glossary of terms

Question 1

Acculturation

Answer 1

Process of contacts between different cultures and the outcome of such contacts.

Occurs when members of one cultural group adopt the beliefs and behaviour of another group.

May involve direct social interaction or exposure to other cultures through mass media.

Question 2

Agent of socialisation

Answer 2

A person or institution that shapes an individuals social development

Question 3

Authority

Answer 3

Best understood as the legitimate use of power

Important in the process of decision making and in initiating change and maintaining continuity

Question 4

Belief system

Answer 4

System in which members of the group share a commitment to a set of beliefs and values that systematically defines a way of perceiving the social, cultural, physical and psychological world.

Question 5

Beliefs

Answer 5

A set of opinions or convictions; ideas we believe in as the truth. Beliefs can come from one’s own experience and reflection, or from what one is told by others.

Question 6

Case study

Answer 6

The case study method involves the collection of data related to an individual or small group through one or more research methods

for example, observation, interviews and the collection of documentary evidence.
Because case study can, and often does, include different methods to collect data, which are then combined with the purpose of illuminating the case from different angles, case study is considered as a methodology by many social researchers.

Question 7

Change

Answer 7

The alteration or modification of cultural elements in a society. Change to society can occur at the micro, meso and macro levels. It can be brought about by modernisation processes, including technological innovation.
This force results in an alteration to culture.

Question 8

Commercialisation

Answer 8

The process of adding value to an idea, product or commodity with the aim of selling it and making a profit.

Commercialisation is about preparing the item for sale and making money from it. The success of commercialisation
often relies on marketing and advertis

Question 9

Commodification

Answer 9

A social process by which an item is turned into a commodity in readiness to be traded. The process relies on marketing strategies with the aim of producing a perceived value in the item.

Question 10

Commodity

Answer 10

A marketable item or consumer object that can be supplied because there is a demand and that can be purchased through economic exchange.

Question 11

Communication technologies

Answer 11

Technologies used in transmitting information and entertainment between senders and receivers across various media, including newspapers, magazines, movies, broadcast, cable, satellite, radio and the intern

Question 12

Community

Answer 12

A (usually local) social system with an implied sense of relationship and mutual identity among its members. As well as being locational, a community can be a group that shares a strong common interest and whose members communicate over space and through time using communication technologies.

Question 13

Conflict

Answer 13

A perceived incompatibility of goals or actions. Conflict can occur at all levels in society and its resolution can involve modification to what was previously in place.

Question 14

Conformity

Answer 14

When individuals behave in certain ways as a result of group pressure, whether real or imagined

Question 15

Consumption

Answer 15

The process of selecting and using a product. Consumption involves a conscious decision to engage with a commodity.

Question 16

Content analysis

Answer 16

Used to investigate and interpret the content of the mass media and historical documents in order to discover how particular issues are (or were) presented.

At its most basic, content analysis is a statistical exercise that involves counting, categorising and interpreting words and images from documents, film, art, music and other cultural products and media in relation to an aspect or quality of social life.

When used as a qualitative method, content analysis helps the researcher to understand social life through analysis and interpretation of words and images from documents, film, art, music and other cultural artefacts and media.

Question 17

Continuity

Answer 17

The persistence or consistent existence of cultural elements in a society across time.

Continuity can also be referred to as the maintenance of the traditions and social structures that bring stability to a society

Question 18

Cooperation

Answer 18

The ability of individual members of a group to work together to achieve a common goal that is in the group’s interests and that contributes to the continued existence of the group.

Question 19

Cultural diversity

Answer 19

Appears as a society becomes larger and more complex, immigrant groups join the dominant culture, and subcultures form within the society.

The more complex the society, the more likely it is that its culture will become internally varied and diverse.

Cultural diversity implies a two-way sharing of ideas, customs and values among the various cultural groups that comprise the society.

Question 20

Cultural heritage

Answer 20

The practices, traditions, customs and knowledge that define who we are socially and personally.

Cultural heritage is an expression of the values that help us to understand our past, make sense of the present, and express a continuity of culture for the future. Cultural heritage can be analysed at the micro, meso and macro levels in society.

Question 21

Cultural transmission

Answer 21

The transmission of culture – such as traditions, values, language, symbols, cultural traits, beliefs and normative behaviour – across and between generations in society.

Question 22

Equality

Answer 22

Occurs when individuals and groups within a society have the same chances of access to education, wealth, power, equal rights under the law, and so on.

