Soc004 Midterm 3 Study Guide

All right, if you click on the title of this page "Soc004 Midterm 3 Study Guide" then it will take you to a google docs webpage which has the same information on it, but in a much more visible way. Blogs tend to cram all my information in and I don't know HTML anymore so I can't remember how to double space.








DISCLAIMER: These notes are based upon my readings and studies of the given material, provided by our instructor. DO NOT BELIEVE that these notes will directly correlate with a passing grade on the next midterm. These notes reflect my understanding of the material and therefore are subject to possible (albeit minimal) but possible error. This is not a substitution for reading the assigned chapters and articles, or attending class. With that said enjoy, and good luck on Friday.
CHAPTER 7
Quota Sampling (nonprobability) units are selected into a sample on the basis of prespecified characteristics.
-the total sample will have the same distribution of characteristics assumed to exist in the population being studied.
Simple random sampling (probability) the units composing a population are assigned numbers. A set of random numbers is then generated, and the units having those numbers are included in the sample.
CONS: “Not feasible” [?]
Not the most accurate method available.
Systematic sampling (probability) every “kth” unit is selected for inclusion in the sample.
EX: every 25th student in the college directory.
[K=sum of population/sample size = sampling interval.]
PROS: slightly more accurate than simple random sampling
CONS: Arrangement of elements within the list might make you select a sample that does not reflect the population.
Stratified sampling – modifies simple random/systematic sampling – ensures more representativeness by decreasing sampling error.
PROS: Organizes the population into homogenous subjects and selects the appropriate number of elements from each.
Offers proper representation of the stratification variables
Multistage cluster sampling – natural groups (clusters) are sampled initially with the members of each selected group being subsampled afterward
-involves repetition of listing and sampling
PROS: great for stratified populations, can break down your population far better
CONS: subject to two sampling errors
Purposive sampling (nonprobability) the units to be observed are selected on the basis of the researcher’s judgment about which ones will be the most useful or representative.
PROS: Good for deviant samples
Good as a pretest
Good for insights on a sample
CONS: Weak for measuring the totality of your sample
Snowball sampling (nonprobability) – often used in field research each unit interviewed is asked to suggest another unit to be interviewed
CONS: can lack representativeness
PROS: Great for people who are hard to locate
EX: Studying the homeless
Confidence Interval – range of values in which a population parameter is estimated to lie
± Z ( Ѕ . )
√N – 1
Ci = sample mean ± confidence level (standard deviation ÷ √ Sample size – 1)
Confidence level – The estimated probability that a population parameter lies within a given confidence interval.
3 confidence levels
– 90% (rarely) i.e. there is a 90% chance that the sampling statistic equals the population parameter and a 10% chance that it does not. [1.65]
– 95% i.e. there is a 95% chance that the sampling statistic equals the population parameter and a 5% chance that it does not. [1.96]
– 99% i.e. there is a 99% chance that the sampling statistic equals the population parameter and a 1% chance that it does not.[2.58]

What is a standard deviation?
Standard Deviation = answers the question how disperse are a set of values around a sample mean.

Mean is calculated by: Sum of individual values reported
Sample Size

Standard Deviation: √(square root) ∑ ( Individual value reported – sample average)2
Sample Size


Chapt 8:
Classical Experimental Design: most conventional –
needs: Independent and dependent variable(s)
Pretesting and post testing
experimental and control groups
Examines effect of IV (independent variable) on DV (dependent variable)
IV – experimental stimulus
2 attributes (present/not present)
Both IV and DV must be operationally defined before experiment begins
Experimental group – the group who is administered the stimulus
Control group – no stimulus – has characteristics very similar to experimental group
Chapt 9:
Open-ended questions – respondent gives his/her own answers (most qualitative studies use this in-depth method)
Closed ended questions – respondent selects a given answer, provided by researcher.
Guidelines for Asking Questions :
• Make items clear
• No ambiguous questions
• Avoid double barreled questions (2 ?’s in 1)
• Respondents must be competent to answer.
• Respondents must be willing to answer.
• Questions should be relevant.
• Short items are best.
(If question to long, people will move on, miss read it, or get bored)
• Avoid negative items.
(avoid using the word ‘not’)
• Avoid biased items and terms.
(welfare vs poor)

Guidelines for Questionnaire Construction
• One question per line; avoid clutter; clearly indicate how and where respondents should answer.
• Format matrix questions so they are easily answered.
• Use contingency questions when necessary.
• Be aware of issues with ordering items
• Include instructions for the questionnaire.
• Pretest all or part of the questionnaire.

