question

Social Institutions

answer

Systems and structures within society that shape the activities of groups and individuals. Ex.=politics, education, and religion

question

Politics

answer

The methods and tactics of managing a political entity, as well as the administration and control of its internal and external affairs. It can also mean the attitudes and activities of groups and individuals.

question

Government

answer

The formal, organized agency that exercises power and control in modern society.

question

Power

answer

The ability to impose one's will on others (Max Weber)

question

Authority

answer

The legitimate, noncoercive exercise of power

question

Authoritarianism

answer

A political system that denies ordinary citizens representation by and control over their own government

question

Who usually has the power in an authoritarian political system?

answer

Political power is usually concentrated in the hands of a few elites who control military and economic resources.

question

Dictatorship

answer

A person seizes power and becomes absolute ruler, rather than being elected or being heir to the power.

question

What subcategory of political systems does a dictatorship fall under?

answer

Authoritarianism

question

Totalitarianism

answer

-Most extreme version of authoritarianism -Seeks to control every aspect of citizens' lives -usually headed by a dictator

question

How do totalitarianism political systems control citizens' thoughts and ideologies?

answer

Through propaganda

question

Monarchy

answer

Sovereignty is vested in a successive line of rulers

question

What is the difference between an absolute and constitutional monarchy?

answer

-absolute has complete authority over its subjects -constitutional is limited by a parliament/governing body

question

Democracy

answer

-Political system in which all citizens have the right to participate -is both a political system and a philosophy

question

How is the voter turnout rate calculated?

answer

By dividing the total number of votes by the voting-eligible population

question

What factors may cause someone not to vote?

answer

-weather -demographic variables -number of other races on the ballot -too busy -are a convicted felon -registration difficulty

question

Disenfranchisement

answer

Stripped of voting rights, either temporarily or permanently (convicted felons)

question

Pluralist Model

answer

A system of political power in which a wide variety of individuals and groups have equal access to resources and the mechanisms of power *one theory of who rules America*

question

Power Elite

answer

-C. Wright Mills -A relatively small number of influential individuals who occupy the top positions within the major economic, political, and military institutions of the country -Collaborate to serve their particular interests -know each other personally and professionally

question

What is the conflict theorists' view of who rules America?

answer

They believe power is held by a small but extremely influential group of individuals who form an elite social class

question

Who is the U.S. really controlled by, for the most part?

answer

White, upper-class men

question

What are the implications of the power elite idea for who rules America?

answer

It debunks the original rags-to-riches mythology of America.

question

Special interest groups

answer

-A.K.A. pressure groups -are formed in order to raise and spend money in order to influence elected officials and public opinion

question

What is the most important advantage an American political candidate can have for reelection?

answer

Incumbency!

question

Political Action Committees

answer

-Organizations designed to raise money to support the interests of a select group or organization -Ex=National Football League, National Organization for Women PAC

question

Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee

answer

-2010 -Court allowed unlimited spending by noncampaign entities to contribute $ for things like ads

question

Fourth Estate

answer

The media, which are considered like a fourth branch of government and thus serve as another of the checks and balances on power

question

What is media more likely to focus on, in terms of politics?

answer

-More focus on human interest stories, personalities, planned events -Less focus on background and implications of issues and policy debates

question

Opinion Leaders

answer

-High-profile people who interpret political information for us -we trust them to tell us what to believe

question

"Spin Doctors"

answer

Manipulate rhetoric to give it a positive appearance designed to be catchy and compelling while not necessarily delivering much substance

question

Simulacrum

answer

An image or media representation that does not reflect reality in any meaningful way but is treated as real

question

How many kids go to private schools, public schools, and are homeschooled?

answer

-private schools: 10% -public schools: 88% -homeschooled: 2%

question

Education

answer

The central means by which a society transmits its knowledge, values, and expectations to its members

question

What is the general goal of education?

answer

To give students the necessary understanding for effective social functioning

question

What are the functions of education?

answer

-transmit knowledge -learn to follow society's rules -respect authority -socialize kids to develop qualities to make them efficient and obedient workers

question

Tracking

answer

The placement of students in educational "tracks"/programs of study that determine the types of classes students take

question

Micro-inequities in American classrooms...

answer

-result from macro-level inequalities in the larger educational and social systems -stratification within schools tends to mirror stratification in society

question

Hidden curriculum

answer

-Values or behaviors that students learn indirectly over the course of their schooling because of the structure of the educational system and the teaching methods used -reinforces an image of what is considered "normal", "good", or "right".

question

Symbolic Interactionist Study of Education

answer

-Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson -Found that teachers' attitudes about students unintentionally influenced how well the students did -student labeling tends to be arbitrary and biased

question

Conflict Theorist Study of Education

answer

-Jonathan Kozol: "Savage Inequalities" -Children in poor neighborhoods are trapped in poor schools, thereby reinforcing inequality -found that may people think educational inequalities no longer exist (but they do!)

