Soc terms Flashcards
Globalization
the growing economic, political, and social interconnectedness among societies throuhgout the world.
Challenges in Globalization
Increase travel means greater risk of communicable diseases being spread accross regions (eg., Rio Olympics)Reduces power of government to tax corporation and the wealthy (eg., ireland used low taxes to lure apple headquarters from the US. ) ( lower taxes means less revenue for governments and that means they have greater difficulty paying for healthcare and social services.) Reduces working conditions in poor countries (eg., many nations offer free trade Zones, - creating a piece of land that isnt subject to national laws and taxes.)
why did healthcare start in Canada versus elsewhere in the world.
Pure meritocracy is not real - Children born to rich fams have a large advantage over those who aren’t
Only wealthy nation that operates without free/universal health care
United States
Dramaturgical Perspective
thinking of life as a play. - Erving Goffman said that our daily interaction are similar to a theater performance.
Reason 1 for why people fear the mentally ill
Norms - rules everyone agrees on for how we should behave - (people with mental illness don’t always follow these agreed upon rules. - which can make their behavior seem strange, (can lead to misunderstandings) eg., walking past somone talking to themselves on the street.
Reason 2 why people fear the mentally ill
Folkways - societies habits and manners, saying sorry when you accidentally bump into someone. (people are afraid of those with mental illness because many end up in trouble with the law.)Laws- more formal norms with legal consequences (not stealing etc..) people with mental illness can struggle with following common habits and manners (folkways) and can lead to probs with the police. eg., homless attracting police for loitering
Reason 3 - why people fear the mentally ill
We associate almost al illegitimate violence with Mental illness - Gun violence for example - when we hear about gun violence the common response is to point to poor mental health of the perpetrator. (hard to define mentall illness) eg., Las Vegas shooter wasnt considered mentally ill until after the shooting.
Competition as a coercive force (Marx)
Companies have one main goal (make as much money as possible)(players in a tough game - if they focus on anything else, they could be taken over or go out of business (loose the game.). (corporations arent evil because they’re not people.) (they are just playing by the rules of the game.)
Webers principle of bureaucracy
Bureaucracy makes sure people stick to their job roles and responsibilities. eg., if a banker starts giving out loans based on personal feelings instead of financial factors - they could be fired by their boss. No room for personal judgement - people must do their job within the rules of their positions, if they don’t they might be replaced.
who holds corporations responsible?
Government: (job) we expect them to watch over companies but politicians get influenced by money. Consumers: (our power) we can make companies do the right thing by choosing what to buy - but most people care about cheap stuff rather than if companies are good or bad. (eg., unfair work conditions.) Justice/court systems: (legal fights) courts can make companies pay for bad stuff, fighting in court costs a lot. - makes it hard for the little guys to win. Company trickery: even if a company gets sued they can use their money to make it trickey to prove they did something wrong. (act like they didnt know better.)
Bad science
Problematic in the health and nutrition field. (many industries pay for their own scientific studies in the food industry - the studies mislead the public and make people doubt science) - eg., something is a superfood one day and another its bad for you
“Drug”
refers to any chemical substance that : has a direct effect on the user’s physical, psychological, and/or intellectual functioning.has the potential to be abused. has adverse consequences for the individial and/or society.
most commonly used drugs
Caffiene, alcohol, tobacco, and nicotine.
perscription and non perscription drugs
anti-depressants, adderall, morphine, cough syrup, and other drugs that are harmful to society.
Illicit drugs
Cocaine, crack, MDMA/ecstast, herion, magic mushrooms, acid etc..
Strong emotions and drugs
strong emotions/stressful situation can be similar to drugs becuase they release hormones and chemicals like cortisol and adrenaline. eg., people being addicted to conflicts or drama.
What percent of adults worldwide smoke cigarettes.
20% of the adult population smokes cigarettes. - 80% of those come from low to middle income countries.
What percent of adults worldwide drink alcohol?
50% of the worlds adult population reports drinking alcohol and most are from high income countries.
What percent of adults worldwide have used illicit drugs.
3.5 - 7%between the ages of 15 -64 (162-324 million people reported using at least one illicit drug the previous year.)
Drug framing
how something is socially constructed or how society is taught to view a certain thing - great contridiction in how drugs are framed in North America. eg., alcohol and tobacco use is tolerated and promoited in movies and mass media. however, use of cocaine use is framed as problematic and shameful.
