...Inequalities, both domestic and global, illuminate the inevitability and functionality of stratification. Discuss. The title of this essay covers a very wide topic of stratification, and in this essay I will look at the many different forms of stratification that exist both at home here in Ireland and also on a worldwide scale, but to begin with I’m going to describe and define what stratification really means. In short stratification is basically how society ranks in hierarchy, which in detail means the vertical or hierarchical division of society according to rank, class or caste. Caste is defined as “a form of social stratification based on inherited status or ascription.” and this definition goes on to say that “ones social destiny is determined at birth with no chance or opportunity to change this class you have been born into.1”. It remains to be argued whether this statement is true or false, ! ! personally I think it is possible to change class or to move up or down a social class. Yes ones social destiny is determined at birth but it is possible to move up and down the social class ladder, all it takes is determination. Although if one is to begin at the bottom of the ladder, born into a family with harsh surroundings, it will be much harder to move up the ranks, as your success largely depends on your cultural background. If there is no one around you to support you with your studies or with any educational things you may be interested in, then doing any of...
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...A social issue (also called a social problem or a social ill) is an issue that relates to society's perception of people's personal lives. Different societies have different perceptions and what may be "normal" behaviour in one society may be a significant social issue in another society. Social issues are distinguished from economic issues. Some issues have both social and economic aspects, such asimmigration. There are also issues that don't fall into either category, such as wars. Thomas Paine, in Rights of Man and Common Sense, addresses man's duty to "allow the same rights to others as we allow ourselves". The failure to do so causes the birth of a social issue. Personal issues versus social issues[edit] Personal issues are those that individuals deal with themselves and within a small range of their peers and relationships.[1] On the other hand, social issues threaten values cherished by widespread society.[1] For example, the unemployment rate of 7.8 percent[2] in the U.S. as of October 2012 is a social issue. The line between a personal issue and a public issue may be subjective, however, when a large enough sector of society is affected by an issue, it becomes a social issue. Although one person fired is not a social issue, the repercussions of 13 million people being fired is likely to generate social issues. Caste system[edit] Caste system in India resulted in most oppressed Untouchables on earth for the past 3000 years . UK recently banned caste system[1] and US is...
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...A social issue (also called a social problem or a social ill) is an issue that relates to society's perception of people's personal lives. Different societies have different perceptions and what may be "normal" behaviour in one society may be a significant social issue in another society. Social issues are distinguished from economic issues. Some issues have both social and economic aspects, such asimmigration. There are also issues that don't fall into either category, such as wars. Thomas Paine, in Rights of Man and Common Sense, addresses man's duty to "allow the same rights to others as we allow ourselves". The failure to do so causes the birth of a social issue. Personal issues versus social issues[edit] Personal issues are those that individuals deal with themselves and within a small range of their peers and relationships.[1] On the other hand, social issues threaten values cherished by widespread society.[1] For example, the unemployment rate of 7.8 percent[2] in the U.S. as of October 2012 is a social issue. The line between a personal issue and a public issue may be subjective, however, when a large enough sector of society is affected by an issue, it becomes a social issue. Although one person fired is not a social issue, the repercussions of 13 million people being fired is likely to generate social issues. Caste system[edit] Caste system in India resulted in most oppressed Untouchables on earth for the past 3000 years . UK recently banned caste system[1] and US is...
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...and Rising Inequality in Australia Is Increasing Inequality Inevitable in Australia? Tom Conley Griffith University Introduction I want to dedicate my government to the maintenance of traditional Australian values. And they include those great values of mateship and egalitarianism.1 10 years ago a Mitsubishi type development would have flattened people psychologically. Now they take it in their stride … 2 Policy-makers and commentators have long been cajoling Australians into accepting that they are a part of the global economy, which means an acceptance of a whole range of ‘new realities’. One of the major themes of the pro-globalisation position is that Australia has accepted these new realities and adjusted well to globalisation by embracing economic liberalism. The results, it is argued, have been overwhelmingly beneficial. John Howard points out the Australian economy has grown for fourteen years straight – a remarkable achievement by any standards. This success story of growth has tended, however, to override more disaggregated, negative analyses of social outcomes in Australia. A less sanguine part of this new globalising ‘reality’ appears to be an acceptance of rising inequality. Indeed, it is often implied that rising inequality is a spur for growth. The argument is that everyone is better off, it’s just that some people are better off than others. While commentary is often not explicit about the association of globalisation and rising inequality, occasionally...
