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Flashcards in Sociology Deck (87)
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1
Q

Absolute Poverty

A

the state of existence of those who have so little income that they can barely stay alive

2
Q

Achieved Status

A

is a changeable status that is acquired on the basis of how well an individual performs a particular role

3
Q

Bourgeoisie

A

according to Marx, is one of the two main classes in the capitalist mode of production. The owners of the means of production

4
Q

Caste System

A

is a closed stratification system, most common in India, with strict rule regarding the type of work that members of different castes (the strata of Indian society into which people are born) can do

5
Q

Circulatory Mobility

A

us the occupational mobility that occurs within a society when better-qualified individuals move upward to replace those who are less qualified and who must consequently move downward

6
Q

Class

A

is a position in an economic hierarchy occupied individuals or families with similar access to, or control over, material resources

7
Q

Class Conflict

A

according to Marx, is conflict between classes within a mode of production. it eventually leads to the evolution of a new mode of production

8
Q

Class Consciousness

A

according to Marx, is the recognition by members of a class of their shared interests in opposition to members of another class

9
Q

Class Structure

A

is the relatively permanent economic hierarchy comprising different social classes

10
Q

Closed Stratification System

A

a stratification system in which little or no social mobility occurs, because most of all statuses are absorbed

11
Q

Contradictory Class locations

A

according to Wright, are the locations within a class structure populated by occupational groupings with divided loyalties (managers)

12
Q

Exclusion

A

according to Parkin, is the organized effort by privileged, more powerful groups to maintain their advantaged position

13
Q

Stratification: Fuctionalism

A

views social organization as analogous to a biological organism in which the parts (or organs) exist because of the functions they perform in maintaining the whole. In this theory, stratification exists because of vital functions it presumable performs in maintaining social equilibrium

14
Q

Intergenerational Occupational Mobility

A

refers to an individual’s occupational mobility, wither upward or downward, in relation to her or his parents’ occupational status

15
Q

Intragenerational Occupational Mobility

A

refers to an individual’s occupational mobility, either upward or downward, within his or her own lifetime

16
Q

Life-Chances

A

according to Weber, are the opportunites (or lack thereof) for a higher standard of living and a better quality of life that are available to members of a given class

17
Q

LICO

A

the poverty line - an estimate of the income level below which a person or family might be considered to be living in relative poverty. It is defined by Stats Canada as the level of income at which more than 63 percent of income is spent on basic necessities

18
Q

Means of Production

A

accoridng to Marx, are one of the main components of a mode of production, consisting of the technology, capital investments, and raw materials used in production

19
Q

Meritocracy

A

a society in which most of all statues are achieved on the basis of merit (how well a person performs a given role)

20
Q

Mode of Production

A

according to Marx, is the system of economic activity in a society, comprising the means of production and the social relations of production

21
Q

Occupational Status Attainment

A

refers to the process whereby an individual attains a particular occupational status and the factors that influence that process

22
Q

Open Stratification System

A

a stratification system in which merit, rather than inheritance, determines social rank

23
Q

Petite Bourgeoisie

A

according to Marx, is a secondary class within the capitalist mode of production, including independent owners/producers and small-business owners

24
Q

Power

A

is the ability to impose one;s will on others

25
Q

Proletariat

A

according to Marx, is one of the two main classes in a capitalist mode of production, comprising workers who exchange their labour for wage

26
Q

Social Closure

A

according to Weber and Parkin, refers to the methods used by relatively powerful groups to maintain their unequal access to status and resources, and to exclude others from such access

27
Q

Social mobiliy

A

is the process whereby individuals, families or other groups move up or down a status hierarchy

28
Q

Social Relations of Production

A

according to Marx, are one of the main components of a given mode of production - specifically, the relationships between the main classes involved in the production

29
Q

Social Stratification

A

refers to persistent patterns of social inequality perpetuates by the way wealth, power and prestige are distributed and passed from one generation to the next

