SOCE 006 Online Winter 2013

Assignment 1 Case Study

INSTRUCTIONS Three case studies have been posted. Choose ONE and answer the questions that follow. Refer to your textbook as much as possible to incorporate theories. You should write approximately 500 words minimum, but I prefer quality not quantity. There is no need to do any research; only your textbook is needed as a reference. However, if you choose to use outside sources, please cite your sources using a recognized citation method (MLA, APA). Any plagiarized work will receive an automatic zero. SUBMISSION Submit your completed assignment via the Assignments section of Blackboard. Attach your assignment in a Microsoft Word document do not write your assignment in the textbox. Do not e-mail the assignment using the Mail option. I would like to keep all the assignments in one area of the course. DUE DATE and EVALUATION Due Date: Wednesday, February 20, midnight

Late Penalty: 1% per day (assignments will not be accepted after Wednesday, February 27th) Value: 10% of final mark

Evaluation: Your assignment will be evaluated using the following criteria

Organization /5

paper is well organized and presented well paper is clear and easy to follow Development /25

responded to questions posted comprehension of theories/course work is successfully demonstrated supporting details are well developed supporting details are logical, clear and specific Grammar and Mechanics /10 major errors make it difficult to comprehend ideas some major errors, but ideas still comprehensible some minor errors, but mostly comprehensible

Total Mark =

/ 40 4 =

/ 10%

SOCE 006 Online Winter 2013

Case 1 Poverty in Toronto

Last summer, there was a shooting at the Eaton Centre. Two people died (one at the scene of the crime and one in hospital this week), five people were shot and hundreds terrified. Parents covered their children to protect them from bullets. The shooter was arrested shortly after the incident. We learned that he lived in one of Torontos poorest neighbourhoods, Regent Park.

The poverty line in Toronto is $18,759; in other words, anyone who makes less than this amount is considered poor. In a study by Social Planning Toronto, it is estimated that of the 2,615,060 people living in Toronto, 604,050 (almost a quarter of them) are living in poverty. A recent article in the Toronto Star by Royson James listed the following facts: Torontos poverty rates are higher than the provincial and national average; Overall, recent immigrants fare the worse with nearly half (46 per cent) in poverty; One in three children (under age 15) is living in poverty and 31 per cent of youths (15 to 24); Housing costs is a big expense, with almost 47 per cent of all tenants paying more than 30 per cent of their income on rent. Another 23 per cent pay an astonishing 50 per cent or more on rent.

In May 2012, United Nations representatives visited Canada. At a press conference, they claimed that ...Canada is a system that presents barriers for the poor to access nutritious diets and that tolerates increased inequalities between rich and poor, and aboriginal non-aboriginal peoples.

Answer the following questions: 1. Do you believe there is a link between crime and poverty? 2. Last year, approximately one million Canadians used food banks across Canada. Food banks are highly used in Toronto. How would structural functionalists and conflict theorists explain poverty in Canada? (see Chapter 3 in your textbook) Which theory do you believe explains poverty? 3. How can the government reduce stratification and/or poverty in Canada?

SOCE 006 Online Winter 2013

Case 2 Refugees and Medical Care in Canada

It is estimated that there are about 10.5 million refugees in the world today. Every year, approximately 20 countries resettle about 100,000 refugees. From that number, Canada annually resettles 10,000 to 12,000, or 1 out of every 10 refugees resettled globally. However, there are tens of thousands that make a refugee claim, but not all are accepted. This number will grow as other countries experience war, hunger and political conflict. In the past, the Canadian government offers medical care to refugee claimants and successful refugee applicants, funded by Canadian taxpayers. Currently, these medical benefits include basic coverage and supplemental coverage, which includes drugs, vision and dental care. Starting on July 30, 2012, the Canadian government introduced a policy that stated that they will no longer provide supplemental coverage (drugs, vision, dental) to refugees; only basic/urgent health care will be covered. Ontario doctors and nurses are concerned that these cuts will cause a health care crisis. The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario issued this statement: Ontarios nurses, like healthcare professionals from across the country, are gravely concerned that these dangerous changes will threaten the lives and well-being of people who have already experienced trauma and hardship before they arrived in Canada. Canadian Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney, said the following: Canadians are a very generous people and Canada has a generous immigration system. However, we do not want to ask Canadians to pay for benefits for protected persons and refugee claimants that are more generous than what they are entitled to themselves."

Answer the following questions: 1. How would conflict theorists explain the governments decision to cut medical care to refugees? 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages to reducing medical benefits to refugees? 3. Do YOU think the Canadian government made a good decision to reduce medical benefits to refugees?

SOCE 006 Online Winter 2013

Case 3 Dual Citizenship

Last July, there was a bus bombing in Bulgaria. After a lengthy investigation, police have suspected that the perpetrator of this crime is a dual citizen: Canadian and Lebanese. This has ignited a debate whether or not to allow Canadians to have a second citizenship, in short, making them dual citizens. Thousands of Canadians have a second passport, either from their country of birth or from their parents country of birth. However, a number of incidents in the past have triggered debate on possessing dual citizenship. The bus bombing was one of those incidents. The other was in 2006, the summer of the Lebanon-Israel conflict. When Lebanon was bombed during that summer, 40,000 LebaneseCanadians (who lived in Lebanon) asked the Canadian government to help them leave Lebanon when the bombing started. Because they were Canadian citizens and it was a serious situation, they were evacuated and brought to Canada. Immediately after the Israel-Lebanon conflict ended, thousands of Lebanese-Canadians returned to Lebanon. Many Canadians were upset, saying that it cost over $1 million to evacuate them and since they didnt live in Canada, Canadian taxpayers should not have to pay. The other side is they are, in fact, citizens of Canada and deserve the right to be assisted by the Canadian government. There are many reasons for and against having dual citizenship. Many of you come from countries where only one citizenship is allowed.

Answer the following questions: 1. Do you think Canada should allow dual citizenship? 2. Can you think of any circumstances when Canadian citizenship should be taken away? 3. The Canadian government is proposing revoking (taking away) Canadian citizenship from those who commit terrorist acts. a) Do you think this is a good idea? b) How would a conflict theorist explain the governments decision?