Contribution of Functionalism Essay Example for Free

Contribution of Functionalism Essay Functionalists believe that everything in a society contributes to the wellbeing and running of society, e.g. the government, the family, education etc. functionalists are concerned with the role of education within society, Durkheim and Parsons have identified 4 basic functions of education; passing on societies culture – this creates a consensus of shared norms and values. Education also provides a bridge between particularistic values (judging particular individuals values) and ascribed status of the family (fixed by birth) and the universalistic values (judging according to abstract set of standards). Education provides society with a well-trained and qualified workforce. Finally Education selects and allocates people to roles in a meritocratic society and legitimizes social inequality. Functionalists believe that education benefits society as a whole, however Marxists argue that education benefits the ruling class, while feminists see it as benefiting men. The idea that education passes on society’s culture is criticised by Marxists, seeing education as promoting the values of power groups/ruling class. Hargreaves believes that education promotes competition and individualism rather than shared values. If education does provide a bridge between particularistic and universalistic values that education should promote social solidarity – however education can be divisive because the hierarchy of schools and universities can separate class. Education is meant to select the most appropriate people to do particular jobs, however other factors apart from qualifications influence the labour markets (e.g. social contracts), therefore promoting social inequality as a great deal of research shows that class, gender and ethnicity influence achievement, making the labour market unequal. Parsons also argues that schools provide a secondary socialisation. It teaches that relationships in society are based on what people can do for us and what we can do for them; it provides a form of social control and social solidarity, children learn deferred gratification whereby we can’t always g et what we want when we want it. Education also provides a transmission of culture values. Davis and Moore argue education ‘sifts and sorts’ students out – some in different sets and leaving school at different times decides which jobs they end up doing and what class they are in. sifting and sorting can be done through banding and streaming students in to sets, and also through examination. Both Marxists and feminists see that schools play a major role in an excuse of social inequality; the both show an interest in structural relationships of education and different parts of society e.g. the economy. Both prospective see the education system contributing a powerful influence on social solidarity. Marxists believe that the education system serves capitalism and keeps classes divided through banding and streaming. Education serves the needs of society according to functionalists, however Marxists believe that it teachers children to be submissive, through social control and the hidden curriculum. According to functionalists education explains social inequality, whereas it is argued by Marxists that education serves to justify a person’s class position and say that is can be blamed on the individual rather than the unequal structure of society. Marxists view meritocracy as an illusion. Hasley believes that education fails to offer the same opportunity to lower social classes, as to the higher classes. Furthermore Functionalism provides some good points into the ways in which we understand education; however it fails to see the ‘realism’ of meritocracy and social class inequality. Functionalism relies on the assumption that everyone agrees to the norms and values of society, and that the system is meritocratic and equal to all within it.

Comparing Faulkners Light in August and James Portrait of a Lady Essa

Comparing William Faulkner's Light in August  and Henry James' Portrait of a Lady Light in August   and Portrait of a Lady are two novels which embodies within them, life affirming morals. Authors like William Faulkner and Henry James possess the art of making the reader learn by experiencing for themselves.   William Faulkner uses the technique of introspection as well as by showing how characters and their actions can affect one another. Henry James also shows that a character’s actions and decisions can greatly affect one’s future and happiness.   Both authors focus on the power of words that function only to categorize individuals into certain races or social classes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William Faulkner, in Light in August, centers his novel around the sensitive issues dealing with race, sex, social status and personal history.   Faulkner shows the reader that people who are placed in such categories receive certain expectations from society.   The characters generally accept these categories as truth, and cannot escape from their expectations, both from society and from themselves. Characters are placed under labels. These labels dictate how the characters should or should not act.   These labels determine the character’s potential for good or evil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Race is the most prominent label in Light in August. The race of the characters dictates how they are treated among others in society. A person’s race is translated into an image.   Characters affected by racism include Joe Christmas, Old Doc Hines.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joe Christmas was born an illegitimate child, from a white mother, and a father of unknown ethnic origin. From a child, he was called â€Å"nigger† by his peers, even before he knew the meaning of the w... ...ertain situations. The reader really â€Å"sees† that labels have the power to change people and to alter their priorities, if the individual accepts them as truth. Works Cited Faulkner, William. Light in August. 1932. New York: Vintage, 1987. James, Henry. The Portrait of a Lady. Ed. Geoffrey Moore and Patricia Crick. New York: Penguin, 1986. Works Consulted Volpe, Edmond L. "Exploring Independence ." Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Portrait of a Lady: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Peter Buitenhuis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968. Krook, Dorothea. "Two Problems in The Portrait of a Lady." Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Portrait of a Lady: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Peter Buitenhuis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968. Pitavy, Francois. Faulkner's "Light in August." Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1973

Economics – What does overall supply of labour depend upon?

