Work or labor ( labour in British English) is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics , work can be viewed as the human activity that contributes (along with other factors of production ) towards the goods and services within an economy .
108-474: Work has existed in all human societies, either as paid or unpaid work , from gathering natural resources by hand in hunter-gatherer groups to operating complex technologies that substitute for physical or even mental effort within an agricultural , industrial , or post-industrial society . All but the simplest tasks in any work require specific skills , tools , and other resources, such as material for manufacturing goods. Humanity has developed
216-591: A career . Throughout history, work has been intimately connected with other aspects of society and politics , such as power , class , tradition , rights , and privileges . Accordingly, the division of labour is a prominent topic across the social sciences as both an abstract concept and a characteristic of individual cultures. Work may also present a threat to individual human happiness and survival, either through dirty, dangerous, and demeaning occupations or in extreme cases, from death by overwork . Some people have also engaged in critique of work and expressed
324-805: A corporate entity, the same workers can claim a larger share of the value created by their labor. While a union does require workers to sacrifice some autonomy in relation to their coworkers, it can grant workers more control over the work process itself in addition to material benefits. The need for planning and coordination extends beyond individual organizations to society as a whole too. Every successful work project requires effective resource allocation to provide necessities, materials, and investment (such as equipment and facilities). In smaller, traditional societies, these aspects can be mostly regulated through custom , though as societies grow, more extensive methods become necessary. These complex institutions, however, still have roots in common human activities. Even
432-422: A deposit may be required before services are performed, which acts as a part pre-payment or as security to the service provider. In some cases, progress payments are made in advance, and in some cases part payments are accepted, which do not extinguish the payer's legal obligations. The acceptance of a payment by the payee extinguishes a debt or other obligation. A creditor cannot unreasonably refuse to accept
540-477: A family setting, like parenting or housekeeping . In some cases, the distinction between work and other activities is simply a matter of common sense within a community. However, an alternative view is that labeling any activity as work is somewhat subjective, as Mark Twain expressed in the "whitewashed fence" scene of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . Humans have varied their work habits and attitudes over time. As humans are diurnal , they work mainly during
648-444: A legal obligation or philanthropy desire . The party making the payment is commonly called the payer , while the payee is the party receiving the payment. Whilst payments are often made voluntarily, some payments are compulsory, such as payment of a fine . Payments can be effected in a number of ways, for example: In general, payees are at liberty to determine what method of payment they will accept; though normally laws require
756-528: A work ethic where work itself is seen as virtuous. For example, German sociologist Max Weber hypothesized that European capitalism originated in a Protestant work ethic , which emerged with the Reformation . Many Christian theologians appeal to the Old Testament 's Book of Genesis in regards to work. According to Genesis 1 , human beings were created in the image of God , and according to Genesis 2, Adam
864-462: A "most valuable analysis" of the correct contractual construction of such payments. An initial up-front partial payment for the purchase of an expensive items or service is often referred to as a " down payment "; this is also called a deposit in British English . A payment may involve more than two parties. For example, a pre-paid card transaction usually involves four parties: the purchaser,
972-452: A certain set of beliefs within the family that reflect how its members should communicate and interact. These family communication patterns arise from two underlying sets of beliefs. One being conversation orientation (the degree to which the importance of communication is valued) and two, conformity orientation (the degree to which families should emphasize similarities or differences regarding attitudes, beliefs, and values). Blended families
1080-475: A child and a parent). Moreover, he argued, kinship terminologies distinguish between relatives by blood and marriage (although recently some anthropologists have argued that many societies define kinship in terms other than "blood"). Morgan made a distinction between kinship systems that use classificatory terminology and those that use descriptive terminology. Classificatory systems are generally and erroneously understood to be those that "class together" with
1188-401: A degree of relative mobility. Typically, societies with conjugal families also favor neolocal residence; thus upon marriage, a person separates from the nuclear family of their childhood (family of orientation) and forms a new nuclear family (family of procreation). Such systems generally assume that the mother's husband is also the biological father. The system uses highly descriptive terms for
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#17333495988561296-499: A farm, one (or more) of their adult children, the adult child's spouse, and the adult child's own children (the owners' grandchildren). Members of the extended family are not included in this family group. Sometimes, "skipped" generation families, such as a grandparents living with their grandchildren, are included. In the US, this arrangement declined after World War II , reaching a low point in 1980, when about one out of every eight people in
1404-554: A highly-repetitive set of simple actions, like in mass manufacturing , complex machines can carry out much of the effort. The workers present will focus on more complex tasks, operating controls, or performing maintenance . Over several millennia, invention , scientific discovery , and engineering principles have allowed humans to proceed from creating simple machines that merely redirect or amplify force , through engines for harnessing supplementary power sources, to today's complex, regulated systems that automate many steps within
