ASSIGNMENT 2 SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION Due Week 6: 150 points You’ve learned how important groups, roles, statuses, and social networks are in the structure of society. In this assignment, you’ll demonstrate what you’ve learned by identifying and describing examples from your own life. You will also have a chance to practice some smart strategies for managing your digital presence in your own “online” social networks. Instructions: Complete both parts of the assignment by following the instructions below. PART A: YOUR STATUS SET, ROLES, AND ROLE PROBLEMS 1) Status Set: a) List a status set that includes at least five statuses that you currently have. •• Remember: A status is simply a position you fill in society. It may be a job title, but it could also include a position you fill within a family or a community. For more information, review Section 4.3 in your webtext. 1 b) Label each status in your status set as ascribed, achieved, or master. •• Remember: An ascribed status is one you’re born with and have no control over. An achieved status is reached through your own efforts or simply good or bad luck. A master status is so important that it overrides your other statuses. For more information, review Section 4.3 in your webtext. 2) Roles: a) Choose one status from your status set. b) Describe the role that is associated with the status. c) Describe how you learned that role. •• Remember: A role is the behavior expected of someone with a certain status. For more information, review Section 4.4 in your webtext. 3) Role Problems: a) Choose two statuses from your status set. b) Describe a time when you experienced a problem because of the demands of your two different roles associated with those statuses. c) List at least two different ways you could have solved the problem. For example, could you ask someone for help? Or could you go online to research a possible solution? d) Describe the approach you took to solve the problem. What was the result? Would you do things differently next time? 2 PART B: SOCIAL NETWORKS AND POSITIVE IMPRESSIONS 1) Social Networks: A social network includes all of the relationships that link you to other people and groups. Through social networks, you can connect with people who may be able to offer you valuable advice, introductions, or opportunities. a) Identify an area of interest that you would like to pursue, either professionally or personally. It could be a job or industry, a volunteer position, or a social group. •• Examples: accounting, volunteering with the elderly, joining a book club b) Identify and describe three people in your social network (people you know personally) who have a connection, or might know someone connected to your area of interest. These three people may be work colleagues, family members, or close friends. •• Remember: For privacy reasons, do not list their names in this assignment. Instead, identify them as Person A, B, and C. c) For each person, write a brief description of why you selected them, and how they are connected to your area of interest. d) Identify the person who you think is the best contact for you to communicate with about your area of interest. Why did you choose that person? 3 2) Positive Impressions: When you interact with other people in your social networks, you usually want to make a positive impression on them. Online, you can do that by using certain strategies when you create profiles. a) Read this beginner’s guide to using LinkedIn, a professional social network: http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/ blog/2016/11/07/ca-beginners-guide-to-linkedin/ b) Imagine that you are creating an online profile on a professional social networking site, such as LinkedIn. The first person who will see your profile is the person in your social network that you identified above. Write a detailed description of the type of impression you would want to create with your profile. c) Identify five components of a professional networking profile that others will use to get an impression of who you are. d) Create a headline for your professional networking profile that targets the job, opportunity, or industry you’re interested in. (See “Headline” section of article above). 4 RUBRIC Grading for this assignment will be based on the following rubric: POINTS: 150 Criteria 1. List a status set and label each status. Weight: 10% 2. Describe a role and explain how you learned it. Weight: 15% ASSIGNMENT 2: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION Unacceptable Meets Minimum Expectations Fair Proficient Exemplary Below 60% - F 60-69% - D 70-79% - C 80-89% - B 90-100% - A Lists a status set of less than five statuses. All statuses may not be accurate, or all status labels may be incorrect. Lists a status set of five statuses. Three or four statuses may not be accurate, or three or four status labels may be incorrect. Lists a status set of five statuses. One or two statuses may not be accurate, or one or two status labels may be incorrect. Lists an accurate status set of five statuses. Each status is labeled correctly. Lists an accurate status set of at least five statuses. Each status is labeled correctly. Additional status sets are included or student identified nontraditional statuses that may not be obvious. Does not describe how a role is associated with a status and/or how the role was learned and does not provide supporting details. Inaccurately describes how a role is associated with a status or how the role was learned and supporting details are sparse. Partially describes how a role is associated with a status and how the role was learned, but some of the supporting details are missing. Accurately describes how a role is associated with a status and how the role was learned, including supporting details. Accurately describes how a role is associated with a status and how the role was learned, including supporting details. Demonstrates strong understanding by using sociology terms and providing logical, accurate, and concise information. 