Social Inequality and Policy

Children falling in which group are most severely affected by the quiet crisis?

Directions: Read the following passage & answer the question. 
Though the U.S. prides itself on being a leader in the world community, a recent report shows that it lags far behind other industrialized countries in meeting the needs of its youngest and most vulnerable citizens. The U.S. has a higher infant mortality rate, a higher proportion of low birth weight babies, a smaller proportion of babies immunized against childhood diseases and a much higher rate of adolescent pregnancies. These findings, described as a “quiet crisis requiring immediate and far-reaching action, appeared in a report prepared by a task force of educators, doctors, politicians and business people. According to the report, a fourth of the nation’s 12 million infants and toddlers live in poverty. As many as half confront risk factors that could harm their ability to develop intellectually, physically and socially. Child immunization is too low, more children are born into poverty, more are in substandard care while their parents work and more being raised raised by single parents. When taken together these and other risk factors can lead to education and health problems that are much harder and more costly to reverse.
>            The crisis begins in the womb with unplanned parenthood. Women with unplanned pregnancies are less likely to seek pre-natal care. In the U.S. 80% of teenage pregnancies and 56% of all pregnancies are unplanned. The problems continue after birth where unplanned pregnancies and unstable partnerships often go hand in hand. Since 1950, the number of single parent families has nearly tripled. More then 25 percent of all births today are to unmarried mothers. As the number of single parent families grow and more women enter the work force, infants and toddlers are increasingly in the care of people other than their parents.
            Most disturbingly, recent statistics show that American parent are increasingly neglecting or abusing their children, in only four years from 1987-1971 the number of children in foster care increased by over 50 percent. Babies under the age of one are the fastest growing category of children entering foster care. The crisis affects children under the age of three most severely, the report says. Yet, it is this period from infancy through preschool years that sets the stage for a child’s future.

Directions: Read the following passage & answer the question

Decide which of the following factor is/ are responsible for the physical, intellectual and social under-development of infants in the U.S.? A. Illiteracy of parents B. Lack of parental care C. poverty

Directions: Read the following passage & answer the question. 
Though the U.S. prides itself on being a leader in the world community, a recent report shows that it lags far behind other industrialized countries in meeting the needs of its youngest and most vulnerable citizens. The U.S. has a higher infant mortality rate, a higher proportion of low birth weight babies, a smaller proportion of babies immunized against childhood diseases and a much higher rate of adolescent pregnancies. These findings, described as a “quiet crisis requiring immediate and far-reaching action, appeared in a report prepared by a task force of educators, doctors, politicians and business people. According to the report, a fourth of the nation’s 12 million infants and toddlers live in poverty. As many as half confront risk factors that could harm their ability to develop intellectually, physically and socially. Child immunization is too low, more children are born into poverty, more are in substandard care while their parents work and more being raised raised by single parents. When taken together these and other risk factors can lead to education and health problems that are much harder and more costly to reverse.
>            The crisis begins in the womb with unplanned parenthood. Women with unplanned pregnancies are less likely to seek pre-natal care. In the U.S. 80% of teenage pregnancies and 56% of all pregnancies are unplanned. The problems continue after birth where unplanned pregnancies and unstable partnerships often go hand in hand. Since 1950, the number of single parent families has nearly tripled. More then 25 percent of all births today are to unmarried mothers. As the number of single parent families grow and more women enter the work force, infants and toddlers are increasingly in the care of people other than their parents.
            Most disturbingly, recent statistics show that American parent are increasingly neglecting or abusing their children, in only four years from 1987-1971 the number of children in foster care increased by over 50 percent. Babies under the age of one are the fastest growing category of children entering foster care. The crisis affects children under the age of three most severely, the report says. Yet, it is this period from infancy through preschool years that sets the stage for a child’s future.

According to the author, which of the following is a less important factor resulting in environment stress in rural and urban areas?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.

The past decade has upset many preconceptions about development and this more than anything else makes it difficult to be overly definite about what the next decade has in store. But there are a few things that one can assert with some confidence. First education, health and productive employment are crucial both for growth and for equity. We have tended to assume that all of these are the consequences of rapid economic growth and that only growth can generate the resources required for these purposes. But increasingly, it appears that these are better seen as the causes rather than as consequences of development. Virtually every case of successful development involves a prior improvement in literacy, technical skills, health status and access to production work.

Second, technological competence is the most important resource endowment and it explains a far larger proportion of growth in output and trade than more conventional actors like natural resources or capital accumulation. The competence required is not just in research, in fact technological dynamism in the factory and the farm is more important than the presence of a larger research establishment. 

Third the environmental imperative can no longer be ignored today as an international issue; it is second only to disarmament. Nationally, the developmental consequences of environmental neglect are increasingly obvious. 

In the Indian context there are at least two further factors which reinforce the above propositions. The first is population growth. Given the pace of expansion of the population and the workforce, human resource development acquires an added urgency. Population growth is also one, but not necessarily the most important factor which underlines environmental stress in rural and urban areas. The second factor is that as a larger country we cannot carve out an independent position in the global system without building up a substantial capacity for self-reliant growth. The acquisition of technical competence is crucial for this purpose.

