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Topic Review
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to people of the same sex. It "also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions." Along with bisexuality and heterosexuality, homosexuality is one of the three main categories of sexual orientation within the heterosexual–homosexual continuum. Scientists do not yet know the exact cause of sexual orientation, but they theorize that it is caused by a complex interplay of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences and do not view it as a choice. Although no single theory on the cause of sexual orientation has yet gained widespread support, scientists favor biologically-based theories. There is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial, biological causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males. There is no substantive evidence which suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role with regard to sexual orientation. While some people believe that homosexual activity is unnatural, scientific research shows that homosexuality is a normal and natural variation in human sexuality and is not in and of itself a source of negative psychological effects. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation. The most common adjectives for homosexual people are lesbian for females and gay for males, but the term gay also commonly refers to both homosexual females and males. The percentage of people who are gay or lesbian and the proportion of people who are in same-sex romantic relationships or have had same-sex sexual experiences are difficult for researchers to estimate reliably for a variety of reasons, including many gay and lesbian people not openly identifying as such due to prejudice or discrimination such as homophobia and heterosexism. Homosexual behavior has also been documented in many non-human animal species, though homosexual orientation is not significantly observed in other animals. Many gay and lesbian people are in committed same-sex relationships. These relationships are equivalent to heterosexual relationships in essential psychological respects. Homosexual relationships and acts have been admired, as well as condemned, throughout recorded history, depending on the form they took and the culture in which they occurred. Since the end of the 20th century, there has been a global movement towards freedom and equality for gay people, including the introduction of anti-bullying legislation to protect gay children at school, legislation ensuring non-discrimination, equal ability to serve in the military, equal access to health care, equal ability to adopt and parent, and the establishment of marriage equality.
  • 4.5K
  • 04 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy is a concept that refers to a formal organizational structure characterized by a hierarchical arrangement of tasks, authority, and responsibilities. Rooted in the principles of efficiency, rationality, and specialization, bureaucracy represents a system of administration designed to streamline decision-making processes, facilitate coordination, and ensure the efficient functioning of complex organizations. The term is often associated with administrative entities, government agencies, and large corporations, where intricate tasks require systematic management.
  • 4.5K
  • 25 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Normative
Normative generally means relating to an evaluative standard. Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good or desirable or permissible and others as bad or undesirable or impermissible. A norm in this normative sense means a standard for evaluating or making judgments about behavior or outcomes. Normative is sometimes also used, somewhat confusingly, to mean relating to a descriptive standard: doing what is normally done or what most others are expected to do in practice. In this sense a norm is not evaluative, a basis for judging behavior or outcomes; it is simply a fact or observation about behavior or outcomes, without judgment. Many researchers in science, law, and philosophy try to restrict the use of the term normative to the evaluative sense and refer to the description of behavior and outcomes as positive, descriptive, predictive, or empirical. Normative has specialised meanings in different academic disciplines such as philosophy, social sciences, and law. In most contexts, normative means 'relating to an evaluation or value judgment.' Normative propositions tend to evaluate some object or some course of action. Normative content differs from descriptive content. One of the major developments in analytic philosophy has seen the reach of normativity spread to virtually all corners of the field, from ethics and the philosophy of action, to epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of science. Saul Kripke famously showed that rules (including mathematical rules, such as the repetition of a decimal pattern) are normative in an important respect. Though philosophers disagree about how normativity should be understood, it has become increasingly common to understand normative claims as claims about reasons. As Derek Parfit explains:
  • 4.5K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Varna Necropolis
The so-called Varna Necropolis (Bulgarian: Варненски некропол) (also Varna Cemetery) is a burial site from 4569–4340 BC in the western industrial zone of Varna (approximately half a kilometre from Lake Varna and 4 km from the city centre), internationally considered one of the key archaeological sites in world prehistory. There were other necropoles dating from later Greek and Roman periods around the ancient city. The oldest gold treasure in the world, dating from this period, was discovered at the site.
