"Does Social Class Matter?"
"Does Social Class Matter?" The importance of social class is often down to personal opinion, based on factual evidence as well as individual experience and hearsay. Two extreme groups have strong opinions on the effects of social class and the western stratification system in general. These two groups are the Marxists and the Functionalists. Marxists argue that prejudice of the lower classes is all around us. They feel that there is distinct divides between those with the power and the rest of the working population. Marxists say that there is a 'glass wall' that splits the wealthy from the underclass's'; that the system is fundamentally ascribed. If you are born into a poor family, you will be at a disadvantage. Poor education, social discrimination, and limited career goals will keep you from enjoying a full and free life. The 'fat cat' upper class use and abuse those who work for them. They make profit at the expense of their employees by paying them as little as possible. Marxism is the basis of communism and socialism; two political concepts that oppose class systems, stratification, and inequality. Functionalists see our social stratification system as a positive thing. They believe it's a system that allows society to function much more effectively. People who work hard get the higher class jobs (rewards). This is what motivates the individual to excel, otherwise
"Examine some of the major reasons for changes in the patterns of marriage, divorce & cohabitation".
"Examine some of the major reasons for changes in the patterns of marriage, divorce & cohabitation". It is really, in the last 30yrs of study that the major changes have occurred. There is an ever-growing increase in the divorce rate. Second marriages have increased, as has the number of people cohabitating without being married. This has led to a decrease in the first time marriage rate. Marriage is being seen more and more as a legal contract between two people. A number of social changes in society have been identified that help explain these changes in marriage, divorce and cohabitation. In the past, people born out of wedlock were seen as social outcasts or socially inferior. As social attitudes changed, it became more socially acceptable to get divorced, to be a lone parent and to cohabit out of wedlock. The decline in the importance of religious beliefs and practices has led to increased secularisation. Less people believe in god or follow a religion. They feel they do not need their relationship blessed by god. Marriage is less of a spiritual union and more a personal commitment, which can be abandoned if it fails. This has led to a decline in marriage and a rise in the number of people cohabitating. Rising expectations of marriage is another factor for a rise in the divorce rate. People demand and expect more from their marriage than perhaps their parents and
"Examine various methods of social control implemented by Gileadean society"
"Examine various methods of social control implemented by Gileadean society" In Margaret Atwood's futuristic novel The Handmaid's Tale, the Gileadean society has implemented various methods of social control. These methods are no different from the methods used by many democratic governments today. Uniforms to reflect occupation, names and titles to indicate status and censorship to keep the intellectuals controlled are all used as forms of social control in both the Gileadean and our society. The handmaids play an important part in the Gileadean society. They have to wear long red dresses with hoods that cover their bodies. All handmaids dress the same way, just like nowadays certain jobs require a certain way of dressing; people have to dress in a specific way in order to get that job. One of the reasons for the strict dress code in the Gileadean society is that people can be observed easily; for example since all handmaids dress in the same way, it is easier for the guards to keep and eye on them and restrict their movement. The guards have to wear a uniform as well so that they can be distinguished from other people. Then there are groups of people who do not wear uniforms, such as the Eyes who are the Gileadean secret service. The handmaids, especially Offred, fear the Eyes because they don't know when one is watching them. It is an interesting point because Offred
From Poverty to Social Exclusion: beveridge report.
From Poverty to Social Exclusion: An Introduction to Social Policy Answer 1 After World War II, leaders of Britain felt the need to give back to its citizens by raising the standards of living. The first step in this process was the Beveridge Report, prepared by the Inter-Departmental Committee on Social Insurance and Allied Services, chaired by William Beveridge. The report is said to be the blueprint for what we call the Welfare State. The report has been the guiding unit for all the welfare activities that were taken thereafter. The Beveridge Report was a milestone in that it was a genuine and a holistic effort to rid the British society of people's 'want' and hence poverty. The salient features of the report were: * It included a scheme for social insurance "scheme of social insurance against interruption and destruction of earning power and for special expenditure arising at birth, marriage, or death"1. The scheme was based on six principles- flat rate of subsistence benefit, flat rate of contribution, unification of administrative responsibility, adequacy of benefit, comprehensiveness, and classification. These six principles helped the scheme to attain what it wanted to and set specific rules for achieving them. * The report identified five 'giants' that were to be attacked to gain social security. They are Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor, and Idleness.
