Sociology

Each case brought before law enforcement personnel is unique, and must be treated thus.  Sane people do not want to be shamed or punished, and if they have mistakenly offended others, are usually prepared to mend their ways especially when humane mediators are involved in their cases.  Human beings have a natural affinity with each other.  Hence, this research paper argues that it is most reasonable to consider the traditional criminal justice system alongside human alternatives to the system. 

There are three topics open to critical analysis in Schmalleger  Smyklas (2008) book, Corrections in the 21st Century.  Chapter 3 asks the reader to deeply consider whether the criminal justice system should merely punish, punish and reform, or only reform individuals that have perpetrated crimes.  Chapter 7 is connected to this question.  It asks of the reader to critically analyze the reason behind prison sentences.  The reader is compelled to dwell on the following question Are prisons meant to reform people or simply dump all those that are considered criminals in one place  Likewise, Chapter 16 is a question that is open to in-depth analysis.  It questions the logic behind juvenile corrections, getting the reader to suppose that there is something terribly wrong with the juvenile corrections system as it stands (Schmalleger  Smykla). 
   
In fact, all of the above mentioned chapters call for changes to the traditional criminal justice system.  To be precise, they ask for humanization of the criminal justice system prevalent in the United States and many other parts of the world in the twenty-first century.  This can be achieved by adopting alternatives to the traditional justice system.  After all, each and every individual exhibiting criminal behavior cannot be jailed, just as each and every victim of abuse does not wish for all perpetrators to be tortured with imprisonment.  Even children may exhibit behaviors that appear uncivilized, if not criminal for example, an unruly child in school may smash his or her friends head with a football.  Still, a child is a child  at the lower end of the learning curve.  This is the reason why alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system, such as shaming, peacemaking strategies and restorative justice are especially recommended for juvenile delinquents (Sherman  Strang, 2009).  As a matter of fact, research has shown that young offenders are most likely to change their problem behaviors through restorative justice techniques rather than court proceedings (Sherman  Strang, 2009).  Adult drink drivers, too, are very likely to reverse their problem behavior due to the humaneness of restorative justice (Sherman  Strang, 2009).  Of course, the same has not been claimed for serial killers or rapists.  Just as all types of crimes cannot go unpunished, all types of criminals do not require the harshness of the traditional justice system, defined by the terminology of punishment, zero tolerance, criminal personality (Wormer, 2010).
   
The United States jails more individuals than any other place in the world, perhaps half a million more than Communist China (Kemp et. al., 2009).  It is not surprising, therefore, that U.S. prisons are overcrowded.  Yet, the victims do not only desire for the perpetrators of crimes to be punished but also shamed so as to keep them from criminal activities in future.  Shaming, peacemaking strategies, and restorative justice also carry elements of punishment.  These alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system allow the perpetrator of a crime to be known to all concerned.  However, these alternatives to the traditional justice system are less harsh.  What if the person who is said to have committed the crime is innocent  If a blamed person is truly innocent, the traditional criminal justice system that punishes him or her is a sham at best.  On the contrary, alternatives to the traditional justice system, e.g. shaming, peacemaking strategies and restorative justice, are more apt to allow for truth to be known.  The humaneness of these alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system may be explained with the following example provided by the Australian Institute of Criminology
       
As American judges move steadily towards greater humiliation and stigma as punishments for convicted offenders, the Australian Federal Police in Canberra are showing that shame
does not require humiliation Professor Braithwaite has defined two different kinds of
shame. One kind is stigmatic shaming, which disintegrates the moral bonds between the
offender and the community. The other is reintegrative shaming, which strengthens the
moral bonds between the offender and the community
             
Canberra police have adopted Professor Braithwaites principles by diverting confessed
offenders from court to a more intense, personal (and lengthy) alternative known as
 Diversionary Conferencing. In these conferences, which are convened by a police officer,
offenders, their family and friends, and their victims or a community representative all
actively participate If the offender agrees to the groups proposals for restoration, the
police then monitor the offenders compliance in carrying out that plan. If offenders do not
keep their promises, then these cases can be referred for prosecution, but nothing said
during the conference can be used in a court (Sherman  Strang, 1997).