30
Q

Status

A

is a culturally and socially defined position that a person occupies in a group

31
Q

Structural Mobility

A

refers to the occupational mobility in a society resulting from changes in the occupational structure

32
Q

Surplus Value

A

according to Marx, is the value of goods in excess of the cost of production, which takes the form of profit when the product is sold

33
Q

Usurpation

A

according to Parkin, is the effort of excluded groups within a stratification system to gain power and advantages at the expense of more powerful groups

34
Q

Working Poor

A

are individuals who work but whose income leaves them below the poverty line

35
Q

Compulsory Heterosexuality

A

is the assumption that individuals should desire only members of the opposite sex

36
Q

Essentialists

A

observe male-female differences in sexual scripts, the division of labour at home and in the workplace, mate selection, sexual aggression, jealousy, promiscuity, fidelity, and so on. They then interpret these differences as natural and universal (inevitable)

37
Q

Gender

A

encompasses the feelings, attitudes, and behaviours that are associated with being male or female as conventionally understood

38
Q

Gender Identity

A

refers to identification with, or a sense of belonging to, a particular sex, biologically, psychologically and socially

39
Q

Gender Roles

A

comprise the repertoire of behaviours that match widely shared expectations about how males and females are supposed to act

40
Q

Hostile Environment Sexual Harrassment

A

involves sex jokes, comments, and touching that interfere with work or create and unfriendly work environment

41
Q

Queer Theory

A

denies the existence of stable sexual orientations and argues that when we use terms like “herterosexual”, “gay”, etc, we are adopting official or at least socially acceptable labels that fail to capture the fluidity and variability of people’s actual identities and performances

42
Q

Sex

A

refers to being born with distinct male or female genitalia and a genetic program that releases either male or female hormones to stimulate the development of one’s reproductive system

43
Q

Sexual Pluralism

A

assesses sexual acts only by their meaning for the participants

44
Q

Sexual Scripts

A

are assumptions that guide sexual behaviour by telling us who we should find attractive, when and where it is appropriate to be aroused, what is sexually permissible and how to behave sexually

45
Q

Sexuality

A

involves actions that are intended to produce erotic arousal and genital response

46
Q

Social Constructionism

A

is the main alternative to essentialism. argues that gender differences are not the product of biological properties, whether chromosomal, gonadal, or hormonal. Instead, gender and sexuality are products of social structure and culture

47
Q

Sociobiology

A

is a variant of essentialism. It holds that all human beings instinctively want to ensure that their genes get passed on to future generations. However, the different reproductive status of men and women means that they have had to develop different adaptive strategies. This gave rise to ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ patterns of behaviour that presumably became genetically encoded because of their adaptive role

48
Q

Transgender

A

gender identity does not match sex assigned at birth. they blur widely accepted gender roles

49
Q

Transsexuals

A

identify with the opposite sex than what was assigned at birth, causing them to change their appearance or resort to a sex-change operation

50
Q

Alternative News sources

A

are representatives of social movements and of social advocacy groups whose points often diverge from those of dominant social groups and their representatives

51
Q

Communication

A

denotes the transmission of knowledge, ideas, meanings, and understandings

52
Q

Computer-mediated Communication

A

refers to a social interaction of information gathering through the use of computer technology

53
Q

Critical Perspective

A

takes the view that the media reinforce dominant ideology and the position of the dominant class and other powerful groups. One variant sees dominance as more open to challenge and resistance than does the other

54
Q

Cultivation Analysis

A

examines the long-term effects of television viewing on beliefs about social reality. People who watch TV a lot tend to see the world as a lot more violent and dangerous than it really is, and tend to be more fearful

55
Q

Cultural Imperialism

A

involves one society’s media exerting and overwhelming and unilateral influence over another society’s culture

56
Q

Dominant Ideology

A

comprises the interests, perspectives, viewpoints, and understandings of the dominant class and other powerful groups

57
Q

Framing

A

the process of defining the boundaries of a representation and the organization of its contents. Pertains to the selection of what is included and excluded, what is accentuated, and what is played down.

