Sociology

Is the nuclear family universal? This essay will explore whether the nuclear family is in fact a universal sociological institution. The term ‘universal’ means applicable to all cases, so, for this to be correct the nuclear family must be found in all families in every society. Nuclear family consist a husband and wife and one or more children, own or adopted, it is defined by Murdock and according to him, he believed that the nuclear family is ‘a universal social grouping. ‘ Functionalist George Murdock suggested an idea of universality of the family as family is the basic and vital institution in all societies.

He looked at 250 societies and found four the most significant functions of the family: sexual, economic, reproduction and socialization. These functions are essential and meet needs in all societies and institution who best fits in performing them is family. Murdock defined the family as social group characterized by common residence, consisting of adults of both sexes and dependant children. There are statistics that suggest the diversity of families is developing, such as cohabiting, single-parent and reconstituted homosexual families. All evidences seem to prove that nuclear family is not the dominant type of family.

However, living in a nuclear family is a phase that most people, as children and adults, go through in the course of their life. The Government seems to be more preferable to nuclear family, as the nuclear family can be a nurturing environment in which to raise children as long as there is love, time spent with children, emotional support, low stress, and a stable economic environment. So, although there is an increasing diversity of family, nuclear family is still universal. The nuclear family is promoted by politicians and media. For example, Labour policy Supporting Families (1998) suggested different ways of all types of families.

However Labours also pointed out that preferred type will be nuclear. Media created ‘cereal packet image’ of the family where it was promoting ideal nuclear family. People being influenced by media and politicians start seeing other types of households undesirable or abnormal. However there is an opposing view to Murdock’s theory that goes against the idea of the nuclear family being universal. In 1959, Kathleen Gough provided a detailed insight of the Nayar society. This culture was mainly centred on the woman and known as a matrifocal family. In this society, when the woman reaches puberty, she is married to her Tali husband.

This is a sacred and traditional marriage but although they are married by law the husband and wife have no obligations to each other, the woman is then allowed to take on up to 12 visiting Sandbanhan husbands who must come after tea and the stay the night and leave before breakfast the next morning. Husbands and wives didn’t form an economic unit. Also, husbands were not expected to maintain the wives and it was frowned upon to do so. Moreover, he didn’t bond, look after or socialize with the children. Another opposing view of the universal nuclear family is the IK culture.

This tribe lives in Africa were each member shows now emotional connection with one another. Family, to them, means very little and each member of that society fends for themselves, showing no maternal instincts. If a new baby shows signs of weakness and disability, it will be disowned into the wilderness. The same happens to an elderly member who has no ‘purpose’ in the society. The experience and lifestyle of the IK suggests that family life across the world is characterised by diversity. However, in the UK definitions are dominated by the nuclear family.

However, there is a lot of support for Murdock’s theory of the universal nuclear family. One argument is that statistically, the female-headed family is not the norm either within black communities or in the societies in which they are set. Also, some sociologists believe that the mainstream model of the nuclear family is valued by blacks and regarded as the ideal. However, there are many opposing views to his theory. The supposed harmful effects on the children of the matrifocal family are far from proven, and, we know that children from a nuclear family are sometimes abused or neglected.

Looking closely at all the evidence I have explored in this essay, I conclude to find that the nuclear family is not universal. Families are simply groupings of people brought together by blood, marriage or some kind of connection. By looking at groups such as the Nayar society and the IK culture, it shows that the nuclear family is not applicable in all circumstances. Finally, in British culture the times are changing and there is a more diverse range of families in our society today.

Robert N. Bellah is the beneficiary of the United States National Humanities Medal “for his hard work to elucidate the significance of the public in American society ‘ His life-long devotion in sociology resulted to his outstanding teaching practice from diverse universities in the US , his huge collection of prominent works in articles and book forms , and a immense figure of highlighted and powerful lectures that “has raised our consciousness of the standards that are at the heart of our autonomous establishments.

Indeed, he is and goes on to be an illustrious sociologist and educationalist of the country. “Why do we need a Public Affairs Mission? The Moral Crisis in American Public Life ‘ is one of the noteworthy speeches he has delivered at the Southwest Missouri State University on October 17, 1995.