According to the author, which of the following is an important factor resulting in environmental stress in rural and urban areas?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

The past decade has upset many preconceptions about development and this more than anything else, makes it difficult to be overly definite about what the next decade has in store. But there are a few things that can be asserted with some confidence. First, education, health and productive employment are crucial - both for growth and for equity. We have tended to assume that all of these are the consequences of rapid economic growth and that only growth can generate the resources required for these purposes. But increasingly, it appears that these are better seen as the causes rather than as consequences of development. Virtually, every case of successful development involves a prior improvement in literacy, technical skills, health status and access to productive work.
Secondly, technological competence is the most important resource endowment and it explains a far larger proportion of growth in output and trade than more conventional factors like natural resources or capital accumulation. The competence required is not just in research. In fact technological dynamism in the factory and the farm is more important than the presence of larger research establishments.
Third, the environmental imperative can no longer be ignored. Today, as an international issue, it is second only to disarmament. Nationally, the developmental consequences of environmental neglect are increasingly obvious.
In the Indian context, there are at least two further factors which reinforce the above propositions. The first is the population growth. Given the pace of expansion of the population and the work force, human resource development acquires an added urgency. Necessarily the most important factor, which underlines environmental stress in rural and urban areas. The second factor is that as a larger country, we cannot carve out an independent position in the global system without building up a substantial capacity for self-reliant growth. The acquisition of technical competence is crucial for this purpose.     
Until now, we have tended to treat human resource development technology issues and environment as subsidiary to the main task of planning. The thrust has been on quantitative expansion of infrastructure and production with a focus on production targets like tonnes of steel, kilowatts of electricity; capacity targets like road length, rail kilometreage; and coverage targets like number of school and students, catching up with known technologies – thus, the maximum mobilisaton of financial resources.

Directions: Read the passage/argument and answer the question that follows it.

Many social scientists believe that affirmative action is a good way to improve the socio-economic status of disadvantaged groups in the society. Based on their recommendation, the Arizona Governor has decided to put in place a system whereby every public and private organization would be mandated to recruit a minimum of 10% of all new recruits from these segments of society.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the social scientists' argument?

Directions: Read the passage/argument and answer the question that follows it.

A phenomenon that is unique to humans is deferred gratification - patient anticipation of a reward. Dr Reyes-Garcia et al therefore argued that as the Tsimane became more enmeshed in modern society, the more patient of them would do better than the less. The traditional of Tsimane subsistence economy depends on folk knowledge and learned skills that have quick pay-offs. Formal schooling does not pay off for years, but opens the door to bigger potential incomes.

Which of the following would be best possible way of evaluating the Reyes-Garcia hypothesis?

Various studies have shown that our forested and hilly regions, and, in general, areas where biodiversity - - as reflected in the variety of flora - - is high, are the places where poverty appears to be high. And these same areas are also the ones where educational performance seems to be poor. Therefore, it may be surmised that, even disregarding poverty status, richness in biodiversity goes hand in hand with educational backwardness.

Which one of the following statements, if true, can be said to best provide supporting evidence for the surmise mentioned in the passage?

What kinds of inputs are mentioned in the passage? (i) In the form of ability (ii) In the form of productivity (iii) In the form of talent

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

The principles of equity, equality, and need are most relevant in the context of distributive justice, but might play a role in a variety of social justice issues. These principles all appeal to the notion of just desserts, the idea that fair treatment is a matter of giving people what they deserve. In general, people deserve to be rewarded for their effort and productivity, punished for their transgressions, treated as equal persons, and have their basic needs met. However, because these principles may come into conflict, it is often difficult to achieve all of these goals simultaneously. According to the principle of equity, a fair economic system is one that distributes goods to individuals in proportion to their input. While input typically comes in the form of productivity, ability or talent might also play a role. People who produce more or better products...either by working harder, or by being more talented, this argument goes, should be paid more for their efforts than should people who produce less. Note that this sort of distribution may not succeed in meeting the needs of all members of society. In addition, the idea that justice requires the unequal treatment of unequals is in tension with the principle of equality. This principle of egalitarianism suggests that the fairest allocation is one that distributes benefits and burdens equally among all parties. If there are profits of $100,000, and 10 people in the company, the principle of equality would suggest that everyone would get $10,000. This principle, however, ignores differences in effort, talent, and productivity. Also, because people have different needs, an equal initial distribution may not result in an equal outcome.
A principle of need, on the other hand, proposes that we strive for an equal outcome in which all society or group members get what they need. Thus poor people would get more money, and richer people would get less. This principle is sometimes criticised because it does not recognise differences in productive contributions or distinguish between real needs and manifested needs.
Some have suggested that equity, equality, and need are not principles adopted for their own sake but rather ones endorsed to advance some social goal. For example, while equity tends to foster productivity, principles of equality and need tend to stress the importance of positive interpersonal relationships and a sense of belonging among society members.