Intro to Sociology Ch. 13

What is one advantage of proportional representation over winner-take-all electoral processes?

. Minority political parties have a say.

At the end of 2017, what percentage of Americans said they could trust the government in Washington always or most of the time?

18

In a 2011 survey, the following question was asked: "What is more important—that everyone be free to pursue their life's goals without government interference, or that the state play an active role in guaranteeing that nobody else is in need?" What percentage of American respondents favored the first option?

58

Since share ownership of corporations is so dispersed, actual control has passed into the hands of managers who run firms on a day-to-day basis. This statement echoes those of

Adolf Berle and Gardiner Means in The Modern Corporation and Private Property.

Amal and Bridget both work in the same company; Amal is a full-time worker, and Bridget is a temporary worker. Based on this information, which of the following statements is most likely to be true?

Amal is covered by medical insurance from the company, but Bridget is not.

Cathy works in a factory that manufactures hair dryers. She tightens four screws on each unit that passes on an assembly line belt. She performs this task on more than 1,500 hair dryers per day. Her work is an example of whose innovation in industry?

Henry Ford

Why did most countries largely abandon Keynesian policies in the 1970s and 1980s?

In the face of economic globalization, governments lost the ability to control economic life as they once had.

Which group is most likely to make less than $15 an hour?

Latino workers

Which of the following statements best reflects the relationship between the Internet and democratization in the United States?

Most people get their news and information from Internet sources that reinforce their beliefs.

Why did Max Weber assume that direct democracy is impossible as a means of regular government in large-scale societies?

Running a complex society demands expertise.

What primary role does technology play in economic change and development?

Technological innovations help companies produce more goods and services at a cheaper cost.

Which statement best characterizes the nature of work today?

The reality for most is that regular paid work remains the key to day-to-day survival.

Which of the following statements is true, according to C. Wright Mills in The Power Elite?

The social backgrounds of those in leading positions in society are highly unrepresentative of the population as a whole.

Why did state and local workers—ranging from firefighters to teachers—protest in Wisconsin and several other states?

They feared the loss of their pensions, a reduction in their health benefits, and a loss of their right to collective bargaining.

What is one of the major outcomes of institutional directorates, or linkages among corporations created by individuals who sit on two or more corporate boards?

They reverse the process of increasing managerial control.

Identify which of the following descriptions BEST describes a direct democracy.

Voters participate in decision making by voting for or against proposed policies, without meeting face-to-face with other voters.

Edward lives in the United Kingdom where the queen of England lives in a palace and carries out certain ceremonial functions. However, the queen of England has no real political power. Instead, a parliament of elected officials makes all the important political decisions. What kind of political system does Edward live in?

a constitutional monarchy

David lives in a small town in Maine where all members of the community come together annually to legislate policy and budgets. This kind of political system can best be described as what?

a participatory democracy

Betty went on strike on April 15, 2015 to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. What kind of right was Betty fighting for?

a social right

Why did Max Weber assume that direct democracy is impossible as a means of regular government in large-scale societies?

a. Running a complex society demands expertise.

Which of the following statements helps explain why so many people decide not to vote in the United States?

a. Since winner-take-all elections discourage the formation of third parties, voters may sometimes feel that they lack viable choices.

What primary role does technology play in economic change and development?

a. Technological innovations help companies produce more goods and services at a cheaper cost.

Which of the following explanations would most likely explain the difficulties faced by labor unions since 1980?

a. The loss of once-unionized manufacturing jobs to low-wage countries.

What is one of the major outcomes of institutional directorates, or linkages among corporations created by individuals who sit on two or more corporate boards?

a. They reverse the process of increasing managerial control.

According to the textbook, why did labor unions develop?

a. to redress the imbalance of power between workers and employers

In a political system based on proportional representation,

a. when a single party lacks an overall majority, a government by coalition can lead to indecision and stalemate.

Who wrote the The Wealth of Nations, a book that opens with a description of the division of labor in a pin factory?

adam smith

Premodern systems of production were mainly based on

agriculture

Teresa is a staunch believer in the right to own guns. She recently joined the National Rifle Association, a group that attempts to persuade legislators to pass laws that will protect Americans' right to own guns. What do sociologists call this kind of organization?

an interest group

Which of the following methodological approaches to a research project on interlocking directorates and global capitalism would be comparative research?

b. A researcher examines the differences in individuals' multiple memberships on corporate boards in the United States vs. in Europe.

Alexandria is a Democrat running as an incumbent for a seat in the House of Representatives. According to the textbook, which of the following is the most likely scenario?

b. Alexandria will win the election, and she will spend more money than her Republican opponent.

What change in investment strategies has contributed to our economic system evolving into institutional capitalism, according to some analysts?

b. Investors now bundle money into grouped accounts, and this money is then used to invest in several corporations.

U.S. military spending

b. accounted for 35 percent of total world military spending in 2017.

According to the theory of alienation, how does the division of labor alienate human beings from their work?

b. by giving workers little control over their jobs, only contributing a fraction to the creation of the overall product.

In recent years, there has been a turn toward what has been described as "populist authoritarianism" in many countries, including European countries and the United States. What is a characteristic of populist authoritarianism?

belief in popular sovereignty and direct democracy at any cost

Which of the following scenarios is the best example of worker alienation according to Marx's view?

d. Sergio works in a warehouse pulling products people have ordered from an online merchant to be shipped to them the next day. His accuracy and speed are closely monitored by his immediate supervisor, which he resents.

Emma notices how people could not survive in the modern world by themselves because they simply do not have the knowledge to carry out certain basic tasks, such as growing food. The process that Emma notices is known to sociologists as

economic interdependence

John Davison Rockefeller was an American industrialist who founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870. He later founded and bought several other companies and became the world's richest man. He also founded and donated large amounts of money to philanthropic organizations. Rockefeller's career is an excellent example of what the textbook refers to as

family capitalism

In what chronological order did capitalism develop?

family capitalism, managerial capitalism, and institutional capitalism

Corporations are increasingly stateless, loyal to no country. This is an element of

global capitalism

Samantha is a researcher who studies economic change. Her work shows clearly how forces of worldwide economic competition are changing the nature of the work we do. What term do sociologists use to describe the process she studies?

globalization

Wei babysits in exchange for a room in his friend's house. What is the term that sociologists use to refer to this kind of transaction?

informanl economy

Pierre is a Canadian who lives in Quebec. Pierre feels more loyalty to his province, Quebec, than to his country, Canada. He prefers to speak the official language of Quebec, French, although he speaks English equally well. Pierre's feelings for Quebec are an example of

local nationalism.

Automation has led to

many jobs being rendered obsolete.

Sophia subscribes to the theory that government policies in a democracy are influenced by the continual processes of bargaining among numerous groups representing different interests. Sophia's ideas could best be described as

pluralist

What term is used to describe the notion that a government possesses authority over an area with clear-cut borders, within which it is the supreme power?

sovereignty

In 1900, approximately three-quarters of the employed population was in manual work, either farming or blue-collar work such as manufacturing. In 2016, the manufacturing workforce was only 8 percent, while white-collar professional and service employment accounted for 80 percent. What is a reason for the transformation of the occupational structure in the United States?

the introduction of labor-saving machinery

Identify which of the following rights is a social right.

the right to earn a minimum wage

entities roam freely around the planet in search of lower costs and higher profits, regardless of where they might be headquartered.

transnational

Which group was most likely to vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election?

white

What term refers to carrying out tasks that require mental and physical effort, with the objective of the production of goods and services that cater to human needs?

work