Sociology 1A03 Quiz 4

1) Recent Canadian research on multiculturalism and the labour market has revealed that: a. Porter's model of the vertical mosaic is no longer applicable b. ethnicity is no longer a factor in occupation segregation c. the significance of ethnicity has declined since Porter's original findings d. the visible minority status of immigrants is not important for understanding occupation segregation e. labour market outcomes for all immigrants are the same

1) c (SIQ, ch. 12; NS, ch. 8) The key argument of Porter's vertical mosaic (ie. that "ethnic groups tend to occupy different and unequal positions" in the labour market) is based on data from 1931-1961. Recent research (using more recent data) suggests that while the vertical mosaic model is not as strong as it once was, there is still ethnic occupational inequality. When applied to immigrant labour market outcomes, research shows that visible minority immigrants fare much worse than do non-visible minority immigrants.

1) Émile Durkheim: a.argued that religion 'soothes the disadvantage like a narcotic' b. emphasized how religion has the potential to influence people's behaviour c. argued that religion is an outgrowth of the collective conscience of societies d. none of the above e. both a) and c)

1) c (Source: NS, ch. 13) The textbook defines religion as "systems of meaning for interpreting the world that have a supernatural referent." The work of three theorists has had a lasting impact on the study of religion: - Marx: he emphasized that people make religion, specifically those in power create religion to divert attention of the deprived masses away from inequitable social conditions (ie. religion is the 'opiate' of the masses); the deprivation thesis has its roots in the Marxist theory - Weber: he wasn't concerned with whether or not religions are true, but argued that if people believe, their beliefs should have an impact on their behaviour - Durkheim: he argued that religions are the result of communities coming together to share common sentiments, thereby forming a collective conscience; when people gather together they have a feeling of being in the presence of something beyond themselves, with the result that objects are then identified as being either sacred or profane. Religious beliefs are further codified and upheld into what he called a church.

1) Social stratification: a. refers to surplus value generated in a capitalist economy b. refers to hierarchies based on achieved characteristics c. are similar across different countries d. refers to the persistent patterns of social inequality e. refers to relative poverty

1) d (Source: NS ch. 6) Social stratification refers to the persistent patterns of social inequality that are perpetuated by how wealth, power, and prestige are passed on from one generation to the next. Sociologists distinguish between two types of characteristics when examining status and stratification: - ascribed: those characteristics assigned to individuals, typically at birth, such as race - achieved: those characteristics that are the result of what someone achieves, such as a certain level of education; note that even some things that are achieved can be viewed as ascribed, such as children from wealthier families being able to afford education at more prestigious universities Sociologists often measure societies ranked in terms of social mobility - the degree to which individuals or families are able to move up or down a status hierarchy.

1. The 'deprivation' explanation of religious commitment: a. is based on Weber's theory that religion affords people an opportunity to make sense of the world b. helps us understand the phenomenon of suicide bombers. c. is based on the theory that social pressures (especially from primary groups) influence religious commitment. d. does not seem applicable in North American society when objective indicators are analyzed. e. none of the above

1. d - NS, ch. 13; lecture

1. Davis and Moore's structural-functionalist theory of inequality: a. accounts for inherited wealth and also gender differences in wealth b. accounts for inherited wealth but not gender differences in wealth c. minimizes the impact of effort and ability on differences in wealth d. a and c e. none of the above

1. e - NS, ch. 6; lecture

1. Frustration aggression theory: a. suggests that people seek out and associate with their "own kind" b. is a social-psychological explanation of racism c. is an example of the primordialist thesis d. emphasizes how blocked opportunities lead to racist attitudes e. b and d

1. e - lecture; NS, ch. 8

2) The origins of Canada's migrant-labour policy are an example of: a. systemic discrimination b. institutional racism c. prejudice d. the immigration points system e. the culture of poverty thesis

2) b (NS, ch. 8) Institutional racism refers to "discriminatory racial practices built into such prominent structures as the political, economic and education systems," and can take 3 forms: - practices based on explicitly racial ideas, such as denying status Indians the right to vote - practices which arose that are based on, but are no longer supported by, racist ideas, such as admitting black workers from the Caribbean to work temporarily in Canada, and usually on farms (ie. the migrant-labour policy); it was assumed that workers from the Caribbean and Mexico were better suited to working in hot conditions; migrant workers to Canada still tend to come from these countries - unintentional practices of institutions which have discriminatory effects, such as height requirements for firefighters (these practices are referred to as systemic discrimination) Prejudice, by contrast, is an unfavourable belief applied to members of other racial and ethnic groups. The immigration points system does not apply to the migrant-labour policy, as the points system is what is used by the federal government to determine if someone should be allowed to enter Canada on a permanent basis.