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...Income inequality in Turkey and its causes and effects on the Turkish population Maastricht University | | | | School of Business & Economics | | | | Place & date: | Maastricht,08 December 2014 | Name, initials: | Canli, T | ID number: | 6091093 | Study: | International Business | Course code: | ebc1009 | Group number: | 1 | Tutor name: | Pierfrancesco, Guarino | Writing tutor name: | Campbell, Gabriel | Writing assignment: | Main Paper (Task 10) | | | t.canli@maastrichtuniversity.nl Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2 2. Income Inequality and its components 2 3. Gini coefficient and inequality 3 4. Turkey´s economic structure 3 5. Wage distribution in Turkey 4 6. Main causes of inequality 5 6.1 Return on capital and increase of economic input 5 6.2 Relationships between people and social mobility 5 7. Effects on Turkish population 6 7.1 Education, child labor and social mobility 6 8. Possible solutions 7 9. Conclusion 8 10. Works Cited 9 11. Figures 10 12. Tables 10 1. Introduction In the past decades the topic “Economic Inequality” has risen in popularity. The reason for this trend is mostly because economic inequality has risen drastically around the world. There are many forms of economic inequality, e.g. gender inequality, regional disparities, and wage inequality, only to name a few. Thus many politicians are discussing about economic inequality, particularly in Turkey. The largest driving...
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...Eugene Harmon Poverty in Latin America Inequality: The Most Political and Economic Problem in Latin America Throughout the years, Latin America has experienced dramatic political, social, and economic changes amongst its numerous countries. As time went on, various leaders brought grand ideas to the table in hopes of bettering the region. However, in most cases, the outcome was far from grand, failing to address social conflicts that derived from deep inequality and high levels of poverty. Without successfully conquering the underlying causes of conflict within the region, change in a positive direction for Latin America does not exist. This paper will define inequality as the most political and economic problem that Latin American countries continue to face, and how inequality, discrimination, poverty, and crime violence stem from the underlying problem of inequality. As a result, social programs currently in place fail to properly address the issues of inequality and poverty within Latin America, thus being unsuccessful. In their literature review of the Southern Commands, Jorge Castaneda and Patricio Navia remind the reader that, “be it in the Caribbean heat or in the Andes-mountain cold, the uniform and lasting defining characteristic of Latin America is inequality” (82). They continue to explain that, “Latin America brings together – often within the same countries, same cities and occasionally even the same neighborhoods...
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...Inequality: The Most Pressing Problem in Latin America Throughout the years, Latin America has experienced dramatic political, social, and economic changes amongst it’s numerous countries. As time went on, various leaders brought grand ideas to the table in hopes of bettering the region. However, in most cases, the outcome was far from grand, failing to address social conflicts that derived from deep inequality and high levels of poverty. Without successfully conquering the underlying causes of conflict within the region, change in a positive direction for Latin America does not exist. This paper will define inequality as the most pressing problem that Latin American countries continue to face, and how inequality, discrimination, poverty, and crime violence stem from the underlying problem of inequality. As a result, social programs currently in place fail to properly address the issues of inequality and poverty within Latin America, thus being unsuccessful. In their literature review of the Southern Commands, Jorge Castaneda and Patricio Navia remind the reader that, “be it in the Caribbean heat or in the Andes-mountain cold, the uniform and lasting defining characteristic of Latin America is inequality” (82). They continue to explain that, “Latin America brings together – often within the same countries, same cities and occasionally even the same neighborhoods – the wealth and prosperity of the most-industrialized nations in the world and the dispossession, despair and hopelessness...
