Final term Exam ( Spring – 2021)

Subject: Sociology Submission Day: Tuesday

Instructor: Shumaila Farah Submission Date: 1st June 2021
Program:BS Submission Time: 8:30– 11:30 am
Max. Marks:40

Department of Business Administration

Instructions:
1. Read and attempt all the questions carefully.
2. Organize your work clearly, neatly, and legibly with page numbers in footer.
3. You are not allowed to change the sequence of questions or any part.
4. This exam will test your ability to examine, explain, modify or develop concepts discussed in
class.
5. Exam answers will also be checked through Turnitin for originality.
6. Do not share your answer with any classmate or member. Otherwise, you will be penalized by
deduction in your marks.
7. Each student has to submit complete question paper with answers on a Word Document and
submit.
8. Your answer should be typed, double-spaced on standard-sized paper A4. (8.27″ x 11.69″)
with 1″ Normal margins on all sides.
9. You should use a clear font that is highly readable; 12 pt. Times New Roman font.

Q.NO1 Case Study: Cyber-methods [20]

In recent years, sociologists have become increasingly interested in using the
Internet for social research. There are more than 100,000,000 users of
computer-mediated communication (CMC) world-wide, and this means that it
is much easier to ‘talk’ to people about their lives without the normal
constraints of time, money and geography. Researchers can make use of a
number of modes of CMC to access potential respondents: there are chat
rooms, multi-user domains (‘dungeons’) and email, which operate in real time,
as well as bulletin boards, newsgroups and mailing lists, which allow people to
communicate asynchronously, with individuals posting comments as and
when they are online. Kate Robson (1998) used email and chat rooms to
conduct online focus groups with sufferers of Inflammatory Bowel Disease,
and found that this was an excellent way of finding people with a particular
condition across the world. Meanwhile, Stewart et al (1998) explored young
women’s perceptions of health risks in China and Australia by conducting
synchronous (real time) interviews at various ‘conference sites’. The Internet
can be a great help in gaining access to populations that are difficult to reach,
such as deviant groups or those affected by a sensitive issue. Susie Scott
conducted part of her research on shyness via email, which allowed people to
discuss personal thoughts and feelings that they might have felt unable to
express face to face. However, we must be careful about ethical issues in
cyberspace. Data transmitted over the Net is not entirely protected from
hackers and technical errors, so we may not be able to assure people that the
information they provide will remain confidential. Anonymity is another
problem: people may use pseudonyms and user-names on the Net, but it is
sometimes possible to work out who and where they are from their email
addresses and the contents of their posts. Finally, it is questionable whether
CMC users can give informed consent to participate in the research. Those
who post to bulletin boards, newsgroups and chat rooms may think that they
are in a private space, but anyone could be ‘listening in’ – including social
researchers.

An excellent book about researching in cyberspace is:

Mann, C. & Stewart, F. (2000) Internet Communication and Qualitative
Research: A Handbook for Researching Online Sage, London

Questions:

1. What kind of topics might usefully be explored in cyberspace? [4]

2. Which sampling techniques do you think would be appropriate to use in this

context? [2]

3. How might the lack of face to face contact affect the interaction between
researcher and participant? [6]

4. How does data collected online compare to transcribed interviews or

field notes, in terms of validity and reliability? [4]

5. To what extent can creating a ‘virtual community’ with one’s participants

resolve the ethical problems outlined above? [4]

Q.NO.2
Imagine you have together the brightest people in your department to solve the
problem . You have high hopes for the group, so you feel frustrated when people can’t
come to the decision.

Several factors are holding the group back.

To start with, one person is very critical of colleague’s ideas. You suspect that fault
finding is discouraging others for speaking up. Another has hardly contributed to the
session at all: when asked for his opinion he simple agree with the more dominant
colleague. Finally, one group member made a humorous comment at unhelpful time,
which upsets the momentum of the discussion.
These are the classic examples of poor group dynamics, and they can undermine the
success of a project, as well as people’s morale and engagement.