question

Structural Functionalist Study of Education

answer

-Randall Collins: "The Credential Society" -Educational inequality is merely preparation for the occupational inequalities that will come later in life -He believed reproducing the existing class structure is the true function of education

question

No Child Left Behind

answer

-Low-performing schools are given report cards and have to improve student and teacher performances -Relied heavily on standardized test scores

question

Charter schools

answer

Public schools run by private entities to give parents greater control over their children's education

question

What were charter schools designed for?

answer

To support educational innovation

question

What are the downsides to charter schools?

answer

They can be hard and expensive to found and run

question

What are charter schools' test scores like, comparatively?

answer

They tend to have the same or slightly lower test scores than conventional schools

question

Early college high schools

answer

Institutions in which students earn a high school diploma and two years of credit toward a bachelor's degree

question

What is the goal of early college high schools?

answer

Engage low-income and underrepresented students by offering them challenging schoolwork and also providing necessary support for them

question

Homeschooling

answer

The education of children by their parents, at home, to limit exposure to socializing effects of peer culture

question

What are homeschooled kids' academic performance, comparatively?

answer

Their achievements tend to be higher than public school kids'

question

School vouchers

answer

Payments from the government that allow parents in neighborhoods with inadequate schools to send their kids to private schools of their choice

question

What is the downside to school vouchers?

answer

They steal funds from already "vulnerable" public schools

question

Community college

answer

A two-year school that provides general education classes for students who want to save money while preparing to transfer to a four-year university

question

How many college enrollments attend community colleges?

answer

About fifty percent of 'em

question

Religion

answer

Any institutionalized system of shared beliefs and rituals that identify a relationship between the sacred and the profane.

question

Belief

answer

A proposition or idea held on the basis of faith

question

Ritual

answer

A practice based on religious belief

question

How do sociologists look at religion?

answer

They study how different religions shape/are shaped by cultural institutions, rather than determining the truth of different religions

question

Structural Functionalist view of religion

answer

-Religion shapes everyday behavior by providing morals, values, rules, and norms for its followers -religion gives meaning to people's lives -religion provides opportunity to come together with other people

question

Conflict Theorist view of religion

answer

-sees Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as rather sexist, and those few religions that are not sexist are treated as less valuable -some religions are antihomosexual or racist -religious organizations have also been agents of social justice and political change

question

Liberation theology

answer

-A movement within the Catholic Church to understand Christianity from the perspective of the poor and oppressed, with a focus on fighting injustice -combo of Marxism and Christianity

question

Symbolic Interactionist view of religion

answer

-Focuses on how religious meaning is constructed in interaction -looks at how religion is incorporated into the everyday lives of individuals and groups

question

Religiosity

answer

-The consistent and regular practice of religious beliefs -measured in frequency of attendance at worship services and the importance of religious beliefs to an individual

question

Extrinsic religiosity

answer

A person's public display of commitment to their religion

question

Intrinsic religiosity

answer

A person's inner religious life or personal relationship to the divine

question

Fundamentalism

answer

-The practice of emphasizing literal interpretations of texts and a "return" to a time of greater religious purity -practiced by the most conservative groups within religions

question

Evangelical

answer

Conservative Christians who try to convert other people to their way of worshipping in order to "save souls"

question

What portion of Americans do not affiliate with a religion?

answer

About 20%

question

Unchurched

answer

People who consider themselves spiritual but not religious, and who mix bits of different religious traditions together

question

What is the earliest form of economy that existed in the United States?

answer

pre-sixteenth-century Native American societies' economies

question

Horticultural societies

answer

-baed on domesticating animals, farming, and creating a surplus of resources -permanent settlements -diversification of labor

question

Agricultural Revolution

answer

The social and economic changes, including population increases, that followed from the domestication of plants and animals and the gradually increasing efficiency of food production. *encouraged a stratified labor force*

question

Industrial Revolution

answer

The rapid transformation of social life resulting from the technological and economic developments that began with the assembly line, steam power, and urbanization.

question

Corporation

answer

A business that could manage a range of activities across geographic regions.

question

What did the industrial economy of the late 1700 and 1800s revolve around?

answer

Mass production of goods

question

Information Revolution

answer

The recent social revolution made possible by the development of the microchip in the 1970s, which brought about vast improvements in the ability to manage information.

question

How did the Industrial Revolution change the lives of workers?

answer

-workers purchased their items rather than making them in their own homes -workers now had to buy services from providers -people were introduced to new forms of communication -people could travel more easily

question

How did the Information Revolution affect the economy?

answer

It shifted the economy from one based on the production of goods to one based on the production of knowledge and services.

question

Knowledge worker

answer

A person who works primarily with information and who creates value in the economy through their ideas, judgments, analyses, designs, or innovations.

question

Examples of knowledge work?