2) An organizational approach to the study of religion focuses on: a. membership of religious groups b. norms, roles, sanctions of religious groups c. goals of religious groups d. all of the above e. none of the above

2) d (Source: NS, ch. 13) The organizational approach to understanding religion views religious organizations as we would view other social organizations: - membership: how many members, who are they, where do they meet, how does the organization meet the demands of members? - goals: both conscious and unconscious goals (comfort function of members, attracting new members) which often exist in tension - norms, roles, and sanctions: what is expected of members, and what is done to those who violate norms?; who carries out the different functions of the organization - success: attendance, membership, finances of the organization

2) Research on the feminization of poverty points out that reasons behind women's impoverishment have to do with: a. traditional gender ideology b. inequities in the labour force c. family law issues d. the way we typically respond to marriage breakdown e. all of the above.

2) e (Source: SIQ, ch. 11) Some of the ways in which poverty is feminized include: traditionally women were expected to perform unpaid duties as wives and mothers; relatively larger numbers of women work in lower paying jobs; there is a lack of affordable day-care for single-mothers; work interruptions to take care of family responsibilities lead to lower earnings over a women's lifetime, etc.

2. Research on the topic of poverty in Canada has revealed: a. that economic inequality has remained virtually the same over the past several decades b. that a sizable minority of the population remains in poverty year after year c. a net increase in employment opportunities over the past several decades d. all of the above e. none of the above

2. b - NS, ch. 6; SIQ, ch. 11; lecture

2. When applied to the economic and social conditions of Aboriginals in Canada, the conflict theory states that: a. Aboriginal culture is responsible for their poor economic conditions b. Aboriginal people can only succeed if they adopt European cultural values c. government policy towards Aboriginals fosters social marginality and dependence d. the Indian Act empowers Aboriginal groups to overcome economic inequality e. none of the above

2. c - lecture; NS, ch. 8

2. An examination of patterns in attendance at religious services in Canada suggests that: a. having a university degree is associated with a decline in religiosity b.the secularization thesis is most likely correct c.changes in labour force participation rates have not had an impact on overall levels of religiosity d.the decline in attendance at main line religious organizations was due in part to competing demands on the time available to families. e. none of the above

2. d - NS, ch. 13 ; lecture

4. Lautard and Guppy (in SIQ, Chapter 12, "Multiculturalism or Vertical Mosaic?") found that: a. ethnicity is even more important now than 40 years ago in terms of occupational stratification b. Porter's vertical mosaic is no longer an appropriate model for understanding occupation stratification c. ethnicity has more of an effect on inequality for immigrants than it does for non- immigrants d. ethnic stratification has decreased for males but not for females e. there is no longer any distinction between Southern and Western European immigrants in terms of ethnic occupational differentiation

4. c - lecture; SIQ, ch. 12

3) Sociological explanations of varying levels of religious commitment: a. focus mostly on deprivation b. can be both individual-and structure-centred c. emphasize just the socializing aspect of religious organizations d. clearly indicate that people are becoming less religious e. both b) and d)

3) b (Source: NS, ch. 13) Explanations fall into one of two categories: individual-centred (focus is on the person) and structure-centred (focus is on how religious commitment is influenced by the broader national, regional and groups contexts, which do or don't support religious commitment): - reflection: where people reflect on the meaning of existence, and life episodes influence these questions; but asking these questions doesn't necessarily lead to religious commitment - socialization: religious commitment is the result of learning/socialization, especially from the family; this appears to be a necessary, but not sufficient, cause for commitment - deprivation: religion provides a measure of compensation for society's deprived and disadvantaged; yet evidence shows that not all committed are necessarily disadvantaged - structure-centred: the context within which religions flourish or don't flourish

3) Canadian government policy towards Aboriginal people in the early twentieth century was based on: a. the culture of poverty thesis b. the development of cultural diversity c. class and gender diversity d. the assimilation of Aboriginal culture e. none of the above

3) d (NS, ch. 8) Government policy was based on the belief that Aboriginal culture was inferior to European culture, and therefore policies actively discouraged the uniqueness of Aboriginal culture (eg. through such practices as residential schools). The culture of poverty thesis is an early sociological explanation for the poor socioeconomic conditions of Aboriginal people, and states that Aboriginal outcomes are poor due to the lack of a capitalist work ethic.

3) Statistics Canada's 'Low-Income Cut-Offs' (LICOs): a. define poverty as not being able to purchase a 'normal' amount of food, shelter and clothing b. are the best measure of poverty c. don't take into account geographic variation in the cost of goods and services d. are best understood as a measure of income inequality e. none of the above

3) d (Source: NS, ch. 6, SIQ, ch. 11) LICOs, while commonly referred to as the 'poverty line', are actually better understood as a measure of income inequality. They are based on the idea that poor families must spend 20% more than the average family of similar size on 3 necessities - food, shelter, and housing. Studies show that the average family spends about 43% (of pre-tax income) on these 3 necessities. Statistics Canada calculates different LICOs for different geographic areas, pointing out that some costs (such as housing/shelter) are higher in cities than they are in rural areas. There are a number of criticisms of the LICO, including: - while the LICO measures relative poverty, it doesn't capture absolute poverty (ie. it doesn't distinguish between people who can and cannot afford basic necessities - it doesn't factor in higher costs of some goods in rural areas (eg. transportation) Other measures of poverty are therefore also used, such as the Market Basket Measure (MBM), which calculates the cost of a larger number of basic necessities than does the LICO; the MBM can then be compared to a person's/family's income.