Drug addiction
the worry that the drug will not be used in moderation (considered an addiction or chemical dependence when the use is compulsive and the user is unable to stop.)
Drug abuse
drugs are abused when someone uses drugs in a way that goes against normal standards. - leading to negative physical, mental, or social effects. eg., if some takes drugs in a way that causes harm to themselves or others.
How does structural functionalism see the drug legaliztion debate?
Do not legalize: they are dysfunctional for individuals and ruins lives, making them illegal helps police, and it is dysfunctional for society why add more potential problems.Legalize: use serves a function in letting people blow off steam and deal with tough probs, criminalizing them is very costly and causes more hars, drugs are only more dangerous because they are produced by criminals.
structural functionalism
big well organized machine. Each part (like family, school, government.) has its own job and they all work together to keep society running. (a machine needs all its parts to function correctly, society needs all its institution to work together for it to operate effectively.
Gateway Drug theory
People say weed is a “gateway drug” - means it leads others to trying more harmful substances - (people think that if weed isn’t so bad, maybe other drugs aren’t either.)
Symbolic interactionism
like understanding life as an ongoing play where people communicate through words and gestures, create meaning together, and adjust their roles based on the social “script.” It’s about how we give meaning to things and understand each other through our everyday interactions.
Symbolic interactionism and drug legalization
if we call drug users criminals, they might end up acting like criminals - hard to get jobs with a criminal record, and by putting them in jail they are getting connections to other criminals. - roles, rules, and meaning are attatched to our social play.
Neuroscience
A branch of life sciences that deal with the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, or molecular biology of nerves and nervous tissue and especially with their relation to behavior and learning .
Neuroscience and addiction
our brains don’t like pain, so when we find a way to escape it, like using drugs our brain crates a habit. like a shortcut they take to feel better, and the habit gets stronger overtime which is what addiction is.
3 stages of addiction
1- Binge and intoxication: inistial association of euphoria with drug use. 2- withdrawal and negative effect: lower dopamine release (individual feels worse due to withdrawl after use 3- Anticipation and craving: nueral network of drug use being associated with pleasure/removal of pain ingrained further as a learned behavioral habit.
Neuroscience theories of drug use
your emotions are like a scale. If you have a lot of pain and negative feelings, and not much positive stuff you may see drugs as a way to balance things out. once the brain links drug use to pleasure or escaping pain, it starts really wanting drugs (cravings) Usually why people turn to drugs when they are having a tough time.
Alienation
its like feeling really far from what makes us human (feeling a bit out of place or not yourself)
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Self actualization:achieving ones full potential including creative activitiesEsteem needs: prestige and feeling of accomplishment.belongingness and love needs: intimate relationships, friends. safety needs:security, safety physiological needs:food, water, warth, rest
Example of Alienation
imagine making chairs - think about each day, start with raw materials, design the chair, cut the pieces, and build it (try different woods or designs to add your personal touch) by the end you see a chair and you will feel proud, like you’ve accomplished something. relate to alienation: you go to work but instead of designing and creating, you’re told to repeat the same simple task over and over, you don’t get to use your creativity to try new things and everyday feels the same. (missing out on the joy of creating and feeling disconnected from your work.)
Ethnocentrism
When you believe your group is best, and everything should be done your way. its like thinking your gang has the coolest rules and everyone should follow them.
Sweatshops
a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. - workers are poorly paid, work long hours and work in poor conditions.
Our role in sweatshops (why do they exist)
sweatshops exist to provide us cheaper products; when we purchase products made in such conditions, we in a sense condone it. (amazon/apple.) - why would they stop this production if the consumers don’t care about the process.
Sweatshop in bangladesh
8 story garment factory in Bangladesh where employees worked for 10-16 houts sfor 96 usd a month - collapsed (building owner declared it was safe after and engineer was paid/bribed to deem it so. - manager ordered the workers back in.) - 3122 in building 1,134 died and 2500 were injured. - the owner only got 3 years in prison, and company was forced to pay 200 usd to victims families. (only if had DNA proof.)
Special economic zones
foreign trade zones and free trade zones
What is it? (economic zone)
a special area in a country that pretends to be outside the countrus regular rules. - imagine there is a little zone in a country, in this special zone usually country rules like laws, taxes, and other official stuff don’t really apply.