answer

-Advertising -Engineering -Marketing -Product Development

question

Service worker

answer

A person whose work involves providing a service to businesses or individual clients, customers, or consumers rather than manufacturing goods.

question

What does service work focus on?

answer

Serving and interacting with people

question

Capitalism

answer

An economic system based on the laws of free market competition, privatization of the means of production, and production for profit *supply and demand*

question

What kinds of things does capitalism encourage?

answer

-class stratification -efficiency -workers selling their labor to capitalists for wages -making workers responsible for maintaining their own competitiveness

question

Socialism

answer

An economic system based on collective ownership of the means of production, collective distribution of goods and services, and government regulation of the economy.

question

What does socialism encourage?

answer

A collectivist work ethic

question

Communism

answer

The most extreme form of socialism; the government owns everything and all citizens work for the government and are considered equal, with no class distinctions

question

"Corporate Welfare"

answer

In capitalist economies, it is when businesses are privately owned, but many benefit from government subsidies

question

According to Marx, how are workers alienated?

answer

1. from the product of their labor 2. from their own productive activity 3. from their fellow workers 4. from human nature

question

What is "surplus value", according to Marx?

answer

When the proletariat possess only one thing of economic value (their time) ,and the sell that to capitalists; workers' wages are only a small fraction of the entire profit the capitalists make

question

According to Marx, how are workers alienated from the product of their labor with capitalism?

answer

The products of the workers' labor are the property of the capitalists, who do whatever they want with the products.

question

According to Marx, how are workers alienated from their own productive activity with capitalism?

answer

Workers, under capitalism, cannot feel the satisfaction of finding joy and fulfillment in the process of production.

question

According to Marx, how are workers alienated from fellow workers with capitalism?

answer

Capitalism forces individuals to compete with each other.

question

According to Marx, how are workers alienated from human nature with capitalism?

answer

Workers cannot engage in free conscious activity, which is the essence of humans, but instead have their labor be a means of survival.

question

Issues with postindustrial service work

answer

Service workers are scrutinized by both their supervisors and by the public/clients since the service workers have the most contact with the public.

question

How are postindustrial minimum-wage service workers exploited, according to Barbara Ehrenreich?

answer

-It's difficult for them to pay even the most basic bills -They get in trouble for asserting their rights or getting ill/injured

question

Information Work

answer

Work that involves the production, analysis, and distribution of information or knowledge; workers primarily think for a living.

question

Telecommuting

answer

Working from home while staying connected to the office through communications technology.

question

Problems with postindustrial knowledge work

answer

-people are working more hours -"death of distance"

question

"Death of Distance"

answer

In the Information Age, work can be done from anywhere, really, so long as a worker has their computer.

question

How many Americans telecommute?

answer

About 10%

question

What is a positive result of telecommuting?

answer

Those who may have a hard time maintaining a job, such as those with disabilities, single parents, and seniors, can be employed full-time

question

Resistance Strategies

answer

Ways that workers express discontent with their working conditions and try to reclaim control of the conditions of their labor.

question

What are some examples of individual resistance in the workplace? Some examples of collective resistance?

answer

Individual: personalizing one's workspace, daydreaming on the job Collective: union organizing, strikes, walkouts

question

Robin Leidner

answer

-studied McDonald's workers' scripts they follow -found that the "Six Steps" help workers do their jobs effectively -But workers have little autonomy and little individuality

question

How did Weber view bureaucracies?

answer

He looked at the rational, impersonal, and coldly efficient nature of that form of social organization.

question

Union

answer

As association of workers who bargain collectively for increased wages and benefits and better working conditions.

question

The Typographical Union

answer

-1852 -was the first durable national organization for workers -represented print typesetters

question

Taft-Hartley Act of 1947

answer

Led to laws created to limit the power of unions, like not making it a requirement for workers in a workplace to join a union

question

"Runaway shops"

answer

Industries that leave the United States; usually international to take advantage of cheap labor and more relaxed environmental laws

question

Sandler O'Neill and Partners incident in Corporate America (was it good or bad?)

answer

-Sandler O'Neill and Partners was a small investment banking firm that was devastated because of 9/11 -its competitors came together to help it from falling under

question

Globalization

answer

the cultural and economic changes resulting from dramatically increased international trade and exchange in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

question

What are the pros of globalization, according to its supporters?

answer

-"free trade" can lead to more efficient distribution of resources -lower prices -more employment -higher output

question

What are the cons of globalization, according to its critics?

answer

-promotes a self-interested corporate agenda -corporations exploit workers -shape the politics of nation-states

question

Shallow Integration Model

answer

A national company would arrange with a foreign company to either import or export products exclusively within that single nation's economy.

question

How do different nations protect their corporate interests?