Of course, the use of alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system depends on the extent of justice required by the victim and the seriousness of the crime.  Numberless severely mentally disturbed people, also known as psychopaths, insist on repeating their crimes.  Psychologists offer defense on behalf of such individuals.  It is still debatable whether insanity is an acceptable defense.  If a psychopath constantly harasses an individual, the victim may naturally want the mentally ill person to be punished, if not sent to a mental hospital.  Peacemaking strategies, such as getting a respected community leader to arbitrate or mediate disputes, resolve family troubles, and correct behavior by allowing the criminal to perform community service, are not expected to work in such cases (Neilson, 1999, 108).  Then again, even the traditional criminal justice system is not expected to serve its purpose in all cases.
   
It is, therefore, best to consider a mix and match of various crime deterrence techniques.  Unless a young offender is severely mentally ill, alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system, such as shaming, peacemaking strategies and restorative justice, are expected to work best.  Unless it is a rape, robbery or murder case, alternatives to the traditional system must be most appropriate for an adult offender who has never received a legal notice in his life.  All that the victim desires is justice.  He or she does not want the crime to be repeated in his or her life.  As Sherman  Strang (1997) maintain, if the perpetrator of a crime agrees not to repeat the offence, and manages to keep his or her word, it is perfectly correct to allow the individual to change his or her behavior by realizing his or her folly.  If supervisors of alternatives to the traditional system discover that the offender is unwilling to repent or happens to suffer from psychopathy, however, the traditional system of jailing or sending the criminal to a mental asylum is preferable. 
   
In any case, the chosen method of crime prevention should be humane.  When humaneness becomes a forgotten fact, even law enforcement personnel, lawyers and judges may be held responsible for perpetration of crimes.  After all, by labeling innocent individuals as criminals, crime preventers may only destroy lives.  So therefore, it is best to deal with each case on an individual basis with its own facts and dilemmas.  Victims, too, are human beings that may or may not correctly spot perpetrators of crimes.  Considering the fact that it is only human to err, harshness of the traditional justice system should be alleviated with alternatives to the system for alleged criminals, especially those whose crimes are not too serious in nature and whose victims are unsure of their identities. 

Friendship is the relationship between one individual and another. It takes time to make real friends. It normally grows over time and usually involves several people. One person can have many friends from different areas or within the same area. The bond between friends is a strong one. Friendship can involve people of the same age or different age brackets. It might also involve people of different sexes. In many cases, friendships involve partners who have grown together, live in the same place or study in the same institution. Everyone needs a friend in life whom they can associate. Nobody can live a life without friends and get satisfied. Everyone needs to interact and associate with people to ensure social growth. This relationship between friends should be beneficial to each other and should be maintained. It requires the cooperation and understanding of each other.

Most friendships are based on a desire to be there for each other. Whenever one friend is in need of help, his or her partner should be ready to listen and offer to help. Friends console each other in difficult times, for example, when one is bereaved. Friendships are valuable and needs to be nurtured. They are based on respect, trust, honesty, understanding and the need to see each other happy. These are vital components that hold friends together. Friends should be responsible and be ready to help us when we are in need. They should be keen to listen to each other.

Friends need to understand each other in order to avoid conflicts. In cases where one friend hurts the other, he or she needs to ask for forgiveness. This is important to avoid breaking up. However, friends can sometimes hurt us by telling us the truth. This can be resolved by having a discussion and involving our parents, guardians or teachers. Friendship may sometimes die slowly or abruptly when problems arise and are not resolved. This loss is usually painful and may lead to negative effects. It might cause a reduction of concentration in class hence poor grades. It also causes a lot of emotional trauma. Friends must set boundaries. This shows that they care for each other. There should be open communication between friends. It will lead to knowing what the other person feels and wants. There should be no secrets in true friendship because this may lead to mistrust. When trust begins to die in friendship, each of the partners will begin to be suspicious.

