🔵 Women do more multitasking at home while men do solo chores, study says | The Independent

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/diy-sociology-aston-university-men-rick-stein-b2322695.html

Sociology and policy lecturer Dr Emily Christopher, who interviewed 25 couples for the study, found that ‘woman-type’ chores often involve multitasking and doing things such as remembering birthdays and if children need their PE kits, while men’s roles tend to involve solo duties centred around machinery and perceived physical strength.
But she stressed that past research has found women still perform the ‘lion’s share’ of household work, although some tasks have ‘shifted’ over the years.

CJI inaugurates 'Mitti Cafe' run by differently-abled people in Supreme Court

🪔 Happy Diwali 🪔

🔵 Women’s Right to Bodily Integrity: Critical Reflections on Judicial Interventions | Economic and Political Weekly

https://www.epw.in/engage/article/womens-right-bodily-integrity-critical-reflections

Sundar Pichai shares top 5 questions searched on Google on Diwali

🔵 Female Instagram elderly influencers countering the ageing narratives | Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-023-02323-4

Influencers are usually associated with young people creating waves on social media. However, there are “Influencer” at age 60 and beyond. This study unveils ‘Female Instagram Elderly Influencers’ who inspire every generation through appeal and presence on the platform. This study explores how older women influencers on Instagram promote themselves online and how they challenge the stereotypes about ageing. In an era defined by the growing influence of digital media, this study reveals the unique perspectives these women use to challenge the social assumptions about ageing. In particular, this study proposed new ways of ageing, defying gender and setting newer perspectives on old age and ageing. By using a netnography technique, an extensive investigation of the online identities and discussions of eight senior female Instagram influencers was conducted. Netnography has allowed to delve deeper into their public profiles, observing their virtual communities and providing insights into their online identity. The results draw attention to a few key characteristics that characterise the online personas of these “older female influencers” on Instagram. These influencers challenge preconceived notions about ageing through their profiles by projecting an image of themselves as vibrant, engaged and active. They portray a colourful, opportunity-filled life full of self-expression through their carefully chosen texts and videos, which showcase their love for everything around them, like food, travel, fashion, quick tips, etc. Furthermore, the findings suggest that these influencers provide their followers with a sense of empowerment. By sharing their personal day-to-day experiences, wisdom and advice, they interact with a broad audience and uplift and reassure those going through difficult times. People of all ages engage with their content, showing how this sense of community is ‘ageless’. The critical role older female Instagram influencers play in eradicating age-related stereotypes and creating a welcoming community is revealed through this netnography investigation. Their experiences and online persona offer a nuanced viewpoint on ageing, encouraging individuals to take advantage of life’s opportunities at any age.

Talcott Parsons' theory of the social system and his AGIL paradigm offer a comprehensive framework that can indeed incorporate various sociological concepts. Let's explore how the concepts from other thinkers fit into Parsons' AGIL framework:

Adaptation Function (A): This function, performed by the economic institutions of a society. Marx's concepts of historical materialism (HM) and modes of production (MOP) can be seen as part of the adaptive function of a society, wherein the economic base adapts to material conditions and technological advancements. Economic Infrastructure (EI) and Superstructure (SS) interaction also reflects this adaptation, aligning with the cybernetic hierarchy of control where the economy adjusts to societal needs and environmental constraints.

Goal Attainment Function (G): Political institutions, according to Parsons, are responsible for setting and achieving society's goals. Weber's analysis of authority and bureaucracy fits into the goal attainment function, where political structures establish societal objectives and mobilize resources to achieve them. Weber's insights into the rational-legal authority of bureaucratic systems illustrate how political institutions systematically work toward set goals.


Integration Function (I): The role of different social institutions is to maintain integration within society. Marx's concept of class struggle highlights the tensions within the integration function as societies seek to manage the competing interests and conflicts between classes. Durkheim's concepts illustrate how social solidarity and division of labor contribute to social integration. His work on suicide further elucidates the consequences when integration fails, leading to anomie or normlessness.


Latency Function (L): The latency function is about pattern maintenance and tension management, performed by socialization systems. Merton's work shows how deviance can be a byproduct of the tension between cultural goals and the means available to achieve them.

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Marx's Concept of Alienation: Alienation, according to Marx, can be related to both the Adaptation (A) and Integration (I) functions. Alienation emerges when the economic system (A) is incongruent with human needs and potential, causing a rift in the social integration (I) as workers feel disconnected from their labor and community.

Weber's PESC and Integration of (A) and (L): Max Weber's analysis of Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (PESC) intersects with Adaptation (A) as it shows how religious values influenced capitalist economic behavior. It also resonates with the Latency (L) function because it involves the internalization of values and norms that motivate economic conduct.

