Compare and contrast the following pairs or sets of concepts and explain why the distinctions are important:
- modernization and underdevelopment
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Modernization theory states that the poor countries can move from traditional to industrial economies by adopting the value systems of industrialized western nations.
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An underdeveloped nation is a peripheral nation that has experienced historically disadvantageous relationships w more powerful industrialized or core nations and thus has been limited in its development opportunities. It is bc of colonization and imperialism that these unequal relationships bt countries began and still exists today bc of the centuries of entrenched relationships bt the peripheral and core countries.
Compare and contrast the following pairs or sets of concepts and explain why the distinctions are important:
- technological change and social movements
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Technological change is often dictated by the ‘elites.’ e.g. solar energy not being developed bc it is in the interest of big corporations to have the consumer dependent on oil, which is more profitable. Technological change is driven by elites who define issues and needs and direct resources to address those needs. This is a top-down view of social change.
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Social movements are persistent, organized, collective efforts to resist existing structures and cultures, or to introduce changes in them. They often affect bottom-up social change.
Types of Social Movements:
1. Redemptive movements~ do not attempt to change society; call people to reshape thir entire lives around a particular set of principles. Eg religious movements- especially ones that proselytize
2. Alterative Movements~ seek changes among individuals; their efforts target individuals to change their lives in specific ways. SADD and MADD seek to convince young people to not drive under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. EG AARP
3. Transformative movements~ change in society; total structural change in society Revolutions and radical total change of social structure. Eg Cuban revolution which was a switch to communism
4. Reformative movements~ change in society; limited specific changes Eg NOW (nat. org. for Women) which wants to integrate women better into existing political, social, and economic institutions.
Compare and contrast the following pairs or sets of concepts and explain why the distinctions are important:
- Conventional definition vs. critical definition of family
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Critical Definition~ an organized ongoing network of kin and nonkin who interact daily, sharing economic and household responsibilities and obligations.
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The conventional def of family is a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction. This excludes single parent homes, adopted children, couples who do not have children, and gay couples.
Compare and contrast the following pairs or sets of concepts and explain why the distinctions are important:
- family vs. household
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The conventional def of family is a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction. This excludes single parent homes, adopted children, couples who do not have children, and gay couples
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A household is a common residential unit in which related and non-related individuals live. It may include people who are not part of your family who are living w you for economic reasons. Family is (see above)
Compare and contrast the following pairs or sets of concepts and explain why the distinctions are important:
- families of orientation, procreation, and choice
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The family you are born into; adopted into is your family of orientation.
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Family of procreation is the one into which we marry where we may produce our own offspring.
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Family of choice is when people are together by selection, not by blood or procreation eg Will n Grace
Compare and contrast the following pairs or sets of concepts and explain why the distinctions are important:
- nuclear, extended, and blended families
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Nuclear family is two parents and their offspring.
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Extended family includes the nuclear family plus other members of one or both parents’ families of orientation.
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Blended families are composed by two adult partners w their offspring from previous families of procreation.
Compare and contrast the following pairs or sets of concepts and explain why the distinctions are important:
- feminization of poverty vs. pauperization of motherhood
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Single parent families, esp those headed by a female, were more likely than married couple families to be poor. Wage inequality for women in relation to men and the inadequacy of minimum wage contribute to poverty of single parent households. Fed economic policies of ’70-80s reduced support for women and children, as well as welfare reform of ‘90s that eliminated women’s and children’s entitlement to public assistance. Women of color esp are an increasing proportion of the poor. The term feminization of poverty has yielded to pauperization of motherhood bc people were erroneously making the assumption that women had chosen to be poor by staying on welfare or leaving their marriages.
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Pauperization of motherhood refers to the institutional forces that have impoverished women.
Compare and contrast the following pairs or sets of concepts and explain why the distinctions are important:
- formal labor, informal labor, and domestic labor
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The formal labor market consists of people who are paid for their work.
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Informal labor market eg volunteers at soup kitchens, coaches in little league teams, scout leaders; unpaid labor that does NOT include domestic labor,
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domestic labor is work done to maintain the home and family and is almost always unpaid. ‘second shift’ when women have to work in the formal labor market then come home and work in the informal one haha
Compare and contrast the following pairs or sets of concepts and explain why the distinctions are important:
- terrorism vs. war
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Terrorism is the use of violence as a strategy to gain political objectives, often used by individuals or groups who usually have relatively little power otherwise.