Some friendships are not beneficial and should be avoided. Therefore, before friendship begins, get to know the person. He or She should have the qualities you are looking for in a friend. Strong friendships are established when each persons expectations are met. Friends who lie to each other and are selfish should be avoided. Some friends may be involved in bad habits, for example, drug abuse. This may lead to a destruction of ones future. It may also cause problems in school and even discontinuation with education. Our parents will be disappointed and lose the trust they had in us. To avoid this, we should take time to know our friends because they affect our lives either positively or negatively.

In summary, true friendships are important aspects of our lives. It enables us to interact with one another and helps in bringing the best in us. Everyone needs friends whom they can look up to and feel comfortable being around. It is important to choose our friends wisely since true friends are hard to find.

Civilization
Civilization is the stage of cultural development at which writing and the keeping of written records is attained ( civilization , 2010). The term also refers to the culture characteristic of a particular time and place. Also, it is a descriptive word for a standard development of living thus the term civilized is used when describing a city, believing that it is of high living standard with its urbanism.

Civilization is a great part of social science, the branch of science, which deals with studying society and the impact of their behavior to the world ( what is social science , 2010). In societal context, studying civilization is essential to understand the human interactions which resulted to the development of society, government and culture since the past, during the present time and events which will most likely be occuring in the future.

Studying civilization explains the reason behind that it is the basis of social order. It is likely to tell that a society is civilized if there is distinguished development since the past of their system of livelihood, form of government, refinement of thought and manners, culture and advancement in tecnology. Civilization is unending and continuously develops as human behavior changes beoming part of social science.

Chinese Philosophies
The influence of Confuncius has been existent all over China for about 2,000 years already. Confucius is the most known teacher, philosopher, and political theorist ( confucius , 2010). He developed Confucianism, a philophy based on kindness, love and respect teaches the key to harmonious relationships among families and friends is education. According to him, family, school, temples, and government are essential institutions which can give moral lessons.

Siddhartha Gautama, known as Buddha, is the founder of Buddhism. This philosophy actually originated in India in 560. Harmony, for Buddha, could be achieved by following the middle path. The best way of living and finding a solution would be abstaining from too much self pleasure and too much asceticism. Buddhism teachings can be summarized in the Four Noble Truth and Eightfold Path ( buddhism , 2010).

Daoism is a philosphy developed by Lao Tzu. In Chinese, Dao means way. It has influenced Chinese as well believing that Dao is the way of human life ( daoism , 2010). There are two types of Daoism, philosophical and religious. The first one states that Dao should be spent wisely while the latter explains that Dao should be increased.

Going through the article on what happened at Bountiful was not at all surprising to me. This in itself is an indication, that the percentage of teacherstudent sexual relationship has gone high during the recent years. I think it is punishable to manipulate and use kids to their (teachers) own benefit.

Although, I do understand that most of these teachers do not tend to harm the kids, but the act in itself is hideous and intolerable. This just shows that the teacher is not in control of hisher emotions, urges and needs. The kids cannot be blamed for these acts. When a teacher who is grown up and who knows the rules and regulations, customs and moral values of the society cannot control the urges how can anyone expect a kid to control the urges (which might be the first time felt by himher with all the hormonal changes in them during the teenage). Whatever might be the psychological reasoning behind the action like troubled childhood, depression, loneliness or dependence, does not allow the teachers to get away with such an act. There are millions of people who would be suffering the same kind problems in life, but do they all resort to such hideous act No, I do not think so. I think these teachers take advantage of their powerful position in this relationship. They need not force the kid verbally or emotionally, but the mere fact that the teacher is interested in himher more than professionally is a pressure on the child, who finds no other way other than to circum to the needs of the teacher with or without personal gain. The school is also equally responsible. What kind of screening do they conduct if they cannot identify the personality of an individual who is going to shape the future of one human being The teachers should be expelled and their qualification should be ripped off as they are not eligible to deal with kids. Along with the school I think parents can also keep a track of their kids relationship with their teachers by talking to them and making them feel comfortable talking.