3. John Porter, in his examination of what he called the vertical mosaic, argued that: a. Charter groups had greater access to power b Southern European immigrants were assigned a higher entrance status than Western European immigrants c. the vertical mosaic fostered upward social mobility d. immigration had no impact on occupational success e. the only charter group in Canada was the English

3. a - lecture; NS, ch. 8

3. Rostow argued that: a. development needs to be understood in the context of unequal economic relationships between countries b. countries proceed through various stages of development c. the lack of development is the responsibility of the less developed countries, and the failure its citizens to adopt entrepreneurial behaviours d. underdevelopment is the result of unfavourable trade relationships e. none of the above

3. b - NS, ch. 9; lecture

3. According to Gorusch and Aleshire, which of the following categories of church attendees exhibits the most prejudice? a. nonactiveattendees b. mostactiveattendees c. marginal attendees d. young,maleattendees e. old,maleattendees

3. c - NS, ch. 13; lecture

4) The secularization thesis: a. suggests that organized religion will disappear in modern societies b. is confirmed when examining religiosity trends in Canada c. suggests that societies will become more religious as the use of technology increases d. is confirmed when examining religiosity trends in UnitedStates e. both b) and d)

4) a (Source: NS, ch. 13) The secularization thesis suggests that in modern societies people will become more secular; with the advent of the industrialization and postindustrialization there is less importance placed on religion, and organized religion will diminish or disappear. Yet evidence at least in North America suggests that organized religion is not disappearing, and that Canadians (regardless of their demographic characteristics) continue to acknowledge spiritual needs

4) Neoliberal Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs): a. have decreased global income inequality b.have increased the quality of life in countries adopting SAPs c. have succeeded in countries with weak state structures d. only benefit the recipient nation e. have of ten negatively impacted women

4) e (Source: NS, ch. 9) Neoliberalism is the belief that economies function best with less government - and that the resulting economic growth benefits all members of society; SAPs are international financial assistance programs to less developed countries whereby bailouts are only provided when certain conditions are met by the recipient country, such as privatizing state-owned enterprises, ending tariff protection for local economies, reducing social welfare programs, etc. Critics point to the following with regards to how SAPs and neoliberalism have failed: - income inequality: while some countries have experienced increased income growth, the number of people living in poverty has actually increased; recent research indicates that even in 'successful' countries income inequalities are much larger than first thought - quality of life: even in those countries where income has increased, many indicators point to a decreased quality of life, such as increased air pollution and environmental degradation in India and China - strong states: history shows that the economic growth of a country is positively related to strong states, not weak states - impact on women: neoliberal policies have often resulted in lower food costs and higher levels of imported goods; this has disrupted local, agriculture-based economies, in which women form the bulk of the work force

4. Research into the effects of neo-liberal Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) has found that SAPs: a. are effective in reducing economic inequalities within less developed countries b. combine economic development with environmental protection policies c. stimulated economic growth rates in less developed countries d. all of the above e. none of the above

4. e - NS, ch. 9; lecture

4. Durkheim a. believed that religion subordinated the working-class b. created conditions that were conducive to the development of capitalism and industrialization c. argued that the state functioned just as effectively as organized religion in establishing the moral order of society d. believed that industrial society was characterized by mechanical solidarity e. believed that industrial society was characterized by organic solidarity

4. e - lecture

5. Marx a. believed that religion subordinated the working-class b. believed that the values promoted by Protestantism, particularly Calvinism, led to industrialization in the United States and England c. argued that the state functioned just as effectively as organized religion in establishing the moral order of society d. believed that industrial society was characterized by mechanical solidarity e. A and B only

5. a - lecture

5. The child poverty rate in Canada: a. has increased over the past few decades partly due to the increase of single-parent families b. is much higher than the poverty rate of seniors c. is worst for children whose parents are members of at-risk groups d. all of the above e. none of the above

5. d - SIQ, ch. 11

6. Weber a. believed that religion subordinated the working-class b. believed that the values promoted by Protestantism, particularly Calvinism, led to industrialization in the United States and England c. argued that the state functioned just as effectively as organized religion in establishing the moral order of society d. is most closely aligned with structural functionalism e. B and D only

6. b - lecture

7. Individuals who attend religious services weekly a. are more compassionate than individuals who do not attend weekly b. experience better emotional health than individuals who do not attend weekly c. express greater opposition to pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, homosexuality, and same-sex marriage (as compared to individuals who do not attend weekly) d. express the same amount of support for pre-marital sex,extra-marital sex, homosexuality, and same-sex marriage (as compared to individuals who do not attend weekly) e. A,B, and C only

7. c - NS, ch. 13; lecture