Compare and contrast the pluralist and elitist accounts of political power.

Compare and contrast the pluralist and elitist accounts of political power. Introduction Whilst there are not infinite interpretations of political systems, there are differing accounts of systems theory. Each separate account of a theory can have varying threads such as classical, reformed, neo or radical interpretations. Within these definitions there may be variance over the role of the government or the prominence of power, yet there is confluence on one basic concept. In this essay I shall try to attempt to explain the theories, major ideas and pre-eminent writers in both pluralist and elitist political power. Following on from this I shall attempt to find any similarities and any differences in both pluralism and elitism. In my conclusion I shall attempt to draw on which theory is most relevant in the contemporary political world. Exposition of Pluralism H.S. Kariel is cited in Schwarzmantel's work referring to pluralism as: 'specific institutional arrangements for distributing and sharing governmental power.'1 Therefore pluralism is the dispersion of power to prevent tyranny. If power is concentrated to one group, there will be autocratic rule. By diffusing power, a state will be open to the demands of the population and this is essential to the supposition. This does assume social pluralism; that is a wide variety of interest groups. Social variety, such as

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Critically discuss the links between social theory and social research.

SOC 103 Exploring Social Research Critically discuss the links between social theory and social research Student: Jennifer Gartland Student no: 032805136 Module tutor: Andrew Hope This essay will identify the links between social research and social theory. Social theory can be defined as 'a set of ideas or abstract knowledge to explain the social world'1, likewise, research can be defined as, 'an investigation to discover facts or collect information'2 again this is in relation to the social world. Firstly we will consider the schools of thought; objectivity, subjectivity, realism and idealism, and say how these influence the aims, methods and processes of social research. Next this essay will identify the links between social theory and social research, identifying the approaches of inductivism, deductivism, paradigms, critical theory and ethnomethodology. An important school of thought in social research is objectivity. It refers to the lack of bias or prejudice when carrying out research. May (2001) identifies that if our own values do not interfere with the research it is objective. This objective view predetermines what type of research to carry out, which tends to be quantitive techniques. Experiments will be set up so that particular effects are being looked at from the outset, this predetermination of what to look for is reproduced in other research

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Outline some of the main differences between quantitative and qualitative Research methods. (1000 words)

EMMA SMITH SOCIOLOGY - SOCS 101 - SEMESTER A SEMINAR GROUP C- Thursday 2-3pm 2A) Outline some of the main differences between quantitative and qualitative Research methods. (1000 words) The discipline of sociology dates back to the end of the 18th century, and for many, it seems a difficult term to accurately define. It covers a wide range of topics such as poverty and gender to race and relationships, and its focus is on understanding the modernised, and industrialised world, which has developed throughout this time. Sociology enables us to take a step back and look at things which are familiar to us in a new way. Methodology and theories give us the ability to see things from a new perspective. The term 'methodology' defines the theory and analysis of how research should proceed. Any good research should have a basis in science, and the factor that distinguishes sociological arguments from common sense is systematic knowledge, which is developed through rigorous research processes. In doing research, people are trying to produce knowledge that is accurate; a description of some aspect of the world that is as close as possible to how it actually is. They also try to make sure that this knowledge is objective and value-free, meaning that the information must be gathered in a way that limits the chances of the researcher influencing or distorting the

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"How can prejudice be explained in Social Psychological terms?"

PS102 Essay 1 - "How can prejudice be explained in Social Psychological terms?" "The killing of Americans and their civilian and military allies is a religious duty for each and every Muslim. We, with God's help, call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill Americans and plunder their money whenever and wherever they find it." "The September 11th attack gave a harsh lesson to these arrogant peoples, for whom freedom is but for the white race...God willing, America's end is near." --Osama Bin Laden, in a February, 1998, appeal to Muslims, and a videotaped statement in the fall of 2001. It is hard to find a more explicit example of prejudice than this appeal by Osama bin Laden. Although sociologists often differ in their precise definitions of the term prejudice, it invariably involves a negative attitude toward the members of a certain group, based solely upon their membership in that group. From Osama bin Laden's viewpoint, non-Muslim Americans are the group he holds a negative attitude against and hence the main target of the various hostile manifestations of his prejudiced attitude. The purpose of this essay is to describe the commonly accepted social psychological explanations for this implacable social phenomenon, to present the reasons that have been put forth by social psychologists over the years as to how

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"It is claimed that the food media create a well informed and knowledgeable public that demand higher standards of quality and innovations in food and dining".

Module: Food, hospitality and society Module Code: B - 4042 Topic: "It is claimed that the food media create a well informed and knowledgeable public that demand higher standards of quality and innovations in food and dining". Word Count: 1890 Wikipedia defines Food as "Any substance consumed by living organisms, including liquid drinks, as the main source of energy and of nutrition which is usually of animal or plant origin (Wikipedia, No date). Other than food as the source of energy, it has a range of functions in addition to which are; acting as a pastime for personal indulgence or as a focus for socialising with family, friends and others and in contributing to a general sense of individual and national well-being. Consumer's preferences and demands are increasing day by day. A desire for premium quality of product and willingness to pay more to obtain a durable and efficient commodity is knows as "Neotraditionalism" (Senauer. B; et.al, 1993, p.59). Consumers increasingly want more variety and diversity in their diets, as individuals and as society. Today, all these aspects are increased by media and also fulfilled by media. In post-industrial societies in the late 20th century, food and dining out are cultural good, purchased for pleasure rather than utility (Finkelstein, 1989). These cultural goods assume to have a symbolic value and are purchase to

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What Factors Distinguish criminological positivism from classicism.

