...Social policies are the plans and actions of government agencies, which aim to address social issues, ranging from poverty to racism. Sociology has been linked to the beginning of social policies, especially in more recent years. For example, the concept of marketisation within the school system in the early 1990’s and the reduction in funding for Higher Education Tuition Fees was influenced by contemporary sociology. Donnison believes that there are four factors that he feels shape social policy. These are changing political agendas, changing circumstances, growing knowledge and new questions. There are different sociological opinions that view the relationship between sociology and social policy differently, which means there is no simple view. For example, social policies are introduced to the belief that they will improve society by tackling social problems: affecting the welfare of the population of the country where the policy is being introduced. However, Feminists and Marxists believe that social policy is not just about improving the welfare of citizens, as they believe it is about social control; deterring rather than helping individuals. Giddens’ supports Donnison by stating that there are four practical uses of studying sociology. These include: understanding social situations, being aware of cultural differences, assessing the effects of policies and increasing self-knowledge. By understanding social situations, we are able to understand the world around us...
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...Poverty and Welfare Arlene POL201: American National Government Instructor: Denise Greaves October 29, 2012 Poverty and Welfare The United States has struggled with poverty verses affluence. Poverty has plagued mankind throughout history, influenced by various reasons for its existence along the way. One of these arguments is that poverty is simply a structural flaw created by the market system of capitalism. In a blessed nation, why do so many people struggle economically? Are the poor themselves to blame? Or are they victims of unequal educational opportunities, racism and sexism, or an economic system that favors the rich over the poor? As a response to poverty in the capitalist society, welfare programs were created and executed for the first time. And though many of these programs exhibit disappointing outcomes and have proven to be vulnerable to abuse, welfare programs as a whole have helped to improve the individual liberties of lower class individuals. The legislation sought to end AFDC and other government assistance by promoting self-sufficiency and personal responsibility through "work first" programs. The program set strict time limits on cash assistance, imposed work requirements, and encouraged marriage and two-parent families as a context for having and raising children. More attention is being paid now than at any time since the War on Poverty of the 1960s. One major reason for the increased attention is America's latest overhaul of the welfare...
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...THE FRENCH REVOLUTION The French Revolution, which erupted in 1789 marked a turning point inthe history of human struggle for freedom and equality. It put an end tothe age of feudalism and ushered in a new order of society. An outline of this revolution will explain to you the kind of turmoil that occurred inEurope. This revolution brought about far reaching changes in not onlyFrench society but in societies throughout Europe. Even countries in othercontinents such as, India, were influenced by the ideas generated duringthis revolution. Ideas like liberty, fraternity and equality, which now form a part of the preamble to the Constitution of India, owe their origin to theFrench Revolution. It changed the political structure of European societyand replaced the age of feudalism by heralding the arrival of democracy.There were many significant themes, which arose due to the impact of thisRevolution, which have been the focus of interest of the early sociologists.These significant themes included the transformation of property, the socialdisorder, caused by the change in the political structure and its impact onthe economic structure. A new class of power holders emerged - thebourgeoisie. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION The Industrial Revolution began around 1760 A.D. in England. It broughtabout great changes in the social and economic life of the people first inEngland, then in the other countries of Europe and later in other continents.In Europe, especially England...
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...Social policy is an applied version of Sociology. It is primarily concerned with improving and reforming society. It focuses on studying and also influencing how governments respond to social policy. Researching social problems such as poverty for example has proven hugely popular amongst many sociologists. For there is a high chance their research will be funded by the government, aiding in this common practical problem some sociologist’s face. According to Anthony Giddens (2001), there are four practical benefits of studying sociology. One being that it helps our understanding of social situations. Factual information can be gained on society that can then be examined using theory. So the factual knowledge provides us with facts, and the theoretical understanding provides people with an explanation for these facts. For example, a series of reports by Townsend in 1979 and later Mack and Lansley showed the extent of poverty in Britain and showed groups most at risk of it. The facts they produced can be understood in relation to theory. Sociologists uncovered the extent of poverty by devising deprivation models of poverty, proving that it can be fully understood in terms of what people normally expect to have. Giddens also believes that another benefit is the awareness of cultural differences aspect. Leading to the raising of needs of minority groups in society. Over time, sociologists have built up a picture of the social and economic exclusion suffered by disabled people...
