Social Problems 01/02

by FINSTERBUSCH K

• ISBN13: 9780072433234
• ISBN10: 007243323X
• Edition: 29th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-03-01
• Publisher: McGraw Hill College Div

Table of Contents

To the Reader	iv
Topic Guide	2	(2)
Selected World Wide Web Sites	4	(2)
UNIT 1 Introduction: The Nature of Social Problems and General Critiques of American Society
Overview	6	(3)
Social Problems: Definitions, Theories, and Analysis	9	(8)
Harold A. Widdison
H. Richard Delaney
This essay, written specifically for this volume, explores the complexities associated with defining, studying, and attempting to resolve ``social'' problems. The three major theoretical approaches-symbolic interactionism, functionalism, and conflict-are summarized
The Fragmentation of Social Life	17	(4)
D. Stanley Eitzen
In this essay about America, Stanley Eitzen addresses a crucial problem: the fragmentation of social life. He suggests that America could come apart in the future if this fragmentation continues. Eitzen discusses excessive individualism, heightened personal isolation, increasing inequality, and the deepening racial/ethnic/religious/sexuality divide
How to Re-Moralize America	21	(10)
Francis Fukuyama
Recently, many of the indicators of moral decline have started to improve. Francis Fukuyama reports the changes and accepts the challenge of explaining how moral regeneration occurs generally and what caused a potential moral regeneration in the 1990s. In the process he is forced to explore the basic sociological question of what are the sources of value systems and how they arise and change. In his search for an answer he leads the reader through a sociological detective story
UNIT 2 Problems of the Political Economy
Overview	28	(3)
A. THE POLITY
Who Rules America?	31	(4)
G. William Domhoff
G. William Domhoff is the leading proponent of the power elite view of American politics as it applies to political influence in America today
A Call to Civil Society	35	(8)
Jean Bethke Elshtain
This article is a call to America by the bipartisan Council on Civil Society to strengthen civil society and reverse many of the unwholesome trends of recent decades. This involves strongly supporting the family, local communities, faith communities, voluntary associations, and several other elements of society
How the Little Guy Gets Crunched	43	(2)
Donald L. Barlett
James B. Steele
Politics means a win for some and a loss for others. The authors of this article show that campaign contributions from powerful special interest groups provide gains for the contributor but losses for the little guy
B. THE ECONOMY
The Twilight of the Corporation	45	(4)
Tony Clarke
In the last decade or so, the transnational corporation has virtually supplanted the nation-state as the central institution dominating the lives of people in most parts of the world. They have created a global market system, which is now helping to reshape the destiny of people and nations
The ``New'' Means of Consumption: A Postmodern Analysis	49	(6)
George Ritzer
The consumption side of the economy is undergoing a rationalization revolution that is somewhat similar to the rationalization of production in the industrial revolution. George Ritzer provides a guide to this consumption revolution
Work, Work, Work, Work!	55	(7)
Mark Hunter
According to Mark Hunter, the place of work in the lives of Americans is changing. Work time is increasing and the line between work life and private life is fading. Increasingly work is seen as a means of self-fulfillment and our careers start earlier and end later. Hunter discusses many other changes in the lives of Americans, which are related to the changes in the meaning and conditions of work
C. URBAN ISSUES
America's Cities: They Can Yet Be Resurrected, The Economist, January 10, 1998
According to this report, many American cities are reviving. Crime and unemployment rates are down and some forceful and creative mayors are attacking failed programs and institutions with new and successful policies	59	(3)
When Activists Win: The Renaissance of Dudley St	62	(7)
Jay Walljasper
As the pain and despair of ghettos become common knowledge, stories of poor neighborhoods organizing to make life better act as beacons of hope. Jay Walljasper tells the story of the successful Dudley Street Initiative and explains how it was done
UNIT 3 Problems of Poverty and Inequality
Overview	66	(3)
A. INEQUALITY AND THE POOR
Are the Rich Cleaning Up?	69	(6)
Cait Murphy
Cait Murphy presents the facts on the increasing inequality in America, explains its causes, and suggests what should be done about it
Out of Sight, Out of Mind, The Economist, May 20, 2000	75	(3)
