Download or read book Problem Solving Sociology written by Monica Prasad and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-10-15 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A broad resource that offers tools for how to conduct problem-solving sociology in order to deepen and reformulate our understanding of society. Most students arrive in graduate sociology programs eager to engage with the pressing social and political issues of the day. Yet that initial enthusiasm does not always survive the professional socialization of graduate school. In Problem-Solving Sociology, Monica Prasad shows graduate students and early career sociologists how to conduct research that uses sociological theory to help solve real-world problems, and how to use problem-solving to improve sociological theory. Prasad discusses how to be objective when examining issues of injustice and oppression, and provides methodological strategies and plenty of exercises for research aimed at creating change. She gives examples throughout of problem-solving research conducted at all levels, from undergraduate theses to the major figures of the discipline. She also considers how to respond to some common objections; where problem-solving fits into the landscape of sociological practice; and how to build a life in problem-solving.
Download or read book Service Sociology and Academic Engagement in Social Problems written by Dr Karen M McCormack and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2014-03-28 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book challenges sociologists and sociology students to think beyond the construction of social problems to tackle a central question: What do sociologists do with the analytic tools and academic skills afforded by their discipline to respond to social problems? Service Sociology posits that a central role of sociology is not simply to analyse and interpret social problems, but to act in the world in an informed manner to ameliorate suffering and address the structural causes of these problems. This volume provides a unique contribution to this approach to sociology, exploring the intersection between its role as an academic discipline and its practice in the service of communities and people. With both contemporary and historical analyses, the book traces the legacy, characteristics, contours, and goals of the sociology of service, shedding light on its roots in early American sociology and its deep connections to activism, before examining the social context that underlies the call for volunteerism, community involvement and non-profit organisations, as well as the strategies that have promise in remedying contemporary social problems. Presenting examples of concrete social problems from around the world, including issues of democratic participation, poverty and unemployment, student involvement in microlending, disaster miitigation, the organization and leadership of social movements, homelessness, activism around HIV/AIDS and service spring breaks, Service Sociology and Academic Engagement in Social Problems explores the utility of public teaching, participatory action research, and service learning in the classroom as a contribution to the community.
Download or read book Problem Solving Sociology written by Monica Prasad and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-10-01 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A broad resource that offers tools for how to conduct problem-solving sociology in order to deepen and reformulate our understanding of society. Most students arrive in graduate sociology programs eager to engage with the pressing social and political issues of the day. Yet that initial enthusiasm does not always survive the professional socialization of graduate school. In Problem-Solving Sociology, Monica Prasad shows graduate students and early career sociologists how to conduct research that uses sociological theory to help solve real-world problems, and how to use problem-solving to improve sociological theory. Prasad discusses how to be objective when examining issues of injustice and oppression, and provides methodological strategies and plenty of exercises for research aimed at creating change. She gives examples throughout of problem-solving research conducted at all levels, from undergraduate theses to the major figures of the discipline. She also considers how to respond to some common objections; where problem-solving fits into the landscape of sociological practice; and how to build a life in problem-solving.
Download or read book Sociological Practice written by John G. Bruhn and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-11-15 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This second edition of a classic text in the field has been revisited by its authors and extensively reworked. It incorporates new case studies based on the authors’ experiences as well as one completely new chapter. The first edition of Clinical Sociology was published in 1996. Its goal was to explore various approaches to problem-solving at the micro, meso, and macro levels of social complexity.
Download or read book Democracy as Problem Solving written by Xavier De Souza Briggs and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2008-07-18 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Case studies from around the world and theoretical discussion show how the capacity to act collectively on local problems can be developed, strengthening democracy while changing social and economic outcomes. Complexity, division, mistrust, and “process paralysis” can thwart leaders and others when they tackle local challenges. In Democracy as Problem Solving, Xavier de Souza Briggs shows how civic capacity—the capacity to create and sustain smart collective action—can be developed and used. In an era of sharp debate over the conditions under which democracy can develop while broadening participation and building community, Briggs argues that understanding and building civic capacity is crucial for strengthening governance and changing the state of the world in the process. More than managing a contest among interest groups or spurring deliberation to reframe issues, democracy can be what the public most desires: a recipe for significant progress on important problems. Briggs examines efforts in six cities, in the United States, Brazil, India, and South Africa, that face the millennial challenges of rapid urban growth, economic restructuring, and investing in the next generation. These challenges demand the engagement of government, business, and nongovernmental sectors. And the keys to progress include the ability to combine learning and bargaining continuously, forge multiple forms of accountability, and find ways to leverage the capacity of the grassroots and what Briggs terms the “grasstops,” regardless of who initiates change or who participates over time. Civic capacity, Briggs shows, can—and must—be developed even in places that lack traditions of cooperative civic action.