The poverty cycle is also termed as the behavior pattern of situations that cannot easily be altered and when referring to a given country it is called the development trap (Oster, Lake,  Gene, 1978) . This cycle is defined as the set of events or factors which once commenced, have no possibility of stopping unless there is intervention from external causing their subsequent generations to equally be impoverished. A typical cycle is as illustrated in figure 1.
                               
Source Christian Reformed Church
It is a phenomenon in which poor families end up being trapped in poverty for a period exceeding two and a half generations.  The main cause for such families to be in this situation is the limitation to and lack of resources such as connections, financial capital, training and education. Under normal circumstances it is virtually impossible for any individual to break this cycle meaning that the poor people will for a long time remain poor. This is because many poverty cycles overlap and perpetuate other cycles causing any attempt to break this cycle to be unrealistic. This situation is mostly found in shanty towns and inner city areas.

Poverty refers to the state of material deprivation having either little or no goods, money and means of support. It is a condition in which an individual stays poor such that they experience deficiency their desired needs.  Poverty is usually measured by the availability of infrastructure services, like sanitation and safe water. Poverty has been classified into two broad categories which are the situational poverty and generational poverty (Oster, Lake,  Gene, 1978). With this in mind this paper centers on what individuals are doing in order to break the cycle of poverty.  This is with respect to the sociological imagination and the three major social theories of symbolic interaction, conflict and structural functionalism.

In order to break the cycle of poverty, action needs to be put in place to deal with the root causes of poverty because the cycle of poverty is usually systemic in nature. This has been achieved via sociological imagination and social theories such as symbolic interaction, conflict together with structural functionalism as well. Sociological imagination entails a mind set which allows individuals to visualize the relationship that exists between events that occur in their personal lives and events within the society. Wright Mills adds to this definition by putting it as the means of breaking the poverty cycle through taking part in activities that are shaped by the situations that people find themselves in (Mills, 2000).

Symbolic interactionism is one of the leading social psychological theories that focus on the ways through which meanings emerge from social interactions between places and individuals.  Its prime concern has been to analyze the meanings of life events by way of intimate familiarity and close observational work. It equally gives strong emphasis on the role of symbols through language, gestures and signs as the core elements of these interactions (Reynolds  Herman-Kinney, 2003).

From the sociological perspective, the conflict theory involves perspectives that emphasize on political, social and material inequality of a given society. This Marxist-based social theory argues that groups and individuals of different social classes vary in amounts of non-material and material resources. The social conflict theory states that groups within a capitalist society interact destructively in such a way that there is little cooperation and no mutual benefit. According to Weber, the major class division is between those who do not and those who own the forces of production in the following classes, the propertied upper class, the property less white collar workers, the petty bourgeoisie and the manual working class (Agger, 1991).

Structural functionalism is a theory which states that the function of a cultural trait, especially in an institution is the preservation and creation of social order. It addresses the social structure with respect to the function of the constituent elements such as the institutions, norms, customs and traditions. It also studies society as a structure with interrelated parts that work toward its proper functioning. In the society it is the positions that individuals occupy which are ranked, not the individuals (ONeill, 1995).

With respect to an Ontarion initiative to break the poverty cycle, studies on this initiative gave a head way to efforts that are being employed by people within the government, donor organizations, companies, individual families and communities to break the poverty cycle. According to the Ontario child support, education was used as the best way to break this cycle, through the enhancement of programs for at-risk kids in school. It offers support to more recreation programs for neighbor-hoods with high-needs. Further on education, this initiative provides support for parents in ensuring their children go to school particularly the low-income families (Ontario.ca, 2010).