1.) What does overall supply of labour depend upon? The overall supply of labour is affected in several different ways. First of all, the working population is considered to be in between 16 and 65 years of age. The inactive population is therefore those younger than 16 and those over 65 years. If there was a huge baby boom in the foreseeable future then the benefits of this would not be felt until some years later when they would become part of the working population. However, in order that the government can gain maximum tax revenue is if more people are in full time education and higher education with the prospect of working in a high paid job. Initially, this would be quite difficult but it would relieve the pressure placed on by the dependency ratio. Other factors that affect the supply of labour are that the death rate is always decreasing therefore the population is increasing. The current health service is going to be put under even more sustained pressure as the more people get older and live longer. This also adds to the increasing dependency ratio. Many people who immigrate to Britain will then, on the whole, add to the overall supply of labour. Another very important factor is that women are getting married later on in life so that they can pursue a career. Also read this  Cheating in a Bottom Line Economy 2.) How do you account for the increase in inactive males in recent years? There are many reasons that men become increasingly inactive in recent years. One reason is, in recent years the primary industry has decreased substantially and the tertiary and services sector has grown considerably. Many men were involved in the primary sector such as factory, coal mining, and farming. Over the last few decades those manufacturing industries have slowly reduced and more tertiary and services have been growing. The tertiary and services sector have a tendency to employ more women, possibly because they are more ‘approachable' than men. One could think of this as sexual discrimination perhaps. Those men who worked in low skilled jobs also found it difficult to adjust to a new job as those low skilled jobs are not readily available. However, the younger male population tend to stay in education additional to compulsory education. 3.) What has been the economic impact of migration both into and out of the British economy over the past 40 years? The impact of migration had many advantages as well as disadvantages. Over the last 40 years migration, in some cases, has severely affected the working population. For example, in the 1960's and 1970's many people chose to migrate to another country so the working population would decrease. The cost of the decrease was a net fall in output. More higher qualified professionals e.g. Doctors, Teachers chose to work away from the UK. This may have a bearing on why there is a shocking lack of teachers around today. Anyway, due to this problem, many people from other parts of the world like Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa were persuaded to come and work in the UK. 4.) Why are more women becoming more economically active? More women work and have become economically active because of changes in the law forcing firms to have a certain proportion of women in their company. Equal Pay Legislation and Maternity Provision was at the forefront of gaining equal opportunities. Nowadays, many women do not marry when they are in their early 20's but they may do after they turn 30. Theoretically, these women would choose not to have a baby as they would then be tied down and cannot pursue their career. Formerly, women tended to be house wives, they used to all the house work but because of technological advances time taken to do all the housework shortened leaving the women nothing to do for the rest of the day. The other reason is that women are more flexable with their work hours, they tended to work more part-time. The demand for women workers has sharply risen with the increase in tertiary and services sector. More employers are looking for women to improve the appearance of the company. 5.) To what degree has changing the nature of employment within U.K. affected participation ratios of men and women? Over the last few decades, due to the decline in manufacturing industries and the incline of tertiary industries we can conclude that there has been extensive. This is because as manufacturing industries declined many men found it difficult to learn new skills as well as employers preferred to train younger people. The ratio's show this by male inactivity slowly rising as female inactivity fell.

Do All Rivers Flow South

It disturbs me how often Im asked why x river flows northward or for the name of three rivers that flow north. Most of these questions come from Americans who, for some reason, must presume that since the Mississippi flows south, all rivers on the planet flow south. Thus, to hopefully educate the world about the goals and desires of rivers, Ive written a new article called, Rivers Flowing North. Cheers!