1512-403: A hostile workplace. Particularly intense forms of manual labor often lead workers to develop physical strength necessary for their job. However, this activity does not necessarily improve a worker's overall physical fitness like exercise , due to problems like overwork or a small set of repetitive motions. In these physical jobs, maintaining good posture or movements with proper technique
1620-419: A lawyer, came to make this distinction in an effort to understand Seneca inheritance practices. A Seneca man's effects were inherited by his sisters' children rather than by his own children. Morgan identified six basic patterns of kinship terminologies: Most Western societies employ Eskimo kinship terminology. This kinship terminology commonly occurs in societies with strong conjugal , where families have
1728-496: A marriage with one person while still legally married to another ) in jurisdictions that require monogamous marriages. Polygamy is a marriage that includes more than two partners. When a man is married to more than one wife at a time, the relationship is called polygyny ; and when a woman is married to more than one husband at a time, it is called polyandry . If a marriage includes multiple husbands and wives, it can be called polyamory , group or conjoint marriage . Polygyny
1836-512: A narrow range of jobs, inherited from parent to child. In serfdom , a peasant has more rights than a slave but is attached to a specific piece of land and largely under the power of the landholder , even requiring permission to physically travel outside the land-holding. How institutions play out in individual workers' lives can be complex too; in most societies where wage-labor predominates, workers possess equal rights by law and mobility in theory. Without social support or other resources, however,
1944-424: A number of smaller hand-tools, designed to be held and operated by a single person, often without supplementary power . This is especially true when tasks can be handled by one or a few workers, do not require significant physical power, and are somewhat self-paced, like in many services or handicraft manufacturing. For other tasks needing large amounts of power, such as in the construction industry, or involving
2052-435: A particular goal. Because sustained effort is a necessary part of many human activities, what qualifies as work is often a matter of context. Specialization is one common feature that distinguishes work from other activities. For example, a sport is a job for a professional athlete who earns their livelihood from it, but a hobby for someone playing for fun in their community. An element of advance planning or expectation
2160-401: A payment, but payment can be refused in some circumstances, for example, on a Sunday or outside banking hours. A payee is usually obligated to acknowledge payment by producing a receipt to the payer. A receipt may be an endorsement on an account as "paid in full". The giving of a guarantee or other security for a debt does not constitute a payment. The root word "pay" in "payment" comes from
2268-525: A result of urbanization and industrialization , is unemployment . While the shift from a subsistence economy usually increases the overall productivity of society and lifts many out of poverty , it removes a baseline of material security from those who cannot find employment or other support. Governments have tried a range of strategies to mitigate the problem, such as improving the efficiency of job matching , conditionally providing welfare benefits or unemployment insurance , or even directly overriding
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#17333495988562376-491: A result of automation and the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence . For some, work may hold a spiritual value in addition to any secular notions. Especially in some monastic or mystical strands of several religions , simple manual labor may be held in high regard as a way to maintain the body, cultivate self-discipline and humility, and focus the mind. The contemporary world economy has brought many changes, overturning some previously widespread labor issues. At
2484-400: A sense, because of it", because work is something that corresponds to man's dignity and through it, he achieves fulfilment as a human being. The fall also means that a work ethic is needed. As a result of the fall, work has become subject to the abuses of idleness on the one hand, and overwork on the other. Drawing on Aristotle , Ryken suggests that the moral ideal is the golden mean between
2592-416: A single industry. Some industries may be seen as more prestigious than others overall, even if they include roles with similar functions. At the same time, a wide swathe of roles across all industries may be afforded more status (e.g. managerial roles) or less (like manual labor ) based on characteristics such as a job being low-paid or dirty, dangerous and demeaning . Other social dynamics, like how labor
2700-552: A single term relatives who actually do not have the same type of relationship to ego. (What defines "same type of relationship" under such definitions seems to be genealogical relationship. This is problematic given that any genealogical description, no matter how standardized, employs words originating in a folk understanding of kinship.) What Morgan's terminology actually differentiates are those (classificatory) kinship systems that do not distinguish lineal and collateral relationships and those (descriptive) kinship systems that do. Morgan,
2808-447: A variety of institutions for group coordination of work, such as government programs , nonprofit organizations , cooperatives , and corporations . Cultures and individuals across history have expressed a wide range of attitudes towards work. Besides objective differences, one culture may organize or attach social status to work roles through formalized professions which may carry specialized job titles and provide people with