58
Q

Hegemony

A

is the exercise by the dominant class of cultural leadership by using the media to naturalize and universalize dominant ideology, and to absorb the challenge of alternative and oppositional points of view.

59
Q

Horizontal Integration

A

the ownership of different outlets in a media chain for purposes of sharing resources

60
Q

Interactive Media

A

are technologically mediated means of communication in which the flow of messages is two way - between actors who transmit and receive messages

61
Q

Mass Media

A

are technologically mediates means of communication in which the flow of messages is largely one way, from a single point of transmission to a large, anonymous, dispersed audience of recievers

62
Q

Multimedia Chains

A

are corporations that own and control a string of media operations or outlets in different fields of mass communication, such as TV, radio, magazines

63
Q

Official News Sources

A

are authoritative voices that the media often use to define the meaning of an event of issue

64
Q

Ordinary News Sources

A

are news sources that do not represent organizations or groups, and include eyewitnesses and victims of news events

65
Q

Representation

A

the use of language, images or other means of communication to portray something in a coherent and meaningful way

66
Q

Space-biased Media

A

enable communication over extended distances. The messages, however, are not long lasting. Promotes territorial expansion, secular beliefs, and military-political forms of power

67
Q

Time-Biased Media

A

convey durable messages but are relatively immobile

68
Q

Vertical Integration

A

refers to a media corporation’s ownership and control of the means of production at all stages of the production process

69
Q

Contest Mobility

A

a form of educational competition in which most youths are grouped into the same school and exposed to the same curriculum, and in which relatively large numbers are directed to higher education

70
Q

Credential Inflation

A

takes place when labour-market competition encourages individuals to acquire schooling, and employers raise required credential levels for reasons that are into connected to their needs for skilled employees

71
Q

Hidden Curriculum

A

comprises elements of school content, such as rules, procedures, structures and norms, that can shape students in covert ways

72
Q

Human Capital Theory

A

emphasizes how schooling can enhance productive skills and thereby generate wealth for both individuals and society

73
Q

Professionalization

A

the process by which an occupation attempts to raise its social standing, often including the creation of formal educational credentials

74
Q

Progressive Pedegogy

A

an educational movement that emphasizes student-directed learning, less structured curricula, and an emphasis of inspiring students to be intrinsically motivated in their studies

75
Q

Selection

A

the process by which the structure of schooling feeds into broader patterns of social stratification

76
Q

Sponsored Mobility

A

is a form of educational competition in which relatively few youths are selected early in life to enter elite universities

77
Q

Families

A

was defined as a cohabiting man and a woman who maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and have at least one child. Now, it is defined more broadly to capture the wide range of family and structures we encounter - as sets of intimate social relationships that people create to share resources to ensure their welfare and that of their dependants

78
Q

Family Wage

A

refers to the wage med traditionally received that was sufficient to support a family

79
Q

Fertility Rate

A

is the number of live births per one thousand women of childbearing age

80
Q

Income Support Payments

A

include cash transfers in the form of direct payments or tax deductions, and maternity and parental leave benefits. In Canada, the main forms of support include the Universal Child Care Benefit, the Canada Child Tax Benefit, the Family Supplement and Maternity and Parental Leave Benefits

81
Q

Intergenerational Households

A

are families that include multiple generations such as grandparents, parents, and children living together

82
Q

Marriage

A

was traditionally defined as a socially approved, presumably long term, sexual and economic relationship between a man and a woman involving reciprocal rights and obligations between spouses and between children. Today, many countries recognize common-law marriage and some allow marriages of the same-sex

83
Q

Multi-Family Household

A

includes more than one nuclear family

84
Q

Nuclear Family

A

father, mother and children living in a privatized household

85
Q

Social Reproduction

A

refers to the physical, emotional and mental work of caring for others that is typically done in families

86
Q

Transnational Families

A

families whose members are geographically separated for extended periods

87
Q

Blended Families

A

include two parents and the child or children from their former marriages of intimate unions