Punishment & Reward in Deviancy Control

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Dear Student,
I decided that the best way to provide a solution for your post is to write a semi-essay that lecture/explain the concepts you needed clarification on. The concepts/particulars of deviant behavior in relation to punishment that I explored are expanded by the articles I chose to go with them. Additional articles, stories from the web or in print are indicated in the Reference section at the end of the solution. For the deviance/social inequality discussion I chose to delve into the history of the US in relation to Black migration & the White flight as well as related concepts. I felt they were best to expand the ideas of social inequality that is relevant to our current understanding of its meanings. Attached is the word version of the solution, print it out & use as your guide. Thank you for using Brainmass!

OTA 105878

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Deviant Behaviour & Punishment

What is Deviant Behaviour? That is the first question that we need to answer. Deviancy is the manner of acting contrary to the expected norm, rebelling against what is expected of every member of a society or a social group. In sociology 'deviancy' is a constructed concept, differing in meaning or what it represents in every culture and ethnic/social groupings across the globe. The legalized violation of norms is a formal criminal deviancy while the informal ones, like walking backward are nothing more than an act that could be influenced by cultural differences or personal preferences.
Formal deviancy that are a serious breach of law are social problems that have always been a part of any social network and structures have always been in place from primary (families) to secondary groupings to combat them (corporations, churches, communities). The Police & federal agencies in place to counter criminal deviant behaviour are active in their official government mandate to impose the rule of law. The Justice system prosecutes the 'Deviant' under due process expected of the rule of law while the Legislative body of the government enacts the law that formalizes what is legally accepted and what is not. Deviancy and it's opposite, accepted behaviour has had it's roots in the very beginnings of any social group and in American History, it is highly influenced by History, social situations and accepted widespread morals heavily influenced by Religion in an acceptance of what is right.

Incest by Choice

In Germany of late, the case of Patrick Stuebing and Susan Karolewski, incestuous brother and sister have come to the forefront as an examination of what is acceptable behaviour and what is deviant and if heavy Punishment was required. Patrick was adopted when he was a baby. When he was 23 he sought for his biological mother and met his sister Susan, then 16. When their mother passed away, brother and sister lived as lovers in their mother's house. Their union resulted to four children. When the authorities learned of the incestuous relationship, Susan then 21 was admitted to Social Care and Patrick was tried of incest and was found guilty, serving 2 years in prison. Susan for her part served a year's probationary sentence. After serving his sentence though, Patrick and Susan lived together again. As of now, they are fighting a legal battle to be recognised as a legal couple fighting the Incest Law. Theirs was a case that got the debate rolling: through their circumstances, their lawyer said, incest should not apply. What if Patrick met Susan after their mother has died and he has never found out about their actual biological relationship? Would that still be incestuous? Their lawyer is appealing to Germany's highest court to overturn the ban on incest to help their case. Germany however is a largely Catholic & ...