2916-527: A wish to reduce or abolish it entirely, for example in Paul Lafargue in his book The Right to Be Lazy , David Graeber 's Bullshit Jobs , or The Abolition of Work by Bob Black. Real world programs to eliminate the economic necessity for lifelong work first emerged through the concept of retirement , and have more recently been extended to all adults through experimentation with universal basic income . Work can take many different forms, as varied as
3024-521: A woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Fraternal polyandry, where two or more brothers are married to the same wife, is a common form of polyandry. Polyandry was traditionally practiced in areas of the Himalayan mountains, among Tibetans in Nepal , in parts of China and in parts of northern India. Polyandry is most common in societies marked by high male mortality or where males will often be apart from
3132-560: A work process. In the 20th century, the development of electronics and new mathematical insights led to the creation and widespread adoption of fast, general-purpose computers . Just as mechanization can substitute for the physical labor of many human beings, computers allow for the partial automation of mental work previously carried out by human workers, such as calculations , document transcription , and basic customer service requests. Research and development of related technologies like machine learning and robotics continues into
3240-522: Is a form of plural marriage, in which a man is allowed more than one wife. In modern countries that permit polygamy, polygyny is typically the only form permitted. Polygyny is practiced primarily (but not only) in parts of the Middle East and Africa; and is often associated with Islam , however, there are certain conditions in Islam that must be met to perform polygyny. Polyandry is a form of marriage whereby
3348-494: Is also a crucial skill for avoiding injury . Ironically, white-collar workers who are sedentary throughout the workday may also suffer from long-term health problems due to a lack of physical activity. Learning the necessary skills for work is often a complex process in its own right, requiring intentional training . In traditional societies, know-how for different tasks can be passed to each new generation through oral tradition and working under adult guidance. For work that
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3456-431: Is also an important economic unit studied in family economics . The word "families" can be used metaphorically to create more inclusive categories such as community , nationhood , and global village . One of the primary functions of the family involves providing a framework for the production and reproduction of persons biologically and socially. This can occur through the sharing of material substances (such as food);
3564-428: Is also common, such as when a paramedic provides medical care while on duty and fully equipped rather than performing first aid off-duty as a bystander in an emergency. Self-care and basic habits like personal grooming are also not typically considered work. While a later gift , trade , or payment may retroactively affirm an activity as productive, this can exclude work like volunteering or activities within
3672-419: Is compensated, can even exclude meaningful tasks from a society's conception of work. For example, in modern market-economies where wage labor or piece work predominates, unpaid work may be omitted from economic analysis or even cultural ideas of what qualifies as work. At a political level, different roles can fall under separate institutions where workers have qualitatively different power or rights. In
3780-482: Is complex, ranging from stepfamilies to cohabitating families (an individual living with guardians who are not married with step or half siblings). While it is not too different from stepfamilies, cohabiting families pose a prevalent psychological effect on youths. Some adolescents would be prone to "acts of delinquency," and experiencing problems in school ranging from a decrease in academic performance to increased problematic behavior. It coincides with other researches on
3888-447: Is expected to double to 18.82 per cent in 2011. There is a fast growth of mobile payments around the world. Google Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay are the three main choices for mobile payments, while some banks also allow NFC Payments. In some countries, mobile wallets have become a dominant way of mobile payments. Historically, cheques have been one of the primary means of payment for purchasing goods and services, though its share in
3996-442: Is more specialized and technically complex, however, a more formal system of education is usually necessary. A complete curriculum ensures that a worker in training has some exposure to all major aspects of their specialty, in both theory and practice . Tool use has been a central aspect of human evolution and is also an essential feature of work. Even in technologically advanced societies, many workers' toolsets still include
4104-432: Is ranking them according to a criterion, such as the amount of skill, experience , or seniority associated with a role. The progression from apprentice through journeyman to master craftsman in the skilled trades is one example with a long history and analogs in many cultures. Societies also commonly rank different work roles by perceived status, but this is more subjective and goes beyond clear progressions within
4212-646: Is required for any effort outside of individual subsistence to succeed. At the level of a small team working on a single task, only cooperation and good communication may be necessary. As the complexity of a work process increases though, requiring more planning or more workers focused on specific tasks, a reliable organization becomes more critical. Economic organizations often reflect social thought common to their time and place, such as ideas about human nature or hierarchy . These unique organizations can also be historically significant, even forming major pillars of an economic system . In European history, for instance,
4320-493: Is the three-sector model or variations of it. In this view, an economy can be separated into three broad categories: In complex economies with high specialization, these categories are further subdivided into industries that produce a focused subset of products or services. Some economists also propose additional sectors such as a "knowledge-based" quaternary sector , but this division is neither standardized nor universally accepted. Another common way of contrasting work roles