The speech aims to cultivate civic awareness amongst the American citizens by looking at racial and class separation issues in the US under the common banner of democracy in its ethical and distinguished sense , by underpinning reasons and concealed rationales behind them as elucidated by a number of popular icons in social and monetary fields , by proposing deindustrialization as the principal foundation for the “systematic abandonment of institutional maintenances , public and private ‘ to the unskilled African Americans , and by tipping that the American spiritual life is our genuine ethical resource (Glendon 92) .

Explicitly, he suggested a state and universal action to wrestle against revenue polarization, and a community-based rejoinder of intensifying public perception among the people in understanding of a national endeavor to obliterate ethnic and class separation and to impel the shift towards a classless culture. Undeniably, collective action is at the center of his proficiency. But I beg to differ. Eccentricity and expediency is a foremost subject matter in American culture, yet the speech failed to employ and join together these standards for a resource advance to respond to this moral crisis ominous to American social equality (Gitlin 201).

Americans desires to be certain that they have a say in improving the condition of their nation. They crave to see developments, experience it, feel it, and glee in it. It was deliberately conversed in the piece of writing that the predicament has been progressively more overpowering, and imperative actions are required to attach it. Allow individuals who are prepared to proceed on it do it. After all, what are regimes, properly established bodies and non-governmental institutes are for but to undertake these universal and state problems?

These tribulations ought to be left to these organizations, but it do not excuse each one and everyone in the nation the moral accountability to be concerned for a fellow American , to listen to a fellow human , to be a fine civilian for the upcoming generations . Make it individual, make it realistic . This is an encouragement to exploit individual participation in public affairs, to instill altruistic and patriotic standards to the American citizens , whether middle class , underclass, or overclass , and to reinforce the ethical values fundamental to democracy , the very establishment of the American society

A review of Why Do We Need A Public Affairs Mission? The Moral Crisis in American Public Life by Robert N. Bellah a lecturer of sociology at UC-Berkley , whose study interests cover the more humdrum aspects of sociology to powerless issues of class , religion , and the task of government in society . Interestingly, this lectures attempts to draws on his thoughts concerning communitarianism, civil accountability, and Christianity making a profound argument that the moral paradigms we previously appreciated are declining as consumerism grows, detachment involving classes increases while the US basically becomes separated (Kautz 114) .

Regarding the scope of this lecture, Bellah cannot be defined as a right wing crusader as many scholars may attempt to suggest. Deliberately, pertaining to the aspects of social scope he seems to fight against the universal financial system as it has marginalized the citizens, while driving the monetary privileged from the mainstream, leading to a shortage of cohesiveness in the human race.

He asserts that, global economic procedures have not facilitated in safeguarding against everyday fiscal ills such as currency depreciation, job loss, outsourcing, and product shortages. Bellah furthermore makes illumination of the countless leaders that have called for assisting the underprivileged, but have declined to notice how such groups as religious organizations have overtime been making this call for centuries. Much of what Bellah’s lecture repeats are that, men have moved from the original concept of togetherness.

Examining the entire texts, it would be paramount to assert that, we actually need why we need a Public Affairs Mission, a mission that is founded on virtue and wisdom. And this infers that, Bellah had attempted to dwell on the concept of compassionate conservativism. And this would fundamentally help the larger American society from moving towards to edge of social collapse and destruction. Works cited Gitlin, T. Culture wars. NY: Metropolitan, 1995. Glendon, M. Political discourse. NY: Free Press, 1991. Kautz, S. Community. NY: Cornell, 1995

One prominent novel that displays this is Mary Shelley Frankincense (1818). Victor, the scientist, creates a being that sadly gets rejected by society and even its own c aerator, with devastating consequences. Whereas in another concentration novel, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1947), by Steven Spielberg, the Aliens are secretly welcomed by a select group of scientists, and a small group of ‘normal every people from the general public. In both novels, the main characters each neglect thee r families, suffer mental trauma, and have an obsession over something.

To begin, in Frankincense , Victor thoroughly neglects his family for two whole years without having any contact with them, while he is creating the creature. In the midst of creating the being, he says, “And the same feelings which made me neglect the e scenes around me caused me also to forget those friends who were so many miles a absent. ” (Shelley 45) Victor does not think that it is important to stay in touch with his f rinds and family, and thus suffers even more when he is sick after the successful creation n of the monster.

