Below are samples of assignments submitted for this course with names removed so as not to violate anyone's privacy.
They are examples of the quality of work I expect.
The assignments you see here are not necessarily the best work for that assignment
but examples chosen at random from among all of the assignments I consider well done.
I change assignments from time to time so make certain you are looking at an example based on your current assignment rather than a previous assignment.
In assignments that ask for specific right or wrong answers, I have substituted Xs for the answers so as not to tempt you!
If you don't see an example of a particular assignment, it's because I haven't yet found one to post.
Activity #1
Throughout my life I every time I ate at a fast-food restaurant or any somewhat small restaurant I would always dispose of my trash when leaving. The observation that I looked into closely was if people in general throw away their garbage in restaurants or not?
For me growing up I was always taught to respect others and other people’s things. My mother would use the classical Golden Rule to demonstrate why I should throw my trash away because I would not like someone else to leave trash in my house or belongings. Sure I have noticed others not throwing away their leftover junk; only until I performed this observation did I realize how much I really had not noticed.
I pulled in to the What a Burger near school that I had only been in once before. I ordered, sat down at the corner table, ate and walked over to the garbage can to dispose of the scraps. I then sat down and pulled out my books pretending to study.
One by one I saw handfuls of new customers come through the doors hungry and ready to order. As I sat and jotted things down notes, no one really looked at me or even bothered to recognize my presence. Whenever someone caught my eye I simply smiled to be polite. To my surprise, more people left their trash than properly disposed of it! I sat in awe of how many individuals just got up and left without a second thought of the mess they had made. While there I saw six families of over four people come and eat. Out of the six, only two of the families succeeded, however these families were older than the other four. Most people who had toddlers failed to make it to the trash. In my observation I saw a large range of age in the store. I noticed an elderly couple who after eating threw away not only their trash, but the trash of the table next beside them. Typically it was the women who succeeded and, if she was a mother, she would also take her family's garbage and get rid of it. Time and time again I would see employees come and clear the filth of others and ready the tables for new customers. One major important observation I noticed was that the bigger the party of individuals there were at a table, the more likely they were to leave their mess. Men who came in with buddies or partners more not would leave garbage other than a man by himself. . Forty- five minutes passed and the observation was clear, after seeing teens, infants, middle age adults and aged, that the more elderly customers disposed of their trash, instead of the teens and younger generations. By the end of the hour I wished I had more time to spend there just so I could try to predict more of the outcomes of certain people. Race would have been an interesting thing to observe and see how different ethnic groups are taught and what their expectations are.
When I went there it was the busiest time of the day, lunch time, I would very much like to go back during a different part of the day, perhaps late evening or early morning to see if the outcome is the same. One thing I know I would do different is time how long it took the individuals to order, socialize and eat. I would pay more close attention to if they already know what they wanted when they arrived, or that they swallowed their food instead of chewing because they only had a short time to eat. All of these would have been very riveting to watch. One of the problems I may encounter when going at a different time is sticking out more in public. When the store is filled with people, it makes observing easier because I and not the only one drawing attention to myself. Altogether I found this experimental observation to be quite pleasant also quite eye opening. As a human it’s hard not to have bias judgments on something, however, I very much enjoyed the experience of the sociological perspective of looking past the individual, and more at the group process and facts, along with seeing the patterns. For awhile I really felt like I was a sociologist performing a real important task that would have huge out comes.
Activity #2
The purpose of the research report is to discuss core values. I will discuss the fifteen core values of American culture developed by Robin Williams and James Henslin. I will also discuss what core values I identified from newspapers I reviewed from three other counties. I will also identify how those countries core values differed from ours. Finally I will give examples of how newspapers are indicative of their society’s culture.