answer

They impose taxes on imports

question

NAFTA

answer

-example of the complex web of global relationships -under NAFTA, American companies avoid paying taxes when exporting raw materials to other nations in NAFTA -America then imports the finished products *tends to benefit private industry more than nations*

question

Transnational Corporations

answer

-purposefully transcend national borders so their products can be manufactured, distributed, marketed, and sold from many bases worldwide -often able to influence trade laws at a global level

question

How do Transnational Corporations (TNCs) create competition in the global market?

answer

TNCs outsource the work for their factories, so nations compete with each other to be able to work for these TNCs

question

"Race to the Bottom"

answer

-refers to the competition between nations that TNCs create -The competing nations undercut citizens' wages and offer incentives to the corporations in order to outsource at their nation

question

Sweatshop

answer

A workplace where workers are subject to extreme exploitation, including below-standard wages, long hours, and poor working conditions that may pose health or safety hazards

question

How many sweatshops are in the U.S.?

answer

More than 7000

question

Outsourcing

answer

"Contracting out" or transferring to another country the labor that a company might otherwise have employed its own staff to perform; typically done for financial reasons

question

France Winddance Twine

answer

studied the outsourcing of surrogates in India for American couples

question

Professional Socialization

answer

-when a person in a new working position confronts an unfamiliar set of expectations and workplace norms they must learn to fit in -learning the social role as well as the details about how to do the job

question

Contingent workforce

answer

People who have jobs that do not follow the ideal/"conventional" 9-5 jobs with retirement benefits, healthcare coverage, and vacations

question

What are the four categories of the contingent workforce?

answer

1. independent contractors 2. on-call workers 3. temporary help agency workers 4. contract company workers

question

How many people make up contingent workers in America?

answer

31% of all workers (44 million people)

question

What category makes up the majority of contingent worker? What fraction of contingent workers do they make up?

answer

-independent contractors -2/3 of all contingent workers

question

Independent (Or Third) Sector

answer

The part of the economy composed of nonprofit organizations; their workers are mission driven, rather than profit driven, and such organizations direct surplus funds to the causes they support.

question

How many nonprofit organizations exist in America?

answer

1.6 million!

question

How does the Third/Independent Sector help society?

answer

1. They play a part in the American system of pluralism 2. They deliver a wide range of vital services to people in almost every social category 3. They allow for expression of altruism in American society

question

Family

answer

A social group whose members are bound by some type of tie: legal, biological, emotional, or a combination of all three. They are interdependent and have a sense of mutual responsibility for one another's care.

question

How does the U.S. Census Bureau define "family"?

answer

Two or more individuals related by blood, marriage, or adoption living in the same household.

question

Extended Family

answer

A large group of relatives, usually including at least three generations living either in one household or in close proximity.

question

Kin

answer

Relatives or relations, usually those related by common descent.

question

Nuclear Family

answer

A heterosexual couple with one or more children living in a single household.

question

Endogamy

answer

Marriage to someone within one's social group.

question

Exogamy

answer

Marriage to someone from a different social group.

question

Antimiscegenation

answer

The prohibition of interracial marriage, cohabitation, or sexual interaction.

question

Loving v. Virginia

answer

-1967 -Supreme Court said that it's unconstitutional to ban interracial marriage.

question

How many couples are interracial in America?

answer

8.4%

question

Monogamy

answer

The practice of marrying, or being in a relationship with, one person at a time.

question

Polygamy

answer

A system of marriage that allows people to have more than one spouse at a time.

question

Polygyny

answer

A system of marriage that allows men to have multiple wives.

question

Polyandry

answer

A system of marriage that allows women to have multiple husbands.

question

Polyamory

answer

A system of multiple-person partnership.

question

Structural Functionalist Perspective on Family

answer

-Durkheim found that marriage decreased men's chances of suicide -Society's survival requires institutions that can serve its essential functions -Family is responsible for reproducing society as it socializes kids

question

What are the essential functions of family, according to structural functionalists?

answer

-economic production -socializing children -instrumental and emotional support -sexual control

question

Conflict Theory Perspective on Family

answer

-recognize that family produces and socializes children to function efficiently in a capitalist economy -Conflict within family is also about competition for resources -family is a gendered social institution

question

Fictive Kin

answer

Close relations with people we consider "like family" but who are not related to us by blood or marriage

question

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective on Family

answer

-It's more effective to look at how family relations are created and maintained in interaction -Marriage has the same technical meaning for every couple, but individual couples may have different expectations -Family=people who care for each other and who express that care, whether legally related or not

question

Homogamy

answer

The tendency to choose romantic partners who are similar to us in terms of class, race, religion, education, or other social group membership.

question

Propinquity

answer

The tendency to marry or have relationships with people in close geographic proximity.

question

Instrumental Tasks

answer

The practical physical tasks necessary to maintain family life.

question

Expressive Tasks

answer

The emotional work necessary to support family members.

question

When did family roles become "Men's work" and "women's work"?