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History- in response to the Russian cold war threat, the US created a huge military budget. However, the threat disappeared and we were left without an enemy. One response was to increase the sale of arms and weapons to countries abroad. US now spends 1.7 trillion dollars each year (32% of nat budget) 2003 war against Iraq and the expansion of the ‘war on terror’ into Afghanistan. GW Bush reenacted Reagan’s ‘star wars’ plan (missile defense system) the state dep estimates that 28 terrorist organizations operate from 18 dif countries. The US sold arms in the 90s to 16/18 of these countries that support and tolerate these terrorist organizations. Eg Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, and sri lanka. The US armed and trained the Taliban in Afghanistan in the 90s in support of its military conflict w the soviet union. (the enemy of my enemy is NOT my friend… the us military found out).
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War is an organized, armed conflict bt nations. They may be formally declared or unofficial in which they are often called ‘peacekeeping missions.
- History- in response to the Russian cold war threat, the US created a huge military budget. However, the threat disappeared and we were left without an enemy. One response was to increase the sale of arms and weapons to countries abroad. US now spends 1.7 trillion dollars each year (32% of nat budget) 2003 war against Iraq and the expansion of the ‘war on terror’ into Afghanistan. GW Bush reenacted Reagan’s ‘star wars’ plan (missile defense system) the state dep estimates that 28 terrorist organizations operate from 18 dif countries. The US sold arms in the 90s to 16/18 of these countries that support and tolerate these terrorist organizations. Eg Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, and sri lanka. The US armed and trained the Taliban in Afghanistan in the 90s in support of its military conflict w the soviet union. (the enemy of my enemy is NOT my friend… the us military found out).
Compare and contrast the following pairs or sets of concepts and explain why the distinctions are important:
- graying of the core vs. youth explosion of the periphery
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Graying of the core refers to the number of old people in core countries bc of good medical access. This has impacts on the economy. It entails a larger expense of healthcare for the nation. U have to be poor to qualify for Medicaid. 56% of all medical costs of elderly is paid by elderly. Greater tax burden on young people. Women are far more often caregivers of elderly. Social security is stressed.
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Youth explosion in the periphery refers to the large number of children in families. Half of all deaths in peripheral nations are children under the age of 5 due to disease. There is poor access to med care so there are obvs less old people making the graph look like there is an explosion of growth in youth.
Define the following concepts or theories, give examples, and explain why they are important
- absolute deprivation
people become involved in social movements and revolutions when their material conditions deteriorate to the lowest possible point; they have nothing to lose. This theory is put forward by Karl Marx and is logical, but false.
relative deprivation
When a gap grows bt what people have and what they expect to have. Revolution occurs when the lines begin to diverge. Accurate.
resource mobilization theory
and they have access to resources. For example, blacks only mobilized once they had the resources to do so eg connection of black churches, massive organized protests esp w students, Rosa Parks incident was planned and she was actually jailed twice before her famous refusal. Only when resources are available w the unrest, will people rise to fight the inequality
political process theory
must have access to resources and access to opportunities for mass disruption eg occupy movement.
new social movement theory
this states that social movements today are focused on political and social conflicts as opposed to class conflicts like the laborers v managers. Instead you find feminists, civil rights, environmental, anti war, and gay social movements.
structural transformation of the economy
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’10- formal labor market almost evenly distributed among the agriculture manufacturing and goods producing and service sectors.
WWII- agriculture declined, manufacture and service work increased
- ’52- service employment kept climbing and manufacturing and agricultural jobs fall
(currently agricultural jobs are scarce bc everything is mechanized and often low wage positions are filled with illegal immigrants)
- Today- 4/5 of workers in US are in service sector, goods production declining.
- ’70-90- greatest job growth was in involuntary part time work(when u take a part time job bc there is no full time position available)
- 1/3 of all workers now employed in ‘temporary’ positions w no job security
Deindustrialization
Worker plants in the US are becoming empty bc manufacturing jobs are shifting to poorer countries. The decline of domestic manufacturing activity is known as deindustrialization. 90% of all jobs created since 2008 have been part time or temporary jobs. Small businesses rely on workers who often work close to the manufacturing plant. If the plant goes out of business, so do the small shops. Less people=less taxes (poorer schools)
glass ceiling
a level in a company or bureaucracy above which women or racial minorities rarely are able to rise. Reasons; corporate recruitment and promotion practices rely on referral firms. Informal mentoring system where white male execs recruit train and refer their mentees for promotions. Accountability of corporations to comply with the equal employment opportunity commission regulations were monitored at low levels and very lax at higher levels.
