...Sociologist and political groups all have different views of social policies, some believe that they are a good way of achieving something and others see them as bad because they may only support one view point and not others. To start of here is the definition of a social policy; it is an action, plan or programme that the government puts in place that aims to deal with a problem or achieve a goal. These social policies are mainly based on laws, which provide the framework for agencies to follow. The first social policy that will affect the family is marriage. There are different laws in place to discourage certain behaviour inside marriages, a few examples of these would be; marriages must be monogamous where only one person can be married to one person at one time, in the UK it is illegal to marry or have children with your brother/sister but is legal to marry and have children with your first cousin, etc. Laws like these would have an effect on a family as having an affair on your partner is illegal and therefore if this happens then the marriage may breakdown and may end up in a divorce. Divorce is another social policy that will have an effect on the family. Divorce was granted legal in 1857 but it was very hard to get one up until the late 1960’s which made divorce become more popular as it was easier to declare. However, a divorce can only be granted if one of the following applies; Adultery – when one partner has a sexual relationship with another whilst in a marriage...
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...domestic division of labour in many different ways. Parsons describes the division of labour in the traditional nuclear family in terms of an expressive role and an instrumental role. However, this traditional arrangement may have changed as families have changed, and many feminists use the term ‘dual burden’ to describe the woman’s role in the family today. Item 2B Government policies and laws include tax and benefit policies as well as legislation such as relating to divorce and marriage. Sociologists have different views on the impact of these policies and laws on families. For example, feminists argue that social policies assume that the ideal family is a patriarchal nuclear family, and that government policies and laws therefore favour this sort of family. On the other hand, the New Right argue that the benefit system undermines traditional nuclear families by actively encouraging lone parents. 0 6 Explain what is meant by the ‘dual burden’ (Item 2A). (2 marks) 0 7 Explain the difference between the expressive role and the instrumental role (Item 2A). (4 marks) 0 8 Suggest three ways in which the differences between children and adults are becoming less clear in society today. (6 marks) 0 9 Examine the reasons for, and the effects of, changes in family size over the past 100 years or so. (24 marks) 1 0 Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess sociological views of the impact of government policies and laws on family life. Item 2A Over the past 40 years or...
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...Examine the ways in which social policies and laws may influence families and households. Some sociologists have suggested that social policy has caused families to become more diverse while others disagree. Social policies are the laws and practices put in place by the government that effect social issues, in this case the family. For example, in the 1930’s the Nazi government in Germany wanted to encourage Aryan families and put in place policies that involved sterilising certain groups to prevent them from having children. More recently in China they have a one child policy, if individuals have more than one child the government have put in place a series of penalties try and control their population. In the UK sociologists are interested in if social policy has caused families to become more diverse or different. One way in which families have become more diverse is an increase in same sex families. This is lesbian and gay couples living with children. Social policies that can be linked to this type of family diversity are laws to do with homosexuality in the UK. For example, in 1967 male homosexuality was legalised in the UK this has made homosexuality more socially accepted; this would allow gay couples to start a recognised family. However, other social policies have made same sex families even more accepted. For example, in 2002 the UK adoption laws were changed to allow gay couples to adopt children and create a family unit. Furthermore, in 2004 the Civil...
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...Examine the ways in which the government policies and laws may affect the nature and extent of family diversity. Government policies and laws are put in place to uphold moral values of society and force people to take responsibility over themselves and who else they may be responsible for e.g. children. Although the government see its policies as being able to produce the ‘ideal’ nuclear family where the man works and the woman looks after the children, the policies today fail to take into account the changes in society and the different types of families that are becoming more common in society. The government’s policies affect different family types in different ways e.g. the government policies and laws benefit married couples in more ways that cohabiting couples and single parent families as they make divorce harder as well as being benefiting married couple financially as they can claim more tax allowances. This policy only benefits married couples as the government sees the nuclear family as the ideal family and therefore benefits this certain family type through its laws and policies. Functionalists see society built on harmony and consensus and free from major conflicts. They see the state as acting in the interests of society as a whole and its social policies as being for the good of all. Functionalists see policies as helping families to perform functions more effectively to make life better for their members. Ronald Fletcher believes the introduction of health...