Study Guide Midterm 2

SOC 160 Study Guide Midterm 2


Mickelson
This chapter explores gender stratification
More girls than boys graduate high school
More girls than boys graduate college with a baccalaureate
More girls have their master's degree
Men still dominate the professional and Phd degrees
Fields of specialization are gender-linked
physical sciences, math, engineering = male dominated
social sciences, humanities = female dominated
high paying careers = specialist degrees = male world
education gap has been closed, but the occupational world continues to fail to reward women equally
Ogbu = job ceiling
felt it was a major factor in creating low achievement level for minorities
A study in 1983 of Los Angeles students
sample size = 1193
senior students (male/female)
showed two sets of data
Data#1 Abstract attitudes
schooling is a vehicle for social/economical mobility and success.
-Dominant ideology of U.S.
-Does NOT predict achievement behavior
Data#2 Concrete Attitudes
reflects diverse material realities that people experience with regard to returns on education
(straight from the book, yeah…I don’t know either)
my understanding*more realistic views/appear more aware of glass ceiling but aim for possibilities
-can predict achievement in high school
-Women despite lesser economical return despite their high educational obtainment, continue to strive for educational obtainment
-Girls generally do better in school until puberty
-curriculum changes at this point too
-becomes more individualistic (competitive) and less group oriented, which are girls strong points.
-girls outperform boys in verbal tasks
-boys outperform girls in spatial tasks
National Center of education statistics say that boys go to physical sciences girls go to social sciences
-structural factors
-curricular placement
-counseling
-boys are more likely to be placed in higher mathematics
-other studies tend to refute this though
primary reason for unequal returns is the sex-segregated labor markets men and women continue to work in
Main question: why do women continue to achieve despite the obvious glass ceiling? 4 Hypotheses
1) Differential reference group theory,
diminished status (in relation to men) but evaluate their status by comparing themselves to other women.
context-two occupational structures (sex-segregated)
one for men and one for women
believe their education is rewarded
Compare themselves to the women around them - see poor returns education = not unfair in terms of a sex-segregated structure. (pink collar jobs)
Problem with theory:
assumes women are aware of the unequal returns but do not care this idea "requires a major leap in faith" (p 335)
2) Pollyanna Theory
the typical young woman who graduates from high school sees the occupational and educational structures with optimism
-believe sexism is a blight faced by the older generation and is currently dead
battle for equality has been won
Major social institutions reinforce this belief
-nuclear family ideology
-mass media
-sees husbands as equal partners in a dual-career marriage
do well in school because they have no doubt in their ability to earn a rightful position in an industry and/or profession
Problem: Presumes that sex-segregation in the occupational world is dead
3) Social Powerlessness
women are aware of the inequalities within the occupational world
do not expect equitable returns that a man receives
alternative is to go to college meet a male who is doing well that can maintain the women's current social status and marry him to be financially secure
applies to middle class women
women do well in high school so they can go to a good college to meet a male with a high achievement level

