In Sociology is the study of the social lives of humans, groups and societies. It concerns itself with the social rules and processes that bind and separate people not only as individuals, but as members of associations, groups, and institutions. Sociology is interested in our behavior as social beings; thus the... sociology and in For the Finno-Ugric people, see Votes. Voters at the voting booths in the US in 1945 Voting is a method of decision making wherein a group such as a meeting or an electorate attempts to gauge its opinion -- usually as a final step following discussions or debates. Alternatives to... voting theory, a minority is a sub- In sociology, a group is usually defined as a collection consisting of a number of people who share certain aspects, interact with one another, accept rights and obligations as members of the group and share a common identity. Using this definition, society can appear as a large group. While an... group that forms less than half of the population, and — as a rule — is outnumbered by at least one other sub-group. (That is, it does not form either a A majority is a subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group. This should not be confused with a plurality, which is a subset having the largest number of parts. A plurality is not necessarily a majority, as the largest subset may be less than... majority or a A plurality (or relative majority) is the largest share of something, which may or may not be a majority. For example, if an election had three candidates, who received 40%, 25%, and 35% of the vote, the candidate with 40% would have a plurality, but not a majority. Plurality is... plurality.) This can be used to categorize Alternate meanings: People (magazine); surat an-Nas (The People) in the Quran. People on the stairs to the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago In general, the English word people refers to a specific group of humans, or to persons in a general sense. A people may also be... people of a different As with any complex, emergent concept, language is somewhat resistant to definition; however, most would agree that language is a system of communication or reasoning using representation along with metaphor and some manner of logical grammar all of which presuppose a historical and at least temporarily transcendent standard or truth... language, Nationality is, in English usage, a legal relationship existing between a person and a state. The person becomes subject to the states jurisdiction, even while not on the states territory; in exchange the subject becomes entitled to the states protection, and to other rights as well. The... nationality, Religion, sometimes used interchangeably with faith, is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the practices and institutions associated with such belief. In its broadest sense some have defined it as the sum total of answers given to explain humankinds relationship with the universe. Religion... religion, For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). The word culture comes from the Latin root colere (to inhabit, to cultivate, or to honor). In general, it refers to human activity; different definitions of culture reflect different theories for understanding, or criteria for valuing, human activity. Culture is traditionally the oldest human... culture, In sociology, a lifestyle is the way a person (or a group) lives. This includes patterns of social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress. A lifestyle typically also reflects an individuals attitudes, values or worldview. Having a specific lifestyle implies a conscious or unconscious choice between one set of behaviours... lifestyle or any characteristic, provided these people are accepted as part of the referent group.

A A majority is a subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group. This should not be confused with a plurality, which is a subset having the largest number of parts. A plurality is not necessarily a majority, as the largest subset may be less than... majority, in sociological terms, is that segment of the population that outnumbers all others combined, one that is dominant. The term minority is unavoidably associated with the political movements which push for In the sociology, assimilation is the process of integration whereby immigrants, or other minority groups, are absorbed into a generally larger community. This presumes a loss of all characteristics which make the newcomers different. A region where assimilation is occurring is sometimes referred to as a melting pot. Assimilation can... assimilation, in which the minority group sheds its distinctive traits and is absorbed into the dominant group.

In the Politics is the process and method of decision-making for groups of human beings. Although it is generally applied to governments, politics is also observed in all human group interactions including corporate, academic, and religious. Political science is the study of political behavior and examines the acquisition and application of... politics of some This article describes a type of political entity. Country is also a short form for the countryside or the country music genre. A country, a land, or a state, is a geographical area and an independent political entity with its own government, administration, laws, often a constitution, police, military, tax... countries, a minority is an This article or section should be merged with ethnicity An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. This boundary may take any of a number of forms... ethnic group that is recognized as such by respective laws of its country and therefore has some rights that other groups lack. Speakers of a legally-recognized A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a country. In Europe and in some other parts of the world, like in Canada, minority languages are often defined by legislation and afforded some form of official support. However, throughout the world the political system... minority language, for instance, might have the right to education or communication with the government in their mother tongue. Countries that have special provisions for minorities include Bundesrepublik Deutschland (In Detail) National motto: Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit (German: Unity and Justice and Freedom) Official language German1 Capital Berlin Largest City Berlin Chancellor Gerhard Schröder President Horst Köhler Area - Total - % water Ranked 61st 349,223 km² 2.416% Population - Total (2004) - Density Ranked 13th 82... Germany, Sweden (Swedish: Sverige) is a Nordic country in Scandinavia, in Northern Europe. It is bordered by Norway on the west, Finland on the northeast, the Skagerrak and the Kattegat on the southwest, and the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia on the east. Sweden has a relatively low population... Sweden, and the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and a member of the European Union. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, UK or, inaccurately, as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent parts. Three of these parts England, Wales and... United Kingdom (which does maintain the concept of a The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and a member of the European Union. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, UK or, inaccurately, as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent parts. Three of these parts England, Wales and... British supra-nation, however).

Differing minority groups often are not given identical treatment. Some groups are too small or too indistinct compared to the majority, that they either identify as part of the same nation as the members of the majority, or they identify as a separate nation but are are ignored by the majority because of the costs or some other aspect of providing preferences. For example, a member of a particularly small ethnic group might be forced to check "Other" on a checklist of different backgrounds, and consequently might receive fewer privileges than a member of a more defined group.