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...AQA Unit 1 Families & Households specimen | (a) Explain what is meant by .primary socialisation. (Item 2A, line 7). (2 marks)(b) Suggest two ways in which childhood has become .a specially protected and privileged time of life. (Item 2A, lines 4 . 5). (4 marks) (c) Suggest three reasons for the increase in the divorce rate since 1969. (6 marks) | (d) Examine the ways in which social policies and laws may influence families and households. (24 marks) | (e) Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that it no longer makes sense to talk about the .patriarchal family. (Item 2B, lines 1 . 2). (24 marks) | Jan 09 | (a) Explain what is meant by the ‘expressive role’ (Item 2A, line 5). (2 marks)(b) Suggest two ways in which ‘family life may have a harmful effect on women’(Item 2A, lines 6 – 7). (4 marks)(c) Suggest three reasons for the decrease in the death rate since 1900. (6 marks) | (d) Examine the ways in which childhood can be said to be socially constructed. (24 marks) | (e) Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that the nuclear family is no longer the norm. (24 marks) | Jun 09 | 0 6 Explain the difference between a family and a household (Item 2A). (4 marks)0 7 Suggest two reasons why lone-parent families are more likely to be headed by a female. (4 marks)0 8 Suggest two reasons why there has been an increase in one-person households(Item 2A, line 3). (4 marks) | 0 9 Examine the reasons for changes in birth rates and family size since...
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...Examine the ways in which laws and social policies affect family life Some sociologists suggest that laws and social policies create a more diverse family, while others disagree. Social policies are the actions, plans and programmes which the government have brought in to aim to deal with a problem or to achieve a goal, for example raising levels of education. These social policies are usually based on laws, which provide the framework for agencies to operate. The functionalists see society as built on harmony and shared values, and free from major conflicts. They see the state as acting in the interest of society as a whole and its social policies as being for the good of all. Functionalists see policies as helping families to perform their functions more effectively and make life better for them. They argue that health, education and housing policies have led to the development of the welfare state which supports the family effectively. For example with the National Health Service, the family is able to take care of its members when they are sick. This especially benefits the working class as they would, otherwise, not be able to afford healthcare, therefore getting themselves in a lot of debt or even dying. Also the functionalists are in favour of minimum wage as it means that there is a smaller chance of exploitation, especially to the working class. No employer is allowed to pay anyone under minimum wage. Minimum wage can be claimed to increase the living standards of the...
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...Examine the ways in which the government policies and laws may affect the nature and extent of family diversity. Government policies and laws are put in place to uphold moral values of society and force people to take responsibility over themselves and who else they may be responsible for e.g. children. Although the government see its policies as being able to produce the ‘ideal’ nuclear family where the man works and the woman looks after the children, the policies today fail to take into account the changes in society and the different types of families that are becoming more common in society. The government’s policies affect different family types in different ways e.g. the government policies and laws benefit married couples in more ways that cohabiting couples and single parent families as they make divorce harder as well as being benefiting married couple financially as they can claim more tax allowances. This policy only benefits married couples as the government sees the nuclear family as the ideal family and therefore benefits this certain family type through its laws and policies. Functionalists see society built on harmony and consensus and free from major conflicts. They see the state as acting in the interests of society as a whole and its social policies as being for the good of all. Functionalists see policies as helping families to perform functions more effectively to make life better for their members. Ronald Fletcher believes the introduction of health...