Explain what groups dynamics are and why they matter? And discuss some examples of
poor group dynamics and outline some tools that you can used to deal with them. [15]

Q.NO.3
Conflict theory suggests that deviant behaviors result from social, political, or material
inequalities of a social group. In response to these inequalities, certain groups will act
deviantly in order to change their circumstances, change the social structure that
engendered their circumstances, or just to “act out” against their oppressors. An
example of conflict theory would be the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in the
fall of 2011. Angered at the extreme inequalities in wealth distribution in the United
States, protesters began to organize more communal ways of living in Zucotti Park—
near Wall Street in New York City—in order to protest the lavish means of life of those
at the top of the socioeconomic ladder. The protesters were deviating from social norms
of coherence in order to articulate grievances against the extremely wealthy. Their
actions and perspectives demonstrate the use of conflict theory to explain social
deviance.
Interpret the above underline statements. [5]
 MARYAM AFSAR
13865
BBA-H

ANSWER OF QUESTION NO 1:

1: I have dedicated a part of my research and publications to the problem of hate speech on
social networks. I am currently outlining a new article on that. There is something that makes
me worried. It seems obvious that there are easily labelable and traceable hate speeches
(especially in cyberspace with the help of automatic word processing software). Many
published works provide today relevant data that allows detecting hate speech and identifying
potentially criminal users masked under pseudo anonymity. Some of
the topics that can be explored are Cyberspace and growing problems of privacy
infringement Cyberspace and changing aspects of crimes (cyber-crimes). Cyberspace and
criminal networks Cyberspace and the virtualization of our social world.

2: Researchers should discuss the appropriateness of using any quantitative sampling

methods when carrying out qualitative research. If not appropriate, what are the sampling
methods used in qualitative research. Simple random sampling: One of
the best probability sampling techniques that helps in saving time and resources, is the Simple
Random Sampling method. It is a reliable method of obtaining information where every
single member of a population is chosen randomly, merely by chance.

3: Lack of face to face interaction between the researcher and participants can effect both
negatively and positively as the participant can freely express thoughts about the topics which
one can not do in the face to face interaction because some people are shy and do not make a
good expressive thought in public or face to face meeting with the researcher. But it also
effects negatively on the research as researcher may not be able to get a un-based opinion
from the people and that ill make it harder to reach any conclusion. Face-to-face
communication is the distinction of being able to see the other party or parties in a
conversation. It allows for a better exchange of information since both speaker and listener
are able to see and interpret body language and facial expressions

4: This combination narrative should be considered where combination is better than

substitution. Moreover, combining the advantages of field notes, transcripts, and working
from tape recordings without accumulating each method’s disadvantages is possible because
of new technology. Research is useless if it's not accurate, documented, and preserved.
When your findings are based largely on interviews, it's important to use and maintain
those interviews appropriately. That's why transcribing your recorded interviews can be a
huge help to your research.
5: By creating a virtual community for any ethical problem may not be able to resolve it
completely but in some ay it can help us to resolve the problem. This can help us to know
more thoroughly about the problem and people could share some solutions to the problems.
The data shared in a virtual community is not protected and can be accessed by hackers and
other people who use unethical means to steal someone's data on the internet. Three important
ethical issue raised by online research is Participant privacy, confidentiality and anonymity.
Participant privacy, confidentiality and anonymity were the most commonly reported ethical
concerns. These concerns are applicable to internet research across all disciplines, not just
those involving families and children.

ANSWER OF QUESTION NO 2:

GROUP DYNAMIC

Kurt Lewin, a social psychologist and change management expert, is credited with coining the
term "group dynamics" in the early 1940s. He noted that people often take on distinct roles and
behaviors when they work in a group. "Group dynamics" describes the effects of these roles and
behaviors on other group members, and on the group as a whole.

More recent researchers have built on Lewin's ideas, and this work has become central to good
management practice.