The initiative also builds stronger communities because safety is considered one of the best ways to aid low-income families to enjoy better life. This has been done through investing in a fund which gives the local leaders funds for the establishment of community revitalization projects. It also avails summer jobs programs to give the children in priority neighbor-hoods valuable work experience. The initiative has also stabilized funding for the Provincial Rent Bank Program to aid persons facing possible eviction.

The Ontario child support has also visualized a smarter government in such a way that they get the most for each dollar spent in support of low-income families. This is through a review of social assistance by increasing opportunity and removing barriers for people trying to move from social assistance into employment. In addition to this a Social Policy Institute focusing on evaluation and evidence-based social is being developed (Ontario.ca, 2010).

Other efforts made by individuals to break the poverty cycle includes self employment, where they get full benefits of the work they are doing in terms of reward which is mostly evident in the developing countries. People learn basic skills and end up being in a better position to support their families. Individuals have opened up to acquiring incomes that depend on the environment especially in Senegal and Dakar, where waste picker on the Mbeubeuss landfill site make a living by recycling materials. In Kampala, widows feed their families through urban gardening and rental income. Another initiative to break the poverty cycle is by The Sea to Sea partners who partake in self employment by teaching farmers new agriculture techniques (Dale, 2008).

In an effort to break poverty cycles, policy-makers and companies ensure that the acquisition of assets such as land by poor communities is made easy through grants and other aids. Such assets are then developed to a level where they generate income and improve the lives of communities involved. Governments on the same note have resorted to promotion of equitable pay for all employees regardless of their social status through implementing policies. Other support agencies like the Sea to Sea works within communities and families to set up micro-credit loans to enable them acquire assets (Christian-Reformed-Church, 2010).

Further efforts in breaking the poverty cycle include the cancellation or reduction of the national debt especially for the worlds poorest countries so that the nations economies of these countries experience some positive turn. Additionally, in a country like New York, according to an article by Frederique Krupa, a  ten-year plan was started by the Koch Administration, intended to avail the New York City renovated apartment units because the city at the time was thriving and by so doing the city would be able to avoid the numerous lawsuits from powerful community groups. This is another way used to break the poverty cycle by curbing on oppression of the poor by the rich (Krupa, 1991).

Social activists have also made an effort in breaking this cycle by focusing on anti-discrimination laws especially in the work place so as to increase the opportunities given to poor minorities and poverty elimination. It is common knowledge that over the years the poor have continued to work in the low paying but tiring jobs. There are minor means that have been employed by individual families such as cost sharing between husbands and wives in the sense that they both go out strive to earn income for the family. For wealthy individuals or any one who may have acquired capital, provision of employment by underpaying workers has enabled them break and stay away from poverty thus making more profits and continue to thrive on other peoples sweat. Some people strive to join politics so that they raise their status in society and earn more income by attaining high ranks within the government and society at large.

If this cycle is left to persist, it may result to criminal activities like the selling of illegal drugs by the poor for survival. With these, there are numerous outcomes such as early death, addiction, breakup of families and shattered health. Other consequences include increase in slums within a country and stress causing very poor health levels. It is therefore important that everyone contributes to the breaking of the poverty cycle.

A worldview can be defined as a broad notion of the world from a specific perspective. A Christian worldview can be defined as an extensive perception of the world from a Christian viewpoint. A person s worldview on the other hand is hisher portrayal, a concord of hisher thinking about the world, life, and hisher understanding of the nature of reality. There are five main aspects of the Christian worldview. These aspects have the tendency to respond to inquiries about life and existence in a definite manner queries about God, man, reality (metaphysics), truth (epistemology) and morals.

