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Societal Problems as Public Bads

Author: Nan Dirk de Graaf

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-10

Total Pages: 638

ISBN-13: 1351063448

Corruption, crime, economic inequality, religious fundamentalism, financial crises, environmental degradation, population ageing, gender inequality, large-scale migration... This book tackles many of the most pressing problems facing societies today. The authors demonstrate that similar social mechanisms lie behind many of these seemingly disparate problems. Indeed, many societal problems can be traced back to behaviours that are perfectly rational and often well-intended from an individual perspective. Yet, taken together these behaviours can – paradoxically – give rise to unintended and undesirable outcomes at the society level. In addition to addressing the causes of societal problems, the book explains why some problems rank higher on the public agenda than others. Moreover, it is shown how government intervention may sometimes provide a cure, yet other times exacerbate existing problems or create new problems of its own. This book includes an extensive amount of data on trends and geographic variation in the prevalence of different problems, as well as telling examples – both recent and historical – from a variety of countries to support its key arguments. Employing a bold multidisciplinary approach, the authors draw on insights from across the social sciences, including sociology, economics, anthropology, criminology, and psychology. Throughout the book, students are introduced to analytical concepts such as free-riding, herding behaviour, principal-agent relations and moral hazard. These concepts are essential tools for better understanding the roots of many societal problems that regularly make headlines in the news. This improved understanding will, in turn, be critical for ultimately finding solutions to these problems.

Seeing Social Problems

Author: Brandon Lang

Publisher: Cognella Academic Publishing

Published: 2019-12-13

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781793507129

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Seeing Social Problems: Readings on Contemporary Issues in the United States provides students with engaging, thought-provoking articles that examine a wide array of current social issues, the types of behaviors that perpetuate such problems, and how these issues affect the daily lives of Americans. Students are invited to critically consider how key issues have evolved and changed over time and to devise new ways for society to improve, both as people and as a nation. The reader is divided into eight sections. Opening sections address socioeconomic inequality and poverty; racial and ethnic inequality; gender inequality and homophobia; and crime. Later sections explore social problems related to medicine and health, families, education, and the environment. The revised first edition features up-to-date information on several important issues, including race, gender, crime, health care, drug abuse, and pollution. Recent developments related to the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, Obamacare, and environmental justice are addressed. A new reading concerning the American opioid crisis has also been added. Developed to inspire critical thought and a greater understanding of contemporary issues, Seeing Social Problems is an ideal resource for courses in sociology.

Contemporary Social Problems

Author: Vincent N. Parrillo

Publisher: MacMillan Publishing Company

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 644

ISBN-13: 9780023917318

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Constructing Social Problems

Author: Malcolm Spector

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 1351526332

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There is no adequate definition of social problems within sociology, and there is not and never has been a sociology of social problems. That observation is the point of departure of this book. The authors aim to provide such a definition and to prepare the ground for the empirical study of social problems. They are aware that their objective will strike many fellow sociologists as ambitious, perhaps even arrogant. Their work challenges sociologists who have, over a period of fifty years, written treatises on social problems, produced textbooks cataloguing the nature, distribution, and causes of these problems, and taught many sociology courses. It is only natural that the authors' work will be viewed as controversial in light of the large literature which has established a "sociology of" a wide range of social problems-the sociology of race relations, prostitution, poverty, crime, mental illness, and so forth. In the 1970s when the authors were preparing for a seminar on the sociology of social problems, their review of the "literature" revealed the absence of any systematic, coherent statement of theory or method in the study of social problems. For many years the subject was listed and offered by university departments of sociology as a "service course" to present undergraduates with what they should know about the various "social pathologies" that exist in their society. This conception of social problems for several decades has been reflected in the substance and quality of the literature dominated by textbooks. In 'Constructing Social Problems', the authors propose that social problems be conceived as the claims-making activities of individuals or groups regarding social conditions they consider unjust, immoral, or harmful and that should be addressed. This perspective, as the authors have formulated it, conceives of social problems as a process of interaction that produces social problems as social facts in society. The authors further propose that this process and the social facts it produces are the data to be researched for the sociology of social problems. This volume will be of interest to those concerned with the discipline of sociology, especially its current theoretical development and growth.

Social Problems

Author: Charles Zastrow

Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing Company

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780534523923

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Preface. 1. THE SOCIOLOGY OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS. The Sociological Approach. Social Movements and Social Problems. Consequences of Actions Taken on Social Problems. Perspectives on Social Problems and Social Programs. Sociological Perspectives on Social Problems. Research on Social Problems. PART ONE: DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL VARIATIONS. 2. CRIME AND DELINQUENCY. The Nature and Extent of Crime. Crime Causation Theories. Types of Crimes. The Criminal Justice System. How to Reduce Crime and Delinquency. 3. EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS. The Nature and Extent of Emotional and Behavioral Problems. Mental Health Issues. Social Structure and Mental Illness. Treatment. 4. DRUG ABUSE. Drugs and Society. Facts about and Effects of Commonly Used Drugs. Rehabilitation Programs. Suggestions for Curbing Drug Abuse in the Future. 5. VARIATIONS IN HUMAN SEXUALITY. Sex in History and in other Cultures. Sex Variances Rather Than Sex Problems. Tolerated Sex Variance. Asocial Sex Variance. Structural Sex Variance. Personal Sexual Concerns. PART TWO: INEQUALITY PROBLEMS. 6. RACISM AND ETHNOCENTRISM. Ethnic Groups and Ethnocentrism. Prejudice, Discrimination, and Oppression. Background of Racial Groups. Strategies for Advancing Social and Economic Justice. The Future of American Race and Ethnic Relations. 7. SEXISM. The History of Sexism. Sexual Harassment. Sex Roles and Sexism: Biology or Socialization? Consequences of Sexism. Recent Developments and the Future. 8. AGEISM. An Overview. Problems Faced by the Elderly. Current Services. The Future. 9. POVERTY. Poverty in the United States. Programs to Combat Poverty. PART THREE: TROUBLED INSTITUTIONS. 10. FAMILY. The American Family: Past and Present. Problems in the Family. Social Change and the Future of the American Family. 11. HEALTH CARE. Physical Illnesses and the Health Care System. Problems in Health Care. AIDS. Proposed Programs to Combat Health Care. 12. EDUCATION. Problem Areas in Education. Improving Education. Toward Equal Educational Opportunity. 13. BIG BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY, AND WORK. Big Business. Technology. Work. Problems with Work. Regulating Big Business and Technological Development. Current and Proposed "Solutions" to Work Problems. PART FOUR: PROBLEMS OF A CHANGING WORLD. 14. VIOLENCE, TERRORISM, AND WAR. Types of Violence. Causes of Violence. Approaches to Reducing Violence. 15. URBAN PROBLEMS. History of Cities. Urban and Rural Areas Defined. An Urbanizing World. Theories on the Effects of Urbanism. Problems Confronting Central Cities. Strategies to Improve Urban Areas. 16. POPULATION. Rapid Population Growth and Overpopulation. 17. ENVIRONMENT. Environmental Problems. General Pollutants. Confronting Environmental Problems. EPILOGUE. GLOSSARY. NOTES. PHOTO CREDITS. NAME INDEX. SUBJECT INDEX.