Before discussing my opinion of American core values identified by Robin Williams and James Henslin I want to define what core values are as discussed in our readings. Core values “are shared ideas of what is important and worthwhile by the people in a society” (Glenn, n.d., p. 10). Williams and Henslin identified the following as core values for Americans; achievement and success, individualism, activity and work, science and technology, progress, material comforts, humanitarianism, freedom, democracy, equality, racism and group superiority, education, religiosity, and romantic love. I believe that most of these are still core values today but there are a few that seem to be sliding off of the list. Activity and work is where people are expected to work hard. I believe that this value is sliding with the younger generation. In the work force the upcoming generation is a generation of “me,” they are interested in doing the minimum of work required to get the job done. Their philosophy is what is in it for me, not what can I do for the company. Religiosity is another value that seems to be falling. When there is discussion of removing the words “In God We Trust” from our currency, forbidding prayer in schools, and removal of religious symbols from government buildings that is a sign of the decline of religiosity in our country. I also believe that racism is on the decline as well. This statement can be backed by looking around your neighborhood and seeing the integration of all races living in any community now. This is also noted in the number of interracial marriages in the country, it seems that an increasing number of families have grandchildren that are interracial. The final value that has shown a decline in the recent past is freedom. With each government program that supports an individual’s personal needs such as food and shelter they are giving up some of their freedom. If an individual takes something for free they are required to do something in exchange for it. It can be as small as reporting to a specific location for the assistance or being able to buy only certain products with the monies they are given. At this point I do not see any new core values to add to the list that would be what we would strive to reach.
The three countries that I chose to review were Japan, Mexico and Philippines. Japanese core values that I identified while reading The Japan Times had to do with gender issues. Women are having babies at a later age than in the past. One story discussed how a woman put off having a child until her husband completed his work oversees, but she was also pursuing her career. Japan has historically held women in a subordinate position but it appears that cultural norm is changing since women are now pursuing a career first and child bearing later in life. The article also discussed how women in Japan do not get all of the testing that American women get when they are a high risk pregnancy. Other stories I read had to do with health care and how the government pays for the majority of their health care. The elite culture can get the care they want when they need it instead of waiting their turn. The elite culture is the life style of the wealth, affluent, or upper class. The article I referred to above is shows a difference in the core values of health care expectations. In America all women expect to receive high quality health care to include epidurals during labor and prenatal testing, which occur rarely in Japan. Another country I looked at was the Philippines. A couple of the core values that were identified were strong family ties, respect for elders, optimism and a strong belief in God. I read an article in The Philippine Daily Inquirer that discussed their optimism. It discussed a move by the government to crystallize a common vision for the country. This is a core value that is not listed as a core value for America. Although it may become one in the future, with of the unrest in the country in regards to health care and the threat of terrorism we now face. The third country I looked at was Mexico. Core values for Mexico are family, community, religion and support. The news paper I read from Mexico was the Guadalajara Reporter. One of the core values identified was support and in this case it was of the World Cup games. There were numerous articles about the World Cup and how they had decided to let the schools show the World Cup in the class room. There were other stories about the parties that occurred after the games. This is a value that is shared with America since we spend lots of time supporting sports in our country.
Newspapers can be indicative of a society’s culture in many ways. Symbols published in print can elicit an emotional response. Language is a universal [art of our culture as well. Newspapers give us information about what is going on around us and the world and provides a forum to share an opinion, which can give in-site into the culture of the area. On the other hand some newspapers can be very bias in their opinion and not reflect to values of the culture.
What develops our core values is our culture. “A culture is a system of ideas, values, beliefs, knowledge, norms, customs and technology shared by almost everyone in a particular society” (Glenn, n.d., p. 9). Language is used to convey our feelings and ideas and this can be done orally or in print such as newspapers. Every culture has social norms that dictate how we should act in certain social settings. The norms are developed as we grow and are also part of our value system. An example would be how we treat our elderly. There are countries that it is part of their culture to revere the elderly. To treat them with disrespect is considered a violation of their norm. There are also laws that dictate how people should be treated. An example of this is in some countries it is socially acceptable to mutilate the female genital as a way to keep them pure in America this is considered child abuse and is outlawed. This practice is known as cultural relativism, which means it is acceptable to have this practice in certain countries but you can move the America and practice this because it is unacceptable in America. Every culture has subcultures as well. An example of this in America could be identified with the Amish community. A core value for America is progress and technology, the Amish subgroup does not use technology or wish to progress. This group could also be known as a counterculture since they reject the dominate culture and live by an alternative set of values.
