Differential Achievement
Differential Achievement Differential achievement consists of the conjecture that are some social groups that are successful while other social groups under achieve. This hypothesis can be determined, weighed, judged and selected by a person's social class, family background, social background, gender, economical background, resources ect, ect. One prime example of a way differential achievement can be judged is through social class. Inevitably this is a blatant way to differentiate certain social group. If a person comes from a social class that is receiving a low income society believes that there is a less chance of that person achieving as well in contrast to a person that is from a high income social class. Family background is also a way of distinguishing from certain social class. A child who was brought up by a single mother is assumed to not progress as well and becomes as successful as someone who was brought up by two parents. This can also be seen as an emotional barrier that deprives you from achieving well. For example, a child who has been brought up by a divorcee e.g. single mother, single father, would have a greater likelihood of suffering from depression, life of crime, neglect or even poverty/homelessness in comparison to one who was brought up in a happy home that did not undergo a loss of a parent through divorce or even bereavement. Social
Critically evaluate the functionlists aproach on Education
Education is a vital system in most societies, and is compulsory for all children up to the age of 16 in Britain, soon to 18. There are many different ideas as to why education is so important and the functions it fulfils within society, some more positive than others. Although some people say that education is only intended to teach the individual enough knowledge to pass exams and start a career, most sociologists believe it has functions which go beyond this surface view and in some way affect or serve society as a whole as well as the individual. Functionalism is a sociological theory which is based on the ideas that society has basic needs, the most important of which is the need for social order. Without order, society would tend to disintegrate and fall apart. Social order is largely based on social solidarity or social unity. Social solidarity results from shared norms and values, this means that social life is predictable and runs smoothly. Thus shared values usually result in people cooperating and pulling together in the same direction. Functionalism is no longer fashionable, however functionalist ideas on the role of education in society still influence some researchers. Emily Durkheim argued that social solidarity is essential for the survival of society. Social solidarity is based on 'essential similarities' between members of society. According to Durkheim,
Assess the view that the welfare state is the cause of poverty rather than the solution
Assess the view that the welfare state is the cause of poverty rather than the solution In the UK we have a welfare state, which allows the government to take responsibility for the well being of the citizens through a range of benefits and services. There are many reasons as to why there is such a high rate of poverty in the UK, for example exclusion and dependency based approaches, which also links in to the blame of the welfare state. The modern welfare state was first introduced in 1948 and since then there have been numerous reasons that suggest the welfare state causes poverty, which have been tackled by many sociological approaches. However, there are also benefits towards the welfare state. An obvious view that tackles the idea that the welfare state is to blame for poverty is the New Right approach by theorists such as Marsland; they argue that it is a direct and indirect cause to poverty that will always cause inequality between people. Marsland believes that in a Capitalist society wealth is created by the people who run the successful companies and the entrepreneurs, which everyone else then relies upon for jobs. Entrepreneurs are mainly motivated by money, and therefore if they are to be well rewarded they want taxation to be kept low. This then creates the problem in which the welfare state is seen as an indirect cause of poverty, because taxation is made so
Assess the reasons for gender differences in Educational Achievement
Assess the reasons for gender differences in Educational Achievement Charlotte McCaffrey Sociology Essay Traditionally, in education, females have underachieved, and males have excelled. But in recent years, the females have surpassed the males 11+ level, GCSE level, and A Level. Some reasons put forward for this were Biology, Culture, and Discrimination in school. Some people would say that biologically, females were less able than males. Although, this ideology is generally rejected today, throughout the 20th century, it was accepted by doctors, and even educationalists. This belief led to women being actively discriminated against in the education system. This was based on the idea, that academic education could be harmful to them. It was believed that it could lead to a break down, as the amount of information the female brain could handle was limited. This idea was contradicted, when females started to do better than males in the 11+, but even then, the number of passes allocated between the genders was equalised, based on the theory that males matured later than females, and this gave the females an unfair advantage. Until recent years, the acceptance of these biological theories lead to a gender differentiated curriculum. The next possible idea is Culture. These explanations suggest that the stereotyped gender roles are promoted by the culture of
To the study of effect of industrialisation in Kolam village of Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, I stratified 50 out of 75 households in the village for the survey to find out the situation of villagers, land holding patterns and resource availability be
7. THEME PAPER . 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 7.1. Title of the Theme Paper The title of the theme paper is "Effect of Industrialisation in People-People, People -Resource, Resource-Resource relationship, and Coping Mechanism and challenges and opportunities at Raigarh district" 7.2. Selection of Study Area The area allotted to me for study was a village Kolam which is 55 kms away from Raigarh. It was specifically chosen as since the last 2 - 3 years, there has been many land sales by farmers to the in steel giant Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) established here. The study is to find the effect of industrialisation on the lives of the people as well as their interaction with their environment. 7.2.1. Methodology To the study of effect of industrialisation in Kolam village of Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, I stratified 50 out of 75 households in the village for the survey to find out the situation of villagers, land holding patterns and resource availability before and after industrialisation drive in the village. 7.2.2. Source of Information I conducted the following exercises for collection of information: * Field observations: My field observations exposed me to the various agricultural practices of the villagers, the cropping patterns, land type, * PRA exercises: In PRA exercise I came to know about the real problems faced by the villagers. In this
Assess sociological explanations of the relationship between gender, religious belief and organizations.
