Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Social sciences

Congresses Cons. Powers: Treaty Making, Appointment Powers, War Powers, Commerce Powers.

Thomas More's Utopia (1516)

The Concept of Utopia

Utopia explores the idea of a perfect society, a concept that, by definition, cannot be achieved in reality. Moore coined the term "utopia" to describe this ideal.

Social Criticism and the Emerging State

The book applies reason to social criticism and examines the emerging state. The first half of Utopia describes an unjust society grappling with issues like enclosure, monetary policy, and rural emigration (dissolution of feudal mores). These problems, prevalent for generations, reflect the challenges faced by English society at the time.

Zeitgeist and Dystopias

Zeitgeist, or spirit of the time, refers to the dominant assumptions shaping a particular era. In the context of Utopia, it encompasses the... Continue reading "Thomas More's Utopia: A Renaissance Ideal of Society" »

1. Journalism as Modern Cartography

Guiding Citizens Through Society

Journalism acts as a modern form of cartography, creating pathways and bridges that help citizens navigate the complexities of society. It provides a map for understanding current events, issues, and diverse perspectives.

2. The Responsibility of News Providers

A Duty Beyond Personal Opinions

The importance of news comes with a significant responsibility for those who provide it. Journalists have a duty to present information accurately and objectively, going beyond personal opinions or biases.

3. Defining Journalism and the Role of a Journalist

Beyond Simple Questions

Instead of asking "What does a journalist do?", we should delve deeper into the core principles and purpose of journalism.... Continue reading "Understanding Journalism: Roles, Responsibilities, and the Pursuit of Truth" »

Defining Globalization

Globalization is widely considered the dominant paradigm today. However, the term holds different meanings for different people. Some view it as another word for 'Westernization,' referring to the spread of Western culture worldwide. Others interpret it as internationalization, leading to a homogenization of global culture.

Scholarly Definitions of Globalization

• The spread of transplanetary connections between people.
• A fundamental shift in the nature of social space, encompassing markets, emotions, ideals, music, and more.

Historical Development of Globalization

• The European discovery of America.
• Magellan and Elcano's circumnavigation of the globe.
• The era of European imperialism.

Key Period: 1870-WWI

• Rapid industrialization,

Scientific concepts are abstract entities which allow us to identify, differentiatie and compare, with a certain amount of accuracy, the objects that make up reality and that are studied by a specific science.There 3 types: classificatory concepts: order and separate different kids of entities depending on their basic properties (troposphere). comparative concepts: classify and order things into separate groups( the hardness of minerals). Metric : are exclusive to science. They express specific properties called quantities(speed)

Scientific law: is a way of expressing the regular, constant and invariable relationship we observe between two phenomena or between thei properties.

The teaching of "Media" should be based on the creation of critical social thought. The purpose of education should be to prepare people to participate in society, providing them with tools and resources to develop their own critical social thought. We need to provide the resources to know how to, and to want to, make social decisions, resolve day-to-day problems, and exercise their role consciously, constructively, and responsibly. Citizen awareness and commitment to the world we live in should be encouraged, starting with awareness between science and social problems, and the correlation between the decisions of individuals on the group as a whole.

The Critical Model

• Objectives: Teaching a critical thought approach, thoughtful and committed

McKinsey is a management consulting company that conducts quantitative and qualitative analyses to evaluate management decisions across the public and private sectors.

In the 1980s, the company developed the McKinsey Framework 7S to improve the internal issues of organizations. The 7S framework differentiates between hard elements and soft elements. The hard elements consist of strategy, structure, and systems, while the soft elements are skills, staff, style, and share value. All areas are interconnected, meaning that changing one area will have implications for all the others.

Strategy: The organization's plan to win in the marketplace and gain an advantage over the competition.

Structure: The way the organization structures its resources, including... Continue reading "McKinsey: Management Consulting Company and the 7S Framework" »

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Cost-effectiveness analysis ranks policies based on their costs for achieving a defined objective. This analysis is implemented when there is no reasonable consensus on how the relevant costs and benefits can be evaluated. Cost-effectiveness doesn’t evaluate the worthiness of a project based on its benefits relative to costs; instead, it takes some outcome or goal as given and evaluates the efficiency of the various options for achieving it. For example, if policymakers decide to reduce CO2 emissions by 10%, there would be many ways of achieving this goal.

Institutions in Public Policy

Institutions are the laws, organizations, and unwritten rules that make public policy possible. Groups ranging from a handful of homeowners... Continue reading "Public Policy: Cost-Effectiveness, Institutions, and Entities" »

Types of Employers, Introduction to Competencies, Skills Versus Competencies

Some years ago, when executives and managers began to realize that employees' skills were not the only factor determining their success, they started to use competencies. Competencies are a concept taken on board by human resource departments to measure a person's appropriateness for a particular job.

What is a Competency?

In simple terms, a competency is a tool that an individual can use in order to demonstrate a high standard of performance. Most organizations recognize two main groups and then have numerous subgroups into which competencies can be further divided.

Competencies in the Business World

There has been a lot written about competencies. It is easy to see how... Continue reading "Understanding Competencies in the Professional World" »

Wardan Hawa

Student Syndrome (Ariely, 2008): the tendency for students to give in to temptation and invent excuses when the deadline comes.

Planning Fallacy - Optimism trumps past experience (Buehler et al., 1997): students who believe they will finish their work on time tend to fall behind. Taxpayers who were expected to mail their taxes on time were also a week late (Buehler, Griffin & Ross, 2002).

Kahneman and Tversky (1979) proposed the Cognitive Model of Planning Fallacy:

• Inside Planning: focuses on the task rather than the mission, ignores outside factors, and leads to optimism bias
• Outside Planning: considers outside factors and learns from the past
• Optimism Bias: being overly optimistic about time leads to the least success in completing