In conclusion there are many ways to identify core values of a country or region. Newspapers and other forms of media can give a person in-site into cultural values. Other ways to identify core values are through observation of the people in the area. An important thing to remember is that in every cultural group there are subcultures that may be very different.
Activity #3
The purpose of this experiment was to choose an informal norm and violate it in order to validate the existence of the norm. Before I go into what I did I want to explain what norms are. “Social norms are rules of conduct or social expectations specifying how people should or should not behave in various social situations” (Glenn, n.d., p. 10).
The norm I attempted to violate was that there are certain behaviors that are not socially acceptable to do in public. The activity I chose to do was to carry a fart machine around and activate it while in a group setting. The purpose was to see the reaction of those around me. I started with a group and felt that the responses were not that negative when the act was performed in a group. After the group setting I chose to see what the response would be if I used the machine during a one on one setting.
The reactions were varied. There were those that just ignored the sound. Others had a look of astonishment on their face and then there were those that just laughed. After the event I shared with them what the experiment was for and got lots of feedback. Those that ignored the sound thought surely she did not just do that. This was the reaction I received when it was done in a one on one setting. The ones that had the look of astonishment said they were embarrassed for me. The individuals that laughed then shared stories they had had with the same behavior in the past. The best story was from a man who had just returned from a hunting trip in Africa. He told of the cultural differences of white verses black South African men. The story was how he had passed flatus in front of a black man and a white man. They were both standing near each other and did not realize that the hunter was the one who passed flatus. The white man said the black man jumped up and was talking in his native tongue that he did not do the act. The white man said that the blacks do not do that around anyone and he was offended that someone thought he had passed flatus.
I believe the norm was validated because of the reactions that I received. Most of the respondents classified the act as a deviant behavior. Deviance is the process of violating cultural norms beyond the range of group acceptability (Glenn, n.d.). All of the experiment participants said it is an act that is not expectable to do in public. The act may be acceptable in a family setting, but it is not socially acceptable in a group or around someone who is not a close family member.
This is connected to our course material in the following ways. A couple of the people said I was sick, which could be classified as a social-pathological, this view of deviance is considered pathological and the deviants are considered “sick.” That could be the case if you have a gastrointestinal disorder that prevents you from holding your flatus until a more appropriate time to release it. If the behavior was to occur in another place it might not be considered deviant. An example would be if it were a group of young boys playing together it would be considered funny. There are ways to control deviances; they can be internal controls of deviance in which the individual uses moral or social controls to prevent the behavior. An external control of deviance comes from outside the individual and the most effective is informal external controls. Informal external controls could be from peers, friends or parents.
In conclusion this was a fun experiment to participate in. It is always interesting to see people’s reactions to others behaviors whether it is acceptable or unacceptable. It is also interesting to see that the same behavior is acceptable in some settings and not in others.
Activity #4
Objective:
My objective was to interview an elderly person, to find out what life was like as he/she was growing up, and to discover the things that had the greatest impact on his/her life.
My grandmother, born in 1914, agreed to the interview. She holds a bachelor’s degree in XX. I read the questions to her over the phone prior to our appointment to allow her time to think about the questions in advance. I met with her Friday evening for our face to face interview.
