Paper #2In this paper you will review Part 2 by applying your learning to the extended case study
Workers.
Please follow the paragraph structure outlined below, and please address every outlined question. Each paragraph
should reflect approximately one page of writing, with the entire paper constituting a streamlined 4-page narrative
essay.
This paper is due on Friday 11/12 at 8am. However, you will have the opportunity to re-write this paper for a
better grade, if you wish. Re-writes will be due at the close of Module 12 on Friday 11/26 at 8am and should be
submitted as Attempt 2 via Paper #2
nction.
Paragraph 1: Culture and Socialization (see Writing Assignment #5, Questions 1-2)
What
?
o What are the five categories of culture? Define each.
assigned case study?
o What categories of culture are relevant, and why?
Paragraph 2: Social Structure (see Writing Assignment #6, Questions 1-2)
?
o What are the three levels that inform/build social structure? Define each.
o What are the social interactions that unfold on each level? Define each.
?
o What levels are relevant, and why?
o What social interactions are relevant, and why?
Paragraph 3: Social Stratification (see Writing Assignment #7, Questions 1-2)
What
o What is class-based stratification?
o What is racial/ethnic stratification?
o What is sex/gender-based stratification?
o
o
o
Is class-based stratification relevant? If so, how or why?
Is racial/ethnic stratification relevant? If so, how or why?
Is sex/gender-based stratification relevant? If so, how or why?
Paragraph 4: Social Change (see Writing Assignment #8, Questions 1-2)
What is
o Why does social change happen?
o How does social change happen? (i.e., From the lecture, what are the {two} models and {three}
theories of social change? From the OER chapter, what are the causes or agents of social
change?)
o
o
o
What kind of social change is evidenced in the case study?
Why is social change happening in the case study?
How is social change happening in the case study?
Revolt of the Delivery Workers1
By Josh Dzieza for New York Magazine
The Willis Avenue Bridge, a 3,000-foot stretch of asphalt and beige-painted steel connecting Manhattan
and the Bronx, is the perfect place for an ambush. The narrow bike path along its west side is poorly
lit; darkened trash-strewn alcoves on either end are useful for lying in wait. All summer, food-delivery
workers returning home after their shifts have been violently attacked there for their bikes: by gunmen
pulling up on motorcycles, by knife-wielding thieves leaping from the recesses, by muggers blocking
the path and brandishing broken bottles.
In response, delivery workers have found safety in numbers. Gathered under an overpass at 125th
Street and First Avenue and beneath a sign reading WE ARE ON GUARD TO PROTECT OUR
DELIVERY WORKERS, they stand watch; chronicling and intervening in the bike thefts that have been
plaguing delivery workers on the bridge and elsewhere across the city. Together, these delivery
workers, many of whom are men from Mexico, have formed a civil guard reminiscent of the one that
here they are from.
said one delivery worker
bike with dark-blue
tape covering its frame, blue spokes, and color-changing LED light strips on its rear rack. Two Mexican
flags fly from his front fork. Recently, one worker added a holster to his top bar for his steel bike-lock
so that he can quickly draw it to defend himself.
pay, the lengthening routes, the relentless time pressure enforced by mercurial software, the deadly
carelessness of drivers, the pouring rain and brutal heat, and the indignity of urinating behind a
dumpster because the restaurant that depends on you refuses to let you use its restroom. And every
day there were the trivially small items people ordered and the paltry tips they gave
all while calling
you a frontline worker or hero and avoiding eye contact.
For years, delivery workers have improvised solutions like the bridge patrol to make their jobs feasible.
These methods have been very successful, undergirding the illusion of limitless and frictionless
delivery. But every hack that made their work tolerable encouraged the delivery apps and restaurants
to ask more of them, until the job became something uniquely intense, dangerous, and precarious.