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...Marxist sociology is the study of sociology from a Marxist perspective. Marxism itself can be recognized as both a political and a sociological philosophy. Marxist sociology is a conflict theory associated with the objective of developing a positive science of capitalist society as part of the mobilization of a revolutionary working class. Influenced by the thought of Karl Marx, Marxist sociology emerged during the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. As well as Marx, Max Weber and Émile Durkheim are considered key influences in early Marxist sociology. Marxist sociology generally explores the negative aspects of society such as poverty, homelessness and the class struggle, hence why it is called a ‘Conflict’. Fundamentally it categorises society into two groups; the many proletariats slaving away for the few Bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie own the means of production and therefore all the wealth in society and give a limited amount to the Proles in return for their labour in a process known as wage slavery. The means of production include but are not limited to: - Materials - Wealth or capital - Land - Technology - Power to employ - Access to skills and knowledge With these things, the bourgeoisie completely own society and everything belongs to them and thus there will never be any equality under this system as even the Bourgeoisie are sub-divided. In the 19th century, Marx distinguished two types of bourgeois capitalist: the functional capitalist, the...
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...a woman' s subordinate role comes from class oppression because it is in the interest of the ruling class. Men and women are divided and different privileges while men get paid for their jobs women do not get paid for theirs( childrearing, cleaning, cooking, etc..). Men are taught by society to become dominant to the roles that have been handed to them. Understanding Why Women Commit Crime Woman murder rates have rose by eleven percent a year since the seventies. What started at six thousand in the seventies jumped to seventy-five thousand and this number is increasing. Some possible explanations for these crimes can be poverty and the increased job roles that woman now have. When you consider race and gender it is even more disproportionate because women especially African American women are poorer than men. And according to Dr. Scott, a sociology and women studies professor, just because a woman is poor doesn't mean a woman will commit crime, but the probability is higher. Since society shifted in allowing...
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...Born and raised as a Canadian Half-Breed or Métis women, author Maria Campbell shares the “joys, the sorrows, the love and the tragedies of her childhood” in a Canadian society facing the cruel realities of poverty and suffering. Additionally, Cambpell’s autobiography is a story of struggling while overcoming social oppression and violence. The Half-Breed memoir can be related to Sociology: A Canadian Perspective and some course content because many of her experiences can be viewed in sociological ways. Engaging in both texts, four main sociological concepts are discussed in relation to my understanding of the course: Meritocracy, social stratification, intersectionality, and systematic discrimination. These key concepts are significant because they heavily contribute to the Sociology course and defined the hardships Maria Campbell faced as a Half-breed women. Meritocracy can be seen as being a social system in which an individual's achievement is primarily rewarded to people with the most abilities. The Sociology textbook defines this term as a form of social stratification that relies on differences in effort and ability rather than ascribed statuses such as gender, age or race. (Tepperman, Albanese and Curtis 2008). In chapter two of Half-breed, meritocracy is present through Campbell’s words regarding the Métis people and the government system. Land act policies created by the government play a major role in Maria’s human rights and dignity, as corruption is a central theme...
