Sociology Ch. 13, 14, 15 Vocab.

credentialism the view that academic degrees indicate the holders' qualifications to perform certain jobs or roles. Educational Inflation the situation in which the credentials required to obtain a job increase while the skills necessary to perform the job remain the same white flight an upsurge in white families moving to suburban neighborhoods to avoid mandatory busing tracking assigning students to dfferent educational programs on the basis of their abilities or interests magnet schools schools that offer specialized programs or intensive studies in certain subject areas to draw students from all residential areas of the community homeschooling when children acquire education in their own homes, taught by their parents or other adults hidden curriculum lessons taught in school that do not appear as part of the formal lesson plans and learning obectives self-fulfilling prophecy Process whereby an authority figure's expectations and assumptions cause behaviors that fulfills those expectations and assumptions Sacred those things that have supernatural significance and qualities Profane those things that are regarded as part of ordinary life Ritual commonly routinized behaviors that express and reinforce religious faith church a formal religious organization that is well established and well integrated into its society ecclesia a church that is a state's official religion denomination a religion that maintains friendly relations with the government and with other religions but that does not claim to be the nation's only legitimate faith sect a loosely organized, nonbureaucratic religious organization with nonprofessional leadership that actively rejects the social environment in which is exists. cult a religious organization that has little or nothing to do with conventional relgious traditions and believes that society is degenerate and that the members of the organization must withdraw together from normal life and live apart in group quarters or a commune. monotheism belief in the worship of one god polytheism belief in the worship of more than one god ethcialist a belief system that emphasizes living a "good" life rather than worshipping a deity secularization the declinng influence of religion in life combined with an increasing influence of science civil religion quasi-religious beliefs that link people to society and country megachurch a large religious congregation in which the church becomes a life center around which people organize their activities and provides its members wth many montraditional services and facilities epidemic a widespread outbreak of a contagious disease pandemic an outbreak of contagious disease over a very large area or worldwide disease a pathology that disrupts the usual functions of the body health the capacity to satisfy role requirements Health Maintenance Organization An insurance plan combined wth a physical facility for delivering health care medicare a federal health insurance program for the elderly, fnanced by taxes of working people and on their employers and by a monthly fee for those enrolled in the program medicaid a federal health insurance program adminstered at the state level targeted to the poor and the disabled medicalization of society the expansion and taking over of areas of lfe by medicine that were formerly part of another social institution malingering pretending to be sick to achieve some personal or social gain sick role a social role developed by socety for the sick, who, if they play the role correctly, are released form life's normal obligations for the duration of the illness preventative medicine medical treatments and nformaton that am to prevent disease and maintain health cultural competence the ability of the health care system to provide care talored to the specific cultural needs of patients wth diverse values, beliefs, and behaviors