |  8 Pageslaborers) and (2) the PUBLIC distribution of the product of subsistence. Use this argument to account for the position of women in !Kung society. Make sure you use both part (1) and part (2) of Friedl’s argument. The !Kung are hunter-gatherers of Southern Africa and the women play an essential role in the production of subsistence for their families. The woman actually contribute a greater proportion of the subsistence to their families directly than do the men who are the game hunters in theRead MoreCultural Diversity : The And Words Of A ! Kung Woman And Saheri From Saheri s Choice1197 Words   |  5 Pagesdiscussed Nisa from our reading Nisa: The Life and words of a !Kung Woman and Saheri from Saheri’s Choice: Arranged Marriages in India a video. We examined the difference between Nisa’s arranged marriage and Saheri’s positives that both women see the marriage. First, a positive thing for Nisa is she gets gifts like the beads, she gets a place to live. For Saheri being married was her becoming a mature adult, having the freedom that an adult has and having a household of her own. In contrast, Nisa hadRead MoreNisa: the Life and Words of a !Kung Women Essay2258 Word s   |  10 Pagesaround the world including the !Kung. The !Kung population is located in the Kalahari Desert, in isolated parts of Botswana, Angola, and Namibia. The !Kung live in a harsh environment with temperatures during the winter frequently below freezing, but during the summer well above 100F. The !Kung, like most hunter-gatherer societies, have a division of labor based mainly on gender and age. (Body) Gender in the Division of Labor For the most part in the !Kung society the men do the hunting

Victorian Era Free Essays

The Victorian Era During the Victorian Era, social classes of England were newly reforming, and fomenting. There was a churning upheaval of the old hierarchical order, and the middle classes were steadily growing. Added to that, the upper classes’ composition was changing from simply hereditary aristocracy to a combination of nobility and an emerging wealthy commercial class. We will write a custom essay sample on Victorian Era or any similar topic only for you Order Now The definition of what made someone a gentleman or a lady was, therefore, changing at what some thought was an alarming rate. By the end of the century, it was common that a gentleman was someone who had a liberal public (private) school education, no matter what his antecedents might be. There continued to be a large and generally disgruntled working class, wanting and slowly getting reform and change. Conditions of the working class were still bad, though, through the century, three reform bills gradually gave the vote to most males over the age of twenty-one. Contrasting to that was the horrible reality of child labor which persisted throughout the period. When a bill was passed stipulating that children under nine could not work in the textile industry, this in no way applied to other industries, nor did it in any way curb rampant teenaged prostitution. The Victorian Era was also a time of tremendous scientific progress and ideas. Darwin took his Voyage of the Beagle, and posited the Theory of Evolution. The Great Exhibition of 1851 took place in London, lauding the technical and industrial advances of the age, and strides in medicine and the physical sciences continued throughout the century. The radical thought associated with modern psychiatry began with men like Sigmund Feud toward the end of the era, and radical economic theory, developed by Karl Marx and his associates, began a second age of revolution in mid-century. The ideas of Marxism, socialism, feminism churned and bubbled along with all else that happened. The dress of the early Victorian era was similar to the the Georgian age. Women wore corsets, balloonish sleeves and crinolines in the middle 1840’s. The crinoline thrived, and expanded during the 50’s and 60’s, and into the 70’s, until, at last, it gave way to the bustle. The bustle held its own until the 1890’s, and became much smaller, going out altogether by the dawning of the twentieth century. For men, following Beau Brummell’s example, stove-pipe pants were the fashion at the beginning of the century. Their ties, known then as cravats, and the various ways they might be tied could change, the styles of shirts, jackets, and hats also, but trousers have remained. Throughout the century, it was stylish for men to wear facial hair of all sizes and descriptions. The clean shaven look of the Regency was out, and mustaches, mutton-chop sideburns, Piccadilly Weepers, full beards, and Van Dykes were the order of the day. Due to the lack of modern technology that we have today such as televisions and the internet, the Victorian era (the era in which Queen Victoria reigned, this was between 1837 and 1901 was renowned for famous for the short stories that the authors of the time wrote. The birth of the railway also took place during the Victorian era and as one would expect, many people used it for transportation over long distances. There were no televisions so at times of boredom and during these long train journeys the people of the time depended solely on books and short stories for entertainment. The Ghost story genre proved to be most popular amongst the Victorian people. At the beginning of the nineteenth century in Britain, religious faith and the sciences were generally seen to be in beautiful accordance. This harmony between science and faith, mediated by some form of theology of nature, continued to be the mainstream position for most men of science right up to the 1860’s, at least. But it did come under threat. Many scientists questioned the literal meaning of the Genesis and opposed to the authoritarianism of organized Christian religion. Charles Darwin was the one, who with his Origins of the Species in 1859, proved things that could not be tolerated by the Church. It attracted widespread interest on publication. The book was controversial because it contradicted religious beliefs that underlay the then current theories of biology, and it generated much discussion on scientific, philosophical, and religious grounds. Of course a longer period had to pass to accept Darwin’s ideas, but it did affect the Christian mind, it did raise questions about the institution of the Church. The values that were based on religion were shaken greatly as well and the roots of the 20th century’s search for new values could be originated from here. Attitudes toward values and morals in those times also depended on, which social class a person belonged to. As the population increased, the gap between the