Sociological perspectives and ideas
Introduction
The family lives in San Francisco in the west coast of the United States. It is a family of four people with two siblings having the ages of twenty-one and fifteen. The fifteen year old is a girl while the other one is a man. The head of the family is accountable for the welfare of the entire family in terms of emotional and physical needs. I performed the interview in-person for three sections allowing a break for the interviewee between the sections. The condition of the room for interview was quite with no interruptions. The level of privacy was good because room was a suitable choice for the purpose. The time for conducting the interview was set on intervals so that the interviewee could relax and answer questions appropriately without pressure.
Topic one: family history and family definition
a) Description of what I learnt from the interviewee
The family consists of parents of both African-American origin and married before securing permanents jobs, which was challenging especially with the needs of the children and house expenses. The family was currently residing in Colorado before moving to San Francisco due to work related reasons. The family encountered problems without a reliable job. The interviewee thinks that his parent was not securing a permanent job because whites dominated most places where he was seeking a job (Dumka, Gonzales, Wheeler & Millsap, 2010).
b) sociological analysis of the topic
There is a relationship between the work learnt in class and the response of the interviewee. The course describes aspects of myths in the words of individuals plus the historical background. It provides definitions of families based on case studies. The topic involves a scope of the social idea in different forms for example the behavior of persons both at macro and micro levels. The myths indicate the individual’s perspective about himself or other people (Dumka, Gonzales, Wheeler & Millsap, 2010).
Topic two: the micro patterns of this family interviewee
a) Description of what I learnt from the
The family of the interviewee is set such that every individual has a varying role. For example, the interview is now working and assists his parents with her sister’s school fees. They live in one apartment meaning that the interviewee helps his father in ensuring various bills are in place. The mother ensures proper operation of a small greenhouse firm dealing with fruits and vegetables. When her little sister is home from school, she helps the mother in various works in the greenhouse (Dumka, Gonzales, Wheeler & Millsap, 2010). The interviewee is twenty-one, his father 44 and mother 40. Her sister is only fifteen years old. The family is of African American origin, they moved from Colorado to San Francisco.
b) sociological analysis of the topic
In the course work, the analyses of the topic coincide with our thoughts. The family relationships and distribution of roles is present in the course work where pattern study is significant. The interviewee provides information on his family status such as marriage and history, which are fundamental aspects of sociology considering the set up. The interviewee describes his personal life and family roles, including the task of every individual. Proper distribution of tasks is important for the proper working of a family. The members should depict flexibility when conducting family roles. The myth issue is a common sociology perspective in which persons portray their behavior. As sociology study suggests, this venture is vital in understanding the social bonds (Dumka, Gonzales, Wheeler & Millsap, 2010).
Topic Three: The macro influences on the family – the institutional effects that the society has on the family
a) Description of what I learnt from the interviewee
The macro effects involve the institutional load on the family from the societal perspective. The macro environment did affect the interviewee he had testimonies of persons who experienced the same. The interviewee argues that the media industry affected the family in that her little sister was much into television. She would embrace the kind of dressing seen on programs which is may be immoral. His work did not affect his relationship with his family because the environment he is working now is favorable (Lawler, 2008). The company can allow FMLA when needed. The religious institutions have positive effects on the family. This is because they offer spiritual assistance to members such that the live in peace. These institutions sare important in the society because they improve family relationships.
b) sociological analysis of the topic
The study of macro influences on families is an important aspect in sociology. The course units describes these aspects including the impact of religions on families, law from the government plus other institutions. There exists an association of the feedback given by the interviewee and the content in our in our course. Institutions have impacts on the conduct of families, for example some work institutions does not offer FMLA thus affecting families with medical needs (Lawler, 2008). The media plus the entertainment industry is participating in macro influences. Some families take a lot of time in entertainment scenes instead of doing other constructive work. The interactions of persons and the society are evident in the analyses.
Topic four: parenting practices
a) Description of what I learnt from the interviewee
The interviewee said that he learnt parenting practices from his parents and uses the same notions to ensure her little sister grows with moral values in her. According to him, dealing with children at their teens is a complex issue that needs attention and knowledge of the behaviors of adolescents and how to cope with them. The moral values are a manifestation of parent’s behavior and associations with them. He argues that he ought to embrace the same practice on his children to create a better association and build their moral standards in a world where most have undergone moral decay (Walker & Kirby, 2010).
b) sociological analysis of the topic
In sociology classes, we study the practices of parenting and their impacts in adult life. There exists relationship between adult life and the way a person grew as a child. Proper parenting techniques are significant especially at teenage to enhance the moral values of the person in adult life. Research indicates that the behaviors of people in their adult life have a link with the conduct they depict when relating with other people in the society. Parenting practices depicts the conduct of a child. For example, children who receive good parental care are likely to do well in school (Walker & Kirby, 2010).
Interview questions
a) What is your historical background?
b) How did you find yourself where you live now?
c) How do you perceive your family in terms of house hold and non house hold
d) What is your role in the family?
e) Do you contribute on the family welfare?
f) How many are you in the family?
g) Are there girls/girl in your family?
h) What is your ethnic group?
i) What role do other members of your family play?
j) How do religious institutions affect your family?
k) Are employees in your work place eligible to FMLA?
l) How does entertainment and media influence your family?
m) Do you think parental practices depict the behavior of persons at adult life?
The modification I performed were those of the interview set up and a few questions. I gained a lot from the interview. I understood the interviewee answers to questions on his family, his ethnic group and race. The macro influences on the family, gender plus parenting practices are clear. The interview was lively due to the privacy that we had with the interviewee. However, he was not comfortable with some personal and family information so he withheld part of it. The interview thus lacked some important feedback such as origin and certain perspectives. I conducted the interview in person with the interviewee. This was important because it is more accurate than conducting the interview through the telephone (Lawler, 2008).s
Reference
Dumka, L. E., Gonzales, N. A., Wheeler, L. A., & Millsap, R. E. (2010). Parenting self-efficacy and parenting practices over time in Mexican American families. Journal Of Family Psychology, 24(5), 522-531. doi:10.1037/a0020833
Lawler, S. (2008). Identity: Sociological perspectives. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Walker, L., & Kirby, R. (2010). Conceptual and Measurement Issues in Early Parenting Practices Research: An Epidemiologic Perspective. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 14(6), 958-970. doi:10.1007/s10995-009-0532-8