Take the electric bike: once restaurants and delivery app companies discovered that e-bikes made it
possible to do more and faster deliveries, they became a de facto job requirement. Delivery workers
now move faster than just about anything else in the city. They keep pace with cars and weave between
them when traffic slows, ever vigilant for opening taxi doors and merging trucks. They know they go too
fast, but
lowing down means being punished by the apps.
This is not how food delivery was always conducted in New York City. Before delivery apps, a restaurant
that made delivery-friendly food employed people to take it to customers in the neighborhood.
low wages, but the restaurant also provided shelter, restrooms, and often free meals.
Apps replaced this model in the mid-2010s, bringing armies of contractors directed by software on their
1
This reading is excerpted from: https://www.curbed.com/article/nyc-delivery-workers.html?src=longreads.
it to you. The apps also promised to solve the problem of cost through algorithmic optimization and
scale. Yet, the problem of cost has yet to be solved
none of the apps are consistently profitable, and
now only three giants remain: DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub-Seamless.
Each delivery app divides the New York market more or less equally, and each uses the piecework
model pioneered by Uber itself. Workers get paid when they accept and complete a delivery, and a
gamelike system of rewards and penalties keeps them moving: high scores for being on time, low
scores and fewer orders for tardiness, and so on. Delivery workers call it the patrón fantasma, the
phantom boss always watching and quick to punish you for being late but nowhere to be found when
you need $10 to fix your bike or when you get doored and have to go to the hospital.
To the apps, delivery workers are independent contractors; to restaurants, they are emissaries of the
apps; to customers, they represent the restaurants. In reality, the delivery workers are on their own,
often without even the minimum in government support. As contractors and, often, undocumented
immigrants, they have few protections and virtually no safety net. In fact, the few times city authorities
noticed delivery workers, it was typically with confused hostility. For example, until recently, e-bikes
were illegal to ride but not illegal to own. Thus, after the NYPD would seize an e-bike and fine
owner, it actually had to return that bike to its owner. When the pandemic hit and restaurants were
restricted to takeout, the city finally acknowledged e-bikes as
infrastructure
legalizing them three months later.
Maybe it was this legalization that triggered the robberies. Or the pandemic-emptied streets. Or it was
all the people out of work who needed money. Everyone has a theory. But what happened next is
familiar: the workers turned to the city for help, got none, and started figuring out a solution themselves.
Small cadres of workers began forming groups on WhatsApp and Telegram to share information and
protect one another. These groups then transformed into more formal and larger versions of
themselves, with names like Delivery Worker Alerts, Emergency Group, and Robbery Alerts in the Big
one delivery worker stated.
Notably, these groups now want to think beyond the robberies, to regulations and durable
improvements to working conditions. In this effort, some have joined representatives from SEIU 32BJ
(a powerful labor union), City Councilmember Brad Lander, and State Senator Jessica Ramos to push
for legislation around minimum pay and route control.
Groups of delivery workers have also begun discussions with the app companies, advocating for their
use of restaurant bathrooms and the addition of emergency-assistance and dispute tip buttons to the
apps.
one delivery worker
Additionally, groups of delivery workers have met with representatives from the NYPD, who have
appointed an officer to act as a liaison with the workers and to increase security on the bridges. That
said, progress is slow; the department is a sprawling organization with tremendous inertia and little
understanding of what modern delivery work entails.
Complicating things further, many delivery workers stress their independence and express skepticism
that anyone
politicians, app company representatives, the police
will ever help them. Many
distinguish
they view as
Mexico, people show up, promise to do stuff, and never produce
results one delivery worker said. But i
gotten much help from social institutions here,
either.
Running head: CULTURE AND SOCIALIZATION
Culture and Socialization
A. Summarize
1. A Summary of the Module’s OER Reading
Culture refers to the material and non-material products like expectations for behaviors,
values, and beliefs that people develop through interaction over a certain period. In familiar
contexts, culture is not dominant since individuals know how to conduct themselves and what is
expected, making their behaviors and beliefs almost second to nature. However, culture becomes
more apparent; individuals become aware of what others do not take seriously and get struck by
the differences in expected behaviors and beliefs. Culture comprises many components like
thoughts (i.e., expectations about personal space), more tangible things like bus stops, seating
capacity, trains, and, finally, behavior (i.e., pushing or extending an arm.). Material culture
comprises tangible things like objects and physical structures, while non-material is made up of
the behavior of individuals, thoughts, and beliefs of a society.