The Interview:
One great change that has taken place since the early 1900’s is life for the American woman. Although many things were mentioned during this interview, this was the one thing that stood out the most. Even though many changes had already taken place during the 1920-1930’s there were still many norms that held their ground. For example: my great-grandmother was apparently a very talented seamstress, and would make wedding gowns. She was offered many jobs with well known tailor shops, but she did not accept the job opportunities. When I asked why she didn’t take the jobs my grandmother responded, “My father thought it was not appropriate for a woman to work outside the home.” And so she, my great-grandmother, did not. I was quite surprised by this. I was convinced that after the late 1800’s this attitude about women and work had changed. If I were in a similar situation today things would be very different. While I appreciate my husband’s opinion, in the end, that is a decision I would ultimately make on my own. It is hard to believe how limited women were when making their own decisions, even though there were no laws saying they couldn’t. It’s as if they had invisible chains that bound them. Perhaps many did not feel the need to speak up for themselves, or maybe they felt secure knowing that someone was there to protect them. Either way, I am glad that things have changed in this respect, and I believe it has been for the best.
The American school system has also gone through a lot of changes as well. From the description my grandmother gave, school was a very serious place. There was no playing around when it came to studies. The courses in elementary school were taught by strict teachers that would also use physical discipline in the classroom if need be. However, according to my grandmother, “everyone behaved” their best. Literature and music were of great importance. Reading played a major part in their studies. I am grateful for textbooks; on the other hand, I can see what a difference it can make when teachers step outside the “box” and combine textbooks with “hands on” studies. I don’t know how well I would have done in school back then had my grades depended mainly on my reading skills. Nonetheless, “school was outstanding and marvelous,” according to my grandmother. Even though there were no school buses back then, she happily walked over two miles on a round trip to school every day. On a different note, as she spoke about life at school and the books they read, I noticed one thing: it seems as though the books had few pictures if any at all. I found this interesting, because anything for children nowadays is full of life, colors, and pictures. I wonder what effect this change has had on youngsters’ learning abilities.
Next was news and information, which her family gathered from newspapers and encyclopedias. My grandmother did not have a television set in her home until she was married, so in order to keep up with the times she read. In a way, I wish the world would go back in time on this matter. Of course, the TV has a lot of good, as in documentaries, etc. But, so much garbage is packed in there that I find myself constantly having to weed out the trash to find any good. Because of this problem, I disconnected my cable three years ago and I have not reconnected since. Even when I sit down to watch the news, by the time it’s over I feel I have just wasted an hour of my life and have gotten nothing in return. This change has definitely not been an improvement for society.
Because people back then spent less time watching TV., neighbors spent less time inside their houses and instead had closer relationships with those around them. In my grandmother’s neighborhood there were many immigrant families from all over the world; this was before clusters of nationalities started to form in New York. She reminded me that this was during the great depression and many people had little to nothing to eat, but they were always willing to share what little they had. It seems as though the world today has forgotten its humble beginnings. I feel the nation has, to some extent, become spoiled and demanding. People expect their government to do everything for them, and give nothing in return.
My grandmother is now 95, and there is one thing that has carried her though many difficult times. It’s her love for music and literature. I believe this is a part of American culture that is slowing slipping away. I am referring mostly to classical music. This is one thing I never learned to appreciate as I was growing up. I referred to it as “old people’s music” and would laugh with my sibling if my grandmother asked us to listen along with her. Only now that I’m beginning to age myself do I realize the beauty in things I used to brush off as “old” or “out-dated”. But music is one of those things that can never age.
My interview did not cover much more than this. My grandmother suffers from dementia and kept repeating herself about the school, music, and neighbors, etc. However, I walked away from this interview feeling that this was my best assignment so far. It made my grandmother feel so important to share her memories. I often sit down with her and listen to her stories about her past, but this time it seemed as though she took it as an important mission to share part of her life with the world.
Activity #4
For my activity, I conducted a phone interview with my grandmother who lives in XX. She was born in 1924 and at 85, has seen a lot of change in her life. I was fortunate to have been raised in the same town with her.
