Social Structure in Europe - Free Report Sample

1. Different concepts were adopted by multiple parties about social class, based on various indicators. David Grusky identified various aspects that can be used to determine the social class. First, the identification of social class was based on distributional location, describing the distribution of people regarding material equality in society. Furthermore, there was the aspect of life chances, which described the opportunities people have to afford better economic fortunes. Moreover, there were subjectively salient groups described how people are situated regarding the prevailing inequality structures (Wright, 2005, 181). There was also a unique proposition in the form of historical variation, which highlights inequality in social classes from a historical perspective. The perspective proposed that subsequent generations inherited social classes, which explained generational wealth or poverty in society.

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However, the approach can be criticized by the neo-Marxist approach based on the differences that exist between the two. First, it can establish the criticism of an emancipation perspective, where the system did not include the transformations to eliminate exploitation and oppression in societies. The less fortunate exploitation is one of the leading causes of inequality among social classes in communities. Furthermore, criticism can be based on the weight given to historical variation. History is one of the significant determinants of inequality, a fact that was jotted well appreciated by David Grusky in his approach. Therefore, those are the significant differences that can form the basis of criticism.

2. The total income of an individual is a summation of two incomes; the transitory and permanent income. The summation defines the income that can be reliably associated with an individual. Permanent income is denoted as yp while transitory income is represented as ye. Permanent income defines the life-time average income of an individual, associated with the type of activities they engage in. It is the average or total income that an individual earns or is related to their earnings for over five to ten years. On the other hand, transitory income is defined as the reflection of the occurrence of fluctuations in the income that an individual receives. Measurement errors in quantifying income and changes in the level of economic activity are some of the reasons for the transitory income associated with an individual.

Therefore, transitory income is hard to measure and forecast, based on the uncertainty associated with its measurement. An individual's permanent income can be reliably stated at a given time and also forecasted into the future. However, there is a tremendous challenge in measuring and predicting their transitory income (Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik et al., 2003, 319). Therefore, the difference shows there exists a margin of error associated with the reliable measurement of income by an individual. The error is associated with the transitory income component. However, their overall life chances can be reliably measured based on their permanent income component because of its certainty.

3. Sex segregation defines the separation or discrimination of individuals based on their gender in society. The economic activities that people engage in are different because of the perceived capabilities that are pegged on their gender. When there is sex segregation in society, there is a reduced level of productivity because people are involved in limited productivity degrees. However, in a situation where there is freedom to engage in economic activities regardless of people's gender, there is enhanced productivity. There are two types of sex segregation, vertical and horizontal. Horizontal sex segregation is discrimination based on the field of study, where a specific field is associated with a particular gender (Kalter & Granato, 2010, 367).

On the other side, horizontal sex segregation is informed by the level of attainment and achievement. Sex segregation reduces the ability of individuals to earn income because their productivity is discriminated against. The skills of the individuals are not considered, which limits the income they earn. In the long run, the general population's productivity is limited to the ideals of sex segregation. Therefore, in the long run, the gross domestic product and per capita income is lower because of the less than optimum production level. Consequently, it is evident that sex segregation significantly reduces a country's economic development because of limited economic activity engagements (Mau & Verwiebe, 2010, 137). There is a limit placed on productivity by individuals because of sex segregation, which reduces productivity.

4. A resume is a document used to give a description of an individual regarding their background, education, and capabilities. The resume is meant to highlight the suitability of an individual for a given job. However, the resume can also be used as a tool for discrimination based on an individual's characteristics described. Therefore, there can be a resume study or audit that will identify the critical aspects of bias associated with the basis of any discrimination. Discrimination can either be based on vertical or horizontal segregation, which provides features on a resume that can be used to detect discrimination (Warren, 2009, 2215). First, education can be a basis of discrimination, whereby individuals with specific qualifications are overlooked despite their other competencies.

Furthermore, there is the name feature, which is used as identification for gender in most cases. It is used in discriminating against individuals based on their perceived abilities that are pegged on a specific gender type. Therefore, there is a need for a resume audit to eliminate any elements that may be the basis of discrimination. An audit has the strength of enhancing equality in employment opportunities. That reduces the chances of bias. However, there is a weakness in terms of the audit being subjected to stereotypes or culture (Mackenbach et al., 2018 6440). The resume audit can further discriminate when any cultural or situational aspects influence the auditors.

References

Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, J. H., Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, J. H., & Wolf, C. (Eds.). (2003). Advances in cross-national comparison: A European working book for demographic and socio-economic variables. Springer Science & Business Media. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=mJ6t5TYBzDUC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=advances+in+cross-national+comparison+a+european+working+book+for+&ots=BUXgvWuPtK&sig=DWRSJKVyZR95CEY3OkZ6DnNIbCs&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=advances%20in%20cross-national%20comparison%20a%20european%20working%20book%20for&f=false

Kalter, F., & Granato, N. (2010). Different countries, different groups, same mechanisms? The structural assimilation of the second generation in Europe (D, F, GB) and the United States. International Policy Exchange Series, 1, 359-380. https://madoc.bib.uni-mannheim.de/27086/?rs=true&

Mackenbach, J. P., Valverde, J. R., Artnik, B., Bopp, M., Brønnum-Hansen, H., Deboosere, P., ... & Menvielle, G. (2018). Trends in health inequalities in 27 European countries. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(25), 6440-6445. https://www.pnas.org/content/115/25/6440?etoc=&utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Proc_Natl_Acad_Sci_U_S_A_TrendMD_1

Mau, S., & Verwiebe, R. (2010). European societies: Mapping structure and change. Policy Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=iaXv1_MZ98oC&oi=fnd&pg=PR8&dq=european+societies:+mapping+the+structure+of+change+&ots=JRrKHFv4ax&sig=ZeAZIEuqmOkYS3IWrGJIxDURE54&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=european%20societies%3A%20mapping%20the%20structure%20of%20change&f=false

Warren, J. R. (2009). Socioeconomic status and health across the life course: a test of the social causation and health selection hypotheses. Social forces, 87(4), 2125-2153. https://academic.oup.com/sf/article-abstract/87/4/2125/2235250

Wright, E. O. (Ed.). (2005). Approaches to class analysis. Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=GRu3tXAG9i8C&pg=PA180&lpg=PA180&dq=the+specific+definitions+and+elaborations+of+the+concept+of+class+that+have+been+explored+in+this+book&source=bl&ots=Mk7WdjvNu5&sig=ACfU3U2iFbVJi60wOvVWKoB8RaZ_BUxz9Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwje57PK4fHrAhVJOBoKHVsmDOkQ6AEwAHoECAEQAQ#v=onepage&q=the%20specific%20definitions%20and%20elaborations%20of%20the%20concept%20of%20class%20that%20have%20been%20explored%20in%20this%20book&f=false