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...have this luxury. In our society, a good portion of the population is forced to hold the base of our country in place while hardly being redeemed for their time and effort, and thus the problem of income inequality. Numbers of these people live from paycheck to paycheck, barely getting by, not because they manage their money poorly, but because the value of their time at work is negligible (Chapter 2 Economic Inequality). Some may even sacrifice happiness at work to find a job that pays better simply because they cannot make ends meet at their current job. Some people sacrifice their sanity and eventually their life just to keep from going under financially. Segregation in income distribution is another cause of these problems, such as that with women or African-Americans who make less than other classes comparatively. In contrast, actors and actresses such as Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts make millions in the entertainment industry, an industry that grosses hundreds of millions of dollars a year creating what adds up to be the same kind of entertainment most people could get out of watching their children play sports or sing in a choir. The question then is how to find the value of work and time in our society and what should determine income. Positive reasons for income inequality are hard to find. One reason is the incentives there are to achieving higher status of income. You are regarded as successful in the eyes of your peers, and if you’re financial security is achieved, your...
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...the socio-economic influences on health 1.1 explain the effects of socio-economic influences on health. 1.2 assess the relevance of government sources in reporting on inequalities in health. 1.3 discuss reasons for barriers to accessing healthcare. ICON COLLEGE (LO1) = TASK 1 3 Unit Content (LO1) Influences: social e.g. disposable income, unemployment, lifestyle choices, environment, access to healthcare facilities, access to information, citizenship status, discrimination. Sources of information: reports and enquiries e.g. Black Report DHSS 1980, Acheson Report ‘Independent Inquiry in ‘Inequalities in Health’ 1998, Health and Lifestyle Surveys (HALS), Health Survey for England (HSFE), census data ICON COLLEGE (LO1) = TASK 1 4 2 08/10/2014 Definitions (Class participation Review) • What is health promotion? • What is public health? • What do we mean by determinant of health? • What do we mean by environmental factors? ICON COLLEGE (LO1) = TASK 1 5 The main determinants of health Dahlgren and Whitehead's model, 1992 Figure 1: adapted from Dahlgren and Whitehead ICON COLLEGE (LO1) = TASK 1 6 3 08/10/2014 Health Promotion “The process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health.” - Ottawa charter ICON COLLEGE (LO1) = TASK 1 7 Refocusing upstream "I am standing by the shore of a swiftly flowing river and hear the cry of a drowning man. I jump into the cold waters. I...
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...GIDDENS ● MITCHELL DUNEIER ● RICHARD APPELBAUM ● DEBORA CARR Slides created by Shannon Anderson, Roanoke College Chapter 3: Stratification, Class, and Inequality 1 2. Social stratification • Social stratification refers to the ranking of members of a society in groups on the basis of their status. • This ranking may be on the basis of occupation, power, economic resources, prestige, caste, education. • It is structured inequality between groups. 2 3. Determinants of Social stratification a) Power – The degree to which a person can control other people. More power more respect in society. b) Economic resources – The level of income from all resources is an important indicator of one’s place in society. – Economic resources in rural and urban areas. c) Prestige – The degree of respect, favorable regard or importance accorded to an individual by members of society. 3 4. Determinants of Social stratification d) Occupation – High class professionals include big businessmen, industrialists, landlords and high class government and semi-government officials. e) Caste – It is permanent, having its status ascribed as birth. Some castes are believed to be higher in status while others as low. f) Education – The standard of education also determines a social class. 4 5. Characteristics of Stratification Systems • Social structures hold certain groups in ranked order and where it is difficult, if not impossible, to change that order. • Where people rank in stratification ...
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...Poverty 4 4. Re-distribution of Income – Role of Poverty Benchmark in it 5 5.1 Education Policies 5 5.2 Taxation and Transfers 6 5.3 Minimum Wages 7 5. Drawbacks in using Poverty Benchmark for Redistribution Policies 7 6. Should Governments Focus on inequality? Or Poverty? My Reflections 8 7. Conclusions 9 8. Bibliography 9 Role of Poverty Benchmark as a component of Equity and Re-distribution Policy 1. Introduction How do you define poverty? It is a complex phenomenon influenced many factors. So there are many different ways to describe it. In general terms, idea of poverty is that if you can’t afford basic needs, you are poor. Yet, identifying such basic needs is bit complicated. Normally those are identified as items related to food, clothing and shelter. However, Amartya Sen (1983) states that basic needs are best understood capabilities such as to be free from decease, to travel; transportation, to be educated; schooling. Marshall Sahlins (1974) argues that poverty is a social status. When benchmarking poverty, there are two main classifications. Those are Absolute Poverty and Relative Poverty. Both of these types are based on income of the people rather than other social factors. 2 Absolute Poverty This is sometimes called as income poverty. People who are below a particular level of income are identified as poor. This level is also called as poverty line. This line...
