...where a number of individuals choose to be a part of a separate group that follow distinct norms and values different to those in mainstream society as stated in item A. Subcultures may contain norms and values that would be considered deviant in society and involve criminal activity. In Stanley Cohen’s view the subcultural crime and deviance today results from the inability of lower classes to achieve mainstream success by legitimate means. Once the person fails to achieve success they may try to do so in other ways. Status frustration is a key element to Cohen's theory which states that when individuals are faced with failure they choose a delinquent subculture, as they no longer feel part of society or that they can achieve this leads to for example school dropouts. More often than not status frustration is resolved through creating or joining a subculture because it offers and alternative status hierarchy. It is this illegitimate opportunity structure where status can be won via delinquency. However Cohen’s theory has been criticized as it assumes that the working classes start off sharing the same goals as the middle class only to reject them when the lower class fails to achieve them. Cloward and Ohlin also explain working class crime in terms of goals and means however they believe delinquents share their own deviant subcultural values different to those of the middle class. In their view there are 3 delinquent subcultures that emerge as a response to blocked opportunities...
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...Past Crime and Deviance Questions Sept 2008 Read Item A below and answer the question that follows. ------------------------------------------------- Item A ------------------------------------------------- Situational crime prevention (SCP) involves intervening in the immediate situations in which crime takes place to reduce its likelihood or seriousness. It often involves ‘designing crime out’ of products, services and environments, for example by use of anti-climb paint, CCTV and security guards in shops, better street lighting, metal detectors at airports, neighbourhood watch schemes and the re-designing of housing estates. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- SCP does not rely on intervening in children’s socialisation to prevent them becoming criminals later, or on the threat of punishments to deter current criminals. Instead, it makes specific changes aimed at influencing the decision or ability of offenders to commit particular crimes in particular situations. Like rational choice theory, SCP sees criminals as acting rationally. By making certain crimes less rewarding, more risky or needing greater effort, SCP makes criminals less likely to choose to commit them. 02 Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of conflict theories for an understanding of crime and deviance in contemporary society. (21 marks) Jan 2010 Read Item A below and answer the question that follows...
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...• 1. Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of subcultural theories in explaining ‘subcultural crime and deviance’ in society today. (21 marks: 9 A01, 12 A02) Subcultures as mentioned in item A consist of a group of people within society who share the same norms and values as one another as opposed to mainstream culture. For example criminals are part of a subculture because they hold different attitudes towards crime as the general public do. These individuals have rejected the norms of mainstream society and become inverted into their own sub culture in rejection of the main one which has failed them. For example the majority of this criminal subculture will feel materially deprived, which they will blame of society not meeting their needs. They will then resort to crime in order to obtain this materialism. There is also many other cultures within this main sub culture, for example drug takers or hippies. These sub cultures offer a sense of ID to the individual and allows them to integrate into their new society which they may not have otherwise been able to do into main society. However, subcultures alone cannot explain the trend in crime and deviance there are many other factors contributing such as the individual. Merton claims someone commits deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals. Merton explains that a combination of structural factors (societies unequal opportunities) and cultural factors (strong emphasis on...
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.... Organization Theory Challenges and Perspectives John McAuley, Joanne Duberley and Phil Johnson . This book is, to my knowledge, the most comprehensive and reliable guide to organisational theory currently available. What is needed is a text that will give a good idea of the breadth and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of work that today qualify as constituting the subject of organisational theory. Whilst their writing is accessible and engaging, their approach is scholarly and serious. It is so easy for students (and indeed others who should know better) to trivialize this very problematic and challenging subject. This is not the case with the present book. This is a book that deserves to achieve a wide readership. Professor Stephen Ackroyd, Lancaster University, UK This new textbook usefully situates organization theory within the scholarly debates on modernism and postmodernism, and provides an advanced introduction to the heterogeneous study of organizations, including chapters on phenomenology, critical theory and psychoanalysis. Like all good textbooks, the book is accessible, well researched and readers are encouraged to view chapters as a starting point for getting to grips with the field of organization theory. Dr Martin Brigham, Lancaster University, UK McAuley et al. provide a highly readable account...
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