I asked my grandmother to tell me how things have changed since she was a child. Thinking back, she said one of the biggest changes was transportation. Her family never had a car. She remembers walking down dirt roads and riding horses. In the same way, I can remember walking all the time when I was younger. We had a car, but we walked more than we drove the car. Today, no one walks.
Grandmother also said that technology has come a long way. Her father was a minister and full-time sharecropper and the entire family had to pick cotton and tobacco by hand. Today, machines do this work. Grandmother said if she learned one thing from her family, it was to work hard. She and I are much alike in this way because my dad was a farmer and we worked hard. Grandma and I can relate to getting up before the sun came up to work in the garden and working until we couldn’t see at night. We both agreed that we wished machines had done all that work instead of us!
Communication has changed a lot as well. There were ten children in grandmother’s family and they were just too poor to have radio or television when she was a child. Because her parents were ministers, their access to news was through the church. We talked about the internet and this is still foreign to her. She said it is still hard for her to imagine we can find out anything in the world we want to know in the click of a mouse. However, Grandmother thinks we are corrupting our minds with all this information.
When I asked my grandmother what elementary school was like, she hesitated, and then told me a heartbreaking story. My great grandmother came from a wealthy, educated family and great grandfather came from an impoverished one. He felt threatened by his wife’s education. Because of this, when my grandmother was in the sixth grade, he made her quit school. He told her “You have enough education to wash diapers”. This was painful for her to talk about. She remembers elementary school as a very happy time and she loved learning. Mr. W, her teacher, was the greatest influence in her life because unlike other men during this time, he wanted her to have an education. What's more, my grandpa (her husband) didn’t want her to finish school either. It wasn’t until my grandpa died that she finished. I was angry and upset to find this out! I knew in 1985 she went to school for nursing, but I never knew she had to go to school to get her GED first. This was her life’s biggest regret and she said she just had to finish. Amazingly, we have this in common. My father did not think I should go to college and my husband didn’t either. I fought for two years to stay in college and then I quit. Now I am forty-three and back in school, determined to finish just like grandmother.
My grandmother also talked about segregation. She remembers that blacks had to get off the sidewalk when they saw a white person coming. There is still segregation in XX, but not like this. To this day, my grandmother is afraid of blacks and she thinks I should be. Sadly, we were taught this. I cannot talk to my grandmother about racism and how wrong it is, it just upsets her. I am proud to say that one of my best friends is black. My grandmother and I definitely have a difference of opinion on this subject. I often wonder if her generation will take prejudice to the grave or if it will continue to survive.
Grandmother’s perception of life now is that people have too much. I agree with that. She also said that people used to be more decent. I agree with her to a point because when she was a child they did not have access to as much information as children do today or perhaps people have always acted the way they do; we just have more access to knowledge about it.
I can see how society has changed since grandmother was a child. Things like transportation, technology and communication will probably always continue to change. In regards to the things that haven’t changed, hopefully, my generation will raise educated children without prejudice.
Critical Thinking Essay
As time goes by, we see many changes that have evolved in our civilizations. As German historian, Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler once described; that the West was declining because of how other civilizations would follow the beliefs of one’s before. There would be a rise and fall to each era. As far as his beliefs, they are certainly true. Therefore, as Spengler describes how the Roman Empire declined because of believing of the Greeks civilization and beliefs, it continues to happen throughout other civilizations.
In the era that we live in now, we have seen the dramatic changes in our democratic system. We speak for ourselves and no one can tell us what the right thing to believe in is. As we saw in early 2000’s, we have experienced our own decline. We witnessed the most horrifying event yet during our civilization. On September 11, 2001 our own borders and airlines were made fun of for not being secure and well-managed. The result ended with three hijacked planes, two out of three buildings destroyed, and almost 3,000 Americans killed. This proved how vulnerable we were to attacks. We worry more about helping others than paying our own debts. The current dollar is not worth much. The housing market declined to where people would lose their homes and had no shelter to provide for their families. Job was a word that most Americans looked for to support their families. Strikes were held high against most Americans. They believed that our system was corrupt. Cheap labor is an issue faced by the mid-West. Employers will hire and train a young person to where they will not have to pay minimum wage or less rather than hiring an experienced individual. People in today’s society will do anything to get a job and to keep it without benefits. People depend on the government to support their every need.