Cultural universals refer to traits or patterns that are common to all societies, as the
family unit. Cultural differences are far more prevalent than cultural universals despite how
much human beings have in common. Ethnocentrism refers to evaluating a different culture
based on how that culture compares with one’s own. The more an individual practices
ethnocentrism, the more they are likely to experience culture shock when people from a different
culture confront them. Cultural relativism is the practice of giving meaning to a culture based on
its standards instead of viewing it from one’s cultural perspective. Xenocentrism is the belief that
another individual’s culture is superior to one’s own culture.
2. A Summary of the Module’s Lecture
The main aim of all sociological research methods and theories is to improve one’s
understanding of social structure and culture in society. Culture includes ideologies and beliefs,
social norms, a system of symbols, values, and material technology. A single national society can
accommodate multiple cultures. Subculture is a smaller cultural group within a larger culture.
Language under a system of symbols is a symbolic system where people can communicate and
transmit culture. Material technology is a culture category involving physical products we create
and use to satisfy our needs and desires. Beliefs are convictions that an individual believes to be
true. Ideologies are the belief systems that define a culture or society. Norms are rules of conduct
that form proper social behavior. Folkways are widely performed norms, while social mores are
norms associated with how groups view morality, whereas values are the basis for social norms.
B. Reflect
1. What I Knew About the Module’s Topic Before I Began the Module
I knew that culture affects how individuals interact with people. I knew that if two
individuals from two different cultures meet, they will take time to adapt and become free with
each other.
2. What I Learned About the Module’s Topic by Completing the Module
I learned that culture encourages and constrains behaviors leading to unique behavioral
1
patterns in society. I learnt that life is relatively stable and predictable because of culture.
3. What I Still Don’t Understand About the Module’s Topic Despite Completing the
Module and the Questions that Remain for Me
I still don’t understand which of the three social norms (Folkways. Social Mores, and
Taboos) apply to the majority. Are there more categories of culture? This is the question that
remains for me.
C. Connect
1. A Summary of the Module’s Case Study
New York City car culture often attracts large crowds at the car meet-up in an isolated
part of queens, mainly young men. Passengers and many people hang out of cars taking selfies
showing how excited they are. The vehicles produced different levels of noise as they moved
around. The noise from the gatherings often disturbs people around, but the people in those
gatherings claim that they are together with non-participants in the car culture, so they have to
bear with the noises. The Loudest cars have straight pipes adjusted to the car’s computer to make
the exhaust sound like gunfire.
2. How the Topic I Learned About in This Module Connects to the Case Study
From the categories of cultures, the third category of beliefs and ideologies connects to
the part of the case study where participants in the car culture believe that even those not
participating are part of them. The topic on norms relates to the case study where the people in
the meet-up do not care about the noise, yet it should be a general norm that making noise affects
those around us.
Running head: SOCIOLOGY
Social Structure
Summarize
1. Summary of the Module’s OER Reading
Social life comprises many levels of building blocks from the macro and micro. The
building blocks combine to form a social structure, a stable recurring pattern of behavior that
people create as they interact with other people (“Social structure,” n.d.). On the other hand,
horizontal social structure is the relationship and characteristics of the communities in which
individuals belong. Horizontal social structure entails various components starting with the most
micro to the most macro. Social status is a socially defined position that an individual occupies
in the community. Social status is often attached to a job title, but there are many other types of
statuses such as relative, sibling, friend, student, and parent. Individuals can occupy different
social statuses simultaneously; an individual can be a pilot, a school board member, and a father
(“Social structure,” n.d.). A group consists of two or more individuals who interact regularly and
share some common identity.