A group with a positive dynamic is easy to spot. Team members trust one another, they work
towards a collective decision, and they hold one another accountable for making things happen.
As well as this, researchers have found that when a team has a positive dynamic, its members are
nearly twice as creative as an average group.

In a group with poor group dynamics, people's behavior disrupts work. As a result, the group
may not come to any decision, or it may make the wrong choice, because group members could
not explore options effectively.

CAUSES POOR GROUP DYNAMIC

Group leaders and team members can contribute to a negative group dynamic. Let's look at some
of the most common problems that can occur:
 Weak leadership: when a team lacks a strong leader, a more dominant member of the
group can often take charge. This can lead to a lack of direction, infighting, or a focus on the
wrong priorities.
 Excessive deference to authority: this can happen when people want to be seen to agree
with a leader, and therefore hold back from expressing their own opinions.
 Blocking: this happens when team members behave in a way that disrupts the flow of
information in the group. People can adopt blocking roles such as:
 The aggressor: this person often disagrees with others, or is inappropriately
outspoken.
 The negator: this group member is often critical of others' ideas.
 The withdrawer: this person doesn't participate in the discussion.
 The recognition seeker: this group member is boastful, or dominates the session.
 The joker: this person introduces humor at inappropriate times.
GROUP THINKER:  this happens when people place a desire for consensus above their desire
to reach the right decision. This prevents people from fully exploring alternative solutions.
FREE RIDING: here, some group members take it easy, and leave their colleagues to do all the
work. Free riders may work hard on their own, but limit their contributions in group situations;
this is known as "social loafing."
EVALUATION APPREHENSION: team members' perceptions can also create a negative
group dynamic. Evaluation apprehension happens when people feel that they are being judged
excessively harshly by other group members, and they hold back their opinions as a result.

STATEGIES FOR IMPROVING GROUP DYNAMIC:

Use these approaches to improve group dynamics:

As a leader, you need to guide the development of your group. So, start by learning about
the phases  that a group goes through as it develops. When you understand these, you'll be able
to preempt problems that could arise, including issues with poor group dynamics.
Next, use Benne and Sheats' Group Roles  to identify positive and negative group roles, and to
understand how they could affect the group as a whole. This will also help you plan how to deal
with potential problems.

Tackle Problems Quickly:

If you notice that one member of your team has adopted a behavior that's affecting the group
unhelpfully, act quickly to challenge it.

Provide feedback that shows your team member the impact of her actions, and encourage her to
reflect on how she can change her behavior.
Roles and Responsibilities:
Teams that lack focus or direction can quickly develop poor dynamics, as people struggle to
understand their role in the group.

Create a team charter  defining the group's mission and objective, and everyone's responsibilities
as soon as you form the team. Make sure that everyone has a copy of the document, and remind
people of it regularly.

Break Down Barriers

Use team-building exercises  to help everyone get to know one another, particularly when new
members join the group. These exercises ease new colleagues into the group gently, and also
help to combat the "black sheep effect," which happens when group members turn against people
they consider different.
Also, explain the idea of the Johari Window  to help people open up. Lead by example: share
what you hope the group will achieve, along with "safe" personal information about yourself,
such as valuable lessons that you've learned.

Focus on Communication
Open communication is central to good team dynamics, so make sure that everyone is
communicating clearly. Include all of the forms of communication that your group uses – emails,
meetings, and shared documents, for example – to avoid any ambiguity.

If the status of a project changes, or if you have an announcement to make, let people know as
soon as possible. That way, you can ensure that everyone has the same information.

Opinionated team members can overwhelm their quieter colleagues in meetings. Where this
happens, use techniques such as Crawford's Slip Writing Method , and make sure that you
develop strong facilitation  skills.

Pay Attention
Watch out for the warning signs of poor group dynamics.