  • 4.4K
  • 28 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Statistical Correlations of Criminal Behaviour
The statistical correlations of criminal behavior explore the associations of specific non-criminal factors with specific crimes. The field of criminology studies the dynamics of crime. Most of these studies use correlational data; that is, they attempt to identify various factors are associated with specific categories of criminal behavior. Such correlational studies led to hypotheses about the causes of these crimes. The Handbook of Crime Correlates (2009) is a systematic review of 5200 empirical studies on crime that have been published worldwide. A crime consistency score represents the strength of relationships. The scoring depends on how consistently a statistically significant relationship was identified across multiple studies. The authors claim that the review summarizes most of what is currently known about the variables associated with criminality. Writing in 2019, criminologist Greg Ridgeway argued that criminology was still trying to conclusively determine what causes crime.
  • 4.4K
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Diffused Religion Beyond Secularization
Diffused religion theory concerns the capacity of a dominant religion in a country to remain solid for centuries.
  • 4.4K
  • 01 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Organizational Silos
Organizational silos are herein defined and contextualized from a behavioral perspective. Specifically, silos are not only seen as barriers to communication and information flow, but they are analyzed in terms of their consequences on organizational structure, process and function. This three-tier division drawn from the literature on complex systems and networks is next adapted to fit a framework of behavior in organizations, which is a function of its environmental consequences. As learning may occur, the concept of silos can be informed by complexity theory, findings from cognitive-behavioral sciences, and a socio-cultural perspective. Moreover, the role of clusters are discussed in light of the aforementioned approaches to silos in organizations.
  • 4.3K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Worldview
A worldview refers to an individual's comprehensive framework of beliefs, values, assumptions, and perceptions that shape their understanding of reality, identity, and purpose in life. It encompasses one's philosophical, religious, cultural, and ideological perspectives, influencing their interpretation of the world, moral judgments, and decision-making processes.
  • 4.3K
  • 02 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Emergence of Society 5.0
The Society 5.0 emerged as an Japanese government program in which the government wish to establish a better, super-smart and more prosperous human-centered society, with the support of the technological innovations. The goal  of the program is also to recover the Japanese economy. The similar program is  known in Europe as  Industry 4.0. or Fourth Industrial revolution and in USA as Industrial Internet.
  • 4.3K
  • 17 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Social Inertia
Social inertia refers to the tendency of social systems to resist change and maintain their existing state of equilibrium. It encompasses the collective reluctance or resistance within a society to adopt new ideas, practices, or norms, even in the face of external pressures or opportunities for change. Social inertia can arise from various factors, including cultural traditions, institutional structures, and psychological biases, and it often presents challenges for efforts to enact social reform or innovation.
  • 4.2K
  • 08 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Anomie
The concept of anomie is a sociological term that was introduced by French sociologist Emile Durkheim in his seminal work, "Suicide: A Study in Sociology," published in 1897. Anomie refers to a state of normlessness or a breakdown of social norms within a society. Durkheim used this concept to explain the social conditions that contribute to higher rates of suicide.
  • 4.1K
  • 25 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Social Status
Social status refers to the position or rank that an individual holds within a social hierarchy, often determined by factors such as wealth, occupation, education, and social connections. It influences an individual's access to resources, opportunities, and privileges, as well as their social standing and reputation within society. Social status can be hierarchical, with some individuals occupying higher positions than others, and can vary across different social contexts and cultures.