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...This paper will discuss the poverty in Latin America. Latin America has always been in poverty and although there have been some ups and downs, the poverty level remains great. First, we will discuss the region that is known as Latin America, the determining factors of poverty, the statistics and history of the poverty in Latin America and the future of the poverty in Latin America. Latin America refers to the areas of America in which the Spanish or Portuguese languages prevail. These areas include Mexico, most of Central and South America, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Brazil. Latin America can be subdivided into different regions, such as North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. (Wikipedia, Retrieved 2010). Latin America consists of many different ethnic backgrounds and races. It is one of the most diverse regions in the world. Some of the predominant races/backgrounds include European-Amerindians (Mestizo), Amerindians, European, Mulatto, Black, Asian and Zambo (mixed Black and Amerindian). Latin America continues to be challenged by inequality and poverty. Poverty is defined as, “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.” (Merriam-Webster, Retrieved 2010). According to the World Bank, nearly 25% of the population of Latin America lives on less than $2.00 a day. At least 182 million people are living in poverty in Latin America and at least 68 million people are living in extreme...
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...on average than others. | | Children from poor communities typically have reduced educational and employment opportunities which would allow them to acquire human capital. 2. | If the population is split up into quintiles by income, the bottom quintile would include: A. | the poorest half of the population. | B. | the poorest 60 percent of the population. | C. | the richest half of the population. | *D. | the poorest 20 percent of the population. | | A quintile is 20% of the population and the bottom quintile is the poorest group of 20%. 3. | If we compare income mobility in absolute terms, we would measure whether a person's income: *A. | is higher than her parents' income. | B. | places her higher up in the income distribution than her parents' income. | C. | is higher at the end of her career compared to the beginning. | D. | places her higher up in the income distribution over the course of her work-life. | | Income mobility measures inter-generational changes in income. The absolute mobility is A) whereas the relative mobility is B). 4. | Which curve summarizes inequality visually? *A. | Lorenz curve | B. | Laffer curve | C. | Income Inequality curve | D. | Gini curve | | The Lorenz curve measures inequality visually. The Laffer curve is a measure of tax revenue and we did not discuss C) or D) though we did discuss the “Gini coefficient”. 5. | A Gini coefficient of zero indicates: *A. | perfect equality. | ...
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...Gender inequality is present in any given society, whether it is in a 16h century society or the 21st, human interactions are guided by gender. As seen in the 16th century play, Othello, women have lower social status than men causing them to be treated with less respect. Today, even though the world has made progress, women face similar problems to women 400 years ago, as women still suffer the wrath of being inferior to men. William Shakespeare play, Othello reveals that in in Venetian society men are superior to women guiding the interactions of characters. However, Shakespeare argues men are no different than women as he questions the legitimacy of gender inequality that guides interaction between people can be extended and applied...
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...to Good Ends: Draft Why Income Equality is Important Arthur MacEwan[1] March 2009 “The social system is not an unchangeable order beyond human control but a pattern of human action.”—John Rawls (1971, p. 102) In recent years “poverty reduction” has become the watchword in development agencies, in international lending institutions, and among development economists generally. The focus on poverty reduction reached a high point perhaps with the articulation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and with the extensive analytic work that has accompanied the MDGs.[2] Yet, much of the discussion of poverty reduction and economic development in low and middle income countries has either ignored the issue of income distribution or has tended to view income distribution only in terms of its impact on economic growth. Poverty and inequality, however, are intimately bound up with one another.[3] Both as an analytic issue and as a policy issue, there are severe limitations in attempting to deal with poverty – or, more broadly, with economic well-being – without also examining income inequality. Indeed, it is questionable that we can even define poverty independently of income distribution. In this essay, I want to develop the argument that economists and economic policy-makers should focus much greater attention on inequality as measured by the distribution of income (and wealth). The traditional focus simply on absolute levels of income...
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