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...Government policies and laws include tax, benefits, divorce and marriage. * Feminist- social policies assume the ideal family is a patriarchal nuclear family, so social policies favour this type of family. * New right- argue benefit systems undermine traditional nuclear families by actively encouraging lone parents. Item 2B: * Government policies and laws include tax, benefits, divorce and marriage. * Feminist- social policies assume the ideal family is a patriarchal nuclear family, so social policies favour this type of family. * New right- argue benefit systems undermine traditional nuclear families by actively encouraging lone parents. Examine the ways in which laws and social policies affect family life (24marks) Laws and social policies can affect the family in a number of ways, it can differ from being beneficial to the families to having negative effects. Some examples of policies are china’s one child policy, the legalisation of abortion in 1967 and the divorce reform act in 1969. China’s one child policy was introduced in 1979, the policy was design to limit the number of children parents can have, this allowed most couples to only legally have one child, if couples had more than one child they would have to pay a fine and would not get all the benefits such as free child and health care that families who only had one child would. Women were strongly encouraged and pressured to be sterilised after having their first child. This policy was introduced...
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...Examine the ways in which social policies affect family life A social policy is a law implemented by the government to benefit society. Most social policies will affect families in some way or another. There are 2 types of policies, direct and indirect. A direct policy has a direct and immediate affect on the family, and an indirect policy is other policies not directly aimed at families but may still have an affect on them. Social policies have attempted to promote the nuclear family, such as those introduced by New Labour and the Conservative government, although New Labour are more accepting of family diversity. The New Rights ideology has influenced government policies. They argue that policies have weakened the nuclear family leading to family diversity and more problems for family members. The New Right have the view that social policies should avoid doing anything that might undermine the 'natural' and self reliant nuclear family and will often criticise many government policies for undermining the family by providing over generous welfare benefits e.g. council housing for teenage mothers. The New Right argues that social policies like the legalization of abortion and the availability of the contraceptive pill is the beginning of family decline. They also state that equal opportunities and equal pay lows distract women from their 'natural' career as a mother. The New Right feel that policies like this is causing a decline in the traditional nuclear family, resulting...
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...Examine the way in which laws and social policies affect family life From the 19th Century onwards the government have introduced different social policies in attempt to shape family life in Britain, to make it better for all family members, rather than only focusing on the traditional patriarchal Nuclear family. In 1963 the equal Pay Act was introduced, meaning that pay based on sex was abolished and men and women became more equal. This social policy created a higher standard of living as both partners would become wage earners, meaning the family was financially better off and could afford to meet all of the family’s basic needs and requirements. Women became more powerful and gained more authority due to this social policy, and therefore males were less dominant causing them to help out more within the home, which created more gender equality. A functionalist would agree with this social policy as they believe that it helps the family run more efficiently and makes family life better for all; however it does not follow Talcott Parsons (1955) as he argued that women should remain at home due to their biological differences, as they’re naturally suited to the housewife role. Feminists are also in favour, as they believe that men and women should be equals and receive the same rights as men. Especially radical feminists, who believe that women entering paid work is a great way for women to escape men, by women becoming wage earners they are no longer financially dependent...
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...Families and Households past Questions Short Questions Explain what is meant by primary socialisation ( 2 marks) Explain what is meant by the expressive role( 2 Marks) Explain what is meant by serial monogamy(2 Marks) Explain what is meant by net migration(2 marks) Suggest two ways in which family life could have a harmful effect upon women(4 Marks) Explain the difference between a family and a household(4 Marks) Suggest two reasons why lone parent families are likely to be head by a female(4 Marks) Suggest two reasons why there has been an increase in one person households(4 Marks) Explain the difference between the birth rate and the fertility rate(4 marks) Suggest two reasons why women might delay having children(4 Marks) Suggest two ways in which the position of children could be said to have improved over the last 100 years(4 Marks) Suggest two reasons why there has been an increase in cohabitation(4 Marks) Suggest two reasons why someone might migrate to the united kingdom apart from employment.(4 Marks) Explain what is meant by the social construction of childhood(2 marks) Suggest two ways in which government policies may shape the experiences of childhood today(4 Marks) Suggest three reasons for the decrease in the death rate since 1900(6 Marks) Identify three ways in which childhood may not be a positive experience for some children(6 Marks) Identify three ways in which greater ethnic diversity has contributed to...