Social categories are collections of individuals who at least have common attributes but
do not necessarily identify with each other. In contrast, social aggregate is a collection of people
who share a common physical location but do not necessarily interact with each other (“Social
structure,” n.d.). A formal organization is a large secondary group that follows procedures and
standards to achieve a common goal, while utilitarian organizations benefit. Social networks are
links that connect individuals to many others through a broad web of their social ties, while
social institutions are small systems of social behavior having a clear purpose grounded in a
strong value system (“Social structure,” n.d.). Society is the most significant component of social
structure, referring to a population of people living in a defined geographical area, answering to
the same authority, and sharing common cultures.
2. Summary of The Module’s Lecture
No culture exists without a structured society, and no structured organization exists
without civilization. As a result, it is essential to study social structure and culture in quick
succession. The social structure guides behavior through social interactions on the macro, mesolevel, and micro levels (Amy Traver, 2021). The micro-level consists of a few individuals
repeating their behavior and encouraging similar actions among direct contacts, while the macrolevel consists of many people repeating their behavior and encouraging similar activities among
indirect connections. Social structure promotes or restricts behaviors at each level of social
interaction, leading to distinct behavioral patterns and regularities in society. Micro-level
interactions consist of social identities and primary groups (Amy Traver, 2021). Meso-level
interactions consist of secondary groups, social networks, and formal organizations. Macro-level
interactions consist of society and social institutions.
Reflect
1. What I Knew About the Module’s Topic Before I Began the Module
Before I began the module, I knew that social interactions only involved individuals of
the same or different age, race, sex, and color in various institutions.
2. What I Learned About The Module’s Topic By Completing The Module
1
I learned that individuals in a social setting could share specific attributes even if they do
not relate to each other regularly. I also learned that a social structure is more than just people in
society and the institutions in it.
3. What I Still Don’t Understand About the Module’s Topic Despite Completing the
Module, and The Question That Remains For Me
I still don’t understand whether macro-level interactions that include society have some
characteristics of micro and meso-level interactions. The question that remains for me is, are
there characteristics that the three levels borrow from each other?
Connect
1. Summary of The Module’s Case Study
Americans are more likely to die of an opioid overdose than they are to die in a car crash.
Half of the opioid deaths involve prescription painkillers. Pharmaceutical companies argue that
the opioid pandemic is not their fault for prescribing powerful painkillers but those who misuse
the drugs due to addiction. While some Americans break the law by purchasing opioids from the
black market, their obsession, in most cases, began with a doctor’s prescription and advice.
Americans represent less than 5% of the world’s population but consume more than 80% of the
global opioid pill production. The United States health care system running as a company and
not a service gives the drug manufacturers more power (“Social structure,” n.d.). Opioid pills are
cheaper than other methods of treating pain like physical therapy and or psychiatry. The United
States health care system also gives a lot of power to patients, and many of the patients believe
that they can simply make the pain disappear.
2. How The Topic I Learned About In This Module Connect To The Case Study
The topic I learned about this module connects to the case study through the module’s
concept of macro-level. The macro-level involves many people repeating their behavior and
encouraging similar actions among indirect contacts, which is the same case for Americans who
keep coming back for more opioids, believing that it is the best way to deal with pain.
References
Amy Traver. (2021, August 6). Lecture 6 [Video]. Retrieved October 21, 2021, from
https://youtu.be/pDVHiL3X0KU
Social structure [PDF document]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2021, from
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=370cbf6eaa&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msgf:1714029874233581350&th=17c97516dc199f26&view=att&disp=inline&realattid=f_ku
xq89800
Running head: SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Social Stratification
Summarize
A Summary of the Module’s OER Reading
Social stratification is the society’s organization of people into tiers that facilitate unequal
access to highly valuable basic social resources. Social inequality, also called vertical social
structure, refers to how a group or society ranks people in a hierarchy, some being more “equal”
than others (“Social Stratification,” n.d.). Race, class, gender, ethnicity, and class in many
industrial societies like the United States determine one’s position or social ranking in the
vertical social structure. Society has layers made of people, where the people with more
resources represent the category in the top layer of the stratified social structure. Different
societies have different factors that define stratification. Class stratification refers to an
individual’s economic position and the opportunities that come with that position (“Social
Stratification,” n.d.). Classes comprise people sharing a similar position concerning the highest
level of education, wealth, occupation, and income.