4428-405: Is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life". Leland Ryken said out that, because of the fall, "many of the tasks we perform in a fallen world are inherently distasteful and wearisome." Christian theologians interpret that through the fall, work has become toil, but John Paul II says that work is a good thing for man in spite of this toil, and that "perhaps, in
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4536-430: Is traced through his or her father's lineage . It generally involves the inheritance of property, rights, names, or titles by persons related through male kin. A patriline ("father line") is a person's father, and additional ancestors that are traced only through males. One's patriline is thus a record of descent from a man in which the individuals in all intervening generations are male. In cultural anthropology ,
4644-421: Is wrong since this encourages illiteracy, inhumane work and lower investment in human capital. In other words, there are moral and economic reasons that justify a blanket ban on labour from children aged 18 years or less, everywhere in the world. On the other hand, some scholars like Christiaan Grootaert and Kameel Ahmady believe that child labour is the symptom of poverty. If laws ban most lawful work that enables
4752-404: The construction of buildings or other assets. Instalment payments were planned for in the case of Cadogan Petroleum Holdings Ltd v Global Process Systems LLC , where the latter would pay in instalments for the acquisition of two gas plants. Their contract stated that ownership would not pass until the payments were complete and that any failure to pay an instalment would allow Cadogan to rescind
4860-419: The free markets of modern capitalist societies rely fundamentally on trade , while command economies , such as in many communist states during the 20th century, rely on a highly bureaucratic and hierarchical form of redistribution . Other institutions can affect workers even more directly by delimiting practical day-to-day life or basic legal rights. For example, a caste system may restrict families to
4968-429: The removal is the difference between the number of generations from each cousin to the common ancestor (the difference between the generations the cousins are from). Cousins of an older generation (in other words, one's parents' first cousins), although technically first cousins once removed, are often classified with "aunts" and "uncles". English-speakers mark relationships by marriage (except for wife/husband) with
5076-445: The "normal" familial structure like having a father, a mother, and children. This is family as a group of people that rely on each other like a family of origin would. This terminology stems from the fact that many LGBT individuals, upon coming out , face rejection or shame from the families they were raised in. The term family of choice is also used by individuals in the 12 step communities, who create close-knit "family" ties through
5184-451: The 21st century. Beyond tools and machines used to actively perform tasks, workers benefit when other passive elements of their work and environment are designed properly. This includes everything from personal items like workwear and safety gear to features of the workspace itself like furniture , lighting , air quality , and even the underlying architecture . Even if workers are personally ready to perform their jobs, coordination
5292-522: The European Union under the Late Payment directives of 2000 and 2011. Family Family (from Latin : familia ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order . Ideally, families offer predictability , structure, and safety as members mature and learn to participate in
5400-491: The Human Family , anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan (1818–1881) performed the first survey of kinship terminologies in use around the world. Although much of his work is now considered dated, he argued that kinship terminologies reflect different sets of distinctions. For example, most kinship terminologies distinguish between sexes (the difference between a brother and a sister) and between generations (the difference between
5508-642: The Latin "pacare" (to pacify), from "pax", meaning "peace". In the Middle Ages, the term began to be used more broadly, to mean "to pacify one's creditors". As the Latin word was made part of Old French "paier", it retained the meaning "appease" but gained the meaning "to pay" (as in paying a debt). The Middle English word "payen", which came from the French, was also used in both ways. There are two types of payment methods; exchanging and provisioning . Exchanging involves
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#17333495988565616-569: The US lived in a multigenerational family. The numbers have risen since then, with one in five people in the US living in a multigenerational family as of 2016. The increasing popularity is partly driven by demographic changes and the economic shifts associated with the Boomerang Generation . Multigenerational households are less common in Canada, where about 6% of people living in Canada were living in multigenerational families as of 2016, but
5724-724: The actual composition and conception of families. Historically, extended families were the basic family unit in the Catholic culture and countries (such as Southern Europe and Latin America ), and in Asian, Middle Eastern and Eastern Orthodox countries. The term family of choice , also sometimes referred to as "chosen family" or "found family", is common within the LGBT community , veterans, individuals who have suffered abuse, and those who have no contact with their biological parents. It refers to
5832-530: The brother of one's spouse. The terms "half-brother" and "half-sister" indicate siblings who share only one biological parent. The term " aunt-in-law " refers to the aunt of one's spouse. " Uncle-in-law " is the uncle of one's spouse. " Cousin-in-law " is the spouse of one's cousin, or the cousin of one's spouse. The term " niece-in-law " refers to the wife of one's nephew. " Nephew-in-law " is the husband of one's niece. The grandmother and grandfather of one's spouse become one's grandmother-in-law and grandfather-in-law;
