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

The Crisis of Reading Habits in Higher Education

Currently, university professors share the opinion that students do not read. They lack the habit and fail to see the necessity of reading, nor do they actively seek solutions to this significant problem. Some universities have launched introductory courses because they argue that students arrive at the faculty poorly prepared.

Literacy and the Digital Shift

Handwriting has historically been key to the development of civilization, making possible discoveries like new drugs or understanding our historical past.

New technologies, namely the Internet, have changed how we consume information. Nowadays, young people read and seek information digitally. Reading helps develop various skills, such as:

• Interpreting

Strategies for Community Social Work

Projects between groups of immigrants often face challenges due to inadequate management of the host country's official language.

Promoting Social Inclusion Through Multidisciplinary Teams

Work in multidisciplinary teams to promote social inclusion. Setting concrete and achievable goals in key areas for greater social cohesion (education, work, health, leisure, sport, culture) requires collaboration from professionals in fields like social work, labor market training, and socio-cultural development.

Establishing Meeting Spaces for Debate and Discussion

Establish spaces for meetings, both virtual and physical, that allow for debate and discussion among participants. Schedule review meetings, monitoring, and evaluation... Continue reading "Community Social Work: Strategies for Immigrant Integration" »

Empiricism

English empiricism developed a strong polemic against rationalism, focusing on the existence of ideas and the discovery of truth through experience. While critiquing metaphysics, it's important not to see empiricism as simply contrary to reason. Instead, English empiricism aimed to determine the capabilities, limitations, and scope of reason itself, a program that culminated in Kant's critical philosophy.

The fundamental basis of empiricism is that experience plays a crucial role in the origin and confirmation of knowledge. Empiricists criticized metaphysics as speculative and detached from real-world problems, focusing instead on clarifying the human world through critical analysis of reason. This approach replaced rationalist apriorism... Continue reading "Understanding Empiricism and the Enlightenment: Key Concepts" »

United States: Key Facts & Cultural Insights

The head of state and of the government is the President of the United States. The capital is Washington D.C. The USA occupies all the territory of North America, between Mexico and Canada, as well as the peninsula of Alaska and the island of Hawaii. This makes a total of 9.5 million km² and a population of some 300 million inhabitants.

Geographical Framework of the USA

The geographical characteristics of the USA are diverse due to its vast size. Three zones must be distinguished:

• The continental zone, where different geophysical regions are observed.
• Alaska, formed by a mountainous region.
• The Hawaiian Islands, which are of volcanic formation.

The most important river is the Mississippi.

Historical

Key Marxist Concepts

• Consciousness: The realm of ideas, symbols, values, and norms of interpretation through which individuals understand themselves. According to Marx, consciousness is shaped by the social reality of each historical moment.
• Material Conditions of Existence: The conditions necessary to ensure the continuity of human life on the planet, according to Marx.
• Bourgeois Economics: The capitalist mode of production.
• Political Economy: The study of the laws governing the free market and the distribution of national product among labor, capital, and land.
• Engels: A self-taught German philosopher, politician, and revolutionary. A close collaborator with Marx, assisting in the development of some of his key works.
• Economic Structure: The foundation

Reforms of the First Spanish Republic

The four heads of government who served in a short period (Estanislao Figueras, Pi y Margall, Nicolás Salmerón, and Emilio Castelar) had to cope with the division within republicanism and the most intransigent factions who demanded social change.

In the May 1873 elections, the Republicans triumphed; however, the abstention rate was high, and only the Radical Party was present. Key measures implemented by the Republicans in 1873 included:

• Suppression and elimination of the consumption tax.
• Abolition of the "fifths" (conscription).
• Reduction of the voting age to 21.
• Separation of church and state: official religion and the state budget for the clergy disappeared.
• A ban on children under 10 working in mines and

Organizational Structure

An organization is a group of individuals working together under a set of rules and standards of behavior to achieve specific objectives.

Importance of Organization

A well-defined organizational structure is crucial for any company's success. It provides a framework for efficient operations, facilitates goal achievement, and minimizes effort duplication. A robust structure aligns with the company's objectives, plans, authority, and operating environment.

Types of Organizations

There are two primary types of organizational structures:

• Informal Organization: This type emerges spontaneously from the relationships and interactions among individuals holding formal positions within an organization.
• Formal Organization: This structure

Social Values and Women's Life Conciliation

This research analyzes the extent to which social values influence or direct the ways in which women resolve the moral dilemma that enables them to balance family life, work life, and personal life. The definition of conciliation we use is broader than that which is frequently used, which often reduces the problem to solely the work-family dilemma. Our idea of conciliation is not limited to only these two areas of human activity.

We understand conciliation as the vital ways in which people manage to live, work, and raise a family, but also to enjoy life, pursue hobbies, study, eat, and more.

Understanding Culture: Elements and Change

What is Culture?

Sociologists define culture as patterns of life forms:... Continue reading "Societal Dynamics: Culture, Values, and Life Balance" »

Fundamentals of Management

The core functions of management include:

1. Planning
2. Organizing
3. Coordinating
4. Directing (Running)
5. Controlling

Efficiency vs. Effectiveness

Efficiency: Achieving results with the wise use of resources (doing things right).

Effectiveness: Achieving defined objectives, regardless of the rational use of resources (doing the right things).

Henri Fayol's 14 Principles of Administration

1. Division of Work: Work must be shared and specialized.
2. Authority and Responsibility: Authority is the power to be obeyed and delegated. Responsible risk-taking is the exercise which implies authority.
3. Discipline: Respect for the rules or standards. This requires both rigidity and flexibility.
4. Unity of Command: Each employee should receive orders from only

The Industrial Revolution: Origins and Transformation

The Industrial Revolution refers to the set of profound changes that occurred in the elaboration and production of goods, beginning in England during the 18th century.

Key Causes and Consequences

• The Parliamentary Monarchy: A system where the nobility and the king shared power, limiting the privileges of the unprivileged classes.
• Population Growth: Decreased wars and pests, coupled with advances in health, led to an increase in consumers and a larger labor force.
• Agricultural Improvements: Introduction of machinery, the neglect of the barbecho (fallow system), and the implementation of enclosures (land privatization).
• Technological Advancements: Significant growth in cotton textiles and coal mining.