Problem: theory is completely irrelevant for anyone who is not white or middle class
4) Sex Role Socialization
2 aspects:
1. women are socialized early on into believing what a good girl does, and does no do. (accept rules with little protest)
they seek approval and love through achievement
2. male sex role (primarily pertains to working class) see academic achievement as feminine.
-resistance to authority
Problem: fails to link her behavior in school to such broad social structural phenomenon
*the first 3 hypotheses acknowledge the connection between education and occupational structure
-4th hypothesis ignores the concept altogether
Bourdieu/Cookson and Persell
Culture can be considered a form of capital
-indicated that accumulation of cultural capital can be used to reinforce class differences.
-cultural capital is socially created
"the best" or the most important is not decided democratically
-"the more deeply embodied the values the more value free they will be perceived as value free and universal" (p.74)
-thus curriculum (education) is the nursery of culture and the classical curriculum is the cradle of high culture (elite's cultural capital)
the ELITE consider cultural capital
Greek and Latin
Seth's notes:
The only way to gain Cultural capital that is embodied; is through repeated interaction and through the use of objects, and not to just use the object but understand what it means.
EX: Misrecognition:
-money is not recognized, dressing down, using slang, and identifying pop culture allows you to pretend and act that the social distance is short not far. By convincing people of this, you increase your power over them, but being able to easily manipulate them.
Bourdieu
Habitus (set of dispositions in how we operate in our universe)
-constellation of outlooks expressed through, beliefs, values, conduct, speech, dress, and etiquette.
Bourdieu looked at how boys and girls learn to be boys and girls, and how do they develop their power relations
-happens through practice
-becomes second nature
-predisposed/innate
People have lifestyle patterns the children practice it and through time reproduce it
-practice to be a person on what the person does before them
-schools solidify your practices from home
-achievement level in your environment are usually reproduced within you curriculum
-privileges vs rights
-define the social world in different ways
THREE SOURCES OF CAPITAL
Economic capital -
Social capital -
Cultural Capital - Objectified - having the object itself (the art piece) (rolex)
- Embodied - positioning the painting/how you evaluate it/how you light it/taste/etiquette
- Institutionalized - titles = Dr./Prof the position itself /takes on a cultural meaning/how did you acquire it
Ex: Knowing how to correctly pronounce Max Weber's name and knowing who he is and understanding what he did is all cultural capital
Paul Willis
Elements of culture is an examination of British students known as "the lads" and their opposition to authority and the rejection of the conformists.
The lads opposition becomes an inversion of the usual vales established by the authority
The counter-culture fights the dominant culture but tends to function remarkably similar to the dominant culture
-Hierarchy exists in both cultures
lads: idolized "THE LAD" image
the image was how to be and who to be like
Their hierarchy was lads - ear oles - females - ethnic groups [teachers might be regarded as equals, the lads tended to oppose them but still recognized their authority]
dominant culture = administration - teachers -students - lads
simply by challenging the authority the way the lads do, they still reinforce the authority of the dominant culture by acknowledging it is in control.
In other words they still recognized the dominant culture as authoritative
Had similar rules:
-dress codes
-time management/schedules
-curriculum at times
-set of vernacular
-formal and informal rules
-ultimate hypocrisy was that by being nonconformists they became conformists under some micro level differences but on the macro level they are very similar
-Brint discusses this study:
They view and see the hidden curriculum's oppression and recognize it as the enemy and refuse to accept the ideology of equal opportunity. Regardless or perhaps ironically, they by not allowing the system to track them, they track themselves into lower class occupation, which eventually would wear on their self-esteems and destroy their boisterous nature.
Lareau

Front Sight 5-8-09

I will be attending my second course at Front Sight (Nevada) on May 8th 2009. I am really looking forward to being out in the hot miserable weather, or standing in the freezing cold early morning desert breeze for 8-10 hours again...and why to I subject myself to such punishment you may ask? The training. The training. The training is just that good. Despite the obviously political propaganda that gets thrown around to "restore our 2nd amendment rights!" Front Sight is still amazing. The opportunity you get to work with these Range Masters is awe inspiring. You might be wondering just how good is this training? Well I for one, am young, and have never really been around guns much, which I say with a smile is very good and bad. Two weeks ago, while I was at Front Sight, was my third time in handling a firearm of any kind. I now can honestly tell you I feel completely confident in loading and unloading a hand gun in the dark. You may say, so what I can do that with my eyes closed, or in the dark too. Yeah but unless you were taught the same way as I was, I am going to load my gun faster than you are :). Some of the problems with Front Sight is that I do not believe that a single 4day Defensive Handgun course is justified by a $2,000 fee. That is ridiculous. I think $1,000 for a 4-day course would be more than fair. The amount of members they have should mean that they should enough money to invest in running water and better facilities. For guys this is not that big of a deal, it's a lot like camping really, except you are stuck in the desert. I feel that for women, and this is not an assumption; I am going off of complaints that I heard from various girls, ladies, and lasses at the Facility about the restrooms. The restrooms are just 'Porter Johns.' So I think for 2k, no running water, no real bathrooms, no given meals (unless you want to pay $13 per lunch), and not a tremendous amount of one on one time with the instructors it is not worth 2,000. You are better off going all out and trying to find a foreclosed "Front Sight First Family Legacy membership, which is a lifetime membership. To use this membership you simply go to Front Sight's webpage, login, select the course of your choice, select a course date, and literally click on 'check out,' and that is it! It is as simple as buying a t-shirt from off the web! The only difference is, once you are a member, you are free of charge. Yeah suddenly that 2,000 dollar course does not seem to make much sense does it?

