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

Item 1

• Sociology is the systematic study of human societies, paying special attention to modern industrial systems.
• The practice of sociology involves the ability to think imaginatively and to distance oneself from preconceived ideas about social relations.
• Sociology has important practical consequences. It can contribute to the critical and practical reform of society. A better understanding of social circumstances often provides more possibilities for control and enhances cultural sensitivity.
• Sociology is an attempt to understand the momentous changes in human societies in recent centuries. These changes were not only large-scale but also affected intimate and personal aspects of life.
• The classical founders of sociology are:
  • Auguste Comte: French

Understanding Competences and Skills

Defining Competences

What are competences or skills?

• They are what make people competent: the prerequisites for effective action.
• They should take into account all general and specific knowledge, skills, and motivations needed for effective action.

Action Categories for Graduates

According to Allen, Ramaekers, and van der Velden (2005), higher education graduates may find themselves in nine primary action categories:

• Directing productive tasks
• Directing the work of others
• Planning
• Coordination
• Control
• Innovation
• Information management
• Maintaining relations with personnel
• Maintaining relations with clients

Types of Competences: General and Specific

General Competences Explained

General competences can be applied across a range... Continue reading "Defining Competences: Skills for Career Success" »

Lexical Meaning

Lexical meaning refers to the concepts and ideas by which a linguistic sign refers to real or imagined entities (e.g., home, fish).

Grammatical Meaning

Grammatical meaning refers to the more general, abstract content that indicates grammatical relations between linguistic units (e.g., of, my).

Types of Lexical Meaning

• Monosemy: A word with only one meaning.
• Polysemy: A word with multiple related meanings.
• Homonymy: Two different words with identical form but distinct meanings.
• Denotation: The basic, primary meaning, constituted by the set of features that characterize the semantic class of entities designated by the word.
• Connotation: An added, secondary meaning associated with the use of a word.
• Semantic Fields: A set of words that share

Network Support: Internal and External Support Services

Internal Support Services Center: Teacher Support

• Set up internal support by school professionals (teacher support for integration, support teacher training in schools in areas of remedial education)
• Duties of teacher support (Jordan, 1994): restorative and preventive model (see table in the book, pp. 231)
• Changing roles of teacher support:

• From individual deficit approach to global learning approaches.
• From therapeutic positions to curriculum positions.
• From preventive model to restorative model.

• Support Teacher: assists teachers in the curriculum adaptation process and cooperates with all teaching staff to develop strategies, materials, etc. to facilitate the inclusion of all students in the

The UK: Why Great Britain is such a multiracial and multicultural country dates far back to the time when countries like India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, etc. were part of the British Commonwealth. This gave the people of these countries the right to settle in Great Britain if they wanted. However, these British 'foreigners' were not looked upon as totally British with British rights. They were even limited in the beginning to their own sectors and were given the worst jobs while the best posts were kept for the British themselves.

Today, it is obvious that legitimate immigration is what has made Britain successful economically, and this has been solidified by the intermixture of races and intermarriage. That is why incomers are welcomed, mainly... Continue reading "Understanding Multiculturalism in Great Britain" »

The economic consequences of the World War II and reconstruction - Marshall Plan

1)Consequences:

-Destruction Of lives, physical assets and infrastructures.

-Low Territorial modifications, modest war reparations and debt.

-Technological Developments.

-Increased Social cohesion

-Extension Of democracy and socialism system.

-Economic Growth. Especially U.S.

2)Economic recovery (1945- 1950)

-Quick Recovery.

-“Hinge” stage or transition.

-Mixed Economy.

-Keynes Ideas – liberal capitalism.

-Keys to recovery: state intervention (help the People with bad life) and social contract (everyone agree with improving the World).

-USA Help because it is the only enough powerful to help.

3)MARSHALL

-2 Years after the end of the war, Europe was totally destroyed and

Romanticism

Romanticism was a cultural and political movement that took place in both Germany and England. The great majority of critics and historians agree that the Romantic period began in 1798, when Wordsworth and Coleridge published Lyrical Ballads. This period would last until 1837, with the beginning of the Victorian Era. Romanticism arose as a reaction against the rationality of the Enlightenment and neoclassical precepts. Thus, this movement can be understood as a break with reason.

Romanticism in the Arts

Romanticism reached preponderance in all artistic facets. Although the name "romantic" has been given to people of those times, the word is anachronistic; in other words, these people did not consider themselves as Romantics. This term... Continue reading "Romanticism in Literature: Key Features and Influence" »

1. Historical Context

The period from 1874 to 1950 witnessed significant events in Spain's history. The Bourbon Restoration under Alfonso XII (1874-1923) was marked by the Disaster of '98, leading to the loss of overseas colonies. This era saw the rise of Primo de Rivera's dictatorship and the alternation of power between the Conservative and Liberal parties. The Second Republic was proclaimed in 1931, followed by General Franco's military uprising in 1936, which ignited the Spanish Civil War.

Spain's socioeconomic and political conditions during this time reflected a backward society within Europe, heavily reliant on agriculture. A growing polarization emerged between the landowning class and the rural working class. Ortega y Gasset warned... Continue reading "Spain: Sociopolitical & Cultural Shifts (1874-1950)" »

Paternalism in Francoist Spain

Paternalism in Francoist society, from a regenerationist perspective, aimed to improve the social situation of the Spanish people. To this end, a system of measures was designed as the start of social security and, in some areas, a scheme called Social Justice. This is evident in the measures proposed in the attempt to create the Social Security Act, which considered the concerns of the Spanish people as individuals, preceding earlier measures. Additionally, the Laws of the Jurisdiction of Work demonstrated that the regime granted greater liberalism to the Spanish people, offering them more favorable treatment in their relationships with entrepreneurs and in common freedoms.

The Stage of Stabilization and Economic

Arnold's Concept of Disinterestedness

Matthew Arnold used the word disinterestedness with positive connotations. For Arnold, being 'interested' meant being socially or politically motivated, potentially creating an ideology. Literature was often criticized, he felt, because the 'interested' critic evaluated a work based not on its artistic values but on its political, social, and economic features.

The disinterested critic, in contrast, is not influenced by the practical affairs of everyday life; the critic is immune to external pressures. For Arnold, disinterestedness equates to objectivity. This type of criticism characterized the New Critics of the first half of the 20th century in Europe and the USA.

Arnold criticized publications like the... Continue reading "Matthew Arnold's Critical Concepts: Disinterestedness and Touchstones" »