Also, as Spengler stated that inflation has been brought about throughout mankind. Plantations and agriculture in general have had their highs and lows. As the farming decreased, there would be less jobs and food worldwide. Thus is a main reason of why most if not all civilizations would decline. Without crops, and the production of cotton and fruits and vegetables most of our civilization would not be alive. We depend on food, water, shelter and clothing to maintain a healthy life and civilization.
Further contributing to the decline of the West, is China. Even though they did decline back in 100 A.D. Today, they do not depend on any other country and make their own goods. They are the supplier to every country whether it is east, west, north and south. If any decline would ever happen again and for good, China would be highly respected for the work and management of how their country is managed. Without China at least 90% of our civilization would decline in a heartbeat. As democrats, we would not like the idea of someone telling us what is right or wrong, who to believe in, or even for someone to tell us how many children we can have. Thus, it would help us manage our time and money. Even let us live longer. The West knows what is coming to our future but we worry too much about how were can prevent any harms that are coming but spend little time on not thinking if we are going to live the next minute. China and the young children of our civilization today would see the outcomes and would re-track the steps we took that made our civilization decline and go a different route.
Spengler did have a reason to teach others about his beliefs. I t was to encourage those that have seen these dramatic changes in inflation, food, water, and cheap labor. As I mentioned, I truly and honestly believe that Spengler is right about the decline of the West. Inflation will decrease because of decrease in crop production and employers. Dramatic events will occur because of foolish security and stubborn actions. People will go out of their way to find a job to provide for their families. Cheap labor from other countries will continue to save money, and civilizations will go around in a circle and continue like a recycling symbol. Therefore, China will be the greatest prospect to become the most valuable country because of their continuous growth and strict management that will lead them to succeed. We will still find a way to prevent harm that will end this civilization that we live in today.
Project
[FIELD NOTES PROJECT]
Project
Recently, Parade Magazine held a multiple-choice poll on their website. The purpose of the poll was to ask their readers what issues gave their readers the greatest amount of frustration. I set out, under the direction of my very wise sociology professor, to find if these frustrations would be echoed in my local society.
I decided upon a central question to ask my audience. “Please list for me, your top ten frustrations”. I chose this as a simple, easy to understand request for information.
The next step was for me to determine how I would access my audience. For this to be a fair poll, objective and unbiased, I would need to randomly ask local members of my social structures that were removed from myself.
I chose to access and address my audience through randomly selected phone calls from the white pages in the phone book. I chose this method because my profession requires me to speak on the phone with customers, sometimes a hundred in a day. Speaking on the phone is very comfortable for me, which enables me to be more effective when asking a stranger to answer a poll.
I maintained random requests through a tried and true tradition. I closed my eyes, lifted a pen, and wherever the pen marked, that would be the person I called. This method was not without difficulty however. I made my phone calls on my off day, which happens to be a weekday. That means that many of the calls I made, the phone was not answered, and I was routed to an answering machine. Other times, people were not open to answering a poll; in many cases, they would list a few, and then disconnect with me.
I chose not to gather demographics. Instead, I assured all of the respondents I spoke to that their information would be confidential and at no time would anything other than the statistics from their responses would be used for the purpose of my research. At that point, most of my respondents relaxed, and were more open to sharing with me.
In the long run this worked for me through my experience with building rapport, and connecting with people over the phone in such type situations.
After thoroughly analyzing my data, I realized that the information I have received was very different from the findings of Parade Magazine.
