sociology

Functionalist perspective

being sick must therefore be controlled. contend that an overly broad definition of illnesss would disrupt the workings of a society.

Thomas Szasz-The Myth of Mental Illness

advanced view that numerous personality disorders are not diseases, but simply patterns of conduct labeled as disorders by significant others. He was dismissed from the university he studied at. Many sociologists embraced his model as a logical extension of examining individual behavior in a social context. Mental illness is a distinctive social process.

rumor

a piece of information gathered informally that is used to interpret an ambiguous situation. Serves as a function by providing a group with a shared belief.

Crowd

a temporary gathering of people in close proximity who share a common focus or interest. Spectators at a baseball game.

Social Class

associated with differences in morbidity and mortality rates. The Us and other countries have shown people in the lower classes have higher rates of mortality and disability than others. Crowded living conditions, substandard housing, poor diet, and stress all contribute to health related factors. Little or no health care in childhood or young adulthood is likely to mean more illness later in life.

Total fertility rate

average number of children born alive to any woman, assuming that she conforms to current fertility rates. US- 2013 was 1.9 live births per woman, compared to nearly 8 births per woman in a developing country such as Niger.

Laissez-faire capitalism

- a form of capitalism under which people compete freely, with minimal government, intervention in the economy. Business retained the right to regulate itself and operated essentially without fear of government interference.

The Medicalization of Society

It is a regulating mechanism. It becomes more difficult to view these issues as being shaped by social, cultural, or psychological factors, rather than simply by physical or medical factors. They used to be common human problems and now they are viewed as medical problems. We hope that these experts can bring "new medical cures"

Malthus's Thesis and Marx's Response

Said the world's population was growing more rapidly than the available food supply. He argued food supply increases arithmetic and population expands geometric. He wanted to close the gap between rising population and food supply. He wanted to postpone marriage. Marx said that the nature of economic relations in Europe industrial society as the central problem. But he disagrees with birth control because of religious aspects. He said capitalism devoted resources to the financing of buildings and tools rather than to the equitable distribution of resources.

Table 55-1: Successive Increase of 1 Billion

The growth rate is simply the difference between births and deaths per 1,000 population, since worldwide immigration and emigration must of necessity be equal. The US grew from .5 percent to 1.2 percent of the entire world. Growth rate is the difference between births and deaths, plus difference between immigration and emigrants.

Box 49-1: Why don't young people gote

They are too busy, not interested, out of town, forgot to vote, registration problems, did not like candidate campaign issues. People-especially young people- are alienated from the political system, turned off by the shallowness and negativity of candidates and campaigns.

Case Studies: Collapse of the World Trade Center and Hurricane Katrina-

Two devastating but very different disasters. Followed by a creation of an emergency operations group, which coordinated both public services and some private-sector services such as food distribution. Katrina was not planned properly by the government. People responded in predictable ways and changed behaviors.

mortality v. morbidity

When disease data are presented as rates, or as the number of reports per 100,000 people, they are called morbidity rates. The term mortality rate refers to the rate of death in a given population. Sociologists find morbidity rates useful because they reveal that a specific disease occurs more frequently in one segment of a population than another.

representative democracy

a form of government in which certain individuals are selected to speak for the people. Elected members of Congress and state legislatures make our laws. United States

Demographic Transition

describe changes in birthrates and death rates that occur during a nation's development, resulting in a new patterns of vital statistics. In many nations today, we are seeing a demographic transition from high birth rates and death rates to low birth rates and death rates. 1. Pretransition stage: high birthrates and death rates with little population growth. 2. Transition stage: declining death rates- primarily the result of reductions in infant deaths- along with high to medium fertility, resulting in significant population growth. Posttransition stage: low birthrates and death rates with little population growth.

New Social Movements

do not view government as their ally in the struggle for a better society. They may criticize, protest, or harass public officials. Researchers have found that members of new social movements show little inclination to accept established authority, or even scientific or technical authority.

assembling perspective

examines how and why people move from different points in space to a common location.

Value added model

explains how broad social conditions are transformed in a definite pattern into some form of collective behavior. Outlines six important determinants of collective behavior: structural conduciveness, structural strain, and generalized belief, a precipitating factor, mobilization for action, and the exercise of social control.

Fad v. fashion

fads are temporary patterns of behavior involving large numbers of people; they spring up independently of preceding trends and do not give rise to successors. Fashions are pleasurable mass involvements that feature a certain amount of acceptance by society and have a line of historical continuity. Punk haircuts would be a fashion and the Macarena would be a fad.