answer

After the Industrial Revolution

question

Second Shift

answer

The unpaid housework and childcare often expected of women after they return home from doing paid labor in the workforce.

question

Who provides kids with their first lesson on how to be a member in society?

answer

Family!

question

What is the effect of kids on marital satisfaction?

answer

It tends to decline when young kids are in the house

question

"The Sandwich Generation" effect

answer

When adults have to take care of both their children and their elderly parents

question

What is the current life expectancy in America?

answer

About 78 years old

question

What percentage of the elderly live below the poverty line?

answer

15%

question

How many women experience physical violence?

answer

1 in every 4

question

Domestic Violence

answer

Any physical, verbal, financial, sexual, or psychological behaviors abusers use to gain and maintain power over their victims.

question

Cycle of Violence

answer

A common behavior pattern in abusive relationships; the cycle begins happily, then the relationship grows tense, and the tension explodes in abuse, followed by a period of contrition that allows the cycle to repeat.

question

Why would a victim stay with their abuser?

answer

-They may believe what their abuser says about them -Children may be involved -They may be threatened -The victim was isolated from friends and family

question

Why are child and elder abuse cases likely to be underreported?

answer

The victims are relatively powerless and their abuse tends to occur in a private setting

question

How many children suffer from abuse in America?

answer

9%

question

How many elderly citizens suffer from abuse in America?

answer

5%

question

Neglect

answer

A form of child abuse in which the caregiver fails to provide adequate nutrition, sufficient clothing or shelter, or hygienic and safe living conditions.

question

Incest

answer

Sexual contact between family members; a form of child abuse when it occurs between a child and a caregiver.

question

In what ways can an elderly person be abused?

answer

-FInancial exploitation -Theft -Neglect -Abandonment

question

What percentage of divorced men remarry? Divorced women?

answer

-men: 75% -women: 67%

question

How many Americans are married?

answer

126 million

question

How many Americans are divorced?

answer

27 million

question

Cohabitation

answer

Living together as a romantically involved, unmarried couple

question

What are the suspected causes of decreased intergenerational divorce and marriage rates?

answer

1. Growing acceptance of divorce 2. The age of marriage has changed 3. Children of divorced parents are more likely to cohabit with their partners than marry them

question

Custody

answer

The physical and legal responsibility of caring for children; assigned by a court for divorced or unmarried parents

question

When is the father more likely to be granted sole custody of a child?

answer

-if his income is much more than the mother's -if the children are older -if the oldest child is male

question

When is the mother more likely to be granted sole custody of a child?

answer

-if the father is unemployed -if the children are younger -if she has a high level of education

question

Which gender does divorce seem to have a bigger impact on for children, and why?

answer

Male children because boys are more likely to act out

question

How many Americans are members of stepfamilies?

answer

1 in 3!

question

What is the likelihood of divorce for remarriages?

answer

The likelihood of divorce for remarriages is higher than the likelihood of divorce for first marriages

question

In America, how many people opted for cohabitation with their partner?

answer

7 million

question

What percentage of all first births are to cohabiting parents?

answer

25%

question

What percentage of single parents are single fathers?

answer

15%

question

Intentional Community

answer

Any of a variety of groups who form communal living arrangements outside marriage. Includes: ecovillages, cohousing, communes...

question

What do intentional communities emphasize?

answer

Fostering a sense of community and living together with a common purpose

question

Leisure

answer

A period of time that can be spent relaxing, engaging in recreation, or otherwise indulging in freely chosen activities.

question

Recreation

answer

Any satisfying, amusing, and stimulating activity that is experienced as refreshing and renewing for body, mind, and spirit.

question

What makes an activity qualified as "leisurely"?

answer

Not the actual activity itself, but the experience of it

question

When did the middle class have the chance to begin experiencing leisurely activities? What was it fueled by?

answer

Between 1890 and 1940, largely fueled by technological progress

question

What are the three related trends of modern leisure-time activities?

answer

1. The decline of public life 2. Commercializing Leisure and Recreation 3. Formalizing Recreation

question

The Decline of Public Life Trend

answer

-one of the three trends of modern leisure activities -more and more people stay home to enjoy leisure -*internet* has begun to isolate people from others outside the home and from those within the home

question

Commodification

answer

The process by which it becomes possible to buy and sell a particular good or service

question

The Commercializing Leisure and Recreation Trend

answer

-one of the three trends of modern leisure activities -a massive increase in the commodification of recreational activities -more people are buying goods for reaction they feel they "need" to have fun (TVs...) -almost any kind of activity we enjoy must be supported in some way by others

question

How many American households have at least four TVs in them?

answer

1/3 of all households

question

The Formalizing Reaction Trend

answer

-one trend of modern leisure activities -leisure and recreation has shifted from spontaneous/informal activities to organized and formal activities -Example=Little League teams rather than sandlot games

question

Consumption

answer

The utilization of goods and services, either for personal use or in manufacturing

question

In sociologists' eyes, what is the relationship between leisure and work?

