course materials

1. Social Activism and Data Analysis Assignment
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SOLUTION PAPERS ON Social Activism and Data Analysis AssignmentOverviewCreate a
public information product of your choice that is based on data related to a diversity issue
and is at least 1,500 words long.Social Activism and Data Analysis Assignment.By
successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the
following course competencies and assessment criteria:Competency 1: Describe theoretical
ideas of power in relation to policy.Create a public information piece that conveys a central
tenet regarding institutional inequality.Competency 3: Analyze the effects of social policy
using aggregated data.Analyze data to make valid sociological inferences.Competency 4:
Analyze how laws are applied or created based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual
orientation, age, and social class.Describe factors contributing to racial and ethnic
disparities within the criminal justice system.Assess the impact that institutional
discrimination within the justice system has had on minorities and minority
communities.Explain ways in which public policies are linked to racial and ethnic disparities
within the criminal justice system.Describe policy strategies for reducing institutional
discrimination.Competency 6: Communicate effectively.Write coherently to a central idea
in appropriate format and with few errors of grammar, usage, and mechanics.Social
Activism and Data Analysis Assignment ContextOften, discrimination is discussed as a
primarily individual phenomenon—one-on-one actions in which one person discriminates
against another. But as you have learned through your studies and research, some
discrimination occurs at the institutional level, despite laws and policies that have been
created to reduce or eliminate structural racism.It is important to consider how different
experiences for minority groups may reflect a dominant culture that practices systemic
discrimination in terms of treatment or access to valued resources. In other words, if there
are many individuals in a society who are not racist or discriminatory, can the same also be
said of the institutions in U.S. society as a whole? Often, institutional discrimination involves
the intersection of race or ethnicity with other variables, like social class and gender. For
example, patterns of residential segregation may be connected to both race and ethnicity, as
well as socioeconomic status.Questions to ConsiderTo deepen your understanding, you are
encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work
associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community.What are some
examples of institutional discrimination in U.S. society? To what extent are these examples
the result of historical patterns of relationships between whites and minorities or among

2. upper, middle, or lower classes?Why do discussions of discrimination often focus on
individual acts of discrimination rather than systemic discrimination built into institutions
like the education or health care systems?In the justice system, what factors explain why
certain racial or ethnic groups are more likely to be stopped, searched, or arrested by the
police? What is the connection between policing strategies and incarceration rates?Internet
ResourcesAccess the following resources by clicking the links provided. Please note that
URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have been either granted or
deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course publication.Inter-University
Consortium for Political and Social Research. (n.d.). Quick tables. Retrieved
from http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/quicktables/quickconfig…Federal Bureau of
Investigation. (n.d.). Persons arrested. Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/about-
us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the…Social Activism and Data Analysis Assignment Library
ResourcesThe following e-books or articles from the Capella University Library are linked
directly in this course:Alexander, M. (2011). The new Jim Crow. Ohio State Journal of
Criminal Law, 9, 7.Davis, A. J. (2007). Racial fairness in the criminal justice system: The role
of the prosecutor. Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 39(1), 202–232.Callard, F.,
Sartorius, N., Arboleda-Flórez, J., Bartlett, P., Helmchen, H., Stuart, H., . . . Thornicroft, G.
(2012). Mental illness, discrimination and the law: Fighting for social justice. Hoboken, NJ:
John Wiley & Sons.Internet ResourcesAccess the following resources by clicking the links
provided. Please note that URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have
been either granted or deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course
publication.Childress, S. (2014). Why states are changing course on juvenile crime.
Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/criminal-j…The Associated
Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (2014). Crime and law enforcement in
America: Racial and ethnic differences in attitudes toward the criminal justice system.
Retrieved from http://www.apnorc.org/projects/Pages/HTML%20Report…U.S.
Department of Justice. (2015). Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department. Retrieved
from http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/pre…Bookstore ResourcesThe
resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not
required. Unless noted otherwise, these materials are available for purchase from
the Capella University Bookstore. When searching the bookstore, be sure to look for the
Course ID with the specific –FP (FlexPath) course designation.Healey, J. F., & O’Brien, E.
(2015). Race, ethnicity, gender, & class: The sociology of group conflict and change (7th ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Chapters 6 and 8.Assessment Instructions – Social Activism and
Data Analysis AssignmentThis assessment asks you to demonstrate a deep understanding of
institutional discrimination through both research and data analysis.For the purposes of
this assessment, you will assume that you are a consultant working for a bipartisan think
tank studying institutional discrimination within the justice system. In particular, you have
been asked to research and analyze issues related to minority incarceration for drug use.
You will concentrate on one of the key arguments related to the issue of institutional
discrimination—namely, that U.S. criminal justice policies and practices in place as a result
of the “War on Drugs” since the 1980s have disproportionately affected racial and ethnic
minorities.It is your job to create a public information piece that highlights your findings

