Discussion
Part 1
Q1
To find his study participants, Rios asked youth development centers to refer him to young people at risk of going into detention or had gone through the juvenile justice system (DailyMotion, n.d). Sociological research methods used include the shadowing approach and interviewing.
Q2
The Youth Control Complex is a theory that Victor Rios developed to illustrate what he terms as the mind-boggling system of criminalization, stigmatization, and punishment that is molded by the methodical punishment applied by different institutions of social control against young inner city men.
Q3
The right arm of the state serves punitive functions like police, justice, correctional, and regulatory operations that regulate deviance and imposes discipline.
Q4
The left arm of the state refers to the nurturing characteristic of the state where it provides therapeutic services like healthcare, education, social Helpance, food support, and public housing.
Q5
Youth of color, who become targets of youth control complex experience hypercriminilization, a process where their day to day conducts and styles become universally treated as risky, deviant, criminal or threatening, across social environments.
Q6
Social control is different than 30 years ago in that today, it puts focus on punitive actions to prevent and control crime. This is evidenced by mass incarcerations and prison building where the number of prison inmates has increased from 300,000 in the 1970s to 2.2 million currently (DailyMotion, n.d).
Q7
Rios was raised in the ghetto by a single mother who was a dishwasher. After being a victim of gun violence, he decided to turn his deviant life around. With the Helpance of his teacher and college mentors, he resumed school and eventually furthered his education. He is currently an associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Q8
The interviewee wanted more police for social control, and in particular, wanted good policing and not the kind that was harsh towards his community (DailyMotion, n.d).
Q9
A positive credential labels an individual in a positive way allowing them to go to school, college and get a job. A negative credential labels an individual in a negative way, e.g., a felon thus denying him opportunities to thrive in society.
Q10
Negative credentials do not allow the young person to get a job, allows the police to search them whenever or wherever they want if on probation, and does not allow them to vote.
Pt 2
Q1
I was deeply touched by the video clip. I felt compassion for the high number of the incarcerated individuals who appear to have been ostracized and punished by society rather than receive Helpance. From the video, it is evident that most of the prisoners were victims of abuse in their childhood and younger years. Even more concerning is that their abusers were people close to them, e.g., parents or caregivers. I am surprised that so many men were exposed to trauma in their youth. What kind of society are we living in? Instead of nurturing our youth with love and care, we have made them targets of emotional, physical, and sexual abuses..
Q2
I have heard of ACEs; therefore, this is was not my first time I learned about it. I have always known that ACEs are potentially traumatic events that take place in childhood. I have come across people who have been victims of emotional neglect, sexual abuse, domestic violence and these experiences have put scars in their lives that many try to get rid of to no avail. My opinion with regard to these ACE statistical comparisons of the general population vs. the prison population is that many Americans who have experienced ACEs are in prison. It appears as if these childhood traumas are significant contributors to criminality.
Q3
The clip relates to one of my friends. He was constantly exposed to domestic violence and eventually ran away from home and joined a gang group. I believe that the key to addressing ACEs in young men lies in counseling. This will help the individuals to deal with their traumas and find healing. Mental health programs are also important to help these people deal with mental conditions, e.g., depression, stress, anxiety, etc caused by the traumas.
Pt 3
Q1
I am baffled and angry at the same time. I am familiar with the brand name American products and actually use some of them. However, I was not aware of how they are produced and I was thus shocked to discover that as US consumers, we have been enabling these companies to enslave children.
Q2a.
Global inequality example: Adolescents in poor countries like Honduras, Alsavador, and Guatemala have to work in the factories while teens living in wealthy countries like the US go to school.
Q2b.
Core nations example: The US
Q2c.
Absolute poverty example: Honduras
Q3
The thing that attracts global US companies is that they will get to import materials from these countries duty free (Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, 2007). As a consequence, they are able to save on costs. The companies also benefit from the trade free zone by exporting the garments with reduced tariffs. In the end, by minimizing costs, these companies are able to reap huge profits.
Q4
Worker safety and higher wages could increase the productivity of workers. Another benefit is more revenue. US companies and Middlemen Factory owners can collect more revenue due to increased productivity attributable to increased employee morale due to higher wages. A safe working place is beneficial to US and Honduras workers as it gives them peace of mind because they do not have to worry about being hurt. Higher wages for these workers will serve to improve their standards of living. The US and foreign governments may benefit from positive public perception as they will be viewed as governments that care for the welfare of their workers.
Q5
I do not think that these factories could ever be brought back to the US. This because unlike the poor countries where these factories operate, the US is highly developed. Many people are educated and know their rights. Therefore, they would hardly agree to working for such low wages and for long hours. For this reason, the big companies would not be able to minimize costs of production as much as they would want to in the US.
Q6
The dependency theorists would say that the core wealthy nations like the US are taking advantage of the resources (e.g. labor) of poor countries like Honduras, Guatemala and Alsavador to enrich themselves at the expense of these countries.
Pt 4
Wal-Mart is an American international retail company. Its products are manufactured in Asia, and in particular in countries like China, India, Cambodia and Indonesia. Wal-Mart mistreats its employees working in factories situated in these countries. Workers who make clothes for Wal-Mart face intensive labor exploitation and abuse. For instance, workers in Chinese factories do not receive overtime pay and maternity leave and are underpaid. Moreover, some of the employees are underage, i.e., laborers younger than 16 are employed to work in the factories (Chan, 2018). According to Williams (2019), a majority of Cambodians in Wal-Mart supplier factories work under contracts that are “very exploitative” that expose them to unsafe working conditions, denial of benefits, low wages, and harsh punishments for taking part in union activity-encompassing termination of employment.
Local employees are mistreated as well. Wal-mart underpays them, and fails to provide some of them with meal and rest breaks as well as threatens workers who support strikes or take part in union organizing activities. Nonetheless, unlike the employees who work abroad, local employees enjoy several benefits such as education benefits, health coverage, cash bonuses during holidays, and paid leave among others (Mazur & Mazur-Małek, 2017). Walmart’s practices have a negative impact on the environment. For instance, it causes problems like water pollution from parking lot runoff, loss of habitat and air pollution.
The structures of the organizations are similar in certain ways. For instance, both organizations have a hierarchal functional structure; they also embrace the use of transformational leadership. However, they are also different. While Wal-mart puts focus on the customer, the other organizations focus on the wellbeing of the employees. In my opinion, locally owned businesses are more “compassionate” than large corporations; this is because they do not put too much focus on profit. Large companies benefit local economies by providing more varied job opportunities, higher job stability, higher wages, and better retirement and health benefits.
References
Chan, A. (2018). The relationship between labour NGOs and Chinese workers in an
authoritarian regime. Global Labour Journal, 9(1).
DailyMotion. (n.d.). Victor Rios and Dalton Conley discuss the youth control complex –
Video Dailymotion. Retrieved from https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2z0sgx
Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights. (2007, April 2). Zoned for Slavery: The Child
Behind the Label. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XtYhfcEZ9A
Mazur, B., & Mazur-Małek, M. (2017). Towards corporate wellness: Health culture and
wellness programs. Journal of Intercultural Management, 9(3), 45-61.
Williams, C. (2019). Walmart in the Global South: Workplace Culture, Labor Politics, and
Supply Chains.