When he succeeds in bringing the creature to life, he is disgusted by t, neglects it, and abandons it. The monster says, “l, the miserable and the ban done, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on. ” (Shelley 231 ) The creature is not loved by Victor, or anybody else that it encounters, which is pa art of it’s motivation to retaliate by committing crimes and making Victor miserable. Kisses, in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Roy Nearly also rejects his fame ill in his pursuit of the ‘aliens’ and ‘Fuss’ .

He is fired from his job, and constructs a 10 cookout platform on top of his garage, where day after day, he passes away the time eating for the Buffo’s to come back. Like Victor Frankincense, in the midst of Roy Nearly actions, he forgets about his family and detaches himself from them, barely spending any time with them. His wife says, “Roy was sitting in his patio chair on the platform he had built on top of the garage roof. .. Roy didn’t seem to hear Toby calling. He didn’t see m to hear anybody these days. (Spielberg 39) This shows how Roy only really cares ABA UT looking for the BUFFO’S, and doesn’t think about his family and how he is neglect ting them by not spending any time with them, but rather ignoring them. Secondly, Victor Frankincense deprives himself of rest and health when he is constructing the creature, and he experiences significant mental trauma whew n his creation comes to life. He has horrific nightmares, and exclaims how, “l was life less and did not recover my senses for a long, long time. ” (Shelley 53) He also says how he contained a “nervous fever”(53).

After the death of Victor’s dear friend Henry Cleaver, Victor is shocked, and feels guilty that it was his fault for his friends death, beck cause he suspects that it was the monster who killed Henry. Victor says how he was doomed o live and in two months found myself as awaking from a dream , in a prison, stretched on a wretched bed… “(Shelley 183) This line describes how miserable Victor is; how he is essentially stuck in a nightmare for two long months. He is in a prison, and his mental state is obviously deteriorating to the point where he is very depressed, and ‘ doomed to live’.

Similarly, Roy Nearly puts himself in various situations which make the reader wonder if he is going insane/ crazy. After his encounter with the Buffo’s, he is ‘compelled’ to go somewhere or find something, but he doesn’t know what it is he is searching f r. He first creates a small model of a mountain (“Devils Tower”) out of shaving cream, an d then proceeds to make a infection tall representation of the same mountain in his Paving room. His family wakes up in the morning to Roy throwing anything in he can find, like dirt, chicken wire, etc into the house.

Nearly exclaims how, “If I don’t do this… L will need a doctor. ” (Spielberg 154) His wife and children then proceed to drive away in their car, leaving Roy behind, and his wife?s last words to him are, “For what… To see the me take you away In a straitjacket? (Spielberg 1 57) This shows how Ray’s wife and chill drew think that he is going insane, and feel like he will eventually be taken away to a mental hospital/ institute. Both Roy Nearly and Victor Frankincense suffer serious mental deterioration and trauma as a result of their compulsions/ their specific pursuit.

In Victor’s case; bringing a human back from the dead, and in Rosy case; trying t o find out more about the Buffo’s and Alien visitors. Lastly, Frankincense, and Robert Walton are obsessed with their own single need pursuits. Victor is obsessed with pushing the boundaries Of science, and Robe t is obsessed with finding a passage to the North Pole/ the Northwest passage. In Victor’s pursuit of knowledge, he doesn’t stop to think about the consequences of his actions; he says how he was “Attacked by the fatal passion. ” (Shelley 54).

This eventually c asses his downfall, and the deaths of many of his friends and family. In Wallow’s bobs session, he puts his crews lives at risk by continuing on their journey. He says how he an d his crew “voluntarily endured cold, famine, thirst, and want of sleep. ” (Shelley 3) Walt on is obsessed with continuing forward, even whenever he knows that he and his c ewe have a very low probability of being successful, and ultimately of surviving. Similarly, Roy Nearly forms an obsession with the Buffo’s that he witnessed that one night.

After the strange event, he spends his days up on top of the garage ROR f, neglects his family, and his mental state becomes questionable. He is obsessed with if ending what is hidden at “Devil’s Tower’, and even a government military can’t keep him from getting to it. This also shows how ambitious Roy is. When he is on his way to if ND what is at Devil’s Tower, he says, “he [Roy] wasn’t all that sure he could successfully escape the GM nerve gas… He was on his way to something important and blindly pus heed on. (Spielberg 175) Roy is obsessed in a simpleminded pursuit, and is also ambition us and brave for not letting himself get stopped by the ‘nerve gas’. He ‘blindly’ pushes on, not worrying about his personal safety/ health or the consequences of his actions. In , when Victor first creates the monster, even though he has spent years researching and creating the being, as soon as it comes to life, he is disgusted by it and repels it. The sociological and mental effects soon affect Victor, and he wonder s how anybody will ever accept him once they find out about the unethical thing he has done.

