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

Defining Prejudice and Discrimination

Key Forms of Bigotry

• Religious Bigotry: Using religion to discriminate against others.
• Anti-Semitism: Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred directed towards Jewish people.
• Xenophobia: The fear or dislike of someone because they are from another country.
• Discrimination: Making a difference in treatment based on factors other than individual character. This can occur even without personal prejudice.

Theories Behind Prejudice and Social Division

• Situational Pressure: People's actions under pressure do not always match their chosen public personas or beliefs.
• Group Gains: When one group intentionally keeps another group separate and oppressed to maintain its own elevated status.
• Institutional Structure: When prejudice

Style: typical way of writing used by one particular person. It can refer to choice of words, tone, grammar, and narrative techniques.

Tone: general feeling or attitude toward the subject expressed in a piece of writing. It rather refers to the emotional or sensual content of a text. It creates a certain mood.

Register: choice of words, style, and grammar used by writers in a particular social context. It often reflects social status of the people. There are rules about what register is appropriate in particular situations.

Style

• formal - formal expressions, foreign words, specialist terms, objectivity, detachment, politeness, complete and complex sentences
• informal - informal and colloquial expressions, phrasal verbs, simple sentences, subjectivity,

21st Century Migration: A Perilous Journey

Today, society is increasingly aware of the profound challenges of immigration. While migration has always existed, the movement between countries is intensifying due to the desperate conditions many people are living in.

Why People Migrate: Seeking Safety and Opportunity

Fundamentally, people migrate because their home countries are unsafe, marked by poor conditions and prevalent illnesses. This journey, however, is incredibly dangerous.

Perilous Journeys: Sea Crossings and Documentation Challenges

First, groups often attempt to board precarious dinghies, then they must survive the perilous sea crossing. In addition, upon arrival, they frequently lack proper documentation, risking apprehension by authorities... Continue reading "Global Migration and Mallorca's Housing Crisis: Urgent Humanitarian Concerns" »

Fashion's Influence on Social Interactions

Fashion plays a significant role in social interactions and status. People often make judgments based on clothing choices, making fashion a central aspect of social gatherings and groups. This is particularly true among youth, where appropriate attire can heavily influence social dynamics and even school attendance. Certain establishments, like workplaces, may enforce dress codes, limiting clothing choices.

Fashion as a Symbol of Profession and Hygiene

Institutions such as hospitals prioritize hygiene and cleanliness, necessitating specific attire for medical professionals. Protective gear, like sanitized scrub suits and gloves, is crucial during surgeries. Similarly, lawyers are often required to wear... Continue reading "The Importance of Fashion in Society" »

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet

Nowadays, the ease of accessing information and content on various topics and in various formats seems like a great opportunity, but it can also be counterproductive. Therefore, it is important to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the internet to understand how we can take better advantage of it.

Advantages of the Internet

The internet offers access to a wide variety of content on numerous themes through the web. From news information to highly specialized topics—scientific, humorous, cultural, entertainment, educational, and playful content. The internet has also created new jobs thanks to its creation and evolution.

Disadvantages of the Internet

One of the disadvantages of the internet that... Continue reading "Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet, Social Media, and Technology" »

Comment

In order to comment about sweatshops lets first state the Cambridge definition: a place where people work for long hours and very low pay in an unhealthy situation. Sweatshops or sweat factories, as we have defined them started basically with the industrial revolution in the 19^th century, mainly in GB. Back then of course there were almost no rights for workers and therefore, many companies exploited them in order to produce more and cheaper goods.

As part of the evolution of human and labour rights, in the last two centuries, legislation has been passed to eliminate sweatshops, although obviously, depending on the degree of social development of each country, this goal has been achieved in a higher or lower degree.

It is a fact that in... Continue reading "The Persistence of Sweatshops: A Global Issue" »

Spanish Education Reform (1840-1860)

The 1845 Constitution and Educational Priorities

The 1845 Constitution, a moderate document reflecting the joint sovereignty of the Nation, King, and Parliament, addressed education. However, providing basic knowledge to the population wasn't a priority for Spanish authorities. Census voting, restricted by gender and social class, further limited popular participation. The primary aim of education was to prepare citizens for governance, not for universal enlightenment.

Two Landmark Laws: The Pidal Plan (1845) and Moyano Law (1857)

Two crucial laws shaped education during this period: the 1845 General Plan of Studies (the "Pidal Plan") and the 1857 Law of Public Instruction (the "Moyano Law").

The Pidal Plan

Face-Threatening Acts vs. Face-Saving Acts in English and Spanish

As reported by Yule, in the study of linguistic politeness, the more relevant concept is “face,” described as “the emotional and social sense of self that everyone has and expects everyone else to recognize” (2017: 148). In other words, one’s public self-image. One of the most withstanding differences between English and Spanish politeness is the usage of face-threatening and face-saving acts.

What are Face-Threatening Acts?

Face-threatening acts could be considered statements that represent a threat to another person’s self-image, quite used in direct commands and notably common in Spanish. These direct commands imply a sense of social power and are seen as face-threatening... Continue reading "Face-Threatening Acts vs. Face-Saving Acts: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of English and Spanish Politeness" »

Globalisation is the emerge of a globalized economy based on new systems of production, finance and consumption. There are 4 approaches of globalisation. Fist of all, we have The world-systems approach which is based on the distinction between core, semi peripheral and peripheral countries in terms of their changing roles in the international division. Core countries develop high skills, while the periphery focuses on low-skill and intensive production. This situation favours the dominance of the core over the periphery.It is sometimes considered to be too economistic and not focus enough on the cultural issues. (EX: Nike`s factory in Cambodia). The second approach is the globalization of culture, which focuses more on ideas of an emerging... Continue reading "Globalization, Neoliberalism, and the Future of Work: From Industrial to Post-Industrial Society" »