Family and Consumer Science Nowadays - Assignment Example

Module Questions on Family and Consumer Science Using the 2 by 2 model from the s (normal/abnormal, inside/outsidefamily stress), give an example of each of the four kinds of stress represented by each quadrant of the model, explaining why each example fits in its theoretical place and not one of the others.  Now, it is your turn to think theoretically.  Take the variable normal and abnormal stress and combine it with normal and abnormal reactions to stress. From here, give your examples of behaviors that fit into each quadrant of your new variable. Normal Stress inside the Family. An example of normal stress in a family unit is expected births. The prominent role of any family unit is procreation. This implies that it is normal for any family to expect births from its members. Births are accompanied by responsibilities that relate to taking care of the new born. Preparation and planning for the arrival of a newborn is a form of inherent stress that is normal for any family. Normal Stress outside the Family. An example of a stress in this category is tax liabilities. Tax liabilities emanate from the external environment of the family as they are regulated and imposed by the external legal systems. Adherence to tax requirements is a compulsory condition that the family has to contend through inclusion of a budget. Any budget deficits or failure to comply causes stress. The compulsory nature of tax remittance makes the stress normal. Abnormal Stress inside the Family. Family violence is a vice. Therefore, it is abnormal for families to experience the events of violence as they are preventable and unnecessary. Family violence subjects the family members to harm and loss as well as undermining of their dignity. Abnormal Stress outside the Body. War is a vice that is external to a family as it involves conflict among many social units. War may lead to stress related to replacement and loss of property. This form of stress can be averted through promoting harmony in the society. Reaction to Stress Normal Stress Inside The Family Normal Stress Outside The Family -Family planning -Health security -Clear role definition -Saving -National planning -Tax preparedness -Venturing on self employment -Self reliance Abnormal Stress Outside The Family Abnormal Stress Outside The Family -Promoting awareness on the dangers of drug abuse -Legal action against offenders -National planning -Disaster preparedness -International sanctions towards war instigators 2. A good beginning definition of "theory" might be "A theory suggests a model, or representation, of the way things are." With this definition in mind, describe:         A. A good theoretical answer to the Hobbesian Question         Hobbesian question seeks to understand how order is possible in a world characterized by competition for scarce resources. Order is possible because every person is dependent and connected to their own social world. Social role play and specialization determine the part to be played by every member of a family; thus avoiding conflict and enhancing the maintenance of order. The nature of the social roles that the families undertake are normally interconnected, and alienated by time and sequence of events. For instance, school goers normally take showers every morning at a certain sequence. The changing social demands force people to change survival tactics while still adhering to social order. Maintenance of social order eliminates any form of disagreements. A. How are family rituals important to the study of family crises? Family rituals refer to the family’s adaptation to the changing social demands. According to John Pardeck, adherence to rituals avoids conflicts as the changes are enacted in reference to the stipulated order. Disagreements may occur if the family members do not adhere to the rituals. For instance, the existence of a standard operating procedure enables the success of morning rituals. Rituals help researchers to understand the source of any conflict arising from the family and methods that can be applied in solving such a problem. B. The building blocks of family theory. A theory is a means by which science realizes its goals of classifying and describing events. Theories ensure that the organized events make sense, explain the present and the future, and explain why and how events occur. The building blocks for family theory are concepts that bind the family together. Such concepts include the family rules. These regulate individual behavior. The family rules are common among all families although their contents differ. Another concept is love. This prompts two people to come together and establish a family. A family based on love and fair rules is normal and healthy. 3. What is the Theory - Methodology connection? Use this connection to explain the scientific method using Wallace's Wheel. Theory and research are linked together by logic and observation. Research or scientific methods apply six steps when uncovering facts and truth. These include; statement of the problem, hypothesis to the cause of the problem, testing the hypothesis, results, observations and conclusion. Therefore, a scientific process enables a theory to be tested, interpreted and published. Wallace wheel for the research process is a gradual breakdown of the stages involved in confirming that the theorized claims are true. The logical steps proposed by Wallace include formulation of hypothesis, literature review and data collection methods such as observation and generalizations. Literature review provides the background for deductive logic for generating hypotheses and concept definition. Data collection operationalizes the concepts in hypotheses, sampling and instrument design through statistical design, scaling and measurement. Generalizations involve presentation of results through inductive logic, concept reformation and proposition rearrangement. 4. Explain briefly the differences between definitions of theory according to Plato, Aristotle, and Dean Witt Social theories function to explain, describe, delimit and predict social events (Bowles, Choi and Hopfensitz 142). Therefore, its moral role is to clarify situations so that human beings can live better lives. Plato defines theory as the hypothetical universal aspect necessary for clear understanding of any phenomena. Aristotle described theory as related to theoretical knowledge, as opposed to practical. He posited that understanding of theory requires prior possession of concrete, theoretical knowledge. According to Dean Witt, theory is practice. A concept cannot be understood without taking a certain action. The correct theory is a product of undertaking the right action. The perfect definition of a theory can be derived from the combination of the divergent views of Plato, Dean and Aristotle i.e. it is a universal concept that requires aspects of theoretical understanding that is confirmed through practice. 