In the United States, sociologists have identified three class levels, the upper, middle, and
lower class, with each class having various subcategories. The ability to change positions within
a class stratification system is known as social mobility (“Social Stratification,” n.d.). When the
economic statuses of individuals improve or diminish in a way that alters their social class, then
the individuals experience social mobility. An individual’s experience of downward or upward
social mobility is known as intragenerational mobility. Structural mobility occurs when societal
changes make an entire group of people move down or up the social class ladder. Stereotypes are
exaggerated generalizations concerning groups of people. Stereotypes can be grounded almost in
any characteristic but are often grounded on ethnicity and race (“Social Stratification,” n.d.).
Prejudice is the thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs someone has concerning a group. On the
other hand, racism is a strong type of prejudice.
Discrimination consists of actions against a group of people, and institutional racism is
how racism is instilled in the fabric of society. Gender stereotyping refers to overgeneralizing the
traits, behavioral patterns, or attitudes of men or women. Heterosexism is the main grounds for
sexual orientation-based discrimination. Homophobia is an irrational or extreme aversion to gay
people (“Social Stratification,” n.d.). An individual’s sexual orientation is his mental, physical,
sexual, and emotional attraction to a particular sex.
A Summary of the Module’s Lecture
Sociology studies the layering or organization of people in society. The layers are real to
mean that they have profound implications on people’s lives, like their access to power (Amy
Traver, 2021). The layers are also invisible; not all inequalities are known or immediately
perceptible. Social structures are porous, which means that people can move between them.
Social hierarchy is different across cultures and times. For example, to be rich in a country like
Burundi is different from being rich in the United States. Primary sex characteristics are called
primary because they are both first presenting and significant. Secondary sex characteristics are
secondary because they appear late in life (Amy Traver, 2021). Sociologists believe that the
American class stratification system is a Hereditary Meritocracy where opportunities for success
are based on birth and abilities.
1
Reflect
What I Knew About the Module’s Topic Before I Began the Module
Before I began the module, I knew that the structure of the society does not have any
classifications. I knew that every individual is different and unique and that there is not much
that an individual can share with the other.
What I Learned About the Module’s Topic By Completing The Module
By completing the module, I learned that different societies have different factors that
define stratification. I also learned that class refers to an individual’s economic position in class
stratification and the opportunities that come with that position (“Social Stratification,” n.d.).
Classes comprise people sharing a similar position regarding the highest level of education,
wealth, occupation, and income.
What I Still Don’t Understand About the Module’s Topic, Despite Completing the Module
and The Questions That Remain For Me
I still do not understand why stereotypes are often grounded on ethnicity and race. Why
are stereotypes often grounded to race and ethnicity? That is the question that remains for me.
Connect
A Summary of the Module’s Case Study
Evictions majorly impact the poor renting families who spend a large part of their income
on housing costs. Evictions are heavily concentrated in the southeast, where there is a large
number of African-Americans. Evictions may lead to a family’s loss of possessions. The
neighborhoods with a high rate of evictions often experience instability and a constant turnover.
Thousands of evictions would not take place if emergency funds were provided to tenants.
Evictions also impose societal costs in the form of increased burdens on court dockets.
How the Topic I Learned In This Module Connect To the Case Study
In this module, the topic I learned concerning how classes are assigned to individuals
from income to gender connects with the case study. The case of the vulnerability of women than
men to eviction, as seen in the case study, is similar to the module’s point that women are given a
lower class than men, which makes them more vulnerable since their class has no power (“Social
Stratification,” n.d.). Again as stated in the module that discrimination by color may lead to
individuals acquiring unfair treatment is connected to the 80% evictions on people of color.