Issues with Economic zones
in richer countries, special zones help businesses without extra fees, but in poor ones these zones can cause a big prob. 1. no working and enviroment rules (ignore a countries rules about treating workers right. )2. breaking working rights (extra hours no pay , harmful chemicals etc..) 3.low pay and unfair stuff: workers might get paid less than they should, and some might loose their job for being pregnant. (these violate the ILO (international labor organization policies.)
Impact of globalization on workers
- worker problems: there are many cases where human rights and work rules are broken globally. this causes a lot of pain for workers. 2. big companies get more powerfulthe world being more connected has a big effect on how workers are treated and how big companies gain more power.
What is power?
its not just about doing whatever you want easily, it is more about being able to achieve your goals even when others are trying to stop you. we need to not only look at who is in conflict, we need to look at the power and resources each side has and determine who has an advantage.
how did Globalization occur?
it is a longtime companion in human history - been around as long as countires have existed. its happened through -migration : people moving from one place to another global trade : countries exchanging good and services not so nice methods : like war and colonization when a powerful group takes over and claim a place as their own eg., europe colonizing non- european countries during the World Wars
Economic globalization
trade in good, trade in services, diversity of trade partnerships, foreign direct investment (investing in vusinesses outside of ones country)international debt, international reserves, international income payments
Social globalization
International telephone calls, international money transfers, international tourism, international students, immigration, emigration, international patents, internet bandwidth on international content (access to online info from other countries) , International trademarks, Ikeas stores, McDonalds stores.
Political Globalization
Embassies, UN peacekeeping missions, international NGO’s present.
Overall Globalization
Economic, Social, and Political globalization combined
Free market
No Regulations: It’s like letting things run without many rules.Government Stays Out: The government doesn’t get too involved in setting rules or prices.Opposite of More Control: It’s not like systems where the government has a big say, such as Socialism or Communism.Supply and Demand Rules: Prices are mainly decided by what people want and what’s available.Invisible Hand Idea: Think of it as letting the economy sort itself out without too much interference.(Laissez-faire)
Free trade agreement
A pact between two or more countries that makes it easier to trade goods across national boundaries. less export rules - you can send things out more freely no extra taxes on imports - stuff coming in doesnt have extra charges protecting ideas - making sure that peoples creative ideas are safe and ownded by them
Tariffs
eg., buying toys from another country - a tariff is like an extra fee you have to pay when those toys arrive in your country. its a way for your country to make those toys a bit more expensive.(Import fees)
Quota
a rule set by the government that says, “Okay, we’re only allowing a specific amount of certain things to be brought into or sent out of our country within a certain time frame.” It’s like setting a limit on how many items can be traded with other countries.
Embargo
a serious timeout in international relations. When countries aren’t getting along, one might say, “Okay, we’re not going to trade or do business with you at all.” It’s a way to put pressure on a country, like giving them a timeout until they address the issues causing the problem. During an embargo, there’s a complete stop to buying or selling things with that country.
Sanctions
giving a country a limited penalty. It’s not a complete timeout like an embargo; instead, it’s more specific. It could involve freezing assets or stopping certain types of business, like telling your banks they can’t work with certain countries. So, it’s like a targeted punishment instead of a total trade shutdown.
Levies
legal tools that a bank or tax authority can use to take someone’s property if they owe a debt. It’s a way for them to get what’s owed to them.
The Bourgeoisie
those that owned the means of production (businesses and factories)
The proletariat
workers
Labor theory of Value
Workers make stuff worth more than what they are paid, and the business owners benefit from the extra value
Social locations
various aspects that make each person unique, like gender, race, social class, age, and where they live etc… these factors shape out experiences and views on the world.
Offshoring
the relocation of jobs to other countries where products can be produced for cheaper
Confirmation Bias
favoring info that confirms out existing beliefs of values (eg., like wearing sunglasses that make everything look the way you want it to, you are more likely to notice and remember things that agree with what you already think and you might not pay attention to things that challenge your ideas.
Ascribed Status
traits you get automatically without choosing, like being born with a certain eye color or getting a family name etc.. things you don’t pick and may effect how people see you
Achieved status
badges you earn by doing things in life, getting a diploma, or becoming a team captain - statuses you work for or achieve through your actions.