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...Sociological Perspective and conflict approach Sociological perspective can be defined as seeing the general in the particular. It can be also described as a frame that shapes how people behave in society or interacting with diversity people, and how we are categorized in various ways, such as children and adults, women and men, the rich and poor. Each of people is supposed to do different affairs in their lives as it matches them. And one of the sociological theories is called conflict approach, meaning that explains about inequality between such as women and men and black and white, so on. For instance, in the past of South Korea or other many of countries as well, there was intense inequality of between women and men in getting a job. Women used to be only in charge of doing house work, and they were not able to do anything else without permit from a head of family, which is why many of people still regard women to do more house work than men do. This representative example can be conflict approach in social perspective of how we look at women in our society. And although it seems to be non-changeable the society perspective, there are a lot of factors that changes the sociological perspective of how people behave in our society. Particularly, when it comes to recession, it seem to be more remarkable changes in the behavior of people life, For example, if it happened to come recession into country, it can also change of the social perspective that people become more pessimistic...
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...Republic of the Philippines Naval State University Naval, Biliran In In Assignment SOCIOLOGY Submitted By: OLIVER B. JAGUINES BSCpE – IIA Student Submitted To: Mrs. Ma. Joan Delda Instructor Auguste Comte (1798-1857) The legitimacy of sociology started when the term was coined by Auguste Comte, a French philosopher, and from that time on, sociologist have sought to be more scientific in their methods and more systematic in their observations. Comte’s significant contributions to advance sociology to the frontiers of human knowledge earned for him the title “Father of Sociology”. * His contribution to sociology can be divided into four categories. They are namely: (1) Classification and ordering of social sciences. (2) The nature, method and scope of sociology. (3) The law of three stages. (4) The plan for social reconstruction. (5) Positivism. * The law of human progress, states that each of our leading conceptions, each branch of knowledge, all human intellectual development, pass successively through three different theoretical conditions – the theological or fictitious, the metaphysical or abstract, and the scientific or positive. * Theological or Fictitious Stage: During the primitive stage, the early man believed that all phenomena of nature are the creation of the divine or supernatural. The primitive man and children do not have the scientific outlook; therefore it is characterized by unscientific outlook. They failed to discover...
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...Sociology Home Page |All Sociology Modules |Sociology Links |Government and Politics Home page |AS Government and Politics |A2 Government and Politics |Government and Politics Links | | Labour and Its Ideology 1945- 1979 Core Principles of Socialism: Positive attitudes to human nature; critical analysis of capitalism; class inequality and poverty, equality, justice, liberty, community, cooperation, internationalism, collectivism public ownership . Variants of Socialism: Marxism, Anarchist Socialism, Democratic Socialism, Social Democracy, New Labour? Revolutionary Socialism and Evolutionary Socialism Fundamentalist Socialism and Revisionism Democratic Socialism and Social Democracy Old Labour and New Labour Similarities and differences between Socialism and other ideologies 1945-51 Labour in Power The Labour Manifesto for the 1945 General election stated that “The Labour Party is a Socialist party and proud of it." In practice, however, numerous theoretical problems are involved in the definition of socialism and although the Labour Party has always contained socialists both in the Parliamentary Labour party and the extra-parliamentary party, it has been convincingly argued, despite the above pronouncement of the 1945 manifesto that the Labour party is described more accurately as a social democratic party where social democracy implies support for a relatively strong, interventionist and reformist state dedicated to the improvement of the life chances...
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...society through controlling the media and education so poor people are taught to believe that capitalism is a good thing. Key questions (AO1) What is the Marxist view of society? (AO1) What causes inequality according to Marxists? (AO2) What are the strengths of the Marxist view? (AO2) What are the weaknesses of the Marxist view of inequality? Summary of Key Points Karl Marx (1818 - 1883) was an economist, philosopher and journalist who was motivated by concern for workers who were experiencing terrible poverty while all around was great wealth and power. He was a revolutionary who believed in working for a classless society. Marxism was not a powerful force in sociology until the 1960s and 1970s when it formed the basis of a challenge to functionalism. It offered a better account of the divisions of society at that time than functional sociology did. Marxism also triggered many of the ideas that were adopted by feminists later in the 1970s. Marxism is often referred to as a conflict theory. Functionalists see society as consisting of shared values. Marxists see society as being divided by conflict between the social groups, or classes who make up society. Marx believed that social change is the natural order of societies. In each form of society there are those who control property...