5. Define Healthy Family functioning in terms of-value judgments -statistical descriptions of family interaction -homeostatic ideals -the family system as a social system -the influence of the larger environment (culture and society) on the family. Family health is rarely discussed. Most discussions relate to the negative aspect of family unit such as troubles, crises and deficiencies. Definition of healthy family functioning involves a series of value judgments. Families remain healthy through focus on value improvement. According to the statistical description of family life, normal families are not necessarily healthy. For instance, normal families that promote racism, sexism, poor children nutrition and spend more resources on cosmetics rather than helping the poor are not healthy. Therefore, statistical profiles cannot be used to delineate healthy families in the society. However, the definition cannot ignore statistical description of family interaction. Families can be categorized into homeostatic ideals that focus on the way a family processes information and develops rules for behavior. Kantor and Lehr (1975) assert that there are three basic homeostatic ideals that characterize a family: open, closed and random. Closed families are those whose members interact among themselves in certain spaces and follow fixed schedules. Open families are flexible while random families are those whose space, time and energy dimensions are not fixed and chaotic. A family is subject to the guidance of their culture and societal values. This implies that their health is largely affected by the health of the society. Definition of the general family health begins with the definition of social system’s structure that is composed of family units. Description of the rules governing the social interactions of a family involves the description of the social structure of the society. 6. Give some examples of healthy families in terms of the organization of the marital relationship, the nature of interaction and communication patterns within the family the family's relationship with outside others. Healthy families are a product of healthy marriages that are characterized by complementarities i.e. partners cooperate in achievement of family goals whereby partners share and negotiate goals in order to ensure effectiveness. Additionally, healthy marital relationships are characterized by reciprocity i.e. partners support each other’s personal aspirations. Success in handling various tasks is dependent on the ease in which members are given freedom of activity. Unhealthy families appear rigid and possess bias towards gender role play. Healthy marriages are deviant of authoritarian strategies of exercising power. Healthy families are made up of members who share parental leadership. Members of a healthy family exercise open interaction based on rational reasoning processes with set ideals for resolving conflicts, sorting out differences, and cooperation. In terms of structural and interactional patterns, healthy families lack competing coalitions, such as parent-child versus other family members. The strain within a family system is a product of incompatible intent among the competing family sub systems whereby each system pursues its own end (Kantor and Lehr 32). Not all coalitions are destructive in a family set-up. However, the importance of maintaining the coalitions is to keep the family as a unit as stipulated in the cultural definition of the familial authority. The loyalty to the family of procreation should be greater that extended family. This ensures internal health before focusing on external health. Healthy families maintain age appropriate expectations towards children, allow development of a distinct self of each member, resolve conflict through negotiation and communication, and allow permeability of subsystem and system boundaries. Communications in healthy families are open and clear. Health families are open in their relationships with the outside families. Openness enhances affiliation and trust instead of disunity and suspicion. 7. Explain how the family, as an institution fits into the overall structure of society. Give examples of the functions family members must provide to society in order for society to prosper. In other words, explain society's functional requirements. Make the same argument for the family as a social institution - what does it need from the other institutions in order to exist.  Finally, explain how this approach to describing society answers the Hobbesian Question.  The family is a social unit whereby members interact according to the social laws that govern social cultures and values. Individuals may be having an opportunity to deviate from social normality, but socialization prohibits and determines all rules (Hartig and Steigerwald 159-162). The society provides family members with a set of behavioral aspects a family should adhere to in a social set-up. The family must partially meet the requirements of the other social institutions for them to cope well. The four main institutions that the family interacts with in a societal set-up include political, religion, economic and education. The political institution protects and offers leadership in the family in exchange for loyalty and allegiance. Political leadership expects compliance and conformity from the family members in the provision of law and order as well as protection from harm. The economic institution provides the family with goods and services in exchange for currency and wages. It also exchanges salaries in exchange for labor from the family members. Higher cooperation from the family members towards the economic institutions provides better living standards. The religious institutions demand acceptance and conformity towards religious standards as well as financial support. In exchange, the family is provided with moral standards and compassion during trouble. Education provides professionalism and skills for improving the economic and social institution in exchange for moral and financial support. The family also provides the workforce necessary for promoting education. The structural-functional theory answers the question of existence of order in the society whereby families are described as social units that create social forms. This allows for the organization of the elements of the society. 8. Using the patterned variable list a set of the primary group behaviors and their secondary group counterparts. Primary behaviors Secondary behaviors These are normally based on ties of personal loyalty and affection. They include: Warm Thoughtful Caring Intimate treatment These are organized around narrow ranges of set goals or practical interests. They include: Business-like Courteous Rule-oriented Colder approach that a person might encounter at the office Registration of classes at the university Works Cited Bowles, Samuel, Jung-Kyoo, Choi and Astrid Hopfensitz. "The co-evolution of individual Behaviors and social institutions." Journal of Theoretical Biology 223.2 (2003): 135 147. Print. Hartig, Nadine, and Fran Steigerwald. "Understanding Family Roles and Ethics in Working With First-Generation College Students and Their Families." The Family Journal 15.2 (2007): 159-162. Print. Kantor, David & Lehr William. Inside the family. Meredith Winter Press, 2003. Pardeck, John T. Family health social work practices a macro level approach. Westport, Conn.: Auburn House, 2002. Print. Read More