answer

Leisure and work are linked by consumption: as we consume more leisure, we must earn more wages to pay for it

question

Leisure activities within different social classes

answer

-Sometimes, the more affluent's work resembles play (athletes, movie stars)

question

Conglomeration

answer

The process by which a single corporation acquires ownership of a variety of otherwise unrelated businesses

question

Synergy

answer

A mutually beneficial interaction between parts of an organization that allows it to create something greater than the sum of its individual outputs

question

Merger

answer

The legal combination of two companies, usually in order to maximize efficiency and profits by eliminating redundant infrastructure and personnel

question

What is one of America's biggest exports?

answer

Media products!

question

Horizontal integration

answer

-When a media conglomerate comprises many divisions, like magazine publishing, radio and TV broadcasting, movie studio, web sites, theme parks... -allows the company to take advantage of its own organizational structure and market its products across a wide range of different media formats and outlets

question

Concentration

answer

The process by which the number of companies producing and distributing a particular commodity decreases, often through mergers and conglomeration

question

Monopoly

answer

A situation in which there is only one individual or organization, without competitors, providing a particular good or service

question

Antitrust Legislation

answer

Laws designed to maintain competition in the marketplace by prohibiting monopolies, price fixing, or other forms of collusion among businesses

question

Deregulation

answer

Reduction or removal of government controls from an industry to allow for a free and efficient marketplace

question

What two government agencies regulate large conglomerates?

answer

The Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

question

Apple

answer

-represents a shift in the way that media industries work -part of a postmodern economy -its physical products it sells are all designed to allow customers to buy other things

question

Postmodern Economy

answer

-David Harvey -Companies feel the need to sell more products faster, leading to a shift from the consumption of goods into the consumption of services (entertainment, spectacles...)

question

Roth v. United States

answer

-1959 -The criteria used to define obscenity were established

question

When did movie ratings take effect?

answer

1968

question

When were censors/warnings placed on music?

answer

1985

question

When did video game ratings take effect?

answer

1993

question

What do supporters of censorship of media argue?

answer

-Violent or sexual media should be restricted because it has a negative effect on society

question

What do critics of censorship of media argue?

answer

-The right to free speech or artistic freedom should not be infringed upon

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Popular culture

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Usually contrasted with the high culture of elite groups; forms of cultural expression usually associated with the masses, consumer goods, and commercial products

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High culture

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Those forms of cultural expression usually associated with the elite or dominant classes

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Taste publics

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Groups of people who share similar artistic, literary, media, recreational, and intellectual interests

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Taste cultures

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Areas of culture that share similar aesthetics and standards of taste

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Polysemy

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Having many possible meanings or interpretations

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Is meaning in media inherent or is it created?

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Meaning is not a given, nor is it entirely open; we make meaning individually and together, as audiences and consumers of culture

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Hypodermic Needle Theory

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-A.K.A. magic bullet theory -Media content is shot directly into the audience members, who respond instantaneously to its stimulus -basically, media consumers are passive, uncritical recipients of information

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Minimal Effect Theory

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-1960s/70s -belief that media has a limited or minimal effect on society

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Uses and Gratifications Paradigm

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Approaches to understanding media effects that focus on individuals' psychological or social needs that consumption of various media fulfills

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Reinforcement Theory

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Theory that suggests that audiences seek messages in the media that reinforce their existing attitudes and beliefs and are thus not influenced by challenging or contradictory information

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Agenda-setting theory

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Theory that the mass media can set the public agenda by selecting certain news stories and excluding others, thus influencing what audiences think about

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What are the five areas audiences seek gratification and fulfill needs through media?

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1. Escape from reality 2. Using it for social interaction 3. Gaining some aspect of personal identity 4. Informing and educating audiences 5. Entertainment

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Two-step flow model

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Theory on media effects that suggests audiences get information through opinion leaders who influence their attitudes and beliefs, rather than through direct firsthand sources

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Active audiences

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A term used to characterize audience members as active participants in "reading" or constructing the meaning of the media as they consume

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Interpretive strategies

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The ideas and frameworks that audience members bring to bear on a particular media text to understand its meaning

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Encoding/Decoding Model

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-A theory on media that combines models that privilege the media producer and models that view the audience as the primary source of meaning -This theory recognizes that media texts are created to deliver specific messages and that individuals actively interpret them

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Textual Poaching

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-Henry Jenkins -The term describing the ways that audience members manipulate an original cultural product to create a new one -a common way for fans to exert some control over the media they consume

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Interpretive Community

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-Stanley Fish -A group of people dedicated to the consumption and interpretation of a particular cultural product and who create a collective, social meaning for the product

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Role Model

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An individual who serves as an example for others to strive toward and emulate