Download or read book How Can We Solve Our Social Problems written by James A. Crone and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2010-05-13 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated with recent issues such as the national debate on health care reform, this Second Edition of How Can We Solve Our Social Problems? gives students a sense of hope by demonstrating specific, realistic steps we can take to solve some of the most pervasive social problems in America today. Author James Crone maintains a sense of sociological objectivity throughout and helps students realize that we can take steps to solve such key social problems as poverty, racial and ethnic inequality, unequal education, and environmental issues. The book's first two chapters define "social problem,," provide a theoretical background, discuss the daunting barriers we face in attempting to solve social problems, and demonstrate how sociology can help.
Download or read book Creative Problem Solving in the Field written by William Foote Whyte and published by Rowman Altamira. This book was released on 1997 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the street corners of the North End of Boston to the Basque regions of Spain, renowned sociologist William Foote Whyte has been a pioneer in developing methods and theories that have changed and expanded the way that we look at social structures and the individuals within them. Now, Whyte passes on his experience and knowledge with a look at problems he encountered in the field, and how he was able to overcome them. This book is both a guide through the practical and conceptual complexities and problems associated with fieldwork, as well as a look back on the life of one of the most interesting and important sociologists of our time.
Download or read book The Sociology of Social Problems written by Adam Jamrozik and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-07-13 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social problems such as unemployment, poverty and drug addiction are a fact of life in industrialised societies. This book examines the sociology of social problems from interesting and challenging perspectives. It analyses how social problems emerge and are defined as such, who takes responsibility for them, who is threatened by them and how they are managed, solved or ignored. The authors examine and critique existing theories of social problems before developing their own theoretical framework. Their 'theory of residualist conversion of social problems' explains how certain social problems threaten legitimate power structures, so that problems of a social or political nature are transformed into personal problems, and the 'helping professions' are left to intervene. This book will become a key reference on class, inequality and social intervention and an important text for students in sociology and social work courses.
Download or read book Problem Solving Courts written by Paul C. Higgins and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The new trend in problem-solving courts—specialized courts utilized to address crimes not adequately addressed by the standard criminal justice system—is examined in this thorough and insight-filled book. At least since the late 1980s, with the development of the first drug court in Dade County, Florida, the justice system has undergone what some believe is a revolution—the movement toward problem-solving courts. Problem-Solving Courts: Justice for the Twenty-First Century? provides a concise, thorough, well-documented, and balanced foundation for anyone interested in understanding this phenomenon. Detailing the "promise and potential perils" of problem-solving courts, the authors represented here examine the development of the problem-solving court movement, the rationale for the courts, the approaches they take, and their anticipated benefits and potential pitfalls. Using case examples and looking at various types of problem-solving courts, the book offers "foundational" information about the specific types of problem-solving courts, their goals and philosophies, their organization and operation, their variation in structure and procedures, and the extensiveness of the court. It draws conclusions about the relative merits or disadvantages of such courts and considers prospects for the future.
Download or read book Social Problems and Inequality written by John Alessio and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-01 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social Problems and Inequality explores integrated and root-cause-based explanations of complex social problems. Written in clear and understandable language, allowing it to be used for classroom purposes, it addresses the most fundamental principles of how humans, acting through social units, create, and eventually can remedy, social problems. With a central focus on the problem of inequality and the manner in which this is manifested in crime, social class and stratification, this book examines the key theoretical perspectives relevant to the study and solution of social problems, whilst drawing upon rich illustrations and case studies from the US and Europe to offer a thorough examination of the nature, common root causes and social remedies of social problems. Providing discussions of both theoretical approaches and concrete applications, Social Problems and Inequality investigates the sources of various prejudices and attitudes that contribute to social problems and the associated issues of globalization, economic greed and imperialism. Accessible in style and comprehensive in its coverage, this book will appeal to students and scholars of social problems across the social sciences.
Download or read book What Unions No Longer Do written by Jake Rosenfeld and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2014-02-10 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From workers' wages to presidential elections, labor unions once exerted tremendous clout in American life. In the immediate post-World War II era, one in three workers belonged to a union. The fraction now is close to one in five, and just one in ten in the private sector. The only thing big about Big Labor today is the scope of its problems. While many studies have explained the causes of this decline, What Unions No Longer Do shows the broad repercussions of labor's collapse for the American economy and polity. Organized labor was not just a minor player during the middle decades of the twentieth century, Jake Rosenfeld asserts. For generations it was the core institution fighting for economic and political equality in the United States. Unions leveraged their bargaining power to deliver benefits to workers while shaping cultural understandings of fairness in the workplace. What Unions No Longer Do details the consequences of labor's decline, including poorer working conditions, less economic assimilation for immigrants, and wage stagnation among African-Americans. In short, unions are no longer instrumental in combating inequality in our economy and our politics, resulting in a sharp decline in the prospects of American workers and their families.