Victor knows that society would most likely repel and reject the creature just lie eke Victor did when it came to life, which is exactly what happens, propelling the create re to become a ‘monster and take it’s revenge out on Victor and his beloved friend s and family. In contrast, in Close Encounters of the Third Kind , Roy Nearly is compelled to find out more about the OF he experienced, not giving any thought or care to what a nobody else in society would think about him once they found out.

Keywords: the universal character of family, regulating social behavior, reproduction, the economic function, the education as colonization of children, providing affection, protection and emotional support, providing social status. To describe the family as a social institution, one should first reveal its universal character. There is no society, no matter the era In which it functioned and has developed, In which family Is missing. In other words, from the most remote times to present, the family is the most common form of social organization.

To highlight this, he American anthropologist George Morocco (1897-1985) in his work entitled Social Structure (1949) examined a total of 250 societies of various kinds, both from hunters and gatherers category, as well as pastoral, agrarian or industrialized. Following this detailed analysis; Morocco concluded that in each of these societies there are certain forms that fit In the deflation of family as a social Institution. Therefore, despite of the variety of forms in which can occur, the family Is a universal social Institution.

The American anthropologist defines family as a “social group characterized by common accidence, economic cooperation, and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults” 1 . In conclusion, the defining characteristics of the D Assistant Ph. D. Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest. Morocco, G. P. , Social structure. The MacMillan Company, New York, 1949. Emily are the fact that its members are living together, to undertake various Joint activities, to contribute with resources necessary to life, and to have children. At least woo of the family members have sexual relations, In accordance with the norms of the society in which they live. The definition of family in Morocco’s vision is considered to be restrictive in relation to the current diversity of life situations. For example, it does not include single-parent family, a social phenomenon that has grown substantially in recent decades.

Single-parent family is defined as that type of family with one child or more who have not aged 18 years, which are raised by a single parent who may be widowed or divorced and that has not remarried later or has not natural mother and her children. It is estimated that at present, at global level, approximately 16% of all children live in single-parent family. Another situation that is becoming increasingly common and may not be included in the definition of the family given by Morocco is considering lesbian and gay couples.

Regarded by some sociologists as one of the most important social movements of the twentieth century, the liberation movement of gay and lesbian opens a new issue of analysis of the civil rights and those related to family. Sexual orientation “refers to an individual’s beliefs, attractions, and behaviors toward members of the opposite and same sex”3. And for a family is a real challenge that one of its members has a sexual orientation different from the majority of people. The question is “how to accept or should accept” this situation which is becoming more frequent in the West.

Thus, some studies have shown that in the U. S. Around 5% of the population aged 18 years and over called themselves gay or lesbian and, moreover, 27% of gay and lesbian couples have children. That implies that approximately 10 million children are raised by gay or lesbian parents. Moreover, the perspective on the family has suffered substantial changes in the second half of the twentieth century. To describe these relatively radical changes in the internal structure of the family as a social institution, some sociologists have introduced the term postmodern family. 2 2011. Tetchier, H.

L. , Introduction to Sociology (10th De. ). Headwords, Coinage Learning, 3 Ritzier, G. (des. ), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of sociology. Blackwell Publishing, Inc. , Malden, 2007. This concept describes the multitude of forms in which the family can occur, and “the fact that families today exhibit a multiplicity of forms and that new or altered family forms continue to emerge and develop”4. Some of these forms are: single- arena families, cohabitation heterosexual couples, gay and lesbian marriages and families, three-generation families, communal households, streamlines etc.