Many contemporary governments prefer to assume the people they rule all belong to the same nationality rather than separate ones based on ethnicity. Examples of this are Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. Subject to disclaimers. Trying... France and For other uses, see Greece (disambiguation). Greece, formally called the Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ελληνική Δημοκρατία), is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. It has land... Greece. The For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). The United States of America, also referred to as the United States, U.S.A., U.S., US, America¹, or the States, is a federal republic of fifty states, mostly in central North America. The U.S. has three land... United States asks for The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. These definitions have and may change between each census. The racial categories are officially described as follows:¹ The categories represent a social-political construct designed for collecting data on the race and ethnicity... race and ethnicity on its official census forms, which thus breaks up and organizes its population into different sub-groups, but primarily on racial origin rather than national one. The Kingdom of Spain or Spain (Spanish: Reino de España or España; Catalan: Regne dEspanya; Basque: Espainiako Erresuma; Galician: Reino de España; Asturian: Reinu dEspaña) is a country located in the southwest of Europe. It shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra... Spain does not divide its nationals by ethnic group, although it does maintain an official notion of minority languages.

Some minorities are so relatively large or historically or otherwise important that the system is set up in a way to ensure complete equality. As an example, the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (also variously written Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bosnia-Hercegovina) is a mountainous country in the western Balkans. Its capital is Sarajevo and it was formerly one of the six federal units constituting Yugoslavia. The republic gained its independence in the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and... Bosnia and Herzegovina recognizes the three main nations, none of which constitute a numerical majority, as For the entry on the naval ship U.S.S. Constitution, see: USS Constitution. An organizations constitution defines its form, structure, activities, character, and fundamental rules. To view particular constitutions, refer to the list of national constitutions. The term comes from Latin constitutio, which referred to any important law... constitutive A nation is an imagined community of people created by a national ideology, to which certain norms and behavior are usually attributed. Added to this is usually the idea that a national (a person of the national ideology) should speak a certain language. The language itself might however be a... nations, see -1... nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The issue of establishing minority groups, and determining the extent of privileges they might derive from their status, is controversial. There are some who argue that minorities are owed special recognition and rights, while others feel that minorities are unjustified in demanding special rights, as this amounts to preferential To discriminate is to make a distinction. There are several meanings of the word, including statistical discrimination, or the actions of a circuit called a discriminator. This article addresses the most common colloquial sense of the word, invidious discrimination. That is, irrational social, racial, religious, sexual and ethnic discrimination of... discrimination and could hamper the ability of the minority to integrate itself into mainstream society - perhaps to the point at which the minority follows a path to Political separatism is a movement to obtain sovereignty and split a territory or group of people (usually a people with a distinctive national consciousness) from one another (or one nation from another; a colony from the metropolis). The term is often not accepted by actual separatist groups themselves as they... separatism or Supremacism is the belief that ones race or religion is the supreme, and that those of other distinctions are (by various arbitrary criteria) unfit for social or religious interaction, and sexual reproduction. Current notions of supremacy are generally related to xenophobia, and descended from eugenics theory—where the... supremacism. In Canada is an independent This article discusses states as sovereign political entities. For other meanings, see state (disambiguation). In international law and international relations, a state is a geographic political entity possessing politicial sovereignty, i.e. not being subject to any higher political authority. In casual language, the idea of... Canada, some feel that the failure of the dominant The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. It is the third most common first language (native speakers), with around 402 million people in 2002. English has lingua franca status in many parts of the world, due to the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence... English-speaking majority to assimilate This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. If an article link referred you here, you might want to go back and fix it to point directly to the intended page. Because it has represented different realities at... French Canadians has given rise to The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. Quebec The Quebec sovereignty movement is a movement calling for the attainment of sovereignty for Quebec, a province of the country of Canada. It has been and remains to this day, a minority group... Quebec separatism.

One particularly controversial issue is Affirmative action (US English), or positive discrimination (British English), is a policy or a program providing advantages for people of a minority group who are seen to have traditionally been discriminated against. This consists of preferential access to education, employment, health care, or social welfare. It is also known as... affirmative action, or Affirmative action (US English), or positive discrimination (British English), is a policy or a program providing advantages for people of a minority group who are seen to have traditionally been discriminated against. This consists of preferential access to education, employment, health care, or social welfare. It is also known as... positive discrimination: the idea that minorities should be granted special privileges that the majority does not enjoy. An example of this is when an individual of minority status is given preference for acceptance to a A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. A university provides both tertiary and quaternary education. University is derived from the Latin universitas, meaning corporation since the first medieval European universities were simply groups of scholars. Contents // 1 History 2 Colloquial usage 3... university over a more- or equally-qualified non-minority, in order to fulfill a quota of minorities in the student body. Critics of these policies often refer to them as Reverse discrimination is a colloquial term used to describe discriminatory policies or acts that benefit a historically sociopolitically nondominant group (typically minorities), rather than the historically sociopolitically dominant group. The term reverse discrimination is sometimes considered synonymous with the terms affirmative action and positive discrimination. In the late 20th century... reverse discrimination and argue that they are perpetrating new wrongs to counter old ones, and instilling a sense of victimhood in the majority. Proponents of the polices argue that the end result—a more diversified student body—justifies the means. The debate is likely to continue into the future.

See also

• A dominant minority is a group that has overwhelming political, economic or cultural dominance in a country or region despite representing a small fraction of the overall population (a demographic minority). The term may refer to a racial, national, class, religious or other minority group that holds disproportionate power. White... dominant minority
• The term model minority refers to a stereotype about a minority group that is apparently unusually successful in the country they are in. Contents // 1 As applied in the United States 2 Critique of the concept as applied in the United States 3 Cultural references 4 External links As applied... model minority
• A majority is a subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group. This should not be confused with a plurality, which is a subset having the largest number of parts. A plurality is not necessarily a majority, as the largest subset may be less than... majority

Links

• Eurominority - Organization for the European Minorities (Stateless Nations and national minorities) (http://www.eurominority.org)
• ECMI - European Centre for Minority Issues (http://www.ecmi.de)