These aspects are
God.  The Christian worldview explains that there is one God, who is individual and infinite, has three in one, the maker and sustainer of all life, and who loves unconditionally and is just to all. God is personal and infinite-he relates to every individual personally, every Christian has a personal relationship with God where prayer is used as a means of communication. He created the world from nothing (Genesis 1, New American Bible) and he has power over life and death. He is three in one - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit His love to all was shown when he gave his only son to die for our sins and he deals with everyone with justice (Wayne, n.d.  Drury, 2010  Cosgrove, 2006, p. 152-153).

I agree that in the beginning, there was the world, which was abstract and not in its current form and that something happened that made this world take form to the way it is right now. Whether it was due to the big bang theory or some supernatural being that made all this possible I do not know. I would like to think it was God. I believe that God is the maker and sustainer of life and that we relate to Him in a personal level through prayer. I believe He has three components, Him as the Father, Jesus as His son and the Spirit and I believe He loves us conditionally. What I disagree with is that he deals with us justly. I do not understand how God can view all sins as the same, theft and murder as the same it does not make sense to me. There are some crimes that should be treated with more weight than the others are.

ManHumanity. The Christian worldview affirms that man was specially created in the image and the likeness of God and that man is responsible for his actions and accountable to God, and due to his rebellion, there consists a corrupt environment in this world. Man has a conscience that is in existent eternally. In my point of view, I concur with the fact that everyone was created special since everyone is unique in his or her own way. I agree that everyone is responsible for his or her actions and they should be responsible for what they do. I also agree that man is entirely responsible for the corrupt state of the universe today but I also think that this state should be there to maintain a balance between good and evil. It is also impossible however, to believe that there is an afterlife and that humans are still conscience even in their death (Wayne, n.d.  Drury, 2010).

RealityMetaphysics. This aspects maintains that God directs the course of the universe by making all things, usual and unusual (like miracles) possible and has plans for the world which is to bring praise and honor to him and satisfy man with long life (Drury, 2010  Moore and Stonestreet, 2010).

In my own point of view, the discussion of the usual and unusual occurrences is still a mystery. Some unusual events like why it does not snow in Africa can be explained geographically, but other mysteries like demon possession and exorcisms are still inexplicable, even science cannot explain.
TruthEpistomology. Christians believe that here are other ways of identifying reality and that God discloses all truth in the bible. I believe that God is the source of truth and that the bible provides us with some channels of truth, but there are some truths that have to be scientifically proven, case in point the debate of life on Mars (Drury, 2010  Moreland and Craig, 2003, pp.158-160).

MoralsEthics. Christians believe in a standard of judging right or wrong, this standard being the Ten Commandments clearly stipulated in the Bible, which is a source of truth and the ones that were revealed by Jesus. I agree that the Bible provides the basic template of morals and ethics that we should follow and define our way of life, without which this world would be chaotic (Moreland and Craig, 2003, pp. 153-154).

Conclusion
Everybody has a worldview, and functions from a set of faiths that forms their outlook of the world, whether they comprehend it or not. The answer to understanding the world, the world s history, and the problems in the world is to grasp the postulations that outline the customs and actions of the group who conform to them. The Bible presents a worldview by ascertaining certain facts about reality that are essential to all but there are certain worldviews compete with the Christian worldview, like Marxism, secular worldviews etc. In taking the Christian worldview as the basic guide to understanding the world, individuals should have some compromise when it comes to answering some of the questions that deal with God s existence, how the world came to be, about reality and truth. Whatever template of worldviews an individual decides to use as a guide in answering these questions, heshe should have a blend of opinions from hisher own understanding of the world.