Pay particular attention to frequent unanimous decisions, as these can be a sign

of groupthink , bullying , or free riding. If there are frequent unanimous decisions in your group,
consider exploring new ways to encourage people to discuss their views, or to share them
anonymously.
Key Points
The term "group dynamics" describes the way in which people in a group interact with one
another. When dynamics are positive, the group works well together. When dynamics are poor,
the group's effectiveness is reduced.

Problems can come from weak leadership, too much deference to authority, blocking, groupthink
and free riding, among others.
To strengthen your team's dynamics, use the following strategies:

 Know your team.

 Tackle problems quickly with good feedback.

 Define roles and responsibilities.

 Break down barriers.

 Focus on communication.

 Pay attention.

Keep in mind that observing how your group interacts is an important part of your role as a
leader. Many of the behaviors that lead to poor dynamics can be overcome if you catch them
early.

ANSWER OF QUESTION NO 3:

In conflict theory, deviant behaviors are actions that do not comply with social institutions. The
institution's ability to change norms, wealth, or status comes into conflict with the individual.
The legal rights of poor folks might be ignored, while the middle class side with the elites rather
than the poor. The study of social deviance is the study of the violation of cultural norms in
either formal or informal contexts. Social deviance is a phenomenon that has existed in all
societies with norms. Sociological theories of deviance are those that use social context and
social pressures to explain deviance. one of the four theories or concepts to each group: anomie;
control; differential association and labeling. Explain to the students that we will now study
some theories that sociologists have used to explain why deviance occurs in a society. According
to Merton, there are five types of deviance based upon these criteria: conformity, innovation,
ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. Sociological theories of deviance are those that use social
context and social pressure to explain deviance, deviance is a behavior that some people in
society find offensive and which excites if it were discovered, disapproval, punishment or
hostility. It is a behavior that is likely to get you in trouble. The third sociological theory of
deviance is conflict theory. In this theory deviant behaviors are action that do not comply with
social instruction. The instructions’ ability to change norms, wealth or status cot comes into
conflict which the individual the legal rights of poor folks might be ignored while the middle-
class side with the elites rather than the poor. Labeling theory argues that people be come deviant
as a result of people forcing that identity up on them and then adopting the identity.
Since the early days of sociology, scholars have developed theories that attempt to explain
what deviance and crime mean to society. These theories can be grouped according to
the three major sociological paradigms: functionalism, symbolic interactionism, and
conflict theory. According to Merton, there are five types of deviance based upon these criteria:
conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. Also it should be noted that the
main factors of deviant behavior often appear in cognitive distortions, negative life experiences,
emotional problems, self-esteem and inadequate level of aspiration, poor development of
reflection, conflict of values, the differences of needs and ways to meet them. Social conflict
theory views financial crime as a function of the conflict that exists in society (Siegel, 2011).
The theory suggests that class conflict causes crime in any society, and that those in power create
laws to protect their rights and interests. the conflict perspective, society is made up of
individuals competing for limited resources (e.g., money, leisure, sexual partners, etc.).
Competition over scarce resources is at the heart of all social relationships. Competition, rather
than consensus, is characteristic of human relationships. conflict theory can be used to look at
wars, violence, revolutions, and forms of injustice and discrimination by explaining that there is
a natural disparity in society that causes these problems. People expressing negative
deviance either reject the norms, misinterpret the norms, or are unaware of the norms. Positive
deviance involves over conformity to norms. Positive deviants idealize group norms. Reactions
to deviants are usually negative and involve attempts to change or control the deviant behavior.
As we have noted, deviance is generally perceived to be disruptive in society. It can weaken
established social norms, and create division and disorder. But it also has other functions which
are not necessarily harmful and may actually be beneficial to society. It is one way that social
change occurs. Failure of religious and moral values is the main cause of deviant behavior and
delinquency. Social conflict theory plays a position role, when properly understood, in
promoting groups to find common ground, form alliances, define core values, identify
differences in view point, set group boundaries, and inform strategies for achieving expected
change, each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to society's stability and
functioning as a whole. For example, the government provides education for the children of the
family, which in turn pays taxes on which the state depends to keep itself running.