These changes can be summarized ass: Traditional Nuclear Family Legally married With children Two-parent Permanent Male primary provider, ultimate authority Sexually exclusive Two-adult household New Alternatives Never-married singletons, normality cohabitation Voluntary childlessness Single-parent (never married or previously married) Divorce, remarriage (including binuclear family involving Joint custody, steamily or “blended” family) Egalitarian marriage (including al-career and commuter marriage) Extramarital relationships (including sexually open marriage, swinging, and intimate friendships) Same-sex intimate relationships or households Multi-adult households (including multiple spouses, communal living, affiliated families, and multidimensional families) Therefore, the modality to understand that the family structure and his role in society is everywhere the same, but also the perspectives on the Lamina, M. A. Roadman, A. , Marriages, Families, and Relationships: Making Choices in a Diverse Society (7th De. ). Headwords, Coinage Learning, 2012. 5 Source: Bryn, R. J. , ; Lie, J. , Sociology: Your compass for a new world (3rd De. ). Thomson Headwords, U. S. A. , 2007. 4 family in different cultures can vary considerably, these differences being caused by the existence of different norms within each human society in part. Cultural diversity manifests itself directly in terms of conceiving and organization of family life. For example, in traditional Navajo society in the southwestern United States, the two spouses do not live under the same roof ever.

Relations between spouses are most often reduced to encounters with character intimate/discreet. In the Mass’ immunities located in Kenya polyandry is the usual form to regulate relations between spouses. In other words, a married woman may have not only permitted sexual relations with her husband but also with all the men from similar age group. It is a matter of the norms available in Mamas society, that the husband to have nothing to object when a good friend asks for permission to have sex with his wife. The one Guiana, the husband can not have intimate relations with his wife, before she gave birth to a child whose father is a friend of him. Parent-child relationship is therefore not necessarily a biological type.

The fundamental importance of this relationship lays in its social character, children being recognized as belonging to the family, whether biological parent is the same person with official father. After emphasizing the universal character of the family, the anthropologist George Morocco (1949) argued that the family has four basic social functions: sexual regulations, reproduction, economic cooperation and colonization/education. The first function that performs family as a social institution is that of regulation sexual behavior. In this sense requires a finding that is that there is no society which eaves people to express their sexual behaviors as they want, but there are a whole set of written and unwritten rules/norms that prohibit certain ways of sexual behavior.

For example, in many societies, the practice of sexuality is not permitted during periods of mourning, in the periods of various religious ceremonies, while the woman is pregnant or during menstruation. Morocco argues that, despite significant differences between the various societies, there is a common element that is incest taboo, respectively Gilles, R. J. , & Levine, A. , Sociology: An introduction (5th De. ). Mac- Grab Hill Companies, Inc. , U. S. A. , 1995. 7 Hardball’s, M. , ; Holbrook, M. , Sociology: Themes and perspectives (7th De. ). Hairlessness, Publishers Limited, London, 2008. 6 prohibition of sexual relations and marriage between close relatives (between parents and children, between brothers and sisters, or between grandparents and grandchildren).

The most important objectives that the incest taboo fulfils in society are, on the one hand, to eliminate sexual rivalries and conflicts within the family, on the other hand, do not confuse regarding the appropriate roles of each family member and to create Emily ties with other families, in relation to which it can develop and achieve different types of mutually beneficial interests. A detailed analysis reveals an important difference between the types of regulation of sexual behavior in traditional societies, which pose a very broad character, in relation to contemporary societies, where the sphere of action of society on individuals is significantly diluted. The second function that fulfils the family in society is reproduction.

In order to develop, each society needs new generations of young people to replace the old people and this cannot be merely in three ways: by reproduction, migration or conquest of other societies. However, in the absence of biological reproduction, any society is sentenced to disappearance. Situations of this type were found mainly in religious communities, such as the self-entitled Shakers – namely, the society of believers in the second appearance of Jesus Christ – in which social equality is essential, but sexual relations are rejected as under the human dignity, which resulted in strong decrease of the number of members of this community. The economic cooperation function has also an important role in the family. People get married and founded new families is that “by virtue of their primary sex difference, a man and a woman make an exceptionally efficient cooperating unit”9. In the traditional society, the family constitutes the basic economic unity. It has the role of satisfy the basic needs of its members, which consist mainly in food, housing, health and comfort in general. The situation has changed in modern societies, where some of the economic aspects traditionally belonging to the family were taken over by other social institutions. From this point of view, a major change occurred at this 8 Direction, G. J. , Human social behavior: Concepts and principles of sociology. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. , U.