Poverty is a problem that will not go away despite the good economy. The conditions of poverty change, but the grinding struggle continues
B. WELFARE
Corporate Welfare	78	(2)
Donald L. Barlett
James B. Steele
In this essay, the authors explain how hundreds of companies get on the dole to the tune of 2 weeks' pay for every working American. The federal government has issued over $125 billion to corporate America, which tilts the playing field toward the already powerful in society
Welfare Reform-Four Years Later	80	(9)
Douglas J. Besharov
Peter Germanis
How well is welfare reform working? The authors thoroughly review the evidence to date, and the results are complicated
C. RACIAL AND ETHNIC INEQUALITY AND ISSUES
``I'm Just Who I Am,''	89	(3)
Jack E. White
Professional golfer Tiger Woods's roots are one-eighth Caucasian, one-eighth American Indian, one-fourth Black, one-fourth Thai, and one-fourth Chinese. To label him black is to deny three-fourths of his ancestry and identity. The rapid growth of mixed marriages is destroying the already weak integrity of racial categories and the policies they are based on
Why Worry About Multiculturalism?	92	(7)
Anne Phillips
America is becoming more multicultural, and many Americans fear the consequences. Anne Phillips examines three of these anxieties and finds them largely groundless
D. GENDER INEQUALITIES AND ISSUES
Different Words, Different Worlds	99	(3)
Deborah Tannen
Deborah Tannen analyzes how the communication patterns and methods of relating for men and women differ, often causing them to misunderstand each other badly
The Other Gender Gap	102	(4)
Naomi Barko
According to Naomi Barko, women are still not getting equal pay when doing the same work as men. The main problem is discrimination against women's occupations
Violence Against Women	106	(4)
Toni Nelson
A major civil rights failure worldwide is the widespread suppression of and violence against women as expressed in rape, female infanticide, bride burning, enforced prostitution, domestic abuse, and female genital mutilation
E. DISADVANTAGED GROUPS
Shades of Gay	110	(2)
John Leland
John Leland reports on a new survey concerning public attitudes toward gays, which shows that prejudice toward them has declined. Gays are more accepted by straights, but they are still running into roadblocks on some key issues
The Shame of Our Nursing Homes: Millions for Investors, Misery for the Elderly	112	(7)
Eric Bates
Eric Bates describes the horrible conditions in many nursing homes and the slack government regulation that allows these conditions to persist
Disability	119	(7)
Richard K. Scotch
Richard K. Scotch addresses the public conceptions of disability and the problems associated with it. People who have disabilities face a variety of problems that are the product of social forces, such as being isolated and discounted as well as being faced with barriers to mobility, employment, and health care
UNIT 4 Institutional Problems
Overview	124	(2)
A. THE FAMILY
The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with America's Changing Families	126	(6)
Stephanie Coontz
Stephanie Coontz presents trends in family life in America that, contrary to popular opinion, include many positive trends that may more than balance the negative trends
The Science of a Good Marriage	132	(4)
Barbara Kantrowitz
Pat Wingert
The authors report on the research of John Gottman, who has determined the ingredients of successful marriages and can predict with 90 percent accuracy which marriages will work. He emphasizes seven principles, one of which is that an unequal balance of power is deadly to a marriage
The Children of Divorce	136	(5)
Glenn T. Stanton
Glenn Stanton reviews the costs of divorce on children, especially the long-term costs that range from depression, relational problems, and poorer performance concerning health and addiction problems
B. EDUCATION
Student Performance: The National Agenda in Education	141	(5)
Diane Ravitch
Though student performance has improved somewhat in the younger grades in the past two decades, it has not improved for 17-year-olds, so the efforts to improve the results of education have not accomplished much. Diane Ravitch discusses what needs to be done to improve education in America
What No School Can Do	146	(9)
James Traub
This pessimistic article argues that school reform will have only a small impact on poor children because good schools can not correct the many other disadvantages that poor children face
C. HEALTH
Healing in a Hurry: Hospitals in the Managed-Care Age	155	(5)
Suzanne Gordon
Timothy McCall