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Communitarianism

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-Amitai Etzioni -A political and moral philosophy focused on strengthening civil societies and communal bonds -attempts to rebuild a sense of group values that benefit all rather than merely the individual

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Lifestyle Enclaves

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-Groups of people drawn together by shared interests, especially those relating to hobbies, sports, and media -likely to remain private and segmented -focused on own shared interests rather than involved in the larger group life

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Third Place

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-Any informal public place where people come together regularly for conversation and camaraderie when not at work or at home -core settings for informal but essential aspects of public and community life

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Civil Society

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-Those organizations, institutions, and interactions outside government, family, and work that promote social bonds and the smooth functioning of society

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Idioculture

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The customs, practices, and values expressed in a particular place by the people who interact there

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What is the importance of civil society?

answer

-helps maintain social cohesion -links the individual to the community

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What is the importance of the Third Place?

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It helps relieve alienation and anomie

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What are the top two most popular destinations for world travelers?

answer

1. France 2. America

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Ecotourism

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Foreign travel with the goal of minimizing the environmental consequences of tourism as well as its possible negative effects on local cultures and economies, typically involves people from highly industrialized nations traveling to less developed countries

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What are the cultural effects tourism can have?

answer

-People may exoticize or mistreat other groups as they fit them into their own recreational needs, rather than learning about them on their own terms -can shape individual relations -can shape political relations

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How many Americans work in the tourism and travel industries?

answer

5.6 million

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Acute diseases

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-Diseases that have a sudden onset, may be briefly incapacitating, and are either curable or fatal -often caused by an organism -contagious

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Chronic diseases

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-Diseases that develop over a longer period of time and may not be detected until symptoms occur later in their progression -many are manageable

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World Health Organization

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-division of the United Nations -oversees global health issues

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How does the World Health Organization define health?

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"A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity"

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What are the top three causes of death in the U.S.?

answer

1. heart disease 2. cancer 3. chronic respiratory illnesses

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What are the three approaches in the health-care system in America?

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1. curative medicine 2. preventative medicine 3. palliative care

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Curative or Crisis Medicine

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The type of health care that treats the disease or condition once it has manifested

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Preventative Medicine

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The type of health care that aims to avoid or forestall the onset of disease by taking preventive measures, often including lifestyle changes

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Palliative Care

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The type of health care the focuses on symptom and pain relief and providing a supportive environment for critically ill or dying patients, rather than fighting the illness or disease

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Medicalization

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-The process by which some behaviors or conditions that were once seen as personal problems are redefined as medical issues -*changes both the meaning of a condition and the meaning of the individual who suffers from it* -Examples=ADHD, alcoholism, addiction

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What percentage of patients die in hospitals or nursing homes?

answer

75%

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Epidemiology

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The study of disease patterns to understand the cause of illnesses, how they are spread, and what interventions to take

question

Epidemic

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Occurs when a significantly higher number of cases of a particular disease occur during a particular time period than might otherwise be expected

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Pandemic

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Occurs when a significantly higher number of cases of a disease also spreads through an especially large geographical region spanning many countries or even continents

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Who usually determines when something is an epidemic?

answer

National health organizations

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Who monitors and defines pandemics?

answer

The World Health Organization

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Vector Organisms

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-Animals that carry and spread pathogens (germs or other infectious agents) in a given area -Examples=mosquitoes, ticks, birds

question

How can climate change influence diseases?

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Climate change can drive vector animals out of their customary territories and into new ecosystems

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How does SES interact with health?

answer

-Those in higher SES can expect to live longer lives and generally feel more physical well-being -Those in lower SES tend to have higher incidences of depression and other mental health problems

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How does race interact with health?

answer

Many health problems that those in lower SES face are amplified for minority groups

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How does gender interact with health?

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-Women generally have better health and enjoy a longer life expectancy -men who more strongly identify with the "macho" idea of masculinity are more likely to avoid preventative health care

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Food Desert

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-A community in which the residents have little or no access to fresh, affordable, healthy foods, usually located in densely populated, urban areas -predominately in low-income, nonwhite populations

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Deprivation Amplification

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When our individual disease risks (based on our heredity and physiology) are amplified by social factors

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American Medical Association

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Creates the rules and regulations governing medical licensure

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How did Milton Friedman view the American Medical Association?