5940-472: The cheque is not presented to the bank until the next taxable year, even though the payer could stop payment on the cheque, in the meantime. Postdated cheques , however, are not considered payment when delivered. Generally, payments by credit card take effect at the point of the sale and not when a payer is billed by the credit card company or when the payer pays the credit card company's bill. A business that reports on an accrual basis, would report income in
6048-408: The children. The way roles are balanced between the parents will help children grow and learn valuable life lessons. There is [the] great importance of communication and equality in families, in order to avoid role strain. Historically, the most common family type was one in which grandparents, parents, and children lived together as a single unit. For example, the household might include the owners of
6156-623: The community. Historically, most human societies use family as the primary purpose of attachment , nurturance, and socialization . Anthropologists classify most family organizations as matrifocal (a mother and her children), patrifocal (a father and his children), conjugal (a married couple with children, also called the nuclear family ), avuncular (a man, his sister, and her children), or extended (in addition to parents , spouse and children , may include grandparents , aunts , uncles , or cousins ). The field of genealogy aims to trace family lineages through history. The family
6264-442: The contract , "without prejudice to any accrued rights". The High Court ruled that the wording allowed Cadogan to retain the instalments which had been paid even though they did not acquire the assets in exchange. The court referred to a text written by Jack Beatson , later a Lord Justice of Appeal , on Discharge For Breach: The Position of Instalments, Deposits and other Payments due before Completion , which Eder J described as
6372-494: The creativity and adaptability of humans in their pursuit of livelihood. Individual workers require sufficient health and resources to succeed in their tasks. As living beings, humans require a baseline of good health, nutrition , rest, and other physical needs in order to reliably exert themselves. This is particularly true of physical labor that places direct demands on the body, but even largely mental work can cause stress from problems like long hours, excessive demands, or
6480-440: The day, but some occupations require night shift work. Hunter-gatherer societies vary their "work" intensity according to the seasonal availability of plants and the periodic migration of prey animals . The development of agriculture led to more sustained work practices, but work still changed with the seasons, with intense sustained effort during harvests (for example) alternating with less focused periods such as winters. In
6588-426: The decline of guilds and rise of joint-stock companies goes hand-in-hand with other changes, like the growth of centralized states and capitalism . In industrialized economies, labor unions are another significant organization. In isolation, a worker that is easily replaceable in the labor market has little power to demand better wages or conditions. By banding together and interacting with business owners as
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#17333495988566696-739: The deprived classes, the weakness of laws and legal supervision, the migration existence of child labour is very much observed in different parts of the world. According to the World Bank Globally rate of child labour have decreased from 25% to 10% between 60s to the early years of the 21st century. Nevertheless, giving the population of the world also increased the total number of child labourers remains high, with UNICEF and ILO acknowledging an estimated 168 million children aged 5–17 worldwide were involved in some sort of child labour in 2013. Some scholars like Jean-Marie Baland and James A. Robinson suggests any labour by children aged 18 years or less
6804-621: The divorce rate climbing drastically during the years 1965–1995, and about half of all children in the United States will live in a single-parent family at some point before they reach the age of 18. Most single-parent families are headed by a mother, but the number of single-parent families headed by fathers is increasing. A "matrifocal" family consists of a mother and her children. Generally, these children are her biological offspring, although adoption of children occurs in nearly every society. This kind of family occurs commonly where women have
6912-674: The early modern era, Protestantism and proto-capitalism emphasized the moral and personal advantages of hard work. The periodic re-invention of slavery encouraged more consistent work activity in the working class , and capitalist industrialization intensified demands on workers to keep up with the pace of machines. Restrictions on the hours of work and the ages of workers followed, with worker demands for time off increasing, but modern office work retains traces of expectations of sustained, concentrated work, even in affluent societies. There are several ways to categorize and compare different kinds of work. In economics, one popular approach
7020-406: The environments, tools, skills, goals, and institutions around a worker. This term refers to the general activity of performing tasks, whether they are paid or unpaid, formal or informal. Work encompasses all types of productive activities, including employment , household chores, volunteering, and creative pursuits. It is a broad term that encompasses any effort or activity directed towards achieving
7128-509: The extreme, the least powerful members of society may be stigmatized (as in untouchability ) or even violently forced (via slavery ) into performing the least desirable work. Complementary to this, elites may have exclusive access to the most prestigious work, largely symbolic sinecures , or even a "life of leisure ". Unusual Occupations In the diverse world of work, there exist some truly bizarre and unusual occupations that often defy conventional expectations. These unique jobs showcase
7236-429: The former family into the new family. Also in sociology, particularly in the works of social psychologist Michael Lamb , traditional family refers to "a middle-class family with a bread-winning father and a stay-at-home mother, married to each other and raising their biological children," and nontraditional to exceptions to this rule. Most of the US households are now non-traditional under this definition. Critics of