The authors demonstrate that the reorganization of the health care system under the control of HMOs is adversely affecting the care that patients are receiving. Hospital stays have been dramatically reduced, as have referrals and tests. HMO profit maximizers rather than practicing physicians are making critical decisions about the health care that we receive
Losing the Battle of the Bugs	160	(5)
Amanda Spake
Our medicines have killed a lot of germs, which has saved many lives and cured diseases. Unfortunately, they have not killed enough germs. The tougher ones survived to produce even tougher subsequent generations, which can now resist our medicines. Amanda Spake reports on and explains the resulting crisis
A Kinder, Gentler Death	165	(7)
John Cloud
John Cloud criticizes the American way of death for its apparent harshness and isolation. He suggests that death at home, in the bosom of one's family, is kinder and gentler than the American process of dying in a hospital
UNIT 5 Crime, Violence, and Law Enforcement
Overview	170	(2)
A. CRIME
Preventing Crime: The Promising Road Ahead	172	(5)
Gene Stephens
Gene Stephens reports on the results of research conducted on over 500 crime-prevention programs. He attempts to find out which prevention programs work and which do not work. There are many surprising results, especially in those that do not work
A Year in Corporate Crime	177	(6)
Robert Sherrill
Robert Sherrill reviewed a year of the Wall Street Journal for cases of corporate crime and found much to tarnish the image of corporate America, even though most of these crimes are never detected. A few of the reported crimes, however, do result in prison sentences
B. LAW ENFORCEMENT
Reasonable Doubts	183	(6)
Stephen Pomper
Stephen Pomper critically assesses the criminal justice system and recommends strong, badly needed reforms
The Problem with the Chair	189	(6)
Carl M. Cannon
Carl Cannon provides a well-reasoned conservative argument against the death penalty. The central argument is that all social systems are imperfect; therefore, we can be sure that some innocent people will be executed
C. VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM
Watch and Learn: Yes, the Media Do Make Us More Violent	195	(4)
Gregg Easterbrook
The author's position that the media does make us more violent is hammered home in powerful case after case
The New Terrorism: Coming Soon to a City Near You, The Economist, August 15, 1998	199	(5)
The American government is very concerned about the threat of terrorism, because biological or chemical agents that could cause millions of deaths are available to terrorist groups at modest cost. Some nihilist terrorist groups today are willing to use them. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to defend against these groups
UNIT 6 Problems of Population, Environment, Resources, and the Future
Overview	202	(2)
A. POPULATION ISSUES
The Alien Payoff	204	(2)
Paul Glastris
Paul Glastris reviews a scientific report that evaluates the impact of immigration on the income, taxes, and jobs of Americans. This balanced report contradicts the inflammatory rhetoric on both sides of the immigration issue and finds that immigration has more benefits than costs, but these benefits are unevenly distributed, with some areas receiving mostly negative impacts
The World Turns Gray: How Global Aging Will Challenge the World's Economic Well-Being	206	(5)
Phillip J. Longman
Declining worldwide fertility rates are contributing to global aging, and Phillip Longman assesses how this will affect the world's economic well-being. Caring for a rapidly expanding population of elderly who have fewer children to count on for support will be a challenge
B. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Population Growth, Environmental Resources, and the Global Availability of Food	211	(5)
David Pimentel
Marcia Pimentel
The pressure to feed the world's growing population is dangerously degrading land, water, energy, and biological resources. with per capita food production declining for the last decade, the environmental problems must be addressed with strong measures very soon if future generations are going to live well
Environmental Scarcity, Mass Violence, and the Limits to Ingenuity	216	(6)
Thomas F. Homer-Dixon
Thomas Homer-Dixon argues that there is a direct and persistent worldwide interplay between the state of national economies, environmental scarcity, and violence
C. THE FUTURE
The Many Faces of the Future	222	(3)
Samuel P. Huntington
The forces that are increasingly driving world politics, according to Samuel Huntington, are cultural. A universal civilization is impossible because people identify with tribes, ethnic groups, religious communities, nations, and civilizations
Index	225	(3)
Test Your Knowledge Form	228	(1)
Article Rating Form	229