3. regarding racial and ethnic inequities within the justice system. You will need to your
conclusions with data and research, rather than relying on opinion.The first step to prepare
for this assessment is to research the topic of institutional discrimination in the criminal
justice system, locating reliable, scholarly sources. Some suggested sources can be found in
the Resources for this assessment.DATA REVIEW AND ANALYSIS INSTRUCTIONSThe
following data sources should be used as a basis for this assessment. Links to these can be
found in the Required Resources for this assessment.National Survey on Drug Use and
Health (NSDUH) data. Review the Quick Tables page to access this data from the Inter-
University Consortium for Political and Social Research.When you select one of the quick
tables, such as one for heroin use, you can specify how the data is presented. To see
statistics for heroin use based on race and ethnicity, for example, select the “Heroin Use”
link. Then select the following options in the dropdown lists:Measure of Heroin Use: Select
“Ever Used Heroin” first. Then select the other options to create additional graphs and
charts as you would like.Respondent Characteristics: Select “Race and Ethnicity.”Confidence
Intervals: Use the default option, “(None displayed).”Chart Options: Choose any of the
options for viewing the chart, depending on how you would like the data to appear.Repeat
this procedure for the other illegal drugs on the list, including marijuana (illegal in most
states), crack, and cocaine. You can open each table in a new tab in your browser, which
makes it easier to compare the data.FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports data. Review the Person
Arrested page for data on drug arrests by race and ethnicity.You will see a list of table
numbers on this page. Tables 43, 49, 55, 61, and 67 show data that include categories for
race and ethnicity. Click on each table number to see the full tabular data. You will need to
scroll down each table to look for the line labeled “Drug abuse violations.”Note that Table
43 provides the overall national picture regarding drug abuse arrests, while the other tables
provide specific regional data based on the classifications of cities, counties, suburbs, and
nonmetropolitan areas.DELIVERABLEUsing research and the provided data, and
communicate the position of a special interest group by creating a public information
product. The final product should convey the central tenet that U.S. criminal justice policies
and practices disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities. Choose from one of the
following public information pieces:Information booklet targeted to the general
public.Position paper or brief targeted at state or federal legislators.Mock Web page (or
pages) or blog.Public service announcement (a script for a radio or television
program).PowerPoint presentation targeted to a specific audience, with a description of the
audience and detailed speaker’s notes.A script for a speech to be given at a national meeting
of practitioners who work in the criminal justice system.Note: Be sure to reference—
include the citations on a separate reference sheet—specific data from the tables, charts,
and graphs from the sources listed above to illustrate your points. Make sure to identify the
titles of those that you cite; for example, “Ever Used Heroin by Race” is the title of the table
and graph produced when you followed the initial steps above.The final, professional-
quality product should accomplish the following:Convey the causes and consequences of the
problem of institutional discrimination in the criminal justice system.Use formatting and
design principles that are appropriate for your chosen product.Include graphics—such as
photos, charts, graphs, and figures—to enhance the presentation when appropriate.Be ed

4. by data and scholarly research.Describe differences in illegal drug use based on race and
ethnicity, and explain the factors that account for discrepancies between who uses illegal
drugs and who is most likely to be arrested for drug abuse violations.Keep in mind that to
be accurate in your assessment, you will need to not just look at raw data and percentages
but also consider the data in relation to each racial or ethnic group’s percentage within the
overall U.S. population.Discuss the extent to which drug policies or law-enforcement
strategies have contributed to racial and ethnic disparities in drug use arrest rates.Consider
any historical or contemporary influences that may have contributed the disparities you
have identified.Share your assessment of the impact these disparities, along with
institutional discrimination within the justice system more broadly, have had on minorities
and minority communities.Present at least two potential solutions or strategies to combat
the problems identified in your analysis.These can be community-based, legislative (at the
state or federal level), or law-enforcement strategies.ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTSWritten
communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall
message.Length: The completed public information piece should contain at least 1,500
words.Format: Cite your sources in current APA style and format, including a reference list
at the end of your document or presentation.Sources: Cite the NSDUH and FBI Uniform
Crime Reports data, and at least two additional scholarly sources. When you mention the
NSDUH and FBI data, identify the titles of any specific charts you refer to.At least 4
references. Social Activism and Data Analysis Assignment.