As I was asking respondents for their input, I was expecting to hear many of the public issues, but instead, most of my findings were of private troubles. This of course, was very different from the public issues mentioned in Parade Magazine’s poll.
The number one issue that was voiced to me by 100% of those polled, was rudeness or lack of respect. In the society of today I assumed that a lack of formality was accepted and had become the rule and the norm, rather than the exception and the bur in ones side. Not to say that I am rude, but more to say that I have noticed a general lack of consideration or concern for others throughout the years. This is something I have noticed over the course of my growth and maturity, and has been further solidified by my findings.
The current economy also rated high at 100% as well as a frustration, or source of stress. This is not as surprising however. I was expecting a high response in the category of economic downturn because it is something that is both a private struggle and a public issue that has great effect currently in modern-day society.
Number three on the list was quite surprising, and apart from anything I ever expected in the current culture America is in. Eighty-five percent of respondents rated technology and technological issues as frustrating.
I probed into the reason behind the frustration. I found that the main cause of the discomfort was rooted in rapidly and evolving technology. Most stated that they found it difficult to keep up with and stay informed about.
Common references were also made to difficulty in maintaining products that were able to handle the newest and most effective software demands.
Other high-ranking topics of note were government mismanagement, current job roles, healthcare reform, job security, bill collectors, familial roles, and insurance companies.
But yet again, there was a dark horse in the results. Nine out of twenty people questioned named poor driving habits as a source of their frustration. Having never heard of this as being a major issue through news networks, I was, again surprised. It brought to my attention that we do reside amongst those who are inconsiderate drivers, as well as personalities.
I was still left with many questions to answer.
What do these answers say about society as a whole in my region? I believe that we are held together by similar values, frustrations, and private struggles. I also believe that most of these frustrations, struggles, and issues go hand-in-hand with each other and work towards same type value systems.
For example, if the economy is an issue for a group, then they will also have difficulty with job security, as well as bill collectors, and current job roles. There is added pressure to perform to a certain standard, raising the bar and creating extra work for those who remain employed. This, in turn , adds stress which tends to create tensions between people causing difficulty in relating to one another. We have become more competitive and jealous of one another. Families must work more and harder to make ends meet, which displaces the familial roles as well.
In some aspects, I do believe that this would be a great case for the structural functionalist who believes that if one aspect of society falls, others are soon to follow. In this case, I would highly support the structural functionalist theory and it’s long-reaching effects into our society and their collective frustrations, sources of stress, and discontentment.
My findings in no way are meant to discredit any of the findings of Parade Magazine. There are many reasons as to why there are discrepancies. These reasons include a macrosociological approach on behalf of Parade; my approach was completely microsociological. Their reach was nationwide, while I reached out to locals in my area.
Parade used multiple choice options, guiding their audience to a narrow list of choices, while the scope on my poll was broad and open to any answer.
These decisions, and many more led to difference in findings among respondents. But despite the differences, there are many over-reaching concerns of Americans that must be addressed as a public issue. The economy, the healthcare crisis, and governmental misconduct all have us on edge.
Now that we know this, and I am sure the current governing bodies do as well, what we do about it, is completely up to the powers that be.
We can only hope that we meet these issues with the attention that the issues are due.
Frustrations
Rudeness
20
Economy Crisis
20
Technology
17
Current Job Roles
15
Healthcare Reform
10
Government Mismanagement
10
Job Security
10
Bad Driving
9
Bill Collectors
9
Family Roles
8
Insurance Companies
6
Power of the Media
6
Laziness
6
Lack of Time
6
Domestic Duties
6
Domestic Abuse
5
Sex
5
Drugs
5
Aging
4
Lack of Discipline
4
Animal Cruelty
3
Poor Customer Service
3
Aggressive Sales
3
Spanish Signs
3
Change
2
Sexism
2
Religion
1
Political Correctness
1
Telemarketers
1
