Social Problems
Report 1
Spring 2022
Purpose
In U.S. society, we often focus on individuals as causing social problems and experiencing the effects of them. When you can see the broader social institutions and how they cause and experience social problems, you will have a better understanding of how to fix them. Social scientists study the origins (i.e. causes) and effects (i.e. consequences) of them at different levels.
This is the course objective that you will meet when writing this report: Students will know that social problems can originate in and affect individuals, groups, institutions, and/or global organization by studying a variety of social problems such as inequality, deviance, family, education, health and/or environment.
Assessment Goal: I will write a well-organized report as outlined in these instructions. I will earn 80% (80/100 points) or higher.
Skills
When you complete the steps in this report, you will practice skills that are essential for your success in this course. These statements describe the skills from your perspective:
I will locate 4 sources of information about how individuals, institutions and other nations experience a social problem.
I will analyze the sources to identify their claims about the problem.
I will write about my findings in a well-organized report following the outline in Step 5.
Knowledge
When you read Chapter 1 in the Horsfall book and online Content Modules 4, 5, 6, and 7, look for these sociological concepts and their definitions:
social institutions: state, economy, education, family, healthcare, religion, media
common beliefs
subjective claim = personal story
objective component = empirical evidence
evidence-based claim
effects of social problems on individuals
effects of social problems on institutions in the US
effects of social problems on other nations
causes of problems = origins = to bring about a problem, to make it happen
social construction of a problem
Steps
Please follow the steps listed below to complete the assignment.
Steps 1 through 4 will prepare you to write the report.
Step 5 has the instructions, and an outline of questions to answer for the report.
Step 1: Choose a Social Problem
Read the list of social problems below and choose one that you want to learn more about.
Go to the textbook by Horsfall titled Social Problems: An Advocate Group Approach and read the pages about the problem you choose from the list and analyze it by answering the questions in this report.
Health Care on pages 102-121 – Physicians for a National Health care Program
Social Security on pages 122-131 – National Committee to Preserve Social Security, Medicare
Welfare on pages 132-136 – Legal Momentum
Discrimination on pages 138-157 – Southern Poverty Law Center
Illegal Immigration on pages 159-171 – League of United Latin American Citizens
Drugs and Alcohol on pages 174-192 Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Homelessness on pages 196-201 – National Alliance to end Homelessness
Domestic Violence on pages 202-208 – Court Appointed Special Advocates
Teen Suicide and Gangs on pages 209-214 – Boys and Girls Clubs
Abortion on pages 218-225 – Operation Rescue
Gender Discrimination on pages 227-236 – Concerned Women for America
Euthanasia on pages 237-240 – Jack Kevorkian
Homosexuality on pages 240-244 – Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network
Global Warming and Pollution on pages 247-259 – Cradle to Cradle
Natural Resources on pages 259-265 – Sierra Club
Rape, Date Rape Spousal Rape on pages 272-274 – Men Can Stop Rape
Prostitution on pages 274-279 – Prostitution Research and Education
Step 2: Research
Use the section that you read from the textbook list above as one source.
Locate at least 3 other articles or websites which discuss the origins or effects of the problem at different levels: local, state, national or international.
To complete this report, you need a total of 4 sources of information: textbook + 3 articles or websites.
Step 3: Read the Claims and Analyze them
Read the information in Modules 4, 5, 6 and 7 online and Chapter 1 in the Horsfall book.
Read all of your sources and take notes about their claims about how individual people, social institutions, and nations are affected by it.
Determine the basis of the claims as common beliefs or evidence-based claims.
Here is an example analysis of sexually transmitted diseases based on pages 266-269 in the textbook:
claims about individuals = disease is passed between individuals, some people are at higher risk of contracting it than others, Ryan White Foundation is example of amelioration through education
claims about institutions = high cost in US healthcare system, government considers it a public health challenge, CDC statistics ab
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