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...Examine the ways in which laws and social policies affect family life. (24 marks, 14 AO1, 10 AO2) A social policy is a law implemented by the government to benefit society. These social policies have attempted to promote the nuclear family, such as those introduced by New Labour (although they are more accepting of family diversity than conservatives) and the Conservative government. The Child Support Act supports the conventional family by making the father provide for his children, even when he is absent - thus reinforcing the natural role of the breadwinner. Changes to taxes in 1988 also tried to reinforce the conventional families by not allowing cohabiting couples to claim more tax than married couples, and prevented them from claiming mortgage relief as two people, meaning married people are better off with their taxes. Maternity and paternity leave also reinforce the conventional nuclear family type, as maternity leave is far longer than paternity leave; this assumes that the mother is the primary caretaker of the child (this is not the case in Sweden, where both parents are treated as equal caretakers and income earners). Both New Right and New Labour are in favour of the nuclear family because they view it as the best way for a child to be adequately socialised. The New Right view the division of labour as natural and based on biology; when these roles are fulfilled the family will become self-reliant and not have to rely on the state for support. New Labour also...
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...Specification) Past Exam Questions Although June 2016 will be a new specification and exam structure much of the material you have learnt in families and households applies to the new exam. Below are examples of questions taken from the old exam papers that you should practice writing plans for as they are still relevant. However there are a few key differences: * The question you will answer will be worth 20 marks not 24 marks. * You will have 30 minutes to write a 20 mark answer. * The essays will consist 4 paragraphs and a conclusion containing new information. How to use this document: * Use the extract from the mark scheme and examiners’ advice to create essay plans of the questions. * You may not have heard of all of the concepts in the mark scheme but there should be at least some that are familiar to you. * The examiner’s advice usually outlines bad, moderate and good answers to the question so pick out the ways in which you can achieve top band and incorporate this into your plan. June 2015 Examine the impact of government policies and laws on family life. [24 marks] From the mark scheme: Concepts and issues such as the following may appear: patriarchy; familism; surveillance; ideological control; gender regimes; marital breakdown; family structure; family diversity; welfare dependency; underclass; reserve army of labour Policies/laws on abortion; divorce; contraception; reproductive technology; marriage; adoption; pensions; benefits; taxes; education; childcare;...
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...agree that social policy can have an important influence on family life, they hold different views about what kinds of effects it has and whether these are desirable. In this essay I will examine a range of different sociological views or perspectives on the impact of social policy on families. The actions and policies of governments can sometimes have profound effects on families and their members. Cross-cultural examples from different societies and historical periods can show us some of the more extreme ways in which the state’s policies can affect family life, this can help us to see the relationship between families and social policies in a new light. One particularly striking attempt by the state to shape family life was the policy set by China on controlling the population, and birth rate within the country. Chinas population control policy has discouraged couples from having more than one child. According to Adrian Wilson (1985) the policy is supervised by the workplace family planning committees; women must seek their permission to try and become pregnant, and there is often a waiting list and a quota for each factory. Couples who comply with the policy get extra benefits, such as free child healthcare and higher tax allowances. Functionalists see society as built on harmony and consensus, and free from major conflicts. They see the state as acting in the interests of society as a whole and its social policies as being for good for all. Functionalist’s see policies as helping...
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...Application of public health law The study of public health law (1) that emphasizes on the legal issues in the practice of public health and the effects of legal practice on public health has basically three major areas of practice: police power, the population law, and injury and disease prevention. The area of police power is engaged by agencies of the government. This area centers its attention on the growing field of bioterrorism and moreover, this has made the public health lawyers work towards the conception of the Model State Public Health Act and the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act. The area of the population law has its theoretical foundation on the legal analysis based on population. Being a new entrant in the subject of jurisprudence, the law of population has been found analyzing legal problems making use of the tool of epidemiology. The threat to the health of a society taken as a whole, on the basis of population health, is the primary concern of public health. In such situations, the population concerned with this notion can either be a handful of them or even whole of the continent, in case of an epidemic. Through the means of propagation of healthy behaviors and close observation of cases, the public health involvement promotes more of prevention of diseases rather than treating them. But in certain circumstances the treating of the diseases becomes a priority than controlling them through immunization as in the case of outbreak of pandemics. The distribution...
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