Title: What Factors Distinguish criminological positivism from classicism The issue raised by this question can be understood as factors which distinguish and contrast these two criminological theories; positivism and classicism are two distinguish theories they are referred to as schools of thought, the classical school and the other one being the positive school. These specific theories look into areas such as; human nature, the justice system, treatment, sentencing and punishment. They go into great depths to justify their arguments and explain why social disorder occurs. This assignment will begin firstly by explaining what the theories are and how they came into existence and most importantly what factors distinguish one from another. I will explaining what the positive theory is and then list all the major point of the school, also explaining what classical theory is and list all major points of the school. After it has been explained what the two theories are I will be comparing them to find elements that distinguish them and finally conclude with an overall summary within the conclusion. Within the criminology frame work, positive theory can be defined as: A crucial element of the predestined actor model that proposes that human behaviour is determined by factors, these factors can be stated as either an internal issue, such as, in the case of biological and

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  • Subject: Social studies
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Using at least one example from social life, explain what C. Wright Mills (1916-62) meant by the 'sociological imagination".

"Using at least one example from social life, explain what C. Wright Mills (1916-62) meant by the 'sociological imagination". According to C. Wright Mills, "the sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and relations between the two within society". Here, Mills is referring to his belief that researchers can view human life as they are shaped by historically conditioned forces - It empowers us to make the connection between personal troubles of a person (these are such issues of personal and private matters) and public issues of the social structure (or 'social problems'). Mills decides that people find troubles "within the character of the individual and within the range of his immediate relations with others", this of course takes place within the individual's social environment. Public issues, however, exist on an impersonal level in the form of institutions and the processes of society. These social problems can only be addressed through collective action, rather than an individual pursuing change, however, troubles are only by and large resolved through political responses. For the individual, the pain and challenge of these troubles is experienced alone, however their origin has developed outside of their personal lives. An applied sociological imagination would be that if, for example a small number of women in a town developed eating

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I would like to analyse a key social problem such as 'football hooliganism' from a sociological perspective and critically evaluate the proposition that a social problem such as this is created by society.

COMMUNITY AND THE POLICE Introduction I would like to analyse a key social problem such as 'football hooliganism' from a sociological perspective and critically evaluate the proposition that a social problem such as this is created by society. Football hooliganism is very difficult to define, mainly because the media have been extremely flexible and indeterminate in ascribing the 'hooligan' label to different incidents. Football hooliganism occurs at local, national and international levels and is by most to mean disorder involving football fans. Usually this involves criminal activity and in most, but certainly not all, cases occur either at or just before or after a football match. Much football crowd disorder is spontaneous, but a lot is prearranged by gangs (or 'firms') who attach themselves to football clubs and arrange to meet, and fight, firms from other clubs. The seventies and eighties saw some of the most violent and devastating scenes ever witnessed, and these incidents were covered in sickening detail by the media and whether a football fan or not, there can be few people who do not remember the disasters at Hillsborough and the Heysel stadiums where in total 137 lives were lost, 98 at Hillsborough and 39 at Heysel. Having discussed Hillsborough, John Williams of the Sir Norman Chester Centre for football Research (SNCCR) goes on to say, "This was not

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  • Subject: Social studies
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Why are state and social institutions so concerned with the transgressions of young people? Give examples to explain your answer.

Joy Sharrock-Melrose Tutor: Jane Harris Module: CJ2004 Why are state and social institutions so concerned with the transgressions of young people? Give examples to explain your answer. This essay will begin to analyse the question so then it can determine the relevant issues that need to be discussed. The 'state' can be defined as the population within a particular political boundary in this case the UK, and the institutions include the government, churches the media and schools. To define the meaning of transgressions, a transgression is the breaking of a rule or the law and it can also mean going against social 'norms' as has been portrayed in such TV programmes such as 'Neighbours from Hell' on ITV. It is also interesting that anti-social behaviour has been incorporated into English law as a 'crime'. This essay will discuss middle aged to elderly people in society and the media moral panics that cause them to be concerned. The media is central to the aspect of hegemony which will also be discussed as an issue, also a comparison with the media attention, and to some extent, the amount of resources used in detecting 'young people's' crimes such as petty theft, to that expended on some white-collar crimes such as 'insider trading in stock market shares. Official statistics have an affect on the governments concern which will also be discussed, along with fear that

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  • Subject: Social studies
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Five Theories of the Evolution of the Social Welfare System.

Five Theories of the Evolution of the Social Welfare System Industrialization and the Social Welfare System Social conditions changed during the industrialization era due to industrial expansion and the need for new types of jobs. Social services were needed and the new jobs allowed better resources to fulfill human needs. Industrialization led many workers to become dependent and run their own business. Therefore arose the concern over health care for workers, disability coverage, childcare, retirement, safety, fair working conditions and pay. Workers expected the government to make sure that there concerns and basic needs were accommodated and ever since the government has become a permanent part of the social welfare system. Social Values Two important social values are individualism and social responsibility and there is a continuous cycle shift between the two. The shift is a conflict between public purpose and private interest. Periods of public purpose require a high level of activity which people tire of and cause them to shift to their private interest and they become involved in their own personal lives. However during this period, some social classes tend to fall behind and believe the system isn't fair. Therefore they press for a change and thus the cycle shifts back to public purpose. Social Control The powerful use social control as a way to regulate the

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