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

The General Law of Education (1970)

Established free and compulsory education from ages 6-14, and the right to Spanish education at all levels.

The 1978 Constitution

Article 27 guarantees the right to education for everyone, seeking the full development of personality based on democratic principles, fundamental rights, and freedoms. The government must ensure parents' right to choose religious and moral training.

Key Pillars of this Educational Period:

• Realizing and extending the right to education for all Spaniards.
• Improving the quality of the education system.
• Decentralizing educational administration.

The novelty lies in the guaranteed right to education through the new Social Democratic state established in Spain in 1978.

LOEC, Organic Law 5/1980

Article... Continue reading "Evolution of Spain's Education System: Key Legislation & Principles" »

Elton Mayo and the Hawthorne Studies
The Hawthorne studies represent a cornerstone of modern behavioral management theory. At Western Electric's Hawthorne plant, researchers pioneered the study of human behavior in organizations. Initial experiments focused on factors like lighting, fatigue, and noise, and their impact on productivity. These three-year experiments yielded surprising results: the productivity of workers in the experimental group (with altered conditions) was nearly equal to that of workers under normal conditions.
In 1927, a group of six employees were selected for further investigation. They were informed they were participating in an important experiment to improve factory working conditions.

Theory X - Y (Douglas McGregor)

Historical Context of the 17th Century

The 17th century was a period of economic and demographic crisis, marked by the Baroque era and the rise of rationalism.

Economic Situation

Several European countries, including Spain and Portugal, established colonial empires. While initially boosting economic development through trade, wars, plagues, and poor harvests led to a widespread economic crisis that impacted society and culture.

Political Situation

During this century, Europe experienced a continued centralization of political power, leading to the rise of absolute monarchy. Kings concentrated all power, supported by the aristocracy (socially) and the bourgeoisie (economically). This era is known as the Old Regime.

Social Status

The 17th century was... Continue reading "17th Century and Middle Ages: History & Context" »

Proposal Structure

A research proposal seeks resources (human, financial, material) for a specific project. It's a written document outlining activities, specifications, and parameters.

Introduction

This section establishes the relevance, importance, and purpose of the investigation. It includes the working hypothesis and a summary of the methodology, emphasizing the study type, research design, population identification, and sampling method. The final paragraph should summarize the document's structure, outlining chapters and their content.

Theoretical Framework

This section elaborates on the problem's theory, integrating it with research and their interrelations. It analyzes and presents relevant theories, approaches, and background research.

Problem

The Rise of Economic Liberalism

Economic liberalism imposed a new system to regulate the economy. Based on the principle of laissez-faire, laissez-passer ("let do, let pass"), this system promoted freedom of action in all economic sectors.

Basic Principles of Economic Liberalism:

• Work is the only source of wealth.
• Personal interest serves the interest of the community.
• Economic activity is regulated by the law of supply and demand.
• Governments should not intervene in production and exchange. Private enterprise must function freely with maximum individual initiative.
• Free trade is essential.

The application of economic liberalism was favored by venture capitalists.

The Labor Movement

The disappearance of traditional worker protections, coupled with the... Continue reading "The Rise of Economic Liberalism and the Labor Movement" »

State the Topic

Possible new eruption in Iceland: dangerous proximity of volcanoes.

Provide a Summary of the Text

Eyjafjallajokull After the eruption of Iceland raises the possibility that the nearby volcano Katla, potentially more dangerous, enter eruption, as seems to have happened on previous occasions. This fear is motivated by the possible communication of the volcano through a dam, which modifies the conditions of the magma chamber and may result in an explosion causing enormous economic damage. However, some volcanologists call the calm before the uniqueness of this happening.

Determine the Structure of the Text and Type (Analyzing, Synthesizing, etc.)

Being a newspaper article, it has a very strong structure. Different linguistic and paralinguistic... Continue reading "Possible New Eruption in Iceland: Dangerous Proximity of Volcanoes" »

Formal and Empirical Scientific Knowledge

Formal scientific knowledge is that which occurs in science and mathematics. Here, we consider the formal aspects without reference to its content.

Experimental scientific knowledge is that which occurs in the natural sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, etc.

Historical Development of the Concept of Science

Philosophy once took care of all knowledge, and all knowledge was philosophy. To know was to understand the causes. Philosophers thought that by discovering the essence of a thing, they would know its properties and behaviors. As experience says nothing about these essences, these thinkers were limited to natural observation. From the seventeenth century, the concept of science changed. Galileo... Continue reading "Understanding Formal, Empirical, and Applied Sciences" »

Spanish Language Around the World

Spanish as an Official Language

Spanish is spoken on four continents:

• Europe: Spain
• Asia: Philippines and Israel
• Africa: Equatorial Guinea
• America: Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Ecuador, Chile, etc.

Varieties of Spanish

Along with the most common variety (American Spanish), there are other notable varieties:

• The Sephardic or Ladino, which is an archaic form spoken by a decreasing number of people in areas like Israel, Greece, Bulgaria, etc.
• The Spanish of the Philippines is the language of an educated minority, and the dialect used in the area is Chabacano.
• The Spanish of Puerto Rico, which coexists with English.
• The Spanish of Paraguay, which coexists with the dominant Guaraní.

In addition, peculiar situations are occurring... Continue reading "Spanish Language Global Presence and Future" »

A. Behaviorist Theory

The behaviorist theory, proposed by B.F. Skinner in 1957, explains the acquisition of language from the standpoint of operant conditioning.

• Classical conditioning is the association between a stimulus that reinforces certain behavior. Operant conditioning is the same response that serves as reinforcement.
• Skinner and his followers believed that the link between words and their meanings is a bond of association established through simultaneous perceptions and the repetition of certain sounds and objects.
• This reductionist interpretation of language and the process by which it is acquired fails to explain only some secondary and minor aspects. It does not clarify essential features such as the acquisition of grammatical structures