segmented labor market
men and women compete in dif labor markets for dif jobs. Female dom jobs pay much less than male dom jobs.
managerial revolution
Firms now controlled by stockholders, managers, and bankers. The managerial revolution assumes that ownership and control are separated. Bc the company’s stock is spread around, in theory, all the managers need to do is hold on to 5% of the stock, and they’re the ones who call the shots. However, the bank and a few private investors often hold much more, which can influence the decision making in their favor. Also, it makes the wealthy wealthier bc they have direct say into the decision making process
digital divide
a pattern of inequality in which those who are of the dom statuses relative to class, race, and age enjoy privileged access to the internet.
environmental racism
manufacturing plants produce waste. To dispose of this waste they look for cheap dumping grounds. Those places are in the poorest parts of town. Bc of the largely segregated housing which already exists, black communities often become literally toxic with waste. However, race played a greater role than any other variable including economic income or home values. Which suggests that this may be old fashioned ugly racism.
toxic imperialism
bc peripheral nations want core nation business, they will make their environmental laws much more lax than first world countries. However, that also means that they have to deal w the consequences; being a virtual dumping ground for first world product waste. This is huge in india where most chemicals are made. Some nations have resorted to volunteer to accept other nation’s toxic waste for sums of money to decrease that country’s debt.
Relative depreivation scenario #1
Relative deprivation scenario #2
Relative deprivation scenario #3
Explain: how is it possible for the unemployment rate for women to be lower than that for men, and yet the rate of poverty for women is more than twice that for men? Be sure to engage a sociological discussion, using sociological concepts and theories.
can be due to the feminization of poverty (see above), the fact that women are paid less for the same work, female dominated jobs are jobs that pay less. Also, there could be old fashioned ugly misogynist people who don’t want to work w women bc of false stereotypes.
Describe the changes in the structure of the U.S. economy in the last century. What are the factors responsible for these changes? What is the impact of these changes?
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(see above)
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Globalization or the processes that create a global network of interdependent actors and activities that are unconnected to a specific place or nat economy is very important. Technology is a catalyst, esp in microelectronics. One consequence bc of this is deindustrialization.
What are the main contradictions between work and family?
What strategies might be useful to deal with these contradictions, and why?
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This can be viewed as a status inconsistency esp when the woman is making more money than the man, whose status is ‘family provider’. Daycare facilities are extremely expensive and most couples continue to work leaving the question of childcare up in the air. Statistics show that one parent will have a job while the other moonlights another two part time jobs. 43% of children under 5 whose parents work are supported by relatives. Usually grandmothers. This may be problematic bc it extends the dependence of grown children on their aging parents even as they are now raising children of their own.
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The ‘second shift’ is when a woman returns from her paying job only to face the ‘motherly (sexist) responsibilities’ of childrearing. Assumptions ab man and woman roles are still applied in division of family labor and on the formal labor market. Women are pressured to quit their jobs or reduce hours to maintain a presence in their children’s lives. Men are not asked nearly as much.
. Discuss how relative deprivation theory explains the emergence of social movements and revolutions.
What is a weakness or limitation of the thesis of relative deprivation and social movements?
Relative deprivation is the state in which people’s understanding of deprivation is relative to the conditions around them, to conditions they expect, or to conditions that previously existed. This is easily explained by three charts. The point when the lines diverge is usually when a social movement to improve the unequal class emerges. This, however, is completely dependent on the resources available, which is where resource mobilization becomes crucial to the success of the movement.
Explain graph
Above is a graph of the first of three scenarios. instead of the red line indicating perception of reality, lets assume it is reality. The social movement is likely to spark when the lines diverge. In this case, people are getting poorer while expecting to get richer eg communism. Scenario two would have the same green line but the red line would plateau instead of fall. This would still piss people off because the expectations do not meet reality even though they are remaining relatively constant to one another eg people criticizing obama bc his stimulus plan has kept the economy from tanking but the economy has not improved instead it has rly leveled off throughout the last three years leaving people perceiving the situation as the stimulus package as not working. (don’t quote me on this) the third scenario is when people suddenly expect more than reality can provide for, in this case the red line would follow the green line shown in the graph, but the green line would bank sharply upward. The priest at a church l remember came from india and he said that when he was a boy growing up there, he and all his friends looked enviously at America bc it was perceived as rich. It made him want to change the india he grew up in. his expectations for his society was greater than reality, even though the reality was india was being developed at a constant rate at that time.
What is the digital divide and what factors have contributed to it?
Why is it important for us to understand the processes affecting the digital divide?