Social Problems
Social Problems Author: Anonymous Email: Anonymous Social problems have been a part of society for thousands of years. Some have vanished over time while others have uprooted to accommodate with the changing times of the world. Different countries share similar social problems as well as different ones. All countries have tried to find solutions for these problems such as the United States, Britain, Uganda, and China. The United States has a lot of social problems. Since there is a lot of land, a vast majority of different cultures have settled here. As a result of all these different cultures colliding, social problems are common. Poverty is one of these problems. In order to deal with this, the United States government has created Welfare Programs. These programs give poor families money to get food, shelter, etc. Food stamps are issued, insurance is provided to the unemployed, and Head Start schools are provided for children. On top of these, nonprofit organizations set up numerous funding drives for the poor. These all sound good on paper, but some of these people are taking advantage of these programs. Some people feel it's the government's job to provide for them instead of getting a job. As a result, the taxpayer is the one who pays for these people's needs. Since people get a free ride, the poverty rates remain high. In Britain, one of their major
Spend, Spend, Spend I have chosen to compile Entry 2 of my progress report on the following headings:-
HND Acting & Performance Progress Report Entry 2 Text and Performance Spend, Spend, Spend I have chosen to compile Entry 2 of my progress report on the following headings:- Physicality - Social Themes - How text represents era - Dramatic Form Physicality Exercises/discussions covered in class After reading through the duologue in class we were split in to groups of 3, 2 performers and a director. In our groups we explored the physicality of the characters Vivian and Keith. Our group considered Keith's background and general mentality in finding his physicality. This was all found in the text from the stage directions and some of Keith's lines. "What the hell's that for???", "what are you doing?", "what's it for?", "the best what??" from this I built an oafish, clumsy sort of character without any style or class. Exercises/discussions purpose The purpose of the exercise was to use the ideas that we came up with & display them in a performance. Followed by a class discussion to decide what worked well and why. Strengths and Weaknesses analysis I received good feedback from the class on the physicality of the character. I had Keith clumsily walking around, fumbling with his shoes and used a lot of vacant facial expressions. I feel that more could have been done with his walk. I liked what one of my class members Tom had done with the character. Tom had him actually
This essay is aimed to distinguish between what Marx means by alienation in relation to productive activity and specie being, identify and use relevant concepts from Marx to analyse the attached reading A: maid to order, in the essay question booklet and
This essay is aimed to distinguish between what Marx means by alienation in relation to productive activity and specie being, identify and use relevant concepts from Marx to analyse the attached reading A: maid to order, in the essay question booklet and to analyse why Marx believed that social relation in modern society are mediated by things. (1) Marx explained that alienation is about the loss of human powers in the society and alienation separates human from his natural word, activities and makes man lose control over his labor activity. Marx alienation from productive activity emerged when human are barred by alienation from realizing their potentials and creativities, this was achieved under capitalism by division of labor which finally led to specialization in a specified or a fixed area of labor activity or task. Marx believes that alienation of human from productive activities is as a result of the expansion of division of labor and limits the worker from getting more of it potentials and self-existence. Marx explains that workers sell their labor to the employer or the capitalist for his satisfaction which in return pays the workers in wages for the labor which he fixed for the workers and not the choice of the worker, this alienates the worker from the natural social behavior and labor activity i.e. transformation of useful labor to abstract labor, the employer
United States today in terms of Marx's model of class-stratification.
Travis Tameirao November, 2009 Introductory to Sociology Take Home Exam Examine the United States today in terms of Marx's model of class-stratification. To what extent can one explain the social relationships between social classes as "determined"by class-conflict or class antagonism. You may consider such issues as: (1) the primitive accumulation, (2) the industrial reserve army, (3) the labor theory of value, (4) James Gilligan's thesis, (5) the war on drugs, (6) the Wall Street "bailout"and its controversies, (7) the Employee Free Choice Act, (8) Emigration policy, *9) unionizing efforts, (10) wages vs. proficts, (11) ideologies, (12) pharmaceutical companies and public health, (13) global class conflict (I.e.e Iraq, etc.,) (14) the NAFTA and FTA treaties, (15) conflict of interest(?) in the selection of the new President's economic team and government officers. How does "False consciousness"or the lack of "class consciousness"mitigate against the awareness of class-conflict? ON the other hand, you may hypothesize that the functionalist thesis of a harmony of interest between classes trumps Marx's analysis of "class warfare." You must Provide Evidence for your assertions. "Stratification refers to the division of society into layers. These layers are distinguished by unequal rewards and life chances. Most sociologists see stratification as involving a
I predict that girls do better at GCSEs in Samuel Whitbread Community College than boys because boys don't work as hard as they should as they
HYPOTHESIS I predict that girls do better at GCSEs in Samuel Whitbread Community College than boys because boys don't work as hard as they should as they are afraid that other boys would criticise them, this is mainly due to the way the boys have been socialised either at school or primarily and home in the family. Also they would rather concentrate more on what they want to do today rather than what they want to do in the future. Boys are easily distracted and, girls are hard workers. I have witnessed this in many lessons were boys are messing around and not concentrating fully on they task they have been set. Boys are not willing to spend as much time on coursework as girls, so as more coursework I introduced the lower the boys grades are getting. It has not always been like this as during the last thirty years it has taken a dramatic u-turn. It used to be that girls got lower grades because teachers saw no reason to give women a decent education as they would only amount to housewives. Although boys could become lawyers, doctors and onto a higher education. This was because in society at the time it was considered the man's duty to be the breadwinner and the women staying home to look after the children. ACTION PLAN I am investigating find out why girls do better than boys at GCSE. In my investigation I am going to refer to my hypothesis and: * Hand out between 25-30
In the light of the teachings of the Qur'an discuss the moral and ethical norms that Muslims are expected to uphold in their social affairs.
ISLAMIC STUDIES Assignment No.2 By: Rizwan Zafar, 06020175. (Part 1) In the light of the teachings of the Qur'an discuss the moral and ethical norms that Muslims are expected to uphold in their social affairs. Prior to start the answer of my question, I would like to explain what we mean by morals and ethics. To define ethics would be relatively simple. According to dictionary "ethics" may be defined as a set of principles of right conduct or a system of moral values. But moral is something within our self i.e. something innate. According to Abul 'Ala Al-Mawdudi "Man has been blessed with an innate sense of morality, which has served to guide him through the age, enabling him to distinguish between right and wrong and good and evil." Now, the problem is that the degree according to which a person thinks a certain act as good or bad varies from person to person. Therefore to ease us from this problem, God through Quran told us certain moral & ethical norms which we are supposed to follow. This can be explained through certain principles: First of all, we need to see that according to Quran, who is a good Muslim? The answer to this question is given beautifully in Quran when Allah tells us the description of a righteous and religiously committed Muslim. According to this verse, a good Muslim is who, who obeys all the regulations mentioned in Quran and whose focus in