References
Amy Traver. (2021, August 6). Lecture 7 [Video]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Zrh-KcVVI0o
Social Stratification [PDF document]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?
ui=2&ik=370cbf6eaa&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msgf:1714677505322813516&th=17cbc21b391e884c&view=att&disp=inline&realattid=f_k
v7xz35j0
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Sociology Questions
Summary of OER Module
The module’s OER talks about social changes in sociology. Firstly, social change is the
study of processes by which cultures and social organizations change over time (0.05-1.20). The
main reason for studying social changes is understanding how society changes and why they
change over time. Various factors in the environment cause the social changes taking place in the
community. The most common causes of social changes are technological innovation, changes in
population, and people’s movements (0.55-1.10). The OER also details that many social changes
have occurred worldwide, including the industrial and agricultural revolutions.
Summary of the Module’s Lecture
The main concern of sociology is social change. Social change is the process whereby
different cultures and social organizations get changed. The concern of sociology is concerned
with social change, how it happens, and why it happens. Therefore, the social changes that have
taken place in the world play a crucial role in understanding the history of developments. Some
of the social change events that have taken place globally include the agricultural revolution and
the industrial revolution (Vihelemm et al., 2016). These two events marked significant changes
in the lives of people all over the world. Therefore, sociology informs of the social changes
taking place in the world.
Reflection on What I Knew Before I began the Topic
Before I began the topic, I knew some details about the topic. One of the issues I knew
about social change is that they take place over time. I also knew that they are the changes that
take place in our society. I learned most of the information that I knew about social changes from
previous courses in sociology. Moreover, I also knew that social change is concerned with
interactions in society.
What I learned About the Module Topic
Once I got introduced to the topic, I have learned various facts about social change. The
first thing I learned about social change is that it is concerned with the changes in the order of
issues in society. Secondly, I also learned that social change forms a crucial part of people’s
history by telling us about some social events to have taken place in the world, such as the
industrial revolution, agricultural revolution, and the reformation (Vihelemm et al., 2016).
Therefore, I have grasped the fact that social changes form a crucial part of the environment.
What I still do not Understand About the Module Topic
Although I have gained much knowledge about social change since beginning the topic,
there are still some aspects that I do not understand well. One issue in understanding social
change is why social changes matter even though they keep changing. Moreover, I ask myself
some questions like how does studying social change helps us. Despite these technicalities, I am
still willing to learn more about the topic.
Summary of the Module’s Case Study
The module’s case study is about a social movement concerned with improving the wages
of individuals per hour. The movement is called Fight for $15. Its primary responsibility is to
improve the minimum salaries of people from seven to fifteen dollars per hour. The movement
was initiated in 2012 by employees working for restaurants in New York. Currently, the
movement is concerned with improving the wages of people working for various departments,
including child care, airport personnel, home healthcare, and convenient store employees.
Moreover, the organization has also expanded to reach more than three hundred cities and six
continents globally.
How the Topic Applies to the Case Study
The topic talks about social changes taking place in human societies. One of the basic
concepts I have learned from the topic is that social changes are significant to the development of
people. The knowledge learned from the topic can be applied in improving the terms of the case
study. The case study of Flight for fifteen dollars talks about the organization’s changes since its
invention in 2012. Therefore, the knowledge of the topic can be used to improve the organization
by learning about how other social movements have succeeded over time and how to deal with
problems they face. Consequently, the study of social change is crucial in understanding the
success of organizations and social institutions such as the Fight for $15 movement.
References
Traver, A. (2021). Lecture 8: Social Change. Retrieved November 4, 2021, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvNAPZpeEn4
Vihalemm, T., Keller, M., & Kiisel, M. (2016). From intervention to social change: A guide to
reshaping everyday practices. Routledge.