S. A. , 1990. 9 Morocco, G. P. , Social structure. The MacMillan Company, New York, 1949. Level has the function to transform the family’s producer function into consumer. The economic activities of production were dominant in the traditional family, especially for families located in rural areas, while today’s society offers a variety of family oriented predominantly towards the consumer. Another change in the economic function looks at the issue of family health care for the sick or elderly. In his case, family is replaced by another social institution, respectively hospital or, in some cases, nursing home, which take over the care for them.

However, despite this fundamental change of role, the family still maintains the basic economic functions: revenues are provided by mature people, who undertake various economic activities in society, in return for which they receive some remuneration. Moreover, each family manages according to their lifestyle, activities and food preparation, dishwashing, cleaning, leisure, etc. Remained the responsibility of each family, whether these activities (especially food preparation and cleaning) are reformed by the family or for a fee, by other people outside that family. The fourth function that performs family is education, which, in Morocco’s opinion may be equated to the colonization of children.

Some sociologists have noted that the American anthropologist uses the term of education with reference to the colonization. In fact, family is the primary agent of colonization, and as such, it is not Just a producer of biological kind, is not limited to reproduction, but has a fundamental role in the use by children of a certain language, learning a set of values, beliefs, skills, etc. Most of the times, colonization provided by the family as the primary group is so complex that it is not notified of every individual in the actual running time of this process. Hence we conclude that colonization has a natural character, it is natural itself.

Assignment 3: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of McDonaldization. Discuss how parts of society have become cookie-cutter/standardized (addressing the 4 characteristics) society.

McDonaldization is the term invented by George Ritzer to describe a sociological phenomenon that exists in our society. It is the process by which the principles of efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control shape organization and decision making in the United States and around the world. In the United States, McDonaldization begun when Henry Ford pioneered with his vision of an assembly line for improving the production of automobiles. Bottom line, McDonaldization is the process of rationalization taken to extreme levels. Rationalization is a sociological term that simply means the substitution of logically consistent rules for traditional or illogical rules. One of the fundamental aspects of McDonaldization is that almost any task can and should be rationalized. The process of McDonaldization takes a task and breaks it down into smaller tasks. This is repeated until all tasks have been broken down to the smallest possible level. The resulting tasks are then rationalized to find the single most efficient method for completing each task. All other methods are then deemed inefficient and discarded.

The result is an efficient, logical sequence of methods that can be completed the same way every time to produce the desired outcome. The outcome is predictable. All aspects of the process are easily controlled. Additionally, quantity or calculability becomes the measurement of good performance. However, there is a problem to this, it turns out that over-rationalizing a process in this manner has an unexpected side effect. It’s called irrationality. In a sociological context that simply means that a rationalized system may result in events or outcomes that were neither anticipated or desired, and in fact, may not be so good. Take the example of the McDonald’s chain of restaurants. Where is the irrationality? The premise of fast food often turns out to be just the opposite long waits in lines. Fast food is not necessarily good food in fact, McDonald’s food is extremely unhealthy and the taste is average and bland. Efficiency is something that is sought after by many people, even without the shackles of McDonaldization. The difference is that in a McDonaldized society, efficiency is thrust upon a person, so instead of choosing your own methods of efficiency, you are forced to accept the efficiency of the surrounding institutions. In fact this can lead to a lamb-like acceptance of what the surrounding institutions consider efficient. Which may be vastly different from what would actually be efficient for either the employees or the consumer. An example of this inefficient efficiency is the ATM machine, popular at many banks. The consumer has to fill out all of the paper work, enter in the deposit or withdrawal to the computer, and, on top of all this, pay for the privilege of being a bank teller. Many would argue that the ATM machines are conveniences, rather than inconveniences. However, keep in mind that this serve to reduce the level of human interaction. Consumers are forced to deal with computers and not people, training them to be better workers for the McDonaldized society. The second aspect of McDonaldization is calculability.

Calculability is an emphasis on the quantitative aspects of products sold for example, portion size, cost, and services offered. Ritzer pointed out that this emphasis leads to the erroneous conclusion that more is better. If there is a lot of a product then it must be good. This is why we “super size” our “Double” Big Mac “extra” value meal. It is thought of as a better product. Predictability is another aspect of a McDonaldized society, emphasizes such things as discipline, order, systemization, formalization, routine, consistency, and methodical operation. In such a society, people prefer to know what to expect in most settings and at most times. This has a two-fold effect. It makes the experience of the consumer the same at every location of a McDonaldized company. It also makes the work routine for the employees of that company. This predictability has spilled over into more than just jobs and food. The most popular movies out today are sequels. Sequels are great, because they are almost assured to make money for the studio, writers don’t have to work as hard, because the characters have already been developed. Consumers love them because they also don’t have to think.

