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social problems chapter 1

Terms

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the process by which groups assert grievances about the troublemsome character of people or their behavior
claims making
a theoretical paradigm, derived from the writings of marx and engels that emphasizes conlict and change as the regular and permanent features of society, because society is made up of various groups and classes who weild varying amounts of power
conflict theory
the spread of information throughout a population
diffusion
a measure of the degree to which a communityoffers a range of services to its members
instutuional completeness
research approach that examinates the ways people interact to create a shared social reality
social constructionism
the sepcific duties and obligations expeceted of one who occupies a specific status
roles
a number of individuals, defined by formal or informal crieria of membership, who share a feeling of unityu or are bound together in stable patterns of interaction
social group
a theoretical paradigm emphasizeing the way each part of society funtions to fulfill the needs of society as a whole: also called ? a macrosocplogical approach that focuses on the societal, as opposed to the individual level.
structural functionalism
a theorietical paradigm that studies the process by which individuals interpret and respond to the actions of others and that conveives of society as the product of this continuous face to face ?- a microsociologcal approach that focusus on individuals an
symbolic interactionism
people who do not have enough of the basic requirements such as food, shelter, medicine etc for survival
absolute poverty
they can surivive, but their living standards are far below the general living standards of the society or social group to which they belong
relative poverty
this method of measuring poverty is based on the percentage of income devoted to daily necessities such as food, shelter , and clothing
low- income cut offs
another method of measuring poverty is a set of figures representing 50 persent of the median adjusted family income which is based on a consideration of the varying needs of families of differing sizes those that fall below are considered ? each families
low income measure
another way to measure poverty is designed to define and measure povery in absolute, not relative terms.
market based measure
which measure of poverty is measuring relative?
low income cut offs
what monitors social and economic progress through a broad measure known as the ?
HDI- human development index.
what does the HDI comubine?
literacy rate,
gdp per capita
what does the HDI index combine?
literacy rate
life expectancy at birth
gdp per capita

the hypothesis that economic hardship consistently decreases as age increases
adequacy -gradient hypothesis
the hypothesis that ecomic dicculties should decline as age increases up until middle age, after which ecomic hardship should begin to rise again
affluecne trajectory hypothesis
large differences in income and wealth across individuals and groups - differences in econimic power of enations
economic inequality
the movement of indivuals from one social class to another during the course of ones lifetime
social mobility
people who believe that rac is social construction believe that race is?
biological and therofore unassiabnle a fact
is the values and practices that fram peoples lives that we learn
culture
is a search for identityu- a tracing of roots to a shared cultural past- as part of a search for political recogntion
ethnic nationalism
referes to a communituy of citizens who as equals express loyalty and patriotic attachment to a shared set of social and political values -
civic nationalism
caccorded to john porter, canadian society ios an example of a ? mosaic as english and french speaking are at the top and all other etnic minorities are below
vertical
what is sociology?
sociology is the scientific study of social life, social change and the scoial causes and consequences of human behavior
what is a society?
a society is a group of people living together and constituting a single related interdependant community
what is culture?
people learn culture. Culture, as a body of learned behaviors common to a given human society, acts rather like a template (ie. it has predictable form and content), shaping behavior and consciousness within a human society from generation to generation.

eg is religion, marriage, language



what is a social problem?
A social condition or behavior that people view as harmful and requires collective action to remedy. eg economic inequality, ethnic inequality, gender issues, violence, drugs, racial discrimination.
instrumentalists
The upper class is consciously organized and unified to protect its interests and does so directly through the manipulation of state policies or indirectly through the exercise of pressure on the state

the structuralist theory believes that the state is ? from the ruling class
autonomous. the state needs this autonomy for two reasons

1)to deal with intraclass fractions within the upper class

2)In order to sustain capitalism, the autonomous state must mediate between competing corporate interests



The state works in the long-term interest of the capitalist class even without their direct involvement for two reasons.
1) in order to maintain revenue and have a healthy economy

2)if the economy under a given regime is poor, voters will likely replace them when they are up for re-election



When will the state not act in the interest of the elite?
-times of war
-business confidence decreases the government will work to improve it even without direct pressure

but the problem with the structuralist - class theory is that it is untestable.




