Globalisation and the Digital Social World | OCR A-Level Sociology (H580)
Globalisation and the Digital Social World
- 52 questions
- 4 subtopics
- Component 03: Debates in contemporary society
- Component 03
Globalisation and the Digital Social World is examined on component 03 of OCR Sociology, Debates in contemporary society.
52 recall questions across 4 subtopics.
Sample questions from Globalisation and the Digital Social World
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Globalisation, the digital revolution and media convergence
How do sceptics such as Hirst and Thompson challenge the idea of globalisation?
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They argue the world economy is internationalised rather than truly globalised, because trade and investment remain concentrated within a few rich regional blocs and national governments still regulate their economies. -
Globalisation, the digital revolution and media convergence
Give two criticisms of McLuhan's global village.
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Access to digital communication remains deeply unequal within and between societies, so many people are excluded from the village; and sharing information is not the same as sharing identity, since global audiences interpret the same content in very different ways. -
Social media, social capital and theoretical views of digital communication
Define social capital.
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Social capital is the resources a person can draw on through their social networks and relationships, including support, trust, information, contacts and influence; Bourdieu treats it as a form of capital that reproduces advantage, while Putnam treats it as a resource for whole communities. -
Social media, social capital and theoretical views of digital communication
On what do feminists disagree when they assess digital communication?
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Feminists disagree: some emphasise the new capacity for women to organise, publicise sexism and share experience beyond the mainstream media, while others argue online spaces reproduce patriarchy through harassment, objectifying imagery and women's under-representation in the technology industry. -
Digital identities, the digital divide and social class
How can digital communication produce hybrid and global identities?
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Constant contact with distant cultures allows people to combine elements of more than one culture into the hybrid identities Hall describes, and can support the cosmopolitan outlook Beck identifies, in which people see themselves as members of a global as well as a national community. -
Digital identities, the digital divide and social class
Why does digital inequality persist even once almost everyone is connected?
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Because access alone does not equalise use: van Dijk argues that once everyone is physically connected, inequality shifts to motivation, skills and the kinds of use people make of technology, which still differ sharply by class, education and age. -
Gender, age, relationships and cultural impacts of digital communication
How has digital communication affected the maintenance of relationships?
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It allows relationships to be sustained cheaply across long distances and to be kept in a state of near-constant low-level contact, which supports migrant and transnational families but also blurs the boundary between private life and work or school. -
Gender, age, relationships and cultural impacts of digital communication
What is cultural defence in the context of globalisation?
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Cultural defence is the deliberate assertion of a national, religious or ethnic culture against perceived global intrusion; Castells calls this a resistance identity, and Barber describes the resulting struggle between militant local particularism and global consumer culture.
The 4 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Globalisation, the digital revolution and media convergence | Recall questions on globalisation and Harvey's time-space compression, the hyperglobalist, sceptic and transformationalist positions of Ohmae, Hirst and Thompson and Held and McGrew, the digital revolution, McLuhan's global village and its criticisms, Castells's networked global society, and media convergence with Jenkins. | 12 |
| Social media, social capital and theoretical views of digital communication | Recall questions on social media, Rheingold's virtual communities and doubts about them, digital social networks, social capital and Putnam's bonding and bridging capital, whether digital communication builds or erodes it, and Marxist, feminist, cyberfeminist and postmodern views of digital communication, including Fuchs on digital labour. | 14 |
| Digital identities, the digital divide and social class | Recall questions on how digital communication shapes identity, Goffman applied to online profiles, Turkle on identity on screen, postmodern pick-and-mix, hybrid and global identities, negative effects on identity, the digital divide and its global dimension, van Dijk on persistent digital inequality, and social class online. | 12 |
| Gender, age, relationships and cultural impacts of digital communication | Recall questions on feminist views of digital communication and gender inequality, positive effects for gender identity, age and Prensky's account of digital inclusion, young people's socialisation, relationships and Rainie and Wellman's networked individualism, cultural homogenisation, glocalisation, cultural defence and conflict, and the positive and negative impacts of digital communication. | 14 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
OCR A-Level Sociology Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 859 questions with their answers.