  • 4.1K
  • 02 Feb 2024
Topic Review
White Privilege
White privilege, or white skin privilege, is the societal privilege that benefits white people over non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or economic circumstances. With roots in European colonialism and imperialism, and the Atlantic slave trade, white privilege has developed in circumstances that have broadly sought to protect white racial privileges, various national citizenships, and other rights or special benefits. In the study of white privilege and its broader field of whiteness studies, both pioneered in the United States , academic perspectives such as critical race theory use the concept to analyze how racism and racialized societies affect the lives of white or white-skinned people. For example, American academic Peggy McIntosh described the advantages that whites in Western societies enjoy and non-whites do not experience as "an invisible package of unearned assets". White privilege denotes both obvious and less obvious passive advantages that white people may not recognize they have, which distinguishes it from overt bias or prejudice. These include cultural affirmations of one's own worth; presumed greater social status; and freedom to move, buy, work, play, and speak freely. The effects can be seen in professional, educational, and personal contexts. The concept of white privilege also implies the right to assume the universality of one's own experiences, marking others as different or exceptional while perceiving oneself as normal. Some scholars say that the term uses the concept of "whiteness" as a proxy for class or other social privilege or as a distraction from deeper underlying problems of inequality. Others state that it is not that whiteness is a proxy but that many other social privileges are interconnected with it, requiring complex and careful analysis to identify how whiteness contributes to privilege. Other commentators propose alternative definitions of whiteness and exceptions to or limits of white identity, arguing that the concept of white privilege ignores important differences between white subpopulations and individuals and suggesting that the notion of whiteness cannot be inclusive of all white people. They note the problem of acknowledging the diversity of people of color and ethnicity within these groups. Some commentators have observed that the "academic-sounding concept of white privilege" sometimes elicits defensiveness and misunderstanding among white people, in part due to how the concept of white privilege was rapidly brought into the mainstream spotlight through social media campaigns such as Black Lives Matter. As an academic concept that was only recently brought into the mainstream, the concept of white privilege is frequently misinterpreted by non-academics; some academics, having studied white privilege undisturbed for decades, have been surprised by the seemingly sudden hostility from right-wing critics since approximately 2014.
  • 3.9K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Context Collapse
Context collapse refers to the phenomenon in digital communication where distinct social spheres or contexts intersect, leading to challenges in managing audience expectations, privacy boundaries, and self-presentation. It occurs when content intended for one audience becomes visible to multiple, potentially disparate audiences, blurring the boundaries between personal, professional, and social identities online. Context collapse often raises concerns about privacy, authenticity, and social repercussions in digital environments.
  • 3.8K
  • 08 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Paradigm Shift
A paradigm shift refers to a fundamental change in the underlying assumptions, beliefs, or frameworks that guide a particular field of knowledge or practice. It represents a transformative departure from established models of thought, leading to a reevaluation of existing principles and often opening new avenues for understanding and problem-solving within that domain.
  • 3.8K
  • 25 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Identity
Identity refers to the distinct and unique set of characteristics, qualities, beliefs, and affiliations that define an individual or a group. It encompasses various aspects, including personal attributes, cultural heritage, social roles, and a sense of belonging. Identity is dynamic, shaped by personal experiences, societal influences, and the interactions between individuals and their broader cultural, social, and historical contexts. It plays a crucial role in shaping how individuals perceive themselves and how they are perceived by others. Additionally, identity can be expressed through factors such as ethnicity, nationality, gender, religion, and personal values, contributing to the richness and diversity of human experiences.
  • 3.8K
  • 25 Jan 2024
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
The New Sociology of Religion
The new sociology of religion differs from the classical and mainstream sociology, which was in force until the end of the last century, in that it no longer considers religion only as an independent variable, but places it together with other dependent variables, so that it becomes possible to investigate new themes, especially those that do not consider religious involvement—from atheism to the phenomenon of ‘nones’ (non-believers and non-practicing), from spirituality to forms of para-religions and quasi-religions and the varied set of multiple religions. 
  • 3.8K
  • 13 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Necropolitics
Necropolitics is a concept that originates from postcolonial theory and refers to the politics of death and the power dynamics surrounding the control and regulation of life and death. Coined by Achille Mbembe, necropolitics examines how state power and sovereignty are exercised through the management of mortality, including the deployment of violence, surveillance, and exclusionary practices that determine who lives and who dies within a society.
  • 3.8K
  • 08 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Social Change
Social change refers to the transformation of societal structures, institutions, and behaviors over time. It involves shifts in values, norms, and practices that impact the way individuals and groups interact, ultimately influencing the broader dynamics of a society. Social change can result from various factors, including technological advancements, cultural evolution, political movements, and economic developments.
  • 3.8K
  • 26 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Neohumanism
Neohumanism is a holistic philosophical theory proposed by the Indian spiritual teacher Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (1921 – 1990) to promote individual and collective progress. In this philosophy universalism plays a central role. It claims to elevate humanism to level of universalism. It claims not to have any grouping intention.
  • 3.7K
  • 18 Oct 2022
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