True social equality occurs when there is social mobility and access to opportunities and resources that are socially valued. True equality is often thought of as an ideal, rather than an achievable reality.

Question 23

Ethical

Answer 23

Ethics refers to moral issues of what is right or wrong. Ethical behaviour follows understood codes of what is morally right when undertaking any study of people or society.

In terms of social research, this means informed consent, confidentiality and privacy, consideration of the possible effects on research participants and on the researcher herself or himself, consideration of vulnerable groups, such as children, and the avoidance of any covert research, which would mean that no informed consent from research participants was given.

Ethical research also means that any material from sources other than the researcher’s own work is clearly acknowledged.

Question 24

Family

Answer 24

A social group characterised by (usually) common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction.

Question 25

Focus group

Answer 25

A research method used to collect data from an in-depth planned discussion of a defined topic held by a small group of people brought together by a moderator. An interview schedule, time and place are organised. The recording of responses increases the success of this method. The techniques of conducting the focus group are similar to those of conducting an in-depth interview. However, the researcher needs to be able to manage the discussion

Question 26

Gender

Answer 26

The socially constructed differences between females and males. Social life – including family life, roles, work, behaviour and other activities – is organised around the dimensions of this difference. Gender also refers to the cultural ideals, identity and stereotypes of masculinity and femininity and the sexual division of labour in institutions and organisations. Gender reflects the values a society places on these social constructs, which are particular and unique to a society

Question 27

Globalisation

Answer 27

A process of integration and the sharing of goods, capital, services, knowledge, leisure, sport, ideas and culture between countries. It has been brought about by improved technologies. Globalisation is evidenced in the emergence of global patterns of consumption and consumerism; the growth of transnational corporations; the emergence of global sport; the spread of world tourism; and the growth of global military and economic systems. Globalisation has created a consciousness of the world as a single place.

Question 28

Hybrid society

Answer 28

A society that comprises a range of social and cultural influences and components, rather than having a homogenous identity

Question 29

Identity

Answer 29

The sense of self. This can be viewed from the personal, social and cultural levels. Identity is formed over a period of time and is the result of interactions at the micro, meso and macro levels of society. An identity has dimensions or layers that create a sense of inclusion in a group or culture. Contributing factors to one’s identity may include gender, sexuality, family, class, ethnicity, beliefs, social status, group membership and national pride.

Question 30

Ideology

Answer 30

An organised collection or body of ideas that reflects the beliefs, values and interests of a group, system, institution or nation. In general use, the term refers to the body of doctrine, myth and symbols held by the group that guides individual and group actions.

Question 31

Institutional power

Answer 31

The power that exists in institutions and how it is used to control aspects of society. Institutions such as the family, school, law and government use inherent power to control, change and maintain continuity of interactions.

Question 32

Institutions

Answer 32

The structural components of a society through which its main concerns and activities are organised – for example, the church, the law, the government and the family. These structures provide stability and continuity for society.

Question 33

Interview

Answer 33

An interview may be tightly structured, semi-structured, unstructured, in-depth or conversational. This method involves the researcher and the interviewee in a one-to-one situation and may be quite time consuming. The researcher may interview several people at different times using the same interview questions.

Question 34

Localisation

Answer 34

Where communities or societies respond to globalisation by adopting and adapting introduced ideas and practices to suit people’s needs in their local context.

Question 35

Macro level society

Answer 35

The ‘big picture’ – the wider social structure, social processes and their interrelationships. Macro-level society includes those social institutions – such as the media, the law, the workplace and the government – that help to shape the social and cultural world. The macro level examines how these collective groups relate to the wider society of which they are a part (as a whole).

Question 36

Meso level society

Answer 36

The middle ground where individuals interact within groups such as schools, communities, church groups and neighbourhoods. The meso level consists of larger groups that interact directly with the individual. It focuses on relationships between middle-level social structures and the individual. Meso-level society is also known as middle level society.

Question 37

Micro level society

Answer 37

Where individuals’ everyday actions and social interactions occur – for example, within families and small-scale social groups. The micro level focuses on patterns of social interaction at the individual level.

Question 38

Multiculturalism

Answer 38

An approach to cultural diversity in society that promotes the view that cultural difference should be respected and even encouraged and supported. Multiculturalism is premised on the belief that different cultural groups can live together harmoniously, each contributing to an enriching of the whole society.