Technology, Social Change, and Global Social Challenges Flashcards

Flashcards on Technology, Social Change, and Global Social Challenges

Technology

Tools, systems, and innovations developed by humans to interact with their environment and each other.

Arab Spring

A wave of protests and uprisings that took place across the Middle East and North Africa from 2010 to 2012, facilitated by social media.

White’s Cultural Evolution Theory

Societies advance based on how efficiently they can harness energy through technology.

Social Environment

Values, beliefs, institutions, and social structures that surround individuals and communities.

Marx’s Conflict Theory

Argues that social change comes from tension between dominant and oppressed groups.

Demographics

Statistical characteristics of a population, such as age, gender, income, education level, and ethnicity.

Immigration

The process of individuals moving from one country to another with the intention of settling there permanently.

Refugee

Someone forced to flee their country due to war, violence, persecution, or natural disaster.

Media

Various channels of communication used to distribute information, entertainment, and opinions, such as television, news, social media, and film.

Deviance

Behaviours that go against the accepted norms or expectations of a society.

Globalization

Growing connection between countries through trade, culture, politics, and technology.

New International Division of Labour Theory

Explains how richer countries move production to poorer nations to save money.

Climate change

Long-term changes in weather patterns caused mostly by human activity.

Social Change

Transformations in beliefs, social interactions, practices, organization, and structures of society.

Social Epidemic

Ideas, products, and behaviors that spread rapidly through a population in the way that a virus spreads.

Invention

New product, idea, or social pattern that affects the way large groups conduct their lives.

Diffusion

Spread of a cultural trait from one society to another through some form of social contact.

Acculturation

Mutual influence of different cultures in close contact.

Physical Environment

Climate, weather, vegetation, animal populations, and humans all affect this aspect of change. Natural disasters can cause major destruction.

Technology

Development and use of this in society has wide-reaching implications on a culture’s social institutions, customs, and values.

Social Stratification

Categories of people are ranked according to a hierarchy, based on class, ethnicity, gender and age

Class

People who have the same level of wealth and income.

Status

A person’s rank in prestige or lifestyle, derived from education, income, and occupation.

Power

Ability to exercise one’s will over others.

Trend

A general direction in which something is developing or changing over time.

Immigration trends:

Steady increase in this, with spikes from Syria (2015–16) and Ukraine (2022–).

Bandwagon Effect:

People adopt certain behaviors, beliefs, or trends because "everyone else is doing it."

Albert Bandura:

Canadian Psychologist believed that people learn through observing other people’s behaviour and then modelling it.

Deviance

Behavior that violates the norms or standards of conduct of a group or society

Cybercrime

Any crime where a cyber element has a substantial role in the commission of a criminal offence

Crimminal Justice

The police, courts, correctional system, and restorative justice make up what type of sytem?

Crimminal Justice System

For many years society has relied on this to deal with crime: a victim calls the police, the police arrive to take care of the problem

Desensitization:

The process of becoming familiar with a stimulus, which reduces a person’s reaction to it.

Development

A long-term process focused on improving basic needs, education, economic opportunities, and infrastructure while respecting human rights and the environment

Developing Country

A lower-income nation where many people have limited access to services, goods, and a generally lower standard of living

Human development index

a summary measure used by the United Nations to assess and compare the overall well-being and quality of life in different countries

Grassroot Level

Local people involved in planning, implementation and benefit

Cycle of Poverty

A pattern where poverty is passed from one generation to the next, making it hard for people to escape it.

Globalization

This is the process of nations becoming more connected and interdependent through economic, social, cultural, political, and technological links.

Export Processing Zone (EPZ)

These are special zones where companies from other countries can set up factories. These zones often have fewer rules, especially about taxes and worker protections, to attract businesses

New International Division of Labour Theory

The idea that companies break up their production process and send parts of it to different countries

Globalization index

This measures global social, political, and economic interactions for 207 countries and territories. it measures how “interconnected” a country is to the rest of the world

Sweatshops

A factory where the working conditions are dangerous, unfair, and often exploitative. Workers in sweatshops typically face low wages, long hours, and unsafe environments

Multinational corporation

ALSO KNOWN AS A transnational corporation (TNC). A large company that operates and has business activities in two or more countries.

Child labor

Work that is harmful to children’s physical or mental development, or interferes with their education.

Climate Migrant

People who are forced to leave their home or country because of sudden or gradual changes in their environment caused by climate change, such as droughts, floods, or rising sea levels