If advertising campaigns are guilty of one thing, it would be playing to stereotypes entirely too much. Though many people choose to focus their criticisms of advertising campaigns on racial driven stereotypes, gender-based stereotypes are actually much more common in everyday advertising. One of the most pronounced trends over time has been the insistence in advertisements that the man is the bread winner and the woman is the homemaker. Though society has changed to a large extent and this is no longer exclusively the case, it is still depicted that way in most advertising spots. The real question has to do with why that is the case. Why do teams of skilled marketing professionals insist on representing a partial truth that seems to be slipping away This questions importance is sweeping and far reaching, as advertising remains one of the most influential items for people in todays society. According to many studies done on the subject, there are many reasons why this is the case, with some of them having to do with the definition level of gender roles within a certain society and others relating directly to the mission of the advertising company. The simple answer is that advertisements reflect this misshapen view because it suits the needs of the company paying for the advertisement spot, but the real answer is much more complicated than that somewhat limited take on the subject matter at hand.

Of the many studies that have been done to this effect, some of the most interesting have been cross-cultural studies designed to see how advertisements differ across the world. Though it might be easy to just sit back and study the American outlook on something like advertising, this would provide an incomplete view on why things are the way that they are. Of particular interest is a study done by Kristof De Wulf. He took a hard look at two different countries  the UK and the Netherlands  in an attempt to see if those two very different countries had different types of advertising roles. De Wulfs study used masculinity scores to determine which cultures had the most clearly defined roles between men and women. The United Kingdom ranked high in terms of masculinity, which meant that the roles of men and women were somewhat separated, with perception within the country being that men were supposed to be assertive, strong, hard working, and full of other such qualities, while women were expected to be somewhat meek. The Netherlands, on the other hand, ranked very low on the scale of masculinity, meaning that the roles were somewhat intertwined, with each gender doing its fair share of different tasks in the country. The study found that in the United Kingdom, more advertisements featured men in prominent roles and put women in their place, so to speak. Though this is obviously something that is not in touch with the times, the advertising methods might just be in line with what perception happens to be in a given country. De Wolfs study found, In UK advertisements, 3.2 of all female central characters were depicted in a working role compared to 5.9 in Dutch advertisements. This difference was found to be marginally significant (Z  1.73) (De Wolf). From this, one may conclude that at least part of the explanation has to do with how the advertising company perceives a society. That firm may be playing on the notions of the people who inhabit that country, since that sort of marketing would be much more likely to hit close to home and sell the product that is being marketed.

Though that study itself took a hard look at some of the trends outside of the United States, advertising within the United States has been the subject of far more scrutiny over time. According to many who have studied the subject, the major reason why American ads portray men in powerful roles has to do with Americas perception. Jean Kilbourne, in her article Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt Advertising and Violence insinuated that the primary reason why so many advertisements depict men and women this way is that it is what we want to see (Kilbourne, 2004). Consumers are familiar with the message of male strength and female passiveness, so advertisers play to that. What this creates is a vicious cycle where things continue to build upon themselves. One of the major issues is that advertising helps to enhance stereotypes and it helps to hammer home the perceptions that people might have. The advertising world has a lot of power, as is written in an article by Hubert Krugman. He writes of the power of advertising, Among the wonders of the twentieth century has been the ability of the mass media repeatedly to expose audiences numbered in millions to campaigns of coordinated messages (Krugman). Since the world of advertising has such great influence over how people think and more importantly, how people perceive the world around them, the fact that advertising continues to proliferate stereotypes is a problem that builds upon itself. As advertising companies push those gender-based roles, it is assumed that more people believe in those hard-line gender establishments. As more people believe in the gender roles, advertisers have more incentive to go forward with advertisements that strike close to home for the viewers.

According to many, the best and only way to change the perception brought forth in advertising is to change the actual perception on the ground. This is a difficult idea to approach, though, since perceptions are often shaped by experiences and people tend to have different experiences depending upon their background or upbringing. One hope, however, is that advertising is just behind the curve in terms of recognizing the relevant roles of men and women in todays society.