By the way: for all those interested in trying out Front Sight, but cannot, or simply just do not want to purchase a 2,000 course. I have certificates that get you in for free. It will either cover the charges for 2 people for a 2day course, or one individual for a 4-day course. The courses avaible under this certificate include: 2day/4day practical rifle, 2day/4day defensive handgun, and 2day/4day shotgun course. I will be posting the link on ebay. It is going for about 165 dollars now:
Front Sight Certificate


All right, thanks for your time, I'll see you guys around.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine ROUGH CUT

This review is based on the rough cut of the film. The Production team still has until late April to fix this film. This is not a review on the final product! This is a review of the film in its unpolished form.

PROS: Hugh Jackman's performance which carry's the entire movie. The fight scenes between Wolverine and Sabretooth are brutal. The fight scene between Wade/Deadpool/Weapon XI, is actually better then the fights between Sabretooth and Wolverine. It's an X-men movie and it's better than the X-Men the Last Stand (the 3rd X-men movie) It's worth checking out if you've got nothing else to do.

CONS: Does not have an Epic feel at all. I mentioned that the fight scenes between Sabretooth and Wolverine are brutal, but some people may find them too one sided at times. Either Sabretooth just demolishes Wolverine, or Wolverine just destroys Sabretooth. Other Actor's performances are bland. Clunky editing, and terrible pacing. Camera direction for dramatic sequences feels like bad TV, like a bad episode of Grey's Anatomy. Victor's reason for betraying Jim is incredibly dull, not thought out well, and in the end really pathetic and dumb. Without a good reason we cannot care about the story... The film is supposed to take place over a hundred years, and through vast amounts of countries and states, yet the scope feels very small and dull despite all this.
More CONS
SPOILER!: We don't get enough time with Jim and Kayla, when she dies, we feel bad for Jim, but not as much as we should. Other Mutant characters feel very shallow, and unpronounced, we get to see Gambit and Cyclops but their moments are forgotten quickly. I know this is supposed to be Wolverine's movie, but if he meets these other mutants, then it should be meaningful, not just filler.
SPOILER!:
Why does Logan in the X-Men movie; which takes place after Origins, why does he not have memories of finding Kayla's body, and of Gambit helping him off the 3 Mile Island? In X-Men he only has flashes of escaping 3-Mile Island after his adamention procedure. He should still have memories of Kayla's body and Gambit...

Overall/Final Notes: It's decent, not great (like it should have been), I am not basing my opinion off of the trailers, I do not like buying into hype so that way I don't create a biased review. This movie is good, it is not great. Considering how much money, time, and effort that has been put in this movie, I would expect it to be better. The Production team still has a few weeks to fix many problematic sequences in this film, so it is VERY LIKELY!!! That the final product would be better than what has been seen thus far. Hugh Jackman does however portray Wolverine in a very charismatic and heroic manner, and despite his charisma he still ends up becoming the "everyman" by conveying the mentality of someone who has lost everything and seeks revenge, which makes him highly relatable and a lot fun to watch when he's kicking ass.

In the end: I would go see this film once it is released.