7344-442: The giving and receiving of care and nurture ( nurture kinship ); jural rights and obligations; also moral and sentimental ties. Thus, one's experience of one's family shifts over time. There are different perspectives of the term 'family', from the perspective of children , the family is a "family of orientation": the family serves to locate children socially and plays a major role in their enculturation and socialization. From
7452-403: The group of people in an individual's life that satisfies the typical role of family as a support system. The term differentiates between the "family of origin" (the biological family or that in which people are raised) and those that actively assume that ideal role. The family of choice may or may not include some or all of the members of the family of origin. This family is not one that follows
7560-634: The ideological and legal pressures, a large percentage of families do not conform to the ideal nuclear family type. The total fertility rate of women varies from country to country, from a high rate of 6.76 children born per woman in Niger to a low rate of 0.81 in Singapore (as of 2015). Fertility is below replacement in all Eastern European and Southern European countries, and particularly high in Sub-Saharan African countries. In some cultures,
7668-408: The kindred of the parents and of other families in general) and nuclear families (which maintain relatively close ties with their kindred). Other family structures – with (for example) blended parents , single parents , and domestic partnerships – have begun to challenge the normality of the nuclear family. A single-parent family consists of one parent together with their children, where
7776-443: The labor market through work-relief programs or a job guarantee . Since a job forms a major part of many workers' self-identity , unemployment can have severe psychological and social consequences beyond the financial insecurity it causes. One more issue, which may not directly interfere with the functioning of an economy but can have significant indirect effects, is when governments fail to account for work occurring out-of-view from
7884-529: The mother's preference of family size influences that of the children's through early adulthood. A parent's number of children strongly correlates with the number of children that their children will eventually have. Although early western cultural anthropologists and sociologists considered family and kinship to be universally associated with relations by "blood" (based on ideas common in their own cultures) later research has shown that many societies instead understand family through ideas of living together,
7992-416: The necessity of earning a livelihood may force a worker to cede some rights and freedoms in fact. Societies and subcultures may value work in general, or specific kinds of it, very differently. When social status or virtue is strongly associated with leisure and opposed to tedium, then work itself can become indicative of low social rank and be devalued. In the opposite case, a society may hold strongly to
8100-414: The next. For U.S. tax purposes, cash payments generally are taken to occur at the time of payment. Payment may also occur when a person transfers property or performs a service to the payee in satisfaction of an obligation. A payment by cheque is normally deemed to occur when the cheque is delivered, as long as the cheque is honoured on the presentation by the payee. This rule also generally applies where
8208-474: The nieces and nephews of a spouse are nieces and nephews. With further removal by the subject for aunts and uncles and by the relative for nieces and nephews the prefix "grand-" modifies these terms. With further removal the prefix becomes "great-grand-," adding another "great-" for each additional generation. For large numbers of generations a number can be substituted, for example, "fourth great-grandson", "four-greats grandson" or "four-times-great-grandson". When
8316-515: The nuclear family and progressively more classificatory as the relatives become more and more collateral. The system emphasizes the nuclear family. Members of the nuclear family use highly descriptive kinship terms, identifying directly only the husband, wife, mother, father, son, daughter, brother, and sister. All other relatives are grouped together into categories. Members of the nuclear family may be lineal or collateral. Kin, for whom these are family, refer to them in descriptive terms that build on
8424-430: The old family may not transfer well within the new family for adolescents. A monogamous family is based on a legal or social monogamy . In this case, an individual has only one (official) partner during their lifetime or at any one time (i.e. serial monogamy ). This means that a person may not have several different legal spouses at the same time, as this is usually prohibited by bigamy laws, (the act of entering into
8532-405: The other hand, the payee may impose a surcharge , for example, as a late payment fee, or for use of a certain credit card, etc. Payments are frequently preceded by an invoice or bill, which follows the supply of goods or services, but in some industries (such as travel and hotels) it is not uncommon for pre-payments to be required before the service is performed or provided. In some industries,
8640-607: The parent is either widowed, divorced (and not remarried), or never married. The parent may have sole custody of the children, or separated parents may have a shared-parenting arrangement where the children divide their time (possibly equally) between two different single-parent families or between one single-parent family and one blended family . As compared to sole custody, physical, mental and social well-being of children may be improved by shared-parenting arrangements and by children having greater access to both parents. The number of single-parent families have been increasing due to
8748-453: The payer to accept the country's legal tender up to a prescribed limit. Payment is most commonly affected in the local currency of the payee unless the parties agree otherwise. Payment in another currency involves an additional transaction for the conversion. The payee may compromise on a debt, i.e., accept part payment in full settlement of a debtor's obligation, or may offer a discount, E.G: For payment in cash, or for prompt payment, etc. On