Mead's Self and Identity Concept: George Herbert Mead's ideas about the self and identity fit within the Integration (I) and Latency (L) functions. The development of self is a process that occurs within a social context (I), as individuals internalize societal roles and expectations. The Latency function is at play as it relates to the stabilization of the self-concept over time through socialization.

Merton's Latent and Manifest Functions/Deviance: Robert K. Merton's distinction between latent and manifest functions and his theory of deviance can be seen throughout all AGIL functions. Manifest functions align with the explicit objectives of social institutions (G), while latent functions relate to the unintended consequences that can emerge in any of the AGIL domains. Deviance, often a response to imbalances or dysfunctions within these areas, can challenge and prompt adjustments across the system.

Make adultery a crime again

India Inc boardrooms have a mixed report card on diversity
Read more at: https://dbrief.news/d/WoGpd

🔵 Social mobility must be at ‘the heart’ of levelling up, Government tsar says | The Independent

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/katharine-birbalsingh-social-mobility-commission-maths-english-sociology-b2107601.html

🔵 China’s Male Leaders Push to Get Women to Stay Home for Family - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/02/world/asia/china-communist-party-xi-women.html

🔵 Everyone's Sleepless, Exhausted. Why Did Rest Become So Scarce? | The Swaddle

https://www.theswaddle.com/everyone-s-sleepless-exhausted-why-did-rest-become-so-scarce

The right to rest is a fundamental human right; it has been recognized as such by India’s Supreme Court as well. But in a society riddled with inequities, the right to rest becomes a privilege and sleep deprivation is an outrage only in the population with the social and economic capital to call it out. For others, it is the accepted status quo. “The sacrifice of sleep in today’s productivity-driven society also speaks to the invisibility of the sacrifice of specific bodies in society, linked to histories of emotional labour and value extraction that are embedded in settler colonialism, racial capitalism and patriarchy – and living through systemic oppression is exhausting,” wrote Marie-Louise Richards in an essay. As it turns out, when inequalities and discrimination are embedded in our socio-cultural, political and economic systems, some bodies are pushed to extremes more than others. And research shows that these bodies primarily belong to women, the poor and people from marginalized or minority communities.

“We used to think that sleep problems were limited to Type A professionals, and they certainly aren’t immune, but low-income individuals and racial minorities are actually at greatest risk,” Wendy Troxel, a behavioral and social scientist said.

Sleep, or the lack of it, is not simply a health concern. It intersects with race, ethnicity, gender and even income.

🔵 Deciphering Current Affairs

One way for mapping current affairs to sociology syllabus.

Please maintain a separate sheet for every topic/subtopic.

Whenever you read the news, enter social issues in the respective sheet.

You may write a one-liner and create a hyperlink to the detailed news.

Update this sheet regularly.

Revise it often.

Congratulations! You have conquered sociology current affairs.

Note: Please write only what you can recall. Don't write anything and everything. Don't run after too many technicalities.

@Decipher_Sociology

🔵 Can the Death Penalty Be Justified? | An Explainer

https://www.epw.in/engage/article/can-death-penalty-be-justified

🔵 Does Access to Educational Institutions Signify Gaining Quality Education? | Economic and Political Weekly

https://www.epw.in/journal/2023/30/commentary/does-access-educational-institutions-signify.html

The Annual Status of Education Report has been instrumental in understanding the education trends in rural India. The ASER 2022, published after a gap of four years, draws attention to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic on the primary and middle school education. While an increase in the enrolment rate is an encouraging observation, declining foundational learning abilities is a grim development. Drawing inferences from the major findings of the report, this article suggests the need for renewed collective efforts from the state, teachers, parents, and neighbourhood community to meet the new educational challenges.

🔵 Hybrid Mustard and Biotechnology : Pathways for Doubling Farmers’ Incomes and Nutritional Security | Economic and Political Weekly

https://www.epw.in/journal/2023/43/review-rural-affairs/hybrid-mustard-and-biotechnology.html

The government’s decision to move ahead on the much-delayed genetically modified mustard developed by the University of Delhi signifies a turnaround and bodes well for the country’s food system. Numerous tests over the last 20 years prove its safety for food, feed, and the environment in the Indian context. The resultant hybrid DMH-11 gives a yield advantage of 37% with the same level of inputs. Our analysis shows that the farming community will get 99% of the additional monetary gains, leaving only 1% to the seed companies. Establishing a hybrid seed production system through this approval is a breakthrough, and several new hybrids with higher yields and desirable characteristics might follow in the next few years that can lead to a turnaround in mustard production.