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...Assess the relationship between Social Policy and Sociology. (33 Marks) Sociology is a subject that wants to study and understand society. Social policy or otherwise known as the law comes from research completed by sociologists, which is then proposed to the government. Social policy can be seen to change social problems such as the economy. Peter Worsley describes a social problem as “some piece of social behaviour that causes public friction”. For example poverty, educational under-achievement, and divorce can be seen as social problems that the government may be forced to tackle with social policies. Worsley thinks that a sociological problem is “ any pattern of relationships that calls for explanation”, meaning any piece of behaviour that we want to make sense of. For example why some families are richer than others? , Why people commit crime? Or why couples remain happily married? George Simmel was intrigued about the characteristics present in all social relationships and their different settings, be it in an office, in the family home or on a busy street. However many sociologists are interested in solving social problems through their research. They will conduct their research so it is aimed at the social problem they are most interested about. Government departments such as home office employ many sociologists. They will often have a direct input into making social policies. However sometimes sociological research does not effect social polices, and there are a number...
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...P1 – Explain the principal sociological perspectives I will explain the meaning of different sociological perspectives. Sociology is the study of social behaviour, including its origins, developments, organization and institutions. There are seven sociology approaches to describe the human behaviour: * Functionalism * Marxism * Feminism * Interactionism * Postmodernism * The New Right * Collectivism 1 – Functionalism The Functionalism perspective is based largely on the work of Herbert Spencer, Emilie Durkheim, Talcott Parsons and Robert Mertoni. According to Functionalism, society is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole. (www.laulina.hawaii.edu) The Functionalism sees social structure or the organization of society as more important than the individual. Because society is based on agreed norms and values Talcott theory’s said that individuals are born into society and become the product of all the social influences around them as they are socialised by various institutions such as the family, education, media and religion. To live in a society or organization it is important to have values and live on agreed norms, because will give us necessary structure to build these values and fallow these norms. The social consensus, order and integration are key beliefs of functionalism as this allows society to continuo and progress because there are shared...
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...Suspension Nation Précis Lisa Bloom’s book, Suspicion Nation, provided insights to the story of the shooting of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida in 2012. In the book, the author analyzed the underlying cause of the tragedy and the unfair treatment of African Americans ever since the era of slavery. The author also adopted many evidences and experiments to prove her statement and support her argument, so that readers can sympathize the unfairly treated African Americans and pursue true racial equality that contain no racial biases. In the beginning, the author cited the example of sociology professor LePiere and his survey conducted in 1930s. The example proved that the surveys often contain answers conformed by the society instead of measurement of actual situation. Although people don't want to be called racist, they still show certain racial biases. Some social scientists creatively put...
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...Social Stratification vs. Social Class Anzhelika Estrina Sociology 1 Dr Anthony Clark December 5, 2015 Social Stratification vs. Social Class Inequalities exist in all types of human society. Even in the simplest cultures where variations in wealth or property are non-existent, there are inequalities between individuals, men and women, the young and the old. To describe inequalities, sociologists speak of Social Stratification. Social Stratification lies at the principal of society and of the discipline of sociology. Social inequality is a fundamental aspect of virtually all-social processes and a person's position in the stratification system is the most consistent predictor of his/her behavior, attitudes, and life chances. An individual's class status can be harder to identify than race or ethnic differences. However, I believe class status is an important indicator of what kind of opportunities lie ahead for people in various class systems. Class places people into a type of structure which goes against the principal belief that in America all are shaped equal, or that even the poorest child can become President someday if he or she applies him/her self. I believe that social class remains largely invisible because our society doesn't want to believe that poverty exists in America. If Americans acknowledged poverty, then they would have to take some kind of action and do something to remedy it. Such action, of course, would create a huge flow effect involving...
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