8856-409: The payment mix is falling worldwide. In 2001, in the United States, cheques accounted for 25% of the U.S.-based payment mix; and in 2006, this was projected to fall to 17%. The timing of payment has legal implications in some situations. For tax purposes, for example, the timing of payment may determine whether it qualifies as a deduction in a taxpayer's calculation of taxable income in one year or
8964-433: The point of view of the parent(s), the family is a "family of procreation ", the goal of which is to produce, enculturate and socialize children. However, producing children is not the only function of the family; in societies with a sexual division of labor , marriage , and the resulting relationship between two people, it is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household . C. C. Harris notes that
9072-401: The poor to survive, informal economy, illicit operations and underground businesses will thrive. In modern market-economies: Labor issues: Related concepts: Payment A payment is the tender of something of value , such as money or its equivalent, by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods or services provided by them, or to fulfill
9180-439: The proportion of multigenerational households was increasing rapidly, driven by increasing numbers of Aboriginal families, immigrant families, and high housing costs in some regions. The term " nuclear family " is commonly used to refer to conjugal families. A " conjugal " family includes only the spouses and unmarried children who are not of age. Some sociologists distinguish between conjugal families (relatively independent of
9288-421: The public sphere. This may be important, uncompensated work occurring everyday in private life; or it may be criminal activity that involves clear but furtive economic exchanges. By ignoring or failing to understand these activities, economic policies can have counter-intuitive effects and cause strains on the community and society. Due to various reasons such as the cheap labour , the poor economic situation of
9396-554: The recovery process. As a family system, families of choice face unique issues. Without legal safeguards, families of choice may struggle when medical, educational or governmental institutions fail to recognize their legitimacy. If members of the chosen family have been disowned by their family of origin, they may experience surrogate grief, displacing anger, loss, or anxious attachment onto their new family. The term blended family or stepfamily describes families with mixed parents: one or both parents remarried, bringing children of
9504-437: The resources to rear their children by themselves, or where men are more mobile than women. As a definition, "a family or domestic group is matrifocal when it is centred on a woman and her children. In this case, the father(s) of these children are intermittently present in the life of the group and occupy a secondary place. The children's mother is not necessarily the wife of one of the children's fathers." The name, matrifocal,
9612-481: The rest of the family for a considerable period of time. A first-degree relative is one who shares 50% of your DNA through direct inheritance, such as a full sibling, parent or progeny. There is another measure for the degree of relationship, which is determined by counting up generations to the first common ancestor and back down to the target individual, which is used for various genealogical and legal purposes. In his book Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of
9720-473: The same time, some longstanding issues remain relevant, and other new ones have emerged. One issue that continues despite many improvements is slave labor and human trafficking . Though ideas about universal rights and the economic benefits of free labor have significantly diminished the prevalence of outright slavery, it continues in lawless areas, or in attenuated forms on the margins of many economies. Another difficulty, which has emerged in most societies as
9828-798: The seller, the issuing bank and the acquiring bank . A cash payment requires at least three parties: the seller, the purchaser and the issuer of the currency. A barter payment requires a minimum of two parties: the purchaser and the seller. The infrastructure and electronic clearing methods are formed by the payment provider . Global credit card payment providers are Diners Club , Visa , American Express and MasterCard . Maestro and Cirrus are international debit card payment providers. Blockchain also provides an infrastructure for payments using digital currency and potentially better security, fewer intermediaries, and lower transaction costs. In 2005, an estimated $ 40 trillion globally passed through some type of payment system. Roughly $ 12 trillion of that
9936-451: The sharing of food (e.g. milk kinship ) and sharing care and nurture . Sociologists have a special interest in the function and status of family forms in stratified (especially capitalist ) societies. According to the work of scholars Max Weber , Alan Macfarlane , Steven Ozment , Jack Goody and Peter Laslett , the huge transformation that led to modern marriage in Western democracies
10044-410: The subject and the relative have an additional removal they are cousins. A cousin with minimal removal is a first cousin, i.e. the child of the subjects uncle or aunt. Degrees of collaterality and removals are used to more precisely describe the relationship between cousins. The degree is the number of generations subsequent to the common ancestor before a parent of one of the cousins is found, while
10152-416: The subject has the additional removal, the relative is the subject's parents' siblings, the terms Aunt and Uncle are used for female and male relatives respectively. When only the relative has the additional removal, the relative is the subjects siblings child, the terms Niece and Nephew are used for female and male relatives respectively. The spouse of a biological aunt or uncle is an aunt or uncle, and
10260-411: The tag "-in-law". The mother and father of one's spouse become one's mother-in-law and father-in-law; the wife of one's son becomes one's daughter-in-law and the husband of one's daughter becomes one's son-in-law. The term " sister-in-law " refers to two essentially different relationships, either the wife of one's brother, or the sister of one's spouse. " Brother-in-law " is the husband of one's sister, or