Download or read book Problem Solving in Families written by Samuel Vuchinich and published by SAGE. This book was released on 1999 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Synthesizing the diverse body of perspectives and approaches to family problem solving covered in research and clinical work, Samuel Vuchinich assesses the implications of research on problem solving for family-based prevention and intervention programs. He explores family conflicts, the nature of family problems, problems across the life cycle, and social constructions.
Download or read book Organization and Management Problem Solving written by James T. Ziegenfuss and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2002 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on a broad range of case studies, Organization and Management Problem Solving is an insightful text designed to improve the application of organization theory and systems thinking in teaching and practice. This book illustrates the five key themes in the nature of organization and managementa'technical, structural, psychosocial, managerial, and culturala'through the analysis of measured incidents tested by students. A clear theoretical framework supports the case studies, allowing the text to have practical relevance to contemporary settings and to be recognized as a model for describing, analyzing, and responding to organization and management problems. The model integrates the thinking of many writers on organization and problem solving including Ackoff, Blake, and Mouton; Schein, Kast, and Rosenweign; and Mitroff and Lippitt. The approach eliminates causal conditions and emphasizes responsive problem solving. Theory is applied and expanded as needed to a broader social context, engaging the reader in a thorough understanding of the nature and development of organization theory and problem solving. This book is relevant to consultants, academics, and professional managers in a number of settings (academic, military, business organizations, and research institutes) and disciplines (including development and change, management, human resources, social psychology, communication, sociology, and psychology).
Download or read book How Civic Action Works written by Paul Lichterman and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-12-15 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book develops a new way to think about how social advocacy works in everyday life. Varied scholarly approaches to social advocacy over the past four decades have tended to highlight skilled actors who craft rhetorical appeals and pursue resources and opportunities strategically to win their ends. Lichterman argues that this approach presents a thin view of culture and oversimplifies action as a product of collective actors whose speech and action do not vary by setting. In this study of housing advocacy, he turns the analytic lens away from the actors to the social settings and the cultural contexts of unfolding action, which allows him to develop a more precise explanation of success and failure. Lichterman draws on four years of ethnographic research on four campaigns, three coalitions, and twelve organizations that took up affordable housing, homelessness, and related problems in Los Angeles. The author follows how the actors' identities, claims and strategies unfold in specific settings as they promote new legislation, oppose gentrification, build affordable housing, and pursue health and environmental issues alongside housing problems. He finds that the discursive fields are crucial contexts that influence the work and that organization style powerfully shapes civic action. How Civic Action Works offers a new conceptual framework and research agenda for studies of social advocacy"--
Download or read book Problem Solving 101 written by Ken Watanabe and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-03-05 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fun and simple problem-solving guide that took Japan by storm Ken Watanabe originally wrote Problem Solving 101 for Japanese schoolchildren. His goal was to help shift the focus in Japanese education from memorization to critical thinking, by adapting some of the techniques he had learned as an elite McKinsey consultant. He was amazed to discover that adults were hungry for his fun and easy guide to problem solving and decision making. The book became a surprise Japanese bestseller, with more than 370,000 in print after six months. Now American businesspeople can also use it to master some powerful skills. Watanabe uses sample scenarios to illustrate his techniques, which include logic trees and matrixes. A rock band figures out how to drive up concert attendance. An aspiring animator budgets for a new computer purchase. Students decide which high school they will attend. Illustrated with diagrams and quirky drawings, the book is simple enough for a middleschooler to understand but sophisticated enough for business leaders to apply to their most challenging problems.
Download or read book The Sociological Imagination written by and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An Agenda for Action written by John G. Bruhn and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-04-17 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A companion to the authors' Handbook of Clinical Sociology (Plenum Press, 1991), this pioneering text provides an introduction to this new field, covering its development, methods and tools, and illustrates the applications of sociological concepts to current social problems. Drs. Bruhn and Rebach present numerous examples to enable practitioners to apply their problem-solving skills. Key discussions address the values held by clients and practitioners and issues relating to sociological assessment and evaluation. This indispensable resource is enhanced by case illustrations, annotated bibliographies, and a glossary of terms.