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He saw it as a monopolizing organization that reduced the quantity and quality of medical care by forcing the public to pay more for medical services

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What are the purposes of the American Medical Association?

answer

-established the norms and values of medicine and medical knowledge -regulates, licenses, and legitimizes the practitioners of medicine -polices various forms of encroachment on its own powers

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Doctor-patient relations

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-people think that doctors automatically have more status, but this status difference has to be established through interaction

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Sick role

answer

-The actions and attitudes that society expects from someone who is ill -proposed by functionalist Talcott Parsons

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How do functionalists view being sick?

answer

They see it as a form of deviance

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Cultural Competence

answer

-The concept of acknowledging and incorporating a patient's cultural background as part of the treatment process -the recognition that patients' beliefs shape their approach to health care

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ObamaCare

answer

-increases coverage for children and young adults -closed loopholes that allowed insurance companies to deny or limit coverage to people who became ill -creation of state-run insurance exchange systems -companies that employ fifty or more people will also have to provide health insurance or deal with fines

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Rescission

answer

THe practice by insurance companies of canceling coverage only after a person gets sick

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Complementary medicine

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A group of medical treatments, practices, and products that can be used in conjunction with conventional Western medicine

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Integrative medicine

answer

The combination of conventional medicine with complementary practices and treatments that have proven to be safe and effective

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Alternative medicine

answer

A group of medical treatments, practices, and products that are used instead of conventional Western medicine

question

Bioethics

answer

-The study of controversial moral or ethical issues related to scientific and medical advancements -Examples=looking at extending life through artificial means or stem cell research

question

How much money do American adults spend on CAM treatments?

answer

$34 billion

question

What is the largest category of CAM users?

answer

Women with higher levels of education and income

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Eugenics

answer

An attempt to selectively manipulate the gene pool in order to produce and "improve" human beings through medical science

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The Human Genome Project

answer

-Hopes that decoding DNA will uncover how the human body works -one of the results of it is the ability to identify predisposition to hereditary diseases

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Demography

answer

The study of the size, composition, distribution, and changes in human population

question

Fertility Rate

answer

A measure of population growth through reproduction; often expressed as the average number of births per 1000 people in the total population or the average number of children a woman would be expected to have

question

Mortality Rate

answer

A measure of the decrease in population due to deaths; often expressed as the number of deaths expected per 1000 people per year in a particular population

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Infant Mortality

answer

Average number of infant deaths per 1000 live births in a particular population

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Life expectancy

answer

Average age to which people in a particular population live

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Life Span/Longevity

answer

The uppermost age to which a person can potentially live

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Migration

answer

Movement of people from one geographic area to another for the purpose of resettling

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Immigration

answer

Entering one country from another to take up permanent residence

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Emigration

answer

Leaving one country to live permanently in another

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Internal Migration

answer

Movement of a population within a country

question

Net Migration

answer

Net effect of immigration and emigration on an area's population in a given time period; expressed as an increase or decrease

question

Malthusian Theorem

answer

The theory that exponential population growth will outpace arithmetic growth in food production and other resources

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Malthusian Trap

answer

Malthus's prediction that a rapidly increasing population will overuse natural resources, leading inevitably to a major public health disaster

question

Neo-Malthusians

answer

Contemporary researchers who worry about the rapid pace of population growth and believe that Malthus's basic prediction could be true

question

Anti-Malthusians

answer

Contemporary researchers who believe the population boom Malthus witnessed was a temporary, historically specific phenomenon and worry instead that worldwide population may shrink in the future

question

Demographic free fall

answer

Decrease in fertility rates among populations that have industrialized their economies as children become an economic liability rather than an asset

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Demographic transition

answer

A theory suggesting the possible transition over time from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates, resulting in a stabilized population

question

Family planning

answer

Contraception, or any method of controlling family size and the birth of children

question

Growth Rate

answer

Expression of changes in population size over time figured by subtracting the number of deaths from the number of births, then adding the net migration

question

Natural Increase

answer

Change in population size that results from births and deaths; linked to a country's progress toward demographic transition

question

Rural

answer

Relating to sparsely settled areas; in the United States, any county with a population density between 10 and 59.9 people per square mile

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Urban

answer

Relating to cities; typically describes densely populated areas

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Urbanization

answer

Movement of increasing numbers of people from rural areas to cities

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Metropolis

answer

An urban area with a large population, usually 500,000 to 1 million people

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Metropolitan Statistical Area/Agglomeration

answer

One or more adjacent countries with at least one major city of 50,000 or more inhabitants that is surrounded by an adjacent area that is socially and economically integrated with the city

question

Megalopolis/Megacity

answer

A group of densely populated metropolises that grow dependent on each other and eventually combine to form a huge urban complex

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Global cities

answer

A term for megacities that emphasizes their global impact as centers of economic, political, and social power

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Urban Density

answer

Concentration of people in a city, measured by the total number of people per square mile

question

Suburbanization

answer

Beginning after WWII, the shift of large segments of population away from the urban core and toward the edges of cities

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Urban Sprawl

answer

A derogatory term applied to the expansion of urban or suburban boundaries, associated with irresponsible or poorly planned development

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Edge cities

answer

Centers of employment and commerce that began as suburban commuter communities

question

Smart Growth

answer

The term for economic and urban planning policies that emphasize responsible development and renewal

Sociology Chapters 10-15 – Flashcards

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