Usc Sosw 503 Assignment 1 Systems and Ecological Theory Essay

In society, there are groups that interact with each other. They may be families, churches, government agencies, or anything in between. Those groups can be defined as systems, and in the systems perspective that is what they are referred to (Hutchison, 2017). In the 1960s, Ludwig von Bertalanffy developed the general systems theory in relation to biology, but it was widely publicized and used for various subjects (Hutchison, 2017). Hutchison (2017) summarized Bertalanffy’s theory by saying, “any element is best understood by considering its interactions with its constituent parts as well as its interactions with larger systems of which it is a part.” (p.

The Ecological Systems Theory was founded by Urie Bronfenbrenner. This theory focuses on the impact of the environment on a child’s overall development. The identifying characteristics of Bronfenbrenner’s theory are the five systems used to organize external influences within a child’s development. These systems are the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. Each system is aligned with specific interaction levels. The microsystem is considered to be the most intimate of the levels, in which development is dependent on the immediate environment. The immediate environment would include adults, peers, and siblings with influence to learning new behaviors and the environment in which the

Ecological models can answer many questions regarding hypotheses, ecosystem parts and their functions (Marewski & Schooler, 2011). My ecological model was very standard for my teenage years (McWhirter, 2017). I was the first of four children and lived in Ohio, growing up during the ‘60s and ‘70s. We were an average American family living in an average suburb. We all had bicycles and went on bike rides all the time. In the summer, we would ride to the swimming pool in our town. In the summer, we did the book clubs at our library and we always had something to do together with our friends (McWhirter, 2017).

A system is a set of interrelated parts. Systems theory assumes that a system must be understood as a whole, rather than in component parts. It is a way of looking at the world where all the objects are interrelated with one another. Many family systems are addressed in the movie Little Miss Sunshine.

System perspective see’s human behaviors as the outcome of interactions within and among social systems of interrelated parts. These social systems of interrelated parts consist of people within the family, friends, school and work. System perspectives can be understood as the subsystem of larger systems, where each system has its unique identity but they are all interdependent. From a system perspective, behaviors are influenced from the past which are learnt from within the family and other social systems. Within a system perspective, there are smaller systems that a Social Worker may consider for a more holistic view. This is done by considering the role the physical and social environment has on a person’s behavior as well as protective and risk factors that influences positive and negative outcomes.

Imagine a double headed arrow. The arrow at the bottom, pointed down, is the individual. This individual is connected to something bigger, the upward arrow. This upward arrow explains the social system or “larger than us”. Johnson (1999) explains “We are always participating in something larger than ourselves…to understand social life and what happens to people in it, we have to understand what it is that we’re participating in and how we participate in it.” (39). To picture this, Johnson (1999) uses the analogy of a forest stating, “…a forest is simply a collection of individual trees… a collection of trees that exist in a particular relation to one another,” (39). He goes on to say that “…the key to understanding social life isn’t just the forest and it isn't just the trees. It’s the forest and the trees and how they're related to one another.” (Johnson 1999: 39). This is sociology and the rule that people are not systems and systems are not people (Johnson 1999).

A system is “A set of interrelated and interdependent parts arranged in a manner that produces a unified whole” (robbins 2006), and Systems theory is the

“..the System includes the Situation, but it is more enduring, more widespread, involving extensive networks of people, their expectations, norms, policies, and, perhaps, laws. Over time, Systems come to have a historical foundation and sometimes also a political and economic power structure that governs and directs the behavior of many people within its sphere of influence. Systems are the engines that run situations that create behavioral contexts that influence the human action of those under their control. At some point, the System may become an autonomous entity, independent of those who initially started it or even those in apparent authority within its power structure. Each System

Discuss Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and how it applies to the plight of children in the European migrant crisis

The System Theories focused attention on organizations as 'systems ' and on the complexity and interdependence of relationships of their inter-related sub-systems. This approach attempted to synthesize the classical approaches (organizations without people) with the later human relations approaches that focused on the psychological and social aspects ( 'people without organizations).

"Ecological systems theory is an approach to study of human development that consists of the 'scientific study of the progressive, mutual accommodation, throughout the life course, between an active, growing human being, and the changing properties of the immediate settings in which the developing person lives, as this process is affected by the relations between these settings, and by the larger contexts in which the settings are embedded'" (Bronfenbrenner, 1989, page or #). When reading and researching to gain deeper understanding and

Ecological System Theory is about human development that was influenced about different types of environmental U rie Bronfenbrenner founded it. Native Americans have faced difficulties with involvement in crime, law, and society. When the laws are being made, they are not being popular thought thoroughly; most people see them as minorities so most people do not care. It is important that we recognize and study all naïve people and there society. The Native Americans community is very poor that is why they have so much of a high crime rate because of their illegal actions. From a criminological standpoint, the primary targets of social control are those social control are those who resist, disrupt or those otherwise threaten the existence

With the second wave of systems theory came about the idea of the ecological perspective, named ecological systems theory. It is the combining of general systems theory with an ecological approach. Ecological systems theory uses ideas that link together four different social systems that surround an individual; these systems are known as, micro-systems, meso-systems, exo-systems and macro-systems (Healy, 2005). The ecological model is used as a tool. These systems are very structured and use certain processes as guideline. Different processing concepts are used in systems theory. These concepts explain how the system works. Input is the energy being fed into the system across boundaries. Throughput is how the energy is used within the system and output is the

Nearly everything that a human does is in response to the environment. Our lives are defined by what is around us and what we find in front of us, whether this means accepting, dealing with or changing it. This has been the pattern since primates first stood up and became Homo erectus, and has continued until we considered ourselves doubly wise. The shape of the land affected where humans moved. Weather was something with which to contend. Fire affected humans until they conquered it – and herein lies the core of the relationship. The earth affects humans, and humans affect it back, viewing characteristics and patterns as problems and challenges, and finding a solution.

First, natural system theory argues that organizations can best be described as “collectivities,” where they function as a team to create and accomplish a specific goal. However, reaching a set goal is not the main focus of this paradigmatic view, instead natural system theorists primarily focus on studying the behavior and actions of various organizations. Two of the key features of this paradigmatic view are goal complexity and informalization. First, goal complexity is centralized around studying the behavior and normative structures within an organization versus the goals that are sought after by the organization. Conflicts exist between an organizations proposed goals and the goals they are able to complete as an organization. And, oftentimes the stated goals are not the only ones being sought after by members of the organization or the organization in its entirety. Furthermore, an informal structure or informalization is also a distinctive characteristic of a natural system because different individuals bring in different values, ideas, cultures, and traditions that can be shared with the organization to formulate new ideas and goals that benefit the entire organization both horizontally and vertically.