Assess sociological explanations of the relationship between gender, religious belief and organizations. (40 marks) Gender issues are a great importance in contemporary society and culture. Although they concern both men and women at present, gender studies are still mainly focused on women because women have been voiceless for so long. Feminism see religion as a product of patriarchy as it only serves the interest of men. Jean holm argues that all religion preaches equality but they do not practice it. This argument derived from her study of cotemporary religions which showed that women are subordinated to the role of men as they do not have a part to play in many religions. For example, in Japanese religions, the women arrange and organize public rituals, but only the men can take part in it. Thus showing devalued and important women are within religious organizations. A Marxist feminist DeBeauvoir believes that there must be a religion for women because if women have their own religion, they cannot be oppressed. So therefore, they have created a feminine bible, where everything is equal between both sexes. Sociologists such as Stark believe that women are physically deprived as they suffer more life crisis than men; so therefore, women are more likely to turn to God as someone that can help them. DeBeauvoir reinforces this statement by saying that religion gives a divine
How it works Dewey decimal system
How it works The DDC attempts to organize all knowledge into ten main classes that, excluding the first class (000 Computers, information and general reference), proceed from the divine (philosophy & religion) to the mundane (history & geography). DDC's cleverness is in choosing decimals for its categories; this allows it to be both purely numerical and infinitely hierarchical. It also is a faceted classification, combining elements from different parts of the structure to construct a number representing the subject content (often combining two subject elements with linking numbers and geographical and temporal elements) and form of an item rather than drawing upon a list containing each class and its meaning. Except for general works and fiction, works are classified principally by subject, with extensions for subject relationships, place, time or type of material, producing classification numbers of not less than three digits but otherwise of indeterminate length with a decimal point before the fourth digit, where present (e.g. 330 for economics + 94 for Europe = 330.94 European economy; 973 for United States + 005 form division for periodicals = 973.005, periodicals concerning the United States generally); class marks are to be read as numbers, in the order: 050, 220, 330.973, 331 etc. Any letter should be read as preceding any number that might have occupied the same
Assess The Extent To Which Marxist & Feminist Theories Help Our Understanding Of Religion In Society Today
Assess The Extent To Which Marxist & Feminist Theories Help Our Understanding Of Religion In Society Today Two sets of sociologists, which give their perspective on religion, are the Marxists and the Feminists. These two sets of theorists provide two different definitions on how religion affects society today; however their meanings differ only slightly. While Marxism argues that religion legitimises the, "subordination of the subject class and the domination and privilege of the ruling class", Feminists see religion as a product patriarchy, serving the interest of men under the subordination of women. Whilst both see religion as tools of domination and oppression, the parties involved in this domination and oppression are different. Marxist theories are often known as conflict theories, as they see a conflict between the capitalist ruling class and the proletariat subject class, the two main classes, which compose the industrial society. Therefore religion is used to keep the proletariat in their place. This is done in a variety of ways. One way in which this is done is via maintaining a false ideology, a false consciousness for the proletariat. Marx said that, "religion acts as an opiate to dull the pain produced by the oppressed." To maintain societies class, religion does nothing to solve the problems of the imbalance and oppression, instead it tries to make life more
Assess the importance of evidence from studies of social mobility for the main theoretical debates about social class
Assess the importance of evidence from studies of social mobility for the main theoretical debates about social class. There are two main theoretical debates about social class; firstly the debate as to whether society is a meritocracy or whether it is based on ascription and secondly the debate as to whether class matters anymore and whether the lines between classes are still clear or whether they are now blurring. Functionalism holds the view that society is a meritocracy, that is, people gain their jobs and pay based on merit; the more they are valued and the harder that they work, the better they do in society eg. according to Functionalism, a banker only earns in the region of £4million a year because people value what they do and thus are seen to deserve their money. This theoretical debate is supported by evidence from a study conducted by New Right sociologist Peter Saunders (1996). In this study, Saunders examined the results of the National Child Development Study (NCDS), a longitudinal study which focuses on a sample of people born in 1958 and 1970 and follows them and their children. Saunders found that the rate of absolute mobility according to this study was 52%. This means that 52% of children in the study were in a different social class to their parents. He also found that in relation to relative mobility, those that were born in the middle class were
How do race and ethncity impact on formation of identity?
How do 'race' and 'ethnicity' impact on the formation of identity? Identity is a key concept within the social sciences, revolving around how individuals or groups of people in society are identified. The formation of identity is a complex process. 'Race' and 'ethnicity' are key elements impacting upon the formation of identity. This essay will explain what is meant by 'race' and 'ethnicity' and how identities are formed. It will then explain how structure shapes the formation of identity and explain how social changes cause uncertainties leading to the formation of new identities. 'Race' is a term used to categorize humans by their visible differences i.e. White, Asian or Black. However, in social sciences, 'race' is put in quotation marks to emphasize the fact that it should not be classified on the basis of physical characteristics only but, should account for the fact race is socially constructed term and serves an essential purpose in relation to the formation of identity. 'Ethnicity' is a term used to describe those that share the same language or nationality, although sometimes they do not share the same identity e.g. the meaning of the term black. During the early 1980's black was used to describe those of Asian decent. During the later part of the 1980's, black, reverted to only describing those of black decent. Woodward (2004, p 119) argues that the