5 POINTS: 150 Criteria 3. Describe a role problem and provide two possible solutions. Weight: 20% 4. Identify three people in your social network and describe their connection to one of your interests. Weight: 20% ASSIGNMENT 2: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION Unacceptable Meets Minimum Expectations Fair Proficient Exemplary Below 60% - F 60-69% - D 70-79% - C 80-89% - B 90-100% - A Does not describe a role problem, or does not provide two possible solutions and the approach taken. Supporting details are sparse to describe a role problem, or to support two possible solutions and the approach taken. Supporting details are used but some key details are missing to describe a role problem, or to support two possible solutions and the approach taken. Includes supporting details to describe a role problem and to support two possible solutions and the approach taken. Supporting details are provided to fully describe a role problem and to support two possible solutions and the approach taken. Demonstrates strong understanding by using sociology terms and providing logical, accurate, and concise information. Does not describe three people in a social network, or their connection to an area of interest, or how the best contact was identified. Supporting details are sparse to describe three people in a social network, or their connection to an area of interest, or to support how the best contact was identified. Supporting details are used but some key details are missing to describe three people in a social network, or their connection to an area of interest, or to support how the best contact was identified. Includes supporting details to describe three people in a social network, their connection to an area of interest, and how the best contact was identified. Supporting details are provided to fully describe three people in a social network, their connection to an area of interest, and how the best contact was identified. Demonstrates strong understanding by using sociology terms and providing logical, accurate, and concise information. 6 POINTS: 150 Criteria 5. Identify five components of an online profile, and describe the impression you want to make online. ASSIGNMENT 2: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL INTERACTION Unacceptable Meets Minimum Expectations Fair Proficient Exemplary Below 60% - F 60-69% - D 70-79% - C 80-89% - B 90-100% - A Does not describe five components of an online profile, or a profile headline is not written. Supporting details are sparse to describe five components of an online profile, or the type of online impression desired, or a profile headline is written that is not specific or not aligned with an area of interest. Supporting details are used but some key details are missing to describe five components of an online profile, or the type of online impression desired, or a profile headline is written that is not specific or not aligned with an area of interest. Includes supporting details to describe five components of an online profile and the type of online impression desired, and a profile headline is written that aligns with an area of interest. Supporting details are provided to fully describe five components of an online profile and the type of online impression desired, and a profile headline is written that aligns with an area of interest. Demonstrates strong understanding by using sociology terms and providing logical, accurate, and concise information. Writing does not meet minimal standards. Tone is not appropriate. Wholly lacking in logic, clarity, and/ or consistent formatting. Contains many spelling and/ or grammatical errors. Writing meets minimal standards. Tone is not appropriate. Lacking one or more of logic, clarity, and/ or consistent formatting. May contain many spelling and/ or grammatical errors. Writing is satisfactory. Appropriate and/or consistent tone is developing. Shows moderate logic, clarity, and/or consistent formatting. May contain more than a few spelling and/ or grammatical errors. Writing is proficient. Tone is appropriate. Shows logic, clarity, and consistent formatting. May contain few or no spelling and/ or grammatical errors. Writing is excellent. Tone is appropriate and demonstrates excellent word choice. Shows exceptional logic, clarity, and consistent formatting. Contains no spelling or grammatical errors. Weight: 25% 6. Write in a skillful manner using proper formatting, grammar, and spelling. Weight: 10% 7 SOCIAL STRUCTURE: STATUSES What are the different status types people occupy in a society? The first building block of social structure we'll examine is status. Status has many meanings in the dictionary and also within sociology, but for now we will define it as the position that someone occupies in society. This position is often a job title, but many other types of positions exist: student, parent, sibling, relative, friend, and so forth. It should be clear that status as used in this way conveys nothing about the prestige of the position, to use a common synonym for status. While many would say that a physician's job is a status with much prestige, a shoeshiner's job may be a status considered by many to have little prestige. Any one individual often occupies many different THE POINT TO REMEMBER statuses at the same time, and someone can Any one individual often simultaneously be a banker, Girl Scout troop occupies many different leader, mother, school board member, volunteer at statuses at the same a homeless shelter, and spouse. This someone would be very busy! We call all the positions an time. individual occupies that person's status set (see Figure 4.1). Tamara Mose's status set to take an example from your Week 2 Strayer Story video, includes sociology researcher, professor, parent, daughter, and friend. FIGURE 4.1 EXAMPLE OF A STATUS SET Bankor Girl Scout Troop Leader Mother School Board Member Volunteer at Shelter Spouse Clint MoFarlin/Scomo Learning Sociologists usually speak of three types of statuses. The first type is ascribed status, which is the status that someone is born with and has no control over. There are relatively few ascribed statuses; the most common ones are our biological sex, race, disability status, parents' social class and religious affiliation, and biological relationships (child, grandchild, sibling, and so forth). The second kind of status is called achieved status, which, as the name implies, is a status you achieve or choose at some point after birth, sometimes through your own efforts and sometimes because good or bad luck befalls you. The status of student is an achieved status, as is the status of restaurant server, widow, or romantic partner, to cite just a few of the many possible achieved statuses. Two things about achieved statuses should be kept in mind. First, our ascribed statuses-particularly our sex, race and ethnicity, and social class-often affect our ability to acquire and maintain many achieved statuses (such as college graduate). Second, achieved statuses can be viewed positively or negatively. Our society usually views achieved statuses such as physician or college student positively, but it certainly views other achieved statuses, such as burglar or prostitute, negatively. foto CATMOS The third type of status is called a master status. This is a status that is so important that it overrides other statuses you may hold. In terms of Rick Bayless, TV chef and founder people's reactions, master statuses can be either of several restaurants, has won positive or negative for an individual depending on numerous accolades and awards the particular master status they hold. Barack for his Mexican-style cooking. He holds a positive master status as Obama now holds the positive master status of one of the world's best chets. former president of the United States: his status as Joshua M. Thompson the former president overrides all the other statuses he holds (husband, father, and so forth), and millions of Americans respect him-whether or not they voted for him or favored his policies-because of this status. Many other positive master statuses exist in the political and entertainment worlds and in other spheres of life. < MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION Our ascribed statuses (particularly sex, race and ethnicity, and social class) often affect our ability to acquire and maintain which of the following? achieved statuses status symbols social networks social structures Correct. Our ascribed statuses, particularly our sex, race and ethnicity, and social class, often affect our ability to acquire and maintain many achieved statuses. Some master statuses have negative consequences. A physical disability, for example, often becomes such a master status. If you are bound to a wheelchair, this fact becomes more important than the other statuses you have and may prompt people to perceive and interact with you differently. In particular, they perceive you more in terms of your master status (someone bound to a wheelchair) than as the "person beneath the master status. For similar reasons, gender, race, sexual orientation, and gender identity may also be considered master statuses. Often, based on these statuses, people are treated differently from others, no matter what their other statuses may be. This could manifest as discrimination against people who hold minority statuses or as favoritism towards people with dominant statuses. Strollers signify the status of parent or caretaker. Here, supermodel and parent Cindy Crawford poses with the new Evenflo Ellipsa stroller in New York on January 11, 2005. AP Photo/Shannon Stapleron Whatever status we occupy, certain objects signify a particular status. These objects are called status symbols. In popular terms, status symbol usually means something like a Rolls-Royce or an expensive watch that shows off someone's wealth or success. But sociologists use the term more generally than that. For example, a wheelchair is a status symbol that may signify the master status of someone with a disability. If someone is pushing a stroller, the stroller is a status symbol that signifies that the person pushing it is a parent or caretaker of a young child, while wearing your university's T-shirt is a symbol of your student status.
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