FAMILY - Contemporary Economic Change and Families Flashcards
What type of research method did Nickie Charles (2012) use to study social change since the 1950s in the UK?
She conducted household surveys and participant observation and identified several key social changes since the 1960s.
What 3 key social changes since the 1960s did Nickie Charles identify?
- The much greater use of technology
- The entrance of women into the workplace on a large scale
- Greater equality of opportunity and equal treatment for different social classes, for women and for minority-ethnic groups
Despite these very significant social changes, Charles concluded what happened, in regards to the family?
She concluded that changes to the family had been quite minor in that time.
Who did Charles discover were more geographically mobile: MEN or WOMEN?
MEN! = Women were more likely to remain living near their extended family in rural areas.
Who did Charles discover were more geographically mobile: HIGHER SOCIAL CLASSES or LOWER SOCIAL CLASSES?
HIGHER SOCIAL CLASSES! = She discovered individuals from higher social classes were more geographically mobile than those from lower classes.
TRUE OR FALSE = Minority-ethnic individuals did not have strong bonds with their extended family!
FALSE = Minority-ethnic individuals tended to have particularly strong bonds with their extended family!
What did Charles realise about the bonds and network between extended families?
She noticed they were increasingly conducted at long distance and visiting relatives often included a lot of travelling; also, communicating with relatives was often done via social media!
What did Evans and Chandler (2006) comment on surrounding disposable income for families, in regards to social change?
They said that a significant social change since the mid 20th century was the greater disposable income for families and a much wider array of products available for purchase/retail, particularly those available for children.
What did Evans and Chandler conclude that a greater disposable income, in terms of influencing family relationships?
They concluded that greater disposable income influences family relations, in the sense that parents did not have to make decisions about which products they could and could not afford to buy for their children.
What social change is seen to be the most significant in the late 20th century?
GLOBALISATION!
What is Globalisation?
Globalisation is the process whereby the world has become increasingly interconnected and joined with one another.
What do postmodernists see Globalisation as?
They recognise globalisation as a fundamental feature of contemporary society.
In what ways is Globalisation said to have influenced the family?
- It has caused significant ECONOMIC CHANGE = EG: Traditional male jobs being exported to developing countries, which had impacted gender roles.
- Globalisation has influenced IMMIGRATION and the increasingly MULTICULTURAL NATURE of many societies - This has led to some changes in the structure and role of the family and has increased family diversity.
- Globalisation of popular culture through the MEDIA has (according to some sociologists) had a major impact on childhood. Children and younger people have easy access to a world of information, some of which might have changed the nature of their childhood.
What term used by Sue Palmer is used to describe what childhood may become due to the growth and development of media?
‘Toxic Childhood’