The moviegoer is usually familiar with the characters in the sequel and knows what to expect, making the movie experience more of a passive one. A definite aspect of McDonaldization is control. Control over both employees and customers because people are the great source of uncertainty, unpredictability and inefficiency in any rationalizing system. By increasing control, through increased mechanization, employers maintain a better control over the entire rationalization process. Ritzer’s focus involves control through the substitution of non-human for human technology. By making tasks repetitive and forcing employees not to think, employers can maintain a tighter control over them. Deskilling within a McDonaldized society, employees do not need wide-ranging skill sets. In fact, to be productive, they only need to know how to complete a single task. This is an efficient way for companies to operate since new employees do not require a lot of training to be competent to perform a single task. This keeps training costs low. Since single-task employees require the least amount of education, they can be paid the lowest wages. This leaves them with little bargaining power to negotiate with their employers since they are so easily replaced. Then we go home, and the computer decides the money we take from the ATM. Our meals are frozen, we microwave our popcorn our microwaves even have “popcorn” buttons on them, so the popcorn is perfect every time, and our salads come pre-made in bags, just open and pour. However, all of these “advances” becomes a step back. We are in less control and computers are in more control. As things become more automated, it is easier to replace workers, and as we spend more time in front of the television and less time thinking for ourselves. We become more dependent on the very things that McDonaldization creates.

If you have been given an Answer Booklet, follow the instructions on the front cover of the Booklet. Write your Centre number, candidate number and name on all the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen. You may use a soft pencil for any diagrams, graphs or rough working. Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid. Answer three questions, each from a different section. At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together. The number of marks is given in brackets at the end of each question or part question. This document consists of 4 printed pages. Define the term extended family. Identify and briefly describe the two characteristics of modified extended families. Evaluate the view that the extended family is of little importance in modern industrial societies. Define the term patriarchy in relation to the family. Identify and briefly describe two ways in which patriarchy within the family may be expressed.  “Patriarchal family structures are no longer to be found in modern industrial societies. ” Evaluate this claim.  Define the term cultural deprivation. Identify and briefly describe two ways in which cultural deprivation impacts on educational achievements.

Evaluate the view that class is the most significant factor in determining educational achievements in modern industrial societies. Define the term labelling. Identify and briefly describe two sociological examples that illustrate the process of labelling in relation to education. “Ethnicity has relatively little impact on educational attainment in modern industrial societies. Evaluate the view that the growth of new religious movements is evidence that religion continues to play a major role in modern industrial societies. Every reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity. University of Cambridge International Examinations is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group.

The Sociological Investigation ~ These notes are taken and adapted from Macionis, John J. (2012). Sociology (14th Edition). Boston: Pearson Education Inc. There are two basic requirements for sociological investigation:

1. Know how to apply the sociological perspective or paradigms or what C. Wright Mills termed as the “sociological imagination. ”
2. Be curious and ready to ask questions about the world around you. There are three ways to do Sociology. These three ways are considered as research orientations:

A. Positivist Sociology

Positivist sociology studies society by systematically observing social behaviour.

• Also known as scientific sociology.
• It includes introducing terms like independent variable, dependent variables, correlation, spurious correlation, control, replication, measurement, cause and effect, as well as operationalizing a variable1.
• Positivist sociology requires that researcher carefully operationalize variables and ensuring that measurement is both reliable and valid.
• It observes how variables are related and tries to establish cause-and-effect relationships. It sees an objective reality “out there. ”
• Favours quantitative data (e. g. data in numbers; data from surveys).
• Positivist sociology is well-suited to research in a laboratory.
• It demands that researchers be objective2 and suspend their personal values and biases as they conduct research.
• There are at least FOUR limitations to scientific / positivist sociology.
• Positivist sociology is loosely linked to the structural-functional approach / paradigm / perspective.

B. Critical Sociology

• Critical sociology uses research to bring about social change. It asks moral and political questions.
• It focuses on inequality.

1. Specifying exactly what is to be measured before assigning a value to a variable (Macionis: 2012, p. 50).
2. Personal neutrality in conducting research (Macionis: 2012, p. 50)

• It rejects the principle of objectivity, claiming that ALL researches are political. Critical sociology corresponds to the social-conflict approach / paradigm / perspective.