lower and upper classes grew larger and also the differences in social behavior. Lower working classes struggled with everyday life, large families often did not have anything to eat, and children had to go working from an early age. There, the morals were drawn to the background. Even though, every felony was punished strictly, people often ended up stealing, robbing and murdering. Cities were full of slums, hygiene was non-existent and the drinking water spread diseases. Among these circumstances there was one rule that existed: to survive the day! Opposing the upper classes’ primness, prostitution and child labor was not scorned as a livelihood for the common people. Society as a whole, was called and often talked about in connection with the Victorian Era, did not help them, did not do anything for them, only despised them. Victorian values included a strict moral code and an obsession with social status. Upper classes always liked to lead their life in an exemplary way, regarded the morals highly and lived accordingly. Their occupation and social standing was largely determined by family background and social connections. We have to take into consideration that the Victorian era was the one when educated and wealthy people knew that the period they were living in is great and society, if everyone in it lived according to the Victorian values, could be happy. Although by looking back at the way they treated these values, most of them seem hypocritical. In their life religion, family, home, wealth and primness played an important role and proud as they were of themselves of belonging to these great times, rejected anyone whose life was not based on these things. They were the lucky ones that were educated and could easily afford forming opinions about the rest of the society, making references to morals, making up their own and forming the old ones as well. The Victorian era became notorious for employing young children in factories and mines and as chimney sweeps. Child labor played an important role in the Industrial Revolution from its outset, often brought about by economic hardship, Charles Dickens for example worked at the age of 12 in a blacking factory, with his family in debtor’s prison. The children of the poor were expected to help towards the family budget, often working long hours in dangerous jobs and low wages. In England and Scotland in 1788, two-thirds of the workers in 143 water-powered cotton mills were described as children. Agile boys were employed by the chimney sweeps; small children were employed to scramble under machinery to retrieve cotton bobbins; and children were also employed to work in coal mines to crawl through tunnels too narrow and low for adults. Children also worked as errand boys, crossing sweepers, shoe blacks, or selling matches, flowers and other cheap goods. 7] Some children undertook work as apprentices to respectable trades, such as building or as domestic servants (there were over 120,000 domestic servants in London in the mid 18th Century). Working hours were long: builders worked 64 hours a week in summer and 52 in winter, while domestic servants worked 80 hour weeks, children worked from 12 to 16 hours a day; they often began w orking at the age of six or seven. Children had to be beaten to keep them from falling asleep while at work; in spite of this, many failed to keep awake and were mutilated or killed. Parents had to submit to the infliction of these atrocities upon their children, because they themselves were in a desperate plight. Craftsmen had been thrown out of work by the machines; rural laborers were compelled to migrate to the towns by the Enclosure Acts, which used Parliament to make landowners richer by making peasants destitute; trade unions were illegal until 1824; the government employed agents provocateurs to try to get revolutionary sentiments out of wage-earners, who were then deported or hanged. Such was the first effect of machinery in England. Children as young as three were put to work. A high number of children also worked as prostitutes.. In coal mines children began work at the age of five and generally died before the age of 25. Many children worked 16 hour days. As early as 1802 and 1819 Factory Acts were passed to regulate the working hours of workhouse children in factories and cotton mills to 12 hours per day. These acts were largely ineffective and after radical agitation. A royal commission recommended in 1833 that children aged 11–18 should work a maximum of 12 hours per day, children aged 9–11 a maximum of eight hours, and children under the age of nine were no longer permitted to work. This act however only applied to the textile industry, and further agitation led to another act in 1847 limiting both adults and children to 10 hour working days. By 1900, there were 1. 7 million child laborers reported in American industry under the age of fifteen. The number of children under the age of 15 who worked in industrial jobs for wages climbed to 2 million in 1910. The accepted reasoning was that the career for women was marriage. To get ready for courtship and marriage a girl was groomed like a racehorse. In addition to being able to sing, play an instrument and speak a little French or Italian, the qualities a young Victorian gentlewoman needed, were to be innocent, virtuous, biddable, dutiful and be ignorant of intellectual opinion. A wealthy wife was supposed to spend her time reading, sewing, receiving guests, going visiting, letter writing, seeing to the servants and dressing for the part as her husband’s social representative. For the very poor of Britain things were quite different. Fifth hand clothes were usual. Servants ate the pickings left over in a rich household. The average poor mill worker could only afford the very inferior stuff, for example rancid bacon, tired vegetables, green potatoes, tough old stringy meat, tainted bread, porridge, cheese, herrings or kippers. The Catholicism of the Oxford Movement, the Evangelical movement, the spread of the Broad Church, and the rise of Utilitarianism, socialism, Darwinism, and scientific Agnosticism, were all in their own ways characteristically Victorian; as were the prophetic writings of Carlyle and Ruskin, the criticism of Arnold, and the empirical prose of Darwin and Huxley; as were the fantasy of George MacDonald and the realism of George Eliot and George Bernard Shaw. One could say that Queen Victoria personified the spirit of nineteenth-century England; she was Queen of the United Kingdom, Great Britain, and Ireland as well as Empress of India. She put the â€Å"Victorian† in the Victorian Era. How to cite Victorian Era, Papers