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SOCIOLO
GY & IT
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CONCEPTS
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SUK S
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Basics SOCIOLOGY:
• Socio (Latin): Society• Logos(Greek): Science• Socius: Individual , Societa:: Group
• Sociology can be study of relationships between human beings and changes or variations in these relationships in different part of world & at different times
• The study of human behavior
Fields of specialization• Medical Sociology• Urban Sociology• Rural Sociology• Industrial Sociology• Criminology• Hospital Sociology• Sociology of religion• Sociology of education
Application of Sociology• Sociology enables to see & analyze
social world from the viewpoint other than ones’s own
• Helps in understanding of how other’s live,
• Powerful insights gained into one’s particular problem
• Policy can be formulated to suit for those it has been intended
• Sociological research is a guide to assess the results of policy initiatives
• A program/reform may fail what it intends to strive or end up in undesirable results
• Eg.- “Relocation of slums to Planned Resettlement Colonies”
- Fairly unpopular :
i. Uproots from livelihood
ii. Detaches from Social network
Development of the slums are better option
• Empowerment of the individuals and groups with unbiased understanding
• Self-enlightened groups can benefit from sociological research & influence government policies or may formulate policies of their own
• Eg:- Self-help groups of Diabetics/ Alcoholics- Environmental movements
Evolution of sociologya)Phase 1: (before 1700AD)
- Traditional attempts made to understand ownselves & conventional wisdoms handed down through generations;
- Expressed in terms of religion, myths, superstitions, traditional beliefs
b)Phase 2: (18 -19th Century)
- Objective & systematic study of human behavior since 1700s.
- Era of emergence of scientific disciplines
- Traditional & religion based explanations gave way to objective scientific theories
c)Phase 3: (20th century onward)- French revolution (1789) championed values of
equality & liberty over traditional social order- Industrial revolution of late 18th century Britain
produced spread of new technology - Led to complete change of social order , decline
of feudal system, large-scale migration to industrial towns
- Colonialism- Breakdown of established forms of society &
emergence of newer social systems
Sociological theoriesA.Augustus Comte (1798- 1857): Founder of
modern sociology• A French thinker, credited with coining of the
term ‘Sociology• Sought to establish sociology as a positive
science which would conform to laws as in natural sciences
• Formulated “laws of three stages”- theological, metaphysical & positive;
• Considered world have passed through 3 stages
- Ideological stage: thoughts were guided by religious ideas
- Metaphysical stage: during the time of Renaissance, came a transition in the worldview of society from supernatural(religious) to natural
- Positive stage: application of scientific techniques to a variety of other disciplines become a popular intellectual exercise (Following discoveries by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton
B. Emile Durkheim(1858- 1917):• Another French thinker• Sought to establish sociology as a
scientific discipline• Studied social norms & social
integration• Looked at interactions between
individuals & society• Observed society regulates the
individuals & there are various levels of such regulation
c. Karl Marx(1818- 1883):
• A German settled in Britain
• Pioneering work in industrial revolution
• Sought to link economic problems to social institution
• Propounded the Materialistic Conception of History
• Argued social changes primarily driven by economic changes
• Examined how societies had undergone several transformations over the course of history
D. Max Weber( 1864- 1920)• Identified basic characteristics of
modern industrialized societies based on a series of empirical studies
• Negated the materialistic conception of history & considered class conflict less significant
• Considered human motivation & ideas are real factors for changes
• Thought sociology should focus on Social Action , not on social structures
• Basic assumptions:- A basic social structure exists, so social
behavior is regulated to a certain extent- Societal level is the most useful for
examination & study of individuals cannot adequately explain the aggregate-level phenomen
- Social structure imposes some constraints on both individuals & groups; but it is debatable whether human behavior is controlled essentially by social behavior or is self-determined
Medical sociology- Concerned with study of health, health-behavior &
health institutions, in a psychological & social dimension
• BACKGROUND:
- 1879 J S Billings linked study of sociology with hygiene
- 1894: Charles Mcintire defined medical sociology as , the science:
i. Of the special phenomena of the physicians themselves as a class apart & separate
ii. That investigates the laws regulating the relations between the medical profession & human society as a whole
• General Approaches:
a)Positivist approach:
- Assumes an ideal as a point of reference & therefore examines deviations from this ideal
- Assumes that events are real & thus concludes cuasal relationship can be studied
b)Social reaction:
- Takes an idealistic perspective and considers that there is no general law , focus should thus be attributed to meanings of social events
- This approach analyzes- i) how people react to deviant signs in themselves & others, ii) whether they label them as deviant or not & iii) how they respondwhen one or the other attribution is made
This approach analyzes- i) how people react to deviant signs in themselves & others, ii) whether they label them as deviant or not & iii) how they respondwhen one or the other attribution is made
c) Statistical approach:- It merely observes the most frequent behavior
those are prevalent- Does not concern itself with the meaning of
either moral or deviant behavior - Only observes & record what is done
• Content Areas:- Kendall & Merton in 1958 identified four key areas addressed by
medical sociology- Mechanic also defined three analytical perspectives in medical
sociology
A.Special etiology & ecology of disease ( closely linked in epidemiology)
B.Sociological study of treatment & recovery & social support for illness
C.Study of the institutional organization of health, its components & their relationships
D.Sociology of medical education• Social epidemiology• Patient flow perspective• Social context of practice
Health Behavior:• Beliefs:
- Human Belief Model: One’s daily activities were conceived of a process of interaction between the positive forces & negative forces
• Perceived susceptibility:- Individuals vary widely in their acceptance of their
susceptibility to a condition - There may be Denial, Consideration, or Acceptance• Perceived Seriousness• Perceived benefits• Barriers to Seeking Health Advice
Sociological concepts• Society:
- An organization of member agents
- Main feature: system of social relationship between individuals
- It controls & regulates the behavior of the individual by law & custom
- Can exert pressure on individuals to conform to its norms
- Dynamic character, changes with time & place
- Society is a vast network of relationships & compulsions that propel, direct & constrain man’s individual efforts
- Public Health is an integral part of social system
- SOCIETY PUPLIC HEALTH
• COMMUNITY:
- “ A community is a social group determined by geographical boundaries and or common values and interests. Its members know and interact with each other. It functions within a particular social structure and exhibits and creates certain forms, values and social institutions. The individual belongs to the society through his family and community.”
• Social structure:- Refers to the pattern of inter-relations between
persons- Consists of - complex of major institutions,
groups, power structure & status hierarchy• Social institutions:- An organized complex pattern of behavior in
which a number of persons participate in order to further their group interest
- Rights & duties of each member is defined within each institutions
- Family, school, the church, club, hospital, college, political parties, professional organizations, panchayats
• Role:- Each individuals are allocated role in society- Classified as “ given” or “ acquired”- Given by virtue of sex, age, birth status- Acquired by virtue of education or earned otherwise- Single day single person can play- husband, father,
employee, friend, son, brother, guest, neighbor, - When one falls ill, he assumes “ Sick roll”,
relinquishes/decreases normal duties, seek medical aid, and carry out orders given by physician
• Socialism:- Economic doctrine that favors
use of property & resources of the country for public welfare
- A system of production & distribution based on social ownership for raising the living standards of the working class
- “Each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs”
• Socialization:- Process by which an
individual gradually acquires culture & becomes member of a social group
- Children going to school- Internship of medical
graduates
• Social control mechanisms:- Societal rules are present, formal & informal, for
maintenance of relationship of authority & subordination
- Informal social pressure are imposed on individuals to help to construct norms of behavior
- Social pressure may be exerted by powerful groups, individuals, friends
- Acts through rewards & punishments- Financial reward to undergo voluntary sterilization
Customs:- Classified into “folkways” & “mores”- Folkways are considered as right ways of doing
things in what is considered as the less vital areas of human conduct
- More stringent customs are called mores- Public takes active part in enforcement of mores- Staring point of all customs are convention- “convention”: practice promoted by the
convenience of the society or individual
• Culture:- “learned behavior which has been
socially acquired”- Product of human societies- Man is a product of his cultural
environment- Culture transmitted from one generation
to another through formal & informal learning
- Lays down norms & behavior
- Provides mechanism for an individual for his personal & social survival