liberal vs conservative in terms of social policy, economic policy, eduction, crime, humans fundamentally
..
which measure of poverty do we use in canada and what does it measure?
low income cutt offs. based on the size of the family and the percentage of income used on the necessities
what measure of poverty is used in the US and what does it measure?
they used what is called a poverty threshold and is Based on the cost of a basic nutritionally adequate diet multiplied by 3. Stats that families spend 1/3rd of their income on food exluding health care, and housing

since the definiton of poverty is scewed in the US is says that only ? mill are in poverty where if it were to take into account other necessties such as housing etc it would be more along the lines of ?
30 mil
80 mil
what is the poverty rate in canada
13%
Families where the main wage earner did not graduate from high school are more than ? as likely to live in poverty as those with a college or university degree.

twice
While the vast majority find new jobs, about half of them make less money than they did before, what is this called?
downward mobility
what percent of the US population was severly poor?
5.3 percent
what are the 4 myths in poverty
1) refusal to work
2) welfare dependancy
3)poor advantages
4)a minority problem


what does the first deficiency theory entail
that the poor are poor because they are unfit. -followers argue that 1) intelligence is hereditary and 2) success depends on mental ability.

what does the second defiency theory state?
that the reason why poverty exists is because the differences in different culture- Poor are more permissive in raising their children
Less verbal
More fatalistic – all things are predetermined and humans are powerless to change them.
Less likely to defer gratification
Less likely to be interested in formal education





what is the structural theory of poverty?
institutional discrimination- Definition - When the customary way of doing things, prevailing attitudes and expectations, and acceptable structural arrangements work to the disadvantage of the poor.eg education- many jobns require great programs and diplomas in order to achieve greater prowess.

what is the other structural reasoning for poverty- the political economy os society- what does this mean
that capitalism promotes poverty- the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor
the concentration of income in the hands of a small group of people. Or, disparities in the distribution of income (or wealth
income inequality
refers to persistent patterns of social inequality in society: how wealth, power, and prestige are socially distributed and transmitted from one generation to the next.
social stratification
A social system in which positions are achieved, not ascribed, is called a
meritocracy
refers to the movement up and down the social structure
social mobility-
is a group of people who have about the same access to economic resources.
class
refers to a relatively stable and prominent hierarchy of classes.
Class structure
the overall system of economic activity (e.g., slavery, feudalism, capitalism), including the means of production (technology, investments, materials), and the social relations of production (class relations).
Modes of production
According to Marx, the working class would recognize its enemy, destroy capitalism, and replace it with a classless society based on collective ownership known as ?
communism
Capitalist societies after Marx have been characterized by:



low class conflict;
growth of the middle class; and
relative decline in material inequality.

The gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged has been widening due to an:

Increase in wealth and income inequality and increase in the number of poor due to high, steady levels of unemployment and more part-time, temporary, and badly paid jobs
a category assigned to people based on the social meaning and significance accorded to physical or cultural characteristics (i.e. social construction
race
refers to people who share a common culture, which may be defined by a common heritage, language or dialect, religion, geographic ancestry, norms, foods, and customs.
ethnic group
systems of racial inequality (socially constructed on the basis of the false assumption that these variations are linked biologically to how people will behave and their social worth.

racism
what are the two types of racism and what do they both mean
personal racism- Individuals (or small groups) hold attitudes of prejudice and/or engage in discriminatory or similar behavior.

and

institutional racism - Institution - an organizational structure created to perform certain services or tasks within society. Business and industry, unions, the political system, education, the mass media, the legal system – all may be thought of as institutions.
Institutional racism – the disadvantageous/ discriminatory treatment of minority people






refers to the culturally and socially constructed differences between females and males based on meanings, beliefs, and practices that a group or society associate with femininity or masculinity.
gender
? tends to limit females to a very circumscribed role based on the belief that biology is destiny.
This notion suggests that women’s and men’s different reproductive roles and hormones predetermine things like intelligence, strength, temperament,
sexism
Attitudes and actions through which individual males display their sense of superiority over women
male chauvaunism
the subordination of women built into societal institutions.
institutional sexism- In most aspects of society (e.g. education, the economy, politics) women are systematically treated in a manner that institutionalizes and increases their disadvantage vis-à-vis men.
- the outcome is lower pay, political under representation
The belief that women’s earnings are merely supplemental has been challenged by data demonstrating that ? of working women provide half or more of their household income.

55%
Despite decades of affirmative action policies, women in the workplace are blocked by what is known as the ?. Women may rise through the corporate ranks to an extent, but rarely rise to the highest ranks.

glass celiing
In 2003 1/3 of women workers are clustered into just 20 out of roughly 500 occupational categories.
what are the top three occupations?
teacher, secreatary and cashier
what percent of married women remain out of the workforce
39%
what percent of rape charges actually reach the courtroom?
1-5 %

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