C. Interpretive Sociology

• Interpretive sociology focuses on the meanings that people attach to their behaviour. It sees reality as constructed by people in the course of their everyday lives.
• It favours qualitative data (e. g. data acquired through interviews).
• It is well-suited to research in a natural setting.
• Interpretive sociology is related to the symbolic-interaction approach / paradigm / perspective. Gender and Research Gender3, involving both researcher and subjects, can affect research in five ways:

1. Androcentricity (literally, “focus on the male”)
2. Overgeneralising
3. Gender blindness
4. Double standards
5. Interference Research Ethics

Researchers must consider and do the following things when conducting research:

• Protect the privacy of subjects / respondents.
• Obtain the informed consent of subjects / respondents.
• Indicate all sources of funding.
• Submit research to an institutional review board to ensure it does NOT violate ethical standards.
• There are global dimensions to research ethics.

Before beginning research in another country, an investigator must become familiar enough with that society to understand what people there are likely to regard as a violation of privacy or a source of personal danger.

Research and the Hawthorne Effect Researchers need to be aware that subjects’ or respondents’ behaviour may change simply because they are getting special attention, as one classic experiment revealed. Refer to Elton Mayo’s investigation into worker productivity in a factory in Hawthorne, near Chicago. 3 The personal traits and social positions that members of a society attach to being female or male (Macionis: 2012, p. 50).

The term Hawthorne Effect is defined as a change in a subject’s behaviour caused simply by the awareness that s/he is being studied. Methods: Strategies for Doing Sociological Research

There are the basic FOUR methods:

A. Experiment

• This research method allows researchers to study cause-and-effect relationships between two or more variables in a controlled setting.
• Researchers conduct an experiment to test a hypothesis, a statement of a possible relationship between two (or more variables).
• This research method collects mostly quantitative data.
• Example of an experiment: Philip Zimbardo’s “Stanford County Prison. ”

o Advantages Provides the greatest opportunity to specify cause-and-effect relationships. Replication of research is relatively / quite easy. Limitations Laboratory settings have an artificial quality to it. Unless the lab environment is carefully controlled, results may be biased too.

B. Survey and/or Interview

• This research method uses questionnaires or interviews to gather subjects’ / respondents’ responses to a series of questions.
• Surveys usually yield or produce descriptive findings, painting a picture of people’s views on some issues.
• This research method collects mostly qualitative data.
• Example of a survey: Lois Benjamin’s research on the effects of racism on African American men and women.

She chose to interview subjects / respondents rather than distribute a questionnaire. o Advantages Sampling, using questionnaires, allows researchers to conduct surveys of large populations or a large number of people. Interviews provide in-depth responses. o Limitations Questionnaires must be carefully prepared so that the questions and instructions are clear and not confusing. Questionnaires may yield low response / return rate from the target respondents. Interviews are expensive and time-consuming.

C. Participant observation

Through participant observation, researchers join with people in a social setting for an extended period of time.

• Researchers also play two roles, as a participant (overt role) and as an observer (covert role).
• This method allows researchers an “inside look” at a social setting.
• This research method is also called fieldwork.
• Since researchers are not attempting to test a specific hypothesis, their research is exploratory and descriptive.
• This participant observation research method collects qualitative data.
• Example of participant observation: William Foote Whyte’s “Street Corner Society. o Advantages It allows for the study of “natural” behaviour. Usually inexpensive. o Limitations Time-consuming. Replication of research is difficult. Researcher must balance role of participant and observer.

D. Existing or Secondary sources

• Researchers analyse existing sources, data which had been collected by others.
• This research method is also called library research or archive research.
• By using existing or secondary sources, especially the widely available data by government agencies, researchers can save time and money.
• Existing sources are the basis of historical research. Example of using existing sources:

E. Digby

Baltzell’s award-winning study “Puritan Boston and Quaker Philadelphia. ” How could it be, Baltzell wondered, during a chance visit to Bowdein College in Maine, USA, that this small college had graduated more famous people in a single year than his own, much bigger University of Pennsylvania had graduated in its entire history? o Advantages Saves time, money and effort of data collection. Makes historical research possible. o Limitations Researcher has no control over possible biases in data. Data may only partially fit current research needs.