- Culture stands for customs, beliefs, laws, religion, moral percepts, arts & other capabilities & skilled acquired by man as a member of society
- Cultural factor plays important role in health & disease
- Culture is not inherited genetically; it is learned- through formal & informal interaction
- Situational learning, Social Learning, Symbolic Learning
- Lung cancer (smoking)- cirrhosis of liver
(alcoholism)- Oral cancer( pan chewing)- Cultural factors are closely
associated with personal hygiene, nutrition, Immunization, health care seeking, family planning, child rearing, disposal of refuse & excreta,
• Acculturation:- Diffusion of culture
between groups & communities
- “culture contact”- Made by : trade &
commerce, industrialization, propagation of religion, education,conquest
- Social diagnosis & social therapy: - Social diagnosis of an illness needs
application of behavioral sciences to arrive at community diagnosis & accordingly the therapy applied is social therapy in the form of education, legislation , individual & group counseling, motivation & team building apart from provision of services on basis of equity without any discrimination with focus on economically weaker section of the society
• Standard of living:
- refers to usual scale of expenditure, goods consumed, services enjoyed, mode of living
- Depends upon national income, total amount of goods & services a country is able to produce
- Size of population- Level of education- General price level- Distribution of national income- Per capita income
• Dynamics of social change:- 19th century Europe, industrial
revolution brought increase in income & wealth accompanied by decrease in birth & death rates
- Late 20th century, steady reduction in Death rate, IMR, in Latin America & parts of Asia with modest rise in income
- Both death & birth rate remains high in Africa
• Social stress:- Generated by new opportunities & frustrations
arising from social changes - Wave of migration from rural to urban areas- Diminution of traditional family support system- Greater exposure through mass media to ideas
which has been previously considered culturally alien
- Tourism- Changes in technological needs of the society
requiring skills different from previous generation
- Pressure mostly felt by young - Resources inadequate to
meet their needs- Discrepancy between actual
& perceived demand of a stressful situation
- Psychological stress & inadequate coping ability implicated as contributory to disorders
- stress→ hypertension → CHD
Communication: -FLOW OF INFORMATION , CIRCULATION OF KNOWLEDGE & IDEAS & PROPAGATION OF THOUGHTS-MASS MEDIA EXTENSIVELY USED AS VEHICLES OF DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION
• Social Problems:- Individual problems become
social problems when they affect large number of people amounting a threat to welfare of the society
- Predominant behavioral component in causation
- Widespread over large geographical areas & affect many people
- Disrupts trade, affects the economy
- May lead to discrimination & ostracism
- Many public Health problems ↔ Social problems
- Alcoholism, venereal diseases, mental illness, narcotic addiction
- Following Social Health Problems: housing, divorce, population growth, increased number of old people, population explosion ► calls for combined sociological & public health action
• Social pathology- Relationship between disease & social condition- Linked to poverty, crime, delinquency, vagrancy- Social pathology of accidents, diabetes,
cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic bronchitis,
• Social surveys:- Social pathology is uncovered by social surveys- Strong kinship between epidemiological &
social survey- Investigation on the relationship of social
factors to heart disease, cancer & arthritis
• Case Study:
- Method of exploring & analyzing life of a social unit – person, family, institution, group, community
- Determines the factors responsible for complex behavioral pattern of the unit & relationship of the unit to the surrounding
- It collects a large number of data from small number of units whereas in survey relatively small amount of information is collected from a large number of units
- But a single instance may/may not be representative of a larger population
• Field Study:
- Concerned with depth of knowledge
- Observation of people in situ
• Social Defence:
- Defence of society against criminality not only by treating & defending the offende but also by creating conditions in community conducive for healthy & wholesome growth of human life.
- Entire range of preventive, therapeutic & rehabilitative services for the protection of society from antisocial, criminal or deviant conduct of man
- Measures related to the control of juvenile delinquency, eradication of beggary, social & moral hygienic programs, welfare of prisoners, prison reforms, elimination of prostitution, control of alcoholism, drug addiction & suicides
- Children Act (prevention &control of juvenile delinquency)
- Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Woman & Girls Act( elimination of prostitution)
- GOI renamed Central Bureau of Correctional Services as National Institute of Social Defence in 1975( Ministry of Social Welfare)
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