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

The French Revolution: Causes and Initial Events (1789)

In 1789, France faced a severe social and economic crisis. Key factors included:

• Rising crop prices, which led to widespread hardship.
• The bourgeoisie (the wealthy middle class) was politically marginalized, as privileges were reserved only for the aristocracy.
• A profound financial crisis caused by excessive state spending and the costs of the royal court.

The proposed solution was a tax reform requiring the aristocracy to pay taxes. The French Revolution began when the aristocracy refused this measure and demanded the convening of the **Estates-General**.

The Estates-General and the National Assembly

The Estates-General opened in May 1789 to allow members to vote on reforms. The representatives... Continue reading "The French Revolution and the Birth of Modern Political Ideologies" »

What is a Text?

A text is a complete unit of oral or written communication, produced by a sender in specific circumstances.

Key Features of a Text

Every text possesses distinct characteristics that define its nature:

• It functions as a total unit of communication, always serving a specific communicative intention.
• It represents a communicative act (e.g., informing, persuading, narrating) where the sender expresses a clear purpose.
• It is deeply embedded in a specific situation or context; removed from this context, it may lose its intended meaning.
• It possesses an inherent structure that interrelates its elements, providing both coherence and unity.

Essential Textual Properties

For any communication to be considered a true "text," it must fulfill certain... Continue reading "Understanding Coherence, Appropriateness, and Cohesion in Text" »

Characteristics of Administration

• Universality

  Administration is present wherever there is a specific social organism. It possesses unmistakable characteristics and is often accompanied by insights from other sciences.

• Continuity

  Throughout the life of a company, most administrative elements exist in varying degrees, demonstrating their ongoing presence and importance.

• Hierarchical Unity

  Administration respects established authority levels within an organization, ensuring a clear chain of command.

• Instrumental Value

  Administration serves as an instrument to achieve specific organizational ends, rather than being an end in itself.

• Flexibility

  Its purpose is practical; administration adapts to the particular needs and unique circumstances of each organization.

Core Economic Definitions

An organization is a group of people organized and coordinated to work on a common goal.

A company is an economic unit that processes raw materials to develop products, meeting consumer needs and earning money by selling its products or services.

Economics is the social science that manages resources for all types of work, developing and converting them into goods and services to meet the economic needs of people.

A human need (or necessity) is the feeling of lacking something, a certain discomfort that generates the urge to fulfill what we need.

Business Fundamentals

Elements Involved in Business:

• Factors of Production: Nature, Labor, Capital, Entrepreneurship.

Actors Involved in Business:

• Households
• Companies
• The State

Types

The Outstanding Features of the Bolognese Method

Faithfulness to Justinian Texts

A common idea among commentators was that Justinian texts held an almost sacred origin. Legal work involved careful and humble interpretation by lawyers, aimed at clarifying the meaning of the words and making sense of them.

Analytical and Not Systematic Approach

Lawyers conducted independent analyses of each legal text through "readings" (such as interlinear or marginal glosses or more complete reviews).

The Gloss

The "gloss" (a brief explanation of a Corpus Juris Civilis paragraph) was the basic model of this school. It cultivated diverse literary types: interpretive glosses, briefs summarizing a title, formulations of doctrinal rules, discussions of controversial... Continue reading "Method Bolognese: Key Features and Influence" »

Monarchies and Republics

States can be classified based on the person occupying the position of Head of State:

• Monarchies: The Head of State is a king or queen who accessed the position by heredity or by right of succession.
• Republics: The Head of State is a president who took office by a vote of citizens (i.e., through elections held at regular intervals).

Parliamentary and Presidential Systems

States are classified based on their form of government and the relationship between executive and legislative powers:

Parliamentary Systems

Parliamentary states can be either monarchies or republics. In these systems, the executive power is divided between two institutions:

• Head of State: Can be a king/queen or a president. In both cases, this role typically

The Stabilization Plan and Economic Reorientation

Following integration into international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Spain faced the need for economic reorientation. A Decree-Law enacted a new economic order known as the Stabilization Plan. This plan had two primary objectives: balanced economic development and the integration of the Spanish economy into the Western world. It emphasized demand management, price stabilization, and the liberalization of foreign trade and foreign capital imports.

The Stabilization Plan set the stage for the growth of the Spanish economy in the 1960s. Its effects were positive, including reduced domestic demand and inflation, price stability, and restructuring of the external sector.... Continue reading "Spain's Economic and Social Transformation in the 1960s" »

Constitution of 1869 (Text 6)

1. Commentary

Text 6. 1869 Constitution

The text is a primary source regarding legal and political issues. Its authors were the people in the Constitutional Commission, composed of deputies elected by universal suffrage (male) in early 1869. It was addressed to all Spaniards. The 1869 Constitution put into effect the political system that emerged after the Glorious Revolution and ended the monarchy of Isabel II. It also inaugurated a new historical period (Sexenio Democratic).

Features

• Politics: Following the Revolution of 1868, revolutionary committees established a provisional government. After the regency of General Serrano, and with Prim as a key figure, Amadeo I of Savoy was appointed King of Spain. This established

Understanding State, Power, and Authority

State: A group of people within a unified territory, sharing a single market, and organized under a legal framework to ensure social peace and order under a single government.

Power: The ability to impose one's will on others.

Authority: Leadership held by an individual with power.

The Leviathan and the Social Contract

The social contract serves as the foundation of political legitimacy, validating a social order where some rule and others obey. Equal and free individuals, acting rationally, enter into a contract, establishing a government as humanity transitions into society.

Rousseau's Perspective

Rousseau believed that the state of war exists within civil society, leading to inequality, domination, and... Continue reading "Understanding State, Power, and Authority: Key Concepts" »

Item 1: Legal Framework Evolution

Since 1978, the European Community (EC) initiated a dynamic transformation of the legal framework for Social Services (SS) in Spain. The Statute of Autonomy granted significant references to SS across all Autonomous Communities (CCAA). The 1985 Law on the Basis of Local Government (for populations over 20,000) further solidified this framework. Regional Acts addressing specific needs were also approved, alongside sector-specific laws such as the Penitentiary Law, Asylum and Refugee Law, Work-Family Reconciliation Law, Rights and Freedoms of Foreigners Law, Gender Violence Law, and regional Social Wage or Minimum Insertion Income Laws. This extensive legal framework has led to intense policy development at both... Continue reading "Social Services Evolution in Spain Since 1978" »