PSLCE Social & Religious Studies flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Definition of a community

A group of people living in the same area who share services, rules and interests, and who depend on one another for schools, clinics, water and security.

Primary versus secondary groups

Primary groups involve face-to-face, lasting relationships such as family; secondary groups are larger, more formal and goal-focused, such as a market association or school class.

Socialisation

The lifelong process by which a person learns the norms, values and skills of the community, beginning in the family and continuing through school, peers and religious bodies.

Role conflict

A situation in which the demands of two roles held by one person clash, making it impossible to satisfy both at the same time.

Gule Wamkulu

A masked dance of the Chewa people performed by the Nyau society, carrying religious and social meaning and linked to initiation and funerary rites.

Chichewa as lingua franca

Chichewa is the most widely spoken language in Malawi and serves as the common language of communication across ethnic groups, especially in central and southern regions.

Vimbuza dance

A traditional healing dance of the Tumbuka people of northern Malawi, performed to address illness associated with spirits and recognised for its cultural significance.

Dynamic nature of culture

Culture changes over time through contact with other societies, urbanisation, education, religion and media, so traditions are adapted rather than frozen.

Citizenship

The legal membership of a state that carries rights, duties and protection, acquired in Malawi by birth, descent or naturalisation.

Correlation of rights and duties

Every right carries a matching responsibility, so the right to education implies a duty to attend school and the right to a clean environment a duty not to pollute.

Why citizens pay taxes

Taxes fund public services such as roads, schools, clinics and police; evasion is a legal offence and shifts the burden unfairly onto other citizens.

Active citizenship

Practical participation in community affairs through voting, volunteering, joining development committees or community policing forums to improve shared life.

Presidential term in Malawi

The President is elected for five years and may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms, being both Head of State and Government.

Three arms of government

The Executive implements laws, the Legislature makes them and the Judiciary interprets them; separation with checks and balances prevents concentration of power.

Malawi's legislature

The National Assembly is unicameral, meaning it has a single chamber of elected members who make laws and approve the national budget.

Anti-Corruption Bureau

A constitutional body in Malawi that investigates and prosecutes corruption offences and works to prevent abuse of public office.

Meaning of human rights

Entitlements belonging to every person simply because they are human; they are universal, inalienable, indivisible and interdependent.

Child under Malawian law

A person below 18 years, as set by Malawi's Constitution and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

Best interests of the child

A guiding principle of the Convention on the Rights of the Child requiring that decisions affecting a child give priority to that child's welfare.

Reporting child abuse

Suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a child should be reported to the police or the Social Welfare Office so the child receives protection.

Map scale

The ratio of map distance to ground distance; at 1:50,000 one centimetre on the map represents 50,000 centimetres, or half a kilometre, on the ground.

Reading grid references

Eastings are read before northings; four figures identify a grid square and six figures identify a precise point inside that square.

Contours and slope

Lines joining points of equal height; closely spaced contours show a steep slope, widely spaced contours a gentle slope, and V-shapes pointing uphill mark valleys.

Lake Malawi outflow

Lake Malawi occupies part of the East African Rift Valley and drains southwards through the Shire River into the Zambezi River system.

Renewable versus non-renewable resources

Renewable resources such as forests and fish can be replenished if used wisely; non-renewable resources such as minerals are finite and are exhausted by extraction.

Causes of deforestation

Charcoal production, fuelwood collection, agricultural clearing and brick burning are the main drivers, leading to soil erosion, siltation and reduced rainfall.

Controlling soil erosion

Contour ridges, box ridges, vetiver grass strips, terracing, afforestation and agroforestry slow runoff and hold soil on slopes.

Sustainable use of resources

Using natural resources to meet present needs without destroying the resource base, for example harvesting only mature trees and replanting afterwards.

African Traditional Religion

Belief in a Supreme Being often called Mulungu or Chiuta, together with veneration of ancestors and rituals for rain, harvest and healing.

Islam in Malawi

Islam is concentrated among the Yao people and along the lakeshore, especially in Mangochi and Machinga, having arrived through Arab and Swahili trade routes.

Freedom of religion

Malawi's Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience, religion and belief and prohibits discrimination on religious grounds.

Corruption defined

The abuse of entrusted power for private gain, fought in Malawi by the Anti-Corruption Bureau under the Corrupt Practices Act.