Periodic v. nonperiodic assemblies

include recurring, relatively routine gatherings of people such as work groups, college classes, and season-ticket holders in an athletic series. Characterized by advance scheduling and recurring attendance of the majority of participants. Nonperiodic- include demonstrations, parades, and gatherings at the scene of fires, accidents, and arrests. Result from word-of-mouth information, are generally less formal than periodic assemblies.

Totalitarianism

involves virtually complete government control and surveillance over all aspects of a society's social and political life. German during Hitler's reign, the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Dictators develop such overwhelming control over people's lives that their governments are called totalitarianism.

Dictatorship

is a government in which one person has nearly total power to make and enforce laws. Rule primarily through the use of coercion, which often includes torture and executions. Typically, they seize power rather than being freely elected. Other dictators are bitterly hated by the people over whom they rule. Supporters enthusiasm is tinged with fear. North Korea

relative deprivation

is defined as the conscious feeling of a negative discrepancy between legitimate expectations and present actualities. A relatively deprived person is dissatisfied because he or she feels downtrodden relative to some appropriate reference group.

crude death rate

is the number of deaths per 1,000 population in a given year. In 2013, the US had a death rate of 8.0 per 1,000 persons.

Demography

is the scientific study of population. It draws on several components of population, including size, composition, and territorial distribution, to understand the social consequences of population change. Demographers study geographical variations and historical trends in their effort to develop population forecasts. They also analyze the structure of a population - the age, gender, race, and ethnicity of its members.

traditional authority

legitimate power is conferred by custom and accepted practice. A king or queen is accepted as ruler of a nation simply by virtue of inheriting the crown.

Democracy

means government by people. The people decide what happens.

Life expectancy rate

median number of years a person can be expected to live under current mortality conditions. Usually the figure is reported as life expectancy at birth. Japan is 83 years. 79 - US.

power v. authority

power is the ability to exercise one's will over others. (whoever can overcome the resistance of others and control their behavior is exercising power. Authority- refers to institutionalized power that is recognized by the people over whom it is exercised.

Rational-legal authority

power made legitimate by law. Leaders derive their rational-legal authority from the written rules and regulations of political systems, such as a constitution. Leaders are thought to have specific areas of competence and authority but are not thought to be endowed with divine inspiration, as in certain societies with traditional forms of authority.

vital statistics

records of births, deaths, marriages, and divorces that are gathered through a registration system maintained by governmental units. Other government surveys provide up-to-date information on commercial developments, educational trends, industrial expansion, agricultural practices, and the status of groups such as children, the elderly, racial minorities, and single parents.

Public opinon

refers to expressions of attitudes on matters of public policy that are communicated to decision makers. Theorists of collective behavior see no public opinion without both a public and a decision maker.

charismatic authority

refers to power made legitimate by a leader's exceptional personal or emotional appeal to his or her followers.

Resource mobilization

refers to the ways in which a social movement utilizes such resources. The success of a movement for change will depend on what resources it has and how effectively it mobilizes them. Recruiting adherents and marshalling resources is critical to the growth and success of social movements.

Collective behavior

the "relatively spontaneous and unstructured behavior of a group of people who are reacting to a common influence in an ambiguous situation." Rumors are a form of collective behavior, as is public opinion - people's reactions to shared events such as wars and elections.

emergent-norm perspective

the "relatively spontaneous and unstructured behavior of a group of people who are reacting to a common influence in an ambiguous situation." Rumors are a form of collective behavior, as is public opinion - people's reactions to shared events such as wars and elections.

Infant mortality

the number of deaths of infants under 1 years old per 1,000 live births in a given year. This measure is an important indicator of a society's level of health care; it reflects prenatal nutrition, delivery procedures, and infant screening measures. Still, despite the wealth of the US, at least 48 nations have lower infant mortality rates.

Community Health Centers Act

was an act to provide federal funding for community mental health centers in the united states. This legislation was passed as part of JFK new frontier. Led to considerable deinstitution. Increased the federal government's involvement in the treatment of people with mental illness. Established community based mental health centers to treat clients on an outpatient basis, allowing them to continue working and living at home.

Power elite

wright mills described a small group of military, industrial, and government leaders who controlled the fate of the United States. Power rested in the hands of a few, both inside and outside government.