Cultural Topic 5 Social Groups
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Cultural Topic 5Social GroupsWhat is the difference between an official social group and an unofficial social group? What factors can we use to assess somebody’s social group?Why do we put people in social groups?How important are social groups?What is the British royal family like?Are British people supportive of the royal family?What are some of the main social groups in the UK?What are some of the main social groups in other English-speaking countries?What about immigrants and their descendants?Is there ever tension between different social groups?1What is the difference between an official social group and an unofficial social group?o Official social groups, which are decided by the government, are rare in English-speaking countries. While data is collected about people, it is not usually used to put them into different groups that receive different services.o Instead, official social groups are usually used to judge the country’s performance as a whole.o Unofficial social groups, which can be decided by anyone, are much more common.What factors can we use to assess somebody’s social group?o There are many potential factors that we can use to classify people, for example:o It is not usually the case that somebody has all of the characteristics of one social group but none of the characteristics of any others; therefore it is rare to find somebody who is a perfect match for one social group.o People can belong to more than one social group.Why do we put people in social groups?o Social groups often help the public by making it easier to think about what different needs different people in the country want.o Businesses put people into social groups so as to tailor their promotion to different sectors of society.o Governments like social groups because it can help them target different people with different ideas and therefore become more popular. Just as a business needs to know what itscustomers are like so as to market its product in the best way, so a government also needs to know what the public are like so it can try to be as popular as possible.How important are social groups?o If you were to ask people how important social groups are then they would probably say that social groups are not vital but that they exist. It is common for people to try to put others into groups and equally common to resist being put into a group.o When looking at friendship groups, leisure activities, employment, interests and other aspects of life in English-speaking countries though, it is clear to see that social groups do have aninfluence.What is the British royal family like?o The royal family occupies a unique place in the UK, and, to a lesser extent, in the Commonwealth. They have this place because of tradition and history.o The monarch is the head of state of the UK. It is commonly said that she reigns but does not rule. The current monarch is Elizabeth II, who has been the queen since 1952. She will befollowed by Charles, William and then George.o The royal family is, in theory, very large and is financially supported by the taxpayer and by its own investments and the profits from its land. In practise, however, it is only the coremembers of the royal family who are widely known to the people. The monarch is the oldest son or daughter (previously just the oldest son) of the previous monarch.2o The royal family’s costs are as follows:o The royal family’s duties include but are not limited to:o The current royal family is the House of Windsor, formally known as the House of Saxe-Coberg and Gotha, which was a German name that was changed around the time of the first World War for patriotic reasons.Are British people supportive of the royal family?o In modern day Britain, support for the royal family is quite high:o There are reasons for and against having a monarchy in the UK:o In recent history, there have been various events that have increased or decreased support for the royal family:∙Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee (1977)∙Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedd ing (1981)∙The Windsor Castle fire (1992)∙The divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana (1996)∙The divorce of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson (1996)∙The death of Princess Diana (1997)∙Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee (2002)3∙‘Harry the Nazi’ (2005)∙The marriage of Prince William and Princess Catherine (2011)∙Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee (2012)∙The birth of Prince George (2013)What are some of the main social groups in the UK?o When focusing on different types of jobs there is one commonly used classification called the ABC1C2DE classification:∙ A∙ B∙C1∙C2∙ D∙ Eo Jobs that are in the A, B or C1 classes are generally regarded as the ones which have the highest salaries and best future prospects. Together, they are called ABC1 jobs.o Another social group is the DINKY:o Another social group is the NEET:o Another social group is Middle England:4o Another social group is ‘chav’:What are some of the main social groups in other English-speaking countries?o In the USA there are the people who are of Mexican nationality:o In the USA there are African Americans:o In Canada there are the Québécois:o In Australia there are the Aborigines:What about immigrants and their descendants?o The proportion of people in these countries who were not born in these countries is increasing: o The proportion of children at school whose first language is not English is also getting higher: o Traditionally, the people in these countries are seen as being white and of European descent, or even WASPs (white Anglo-Saxon Protestants), although that is changing:5Is there ever tension between different social groups?o There is sometimes tension between different groups but for the most part people get on rather well in English-speaking countries.o The most noticeable exception to this, in recent years, has been the tension between immigrants and native people. Although religion is sometimes a cause for this tension, it isusually economic reasons that provoke tension.o In the English-speaking countries there is sometimes a belief that immigrants, especially those from poorer countries, are taking jobs from the native people. Some people argue that,because people from poorer countries may be willing to work for lower salaries, they canundercut native workers.o Immigrants are also sometimes said to go to English-speaking countries to take advantage of the welfare system for example in healthcare, government-assisted housing and schooling.Statistics on this are mixed though.6。