10368-551: The term "traditional family" point out that in most cultures and at most times, the extended family model has been most common, not the nuclear family, though it has had a longer tradition in England than in other parts of Europe and Asia which contributed large numbers of immigrants to the Americas. The nuclear family became the most common form in the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s. In terms of communication patterns in families, there are
10476-462: The terms used within the nuclear family as most are not traditionally members of the household. These terms do not traditionally differentiate between a collateral relatives and a person married to a collateral relative (both collateral and aggregate). Collateral relatives with additional removals on each side are Cousins . This is the most classificatory term and can be distinguished by degrees of collaterality and by generation ( removal ). When only
10584-457: The terms used within the nuclear family or use the nuclear family term directly. Nuclear family of orientation Nuclear conjugal family Nuclear non-lineal family A sibling is a collateral relative with a minimal removal. For collateral relatives with one additional removal, one generation more distant from a common ancestor on one side, more classificatory terms come into play. These terms ( Aunt , Uncle , Niece , and Nephew ) do not build on
10692-404: The trajectories of stepfamilies where some experienced familyhood, but others lacking connection. Emotional detachment from members within stepfamilies contributes to this uncertainty, furthering the tension that these families may establish. The transition from an old family to a new family that falls under blended families would also become problematic as the activities that were once performed in
10800-608: The two extremes of being lazy and being a workaholic. Some Christian theologians also draw on the doctrine of redemption to discuss the concept of work. Oliver O'Donovan said that although work is a gift of creation, it is "ennobled into mutual service in the fellowship of Christ." Pope Francis is critical of the hope that technological progress might eliminate or diminish the need for work: "the goal should not be that technological progress increasingly replace human work, for this would be detrimental to humanity", and McKinsey consultants suggest that work will change, but not end, as
10908-530: The use of money , comprising banknotes and coins . Provisioning involves the transfer of money from one account to another, and involves a third party. Credit card , debit card , cheque , money transfers , and recurring cash or ACH ( Automated Clearing House ) disbursements are all electronic payments methods. Electronic payment technologies include magnetic stripe cards , smartcards , contactless cards , and mobile payment . Progress payments or instalment payments are often used to allow payment in stages for
11016-440: The western conception of a family is ambiguous and confused with the household , as revealed in the different contexts in which the word is used. Olivia Harris states this confusion is not accidental, but indicative of the familial ideology of capitalist , western countries that pass social legislation that insists members of a nuclear family should live together, and that those not so related should not live together. Despite
11124-443: The wife of one's grandson becomes one's granddaughter-in-law and the husband of one's granddaughter becomes one's grandson-in-law. In Indian English , a sibling in law who is the spouse of your sibling can be referred to as a co-sibling (specificity a co-sister or co-brother ). Patrilineality , also known as the male line or agnatic kinship , is a form of kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and
11232-573: The year of sale though payment may be received in a subsequent year. Payment of most fees to government agencies by cheque, if permitted, usually takes effect after a set number of days for clearance or until the cheque is actually cleared. Payments by credit card, if permitted, and cash payments take immediate effect. Normally, no other forms of payment are permitted or accepted. Commercial late payments and consequent interest entitlements are regulated in some countries, for example in Member States of
11340-545: Was "fueled by the religio-cultural value system provided by elements of Judaism , early Christianity , Roman Catholic canon law and the Protestant Reformation ". Much sociological, historical and anthropological research dedicates itself to the understanding of this variation, and of changes in the family that form over time. Levitan claims: Times have changed; it is more acceptable and encouraged for mothers to work and fathers to spend more time at home with
11448-515: Was coined in Guiana but it is defined differently in other countries. For Nayar families, the family have the male as the "center" or the head of the family, either the step-father/father/brother, rather than the mother. The term " extended family " is also common, especially in the United States. This term has two distinct meanings: These types refer to ideal or normative structures found in particular societies. Any society will exhibit some variation in
11556-540: Was placed in the Garden of Eden to "work it and keep it". Dorothy L. Sayers has argued that "work is the natural exercise and function of man – the creature who is made in the image of his Creator." Likewise, John Paul II said in Laborem exercens that by his work, man shares in the image of his creator. Christian theologians see the fall of man as profoundly affecting human work. In Genesis 3 :17, God said to Adam, "cursed
11664-510: Was transacted through various credit cards, mostly the 21,000 member banks of Visa and MasterCard . Processing payments, including the extending of credit, produced close to $ 500 billion in revenue. In 2012, roughly $ 377 trillion passed through noncash payment systems. This led to total account and transaction revenues of nearly $ 524 billion. In the U.S., debit cards are the fastest growing payment technology. In 2001, debit cards accounted for 9 percent of all purchase transactions, and this
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