Answer to Question 1
Around the globe, one of the most important characteristics of systems of
stratification is their degree of flexibility. Sociologists distinguish among such systems
based on the extent to which they are open or closed. In an open system, the
boundaries between levels in the hierarchies are more flexible and may be influenced
(positively or negatively) by people's achieved statuses. Open systems are assumed to
have some degree of social mobility. Social mobility is the movement of individuals or
groups from one level in a stratification system to another. This movement can be
either upward or downward. Intergenerational mobility is the social movement
experienced by family members from one generation to the next. By contrast,
intragenerational mobility is the social movement of individuals within their own
lifetime. In a closed system, the boundaries between levels in the hierarchies of social
stratification are rigid, and people's positions are set by ascribed status. Open and
closed systems are ideal-type constructs; no actual stratification system is completely
open or closed.
Answer to Question 2
a
Concept map
This modified model of Easton’s systems theory puts government decision makers as the source of pol
Bronfenbrenner’s model of the ecological-systems approach to studying development. He suggested that
Commonly Used Equivalents for the Apothecary and Metric Systems Cont
Life Expectancy in Global Perspective
Waste is responsible for 3.6% of global greenhouse gas emissions