Going back to De Wulfs study, one of the interesting items that was proposed was that some studies are slow to account for the changing dynamic of men and women. Up until two or so decades ago, women had not played a prominent role in the business world at large. Though women were becoming more educated and doing good things in the business world, perception had not yet shifted. This could account for why the advertisers continue to put forth advertisements that bring about old, tired stereotypes. Instead of updating their approach and changing their advertising campaigns, marketing professionals may be working with old perceptions that they still believe people to hold. Many of the companies that are buying the most expensive, most influential advertising spots are those companies that have been highly successful. After all, companies are not able to afford million dollar advertising campaigns for the Super Bowl unless they have done well with their sales over time. This may trick companies into thinking that nothing is really wrong with their current marketing approach. The old if it is not broken, dont fix it mantra may come into play and it does make some sense when it is broken down in dollars and sense.

An alternative explanation is that advertising, at least for some companies, is an expensive thing. Though companies are always trying to deal with issues of image and how they are perceived by prospective customers, they are not able to dedicate resources to figuring out new, effective advertising campaigns. It may seem like an easy thing to just re-design a companys marketing approach, but this is something that can take months to accomplish and it is something that comes with a high degree of inherent risk. Companies do not like to take on this risk, especially in difficult financial times. Todays companies have to be more concerned with efficiency and the bottom line than ever before, which may lead them to avoid risky and difficult marketing ventures. Some might argue that this is sheer laziness on the part of companies, as they will not go the extra mile to figure out what consumers want, but others would argue that consumers are not currently mad enough about gender stereotypes to force advertisers to change their approach. Once again, this shifts the responsibility back onto the viewers and onto society at large, which must do its part to change perception and argue for the proliferation of new ideas by marketing professions of the major American companies.
           
Advertisers also argue that their advertising models are not meant to reflect accurate portrayals of gender roles. It matters not to Dockers that women are now powerful in society. They are attempting to sell jeans to a mostly male customer base, so they have a vested interest in appealing to the senses of those customers. This may have been what prompted the company to run its most recent and most popular advertising campaign during the Super Bowl. The advertisement featured men walking around wearing no pants, singing a song that included, I wear no pants This was an insinuation that men who did not wear the pants in a relationship were not real men. It painted those men as being weak and unattractive, while presenting a man who is wearing Dockers pants in the end as the most attractive representative in the entire commercial. This advertisement was not meant as a treatise on the American social condition. It was, instead, an attempt to fulfill the marketing departments obligation to the company. They are paid to come up with the most effective means of selling the product and in this case, that product happened to be a pair of pants aimed at men. Though not all advertisements fall under this category, this is true for a large majority of advertisements out there. Most analysis of advertising fails to take into account what is truly meant by the ad spots that are being put onto television or into magazines. Accuracy often takes a back seat to sheer sales tactics in terms of trying to move mens emotions or trying to move womens emotions in some cases.

Additionally, there are many times when the role of an advertisement is just to be entertaining, no matter what that might mean. Just as movies and television programs can present pictures of gender roles that are less than accurate for the sake of entertainment and telling a story, an advertisement can do the same thing. This shifts the responsibility to the viewer to actively detect what is being said in the advertisement and to not allow it to have a major, overwhelming effect on their perception of gender roles and the like.

The complex answer to this sometimes-difficult question is that there are many reasons why advertisers do things, and they are not always in line with what analyzers might be thinking. The role of advertising on public perception is important to keep in mind, as it continues to power how consumers view things around them. Still, in many cases the advertisers are just putting ads on television and into magazines that they feel represents the consumers feelings on society.

Additionally, it can be argued that there is no incentive for advertisers to go forward with a risky business approach that may or may not yield them more sales as a direct result of the change. Though arguments could be made about the social responsibility that companies currently have, many companies would argue that their first responsibility is to the shareholders of the company, as those are the people who make the company go. In the end, it may just be a case of advertising not needing to be a social litmus test, as ads are not truly meant to depict what actual gender roles are in society. Though women may be moving into CEO offices across the country and men are not always as assertive as one will see in a jeans commercial, the primary point of a marketing campaign is to position the company for a sales increase in the next quarter.