Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Social sciences for University

Unit 1: Principle Theories

1. Realism

The international system is defined by the absence of a central authority (Anarchy).

• States are sovereign and autonomous of each other.
• There is no structure or society to order state relations.
• State power is the key variable of interest. It emphasizes the distribution of coercive material capacity as the determinant of international politics.

Realism Assumptions:

• Survival: The principal goal of every State.
• Rationality: States are rational actors.
• Military Capacity: States should possess military capacity.
• Great Powers: States with economic and military influence are decisive.

2. Institutionalism

It relies on the idea of cooperation between States....

What is the European Council?

The European Council defines the general political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is an institution whose role is to provide political impetus. Consequently, it makes a schedule and sets specific objectives for the Council of the EU, the Commission, and the European Parliament. It represents the highest level of political cooperation between EU countries.

The European Council proposes the candidate for the post of President of the European Commission and chooses the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Evolution of the European Council

The European Council has evolved since its creation to its recognition as an Institution within the European Union.

Creation and

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory

• Individualism vs. Collectivism: Refers to how personal needs and goals are prioritized compared to the needs and goals of the group or organization.
• Masculinity vs. Femininity: Masculine societies tend to have more distinct social gender roles compared to feminine cultures.
• Uncertainty Avoidance: Indicates how comfortable people are with ambiguity and change. Low avoidance means comfort with change; high avoidance means preference for known systems.
• Power Distance: The degree to which people accept and expect unequal power distribution in society and are comfortable with influencing upwards.
• Time Perspective (Long-Term Orientation): Focuses on long-term planning for the future versus short-term perspectives.

Management Philosophy

• Mid-Nineteenth Century

  Management was pyramidal, with the manager as the highest authority, dictating fixed ideas and implementation methods. Employees simply executed activities.

• Late Twentieth Century

  Managers and employees collaboratively set objectives. Employees have autonomy in organization and control, driving results.

Historical Features of Management

Administration predates Christ, originating in court administration. Mid-eighteenth-century methods persisted until 40 years ago. Subsequent industrial-level investigations led to:

• Increased use of machinery
• Centralization of production activities
• New employer-employee relationships
• Separation of customer and producer

The need for evolving goal-setting methods led to the emergence...

The Victorian Age

Social and Historical Context

The Victorian age covers a wide period and was very productive, literarily speaking. We find the so-called professional writing: writers devoted their lives to writing. Literature became a profession. It constituted an outstanding moment for the development of non-fictional works. Poetry was cultivated, but the novel was the preferred genre.

Queen Victoria ruled Britain from 1837 to 1901. She brought important political and economic development to her country. It was the age of Colonialism, and a new philosophy was introduced. We are speaking about expansion and development. Queen Victoria was very young when she became queen. She was born in 1819 and died in 1901. She was in her teens when she became...

Management Characteristics of Public Administrations

From a management perspective, governments exhibit several unique characteristics that differentiate them from private organizations. These characteristics influence operational flexibility and accountability.

Key Management Constraints

Government management is typically structured along three main axes, heavily influenced by specific constraints:

• Policy Dependence: Public administrations offer services mandated by policy, not driven purely by market demand. They may offer market benefits for staff, but their primary function is public service delivery.
• Budget System Rigidity: Public administrations are not fundamentally organizations that produce goods. Because the services they offer are outside

Alternation

The ability to choose between different, and sometimes contradictory, systems of meaning. This often involves semi-conscious processes throughout life, raising questions such as:

• Who am I?
• What do I do in this world?
• What is the meaning of my life?

Social Control

Social control refers to the various methods society uses to regulate its members. Every society employs social control, aiming to:

• Eliminate unwanted behaviors (as defined by the system)
• Set an example for others

Institutionalization

Society is a product of human actions, performed by individuals within that society. Through routines and established practices, real institutions like education are formed. This process shapes the social world, constantly creating new forms and structures....

A recently developed school of thought, known as "human capital," views education strictly as an investment that enables a nation, society, family, or individual to improve their future, their ability to generate profits, and consequently, their welfare.

Spain's Educational Deficit and 19th-Century Reforms

It is clear that Spain entered the contemporary age with a serious deficit of human capital. The education system, in ruins since the 17th century, completely collapsed during the crisis of the early 19th century. Attempts to address this deficiency led to educational initiatives, such as the ultimately ineffective *Economic Societies of Friends of the Country*, private associations created by the upper classes in the 18th century.

In the mid-...

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...

Constructivism in International Relations

Constructivism argues that international relations are socially constructed, shaped by ideas, norms, and interactions between actors like states, institutions, and individuals. Both agents (e.g., states) and structures (e.g., norms, institutions) mutually influence each other.

Key Ideas of Constructivism

1. Social Construction: What we consider natural or habitual is a result of socialization. Ideas and norms shape state behavior and international relations.

2. Agents and Structures: The international system comprises agents and structures, which are mutually constitutive. Agents create structures, and structures shape agents. Identities and preferences are socially constructed, not fixed.

3. Anarchy is What States