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 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 Personal Decisions in the Public Square written by Robert A. Stebbins and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-19 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work looks into how, why, and when people pursue things in life that they desire, those that make their existence attractive and worth living. Robert A. Stebbins calls this "Positive Sociology," the study of what people do to organize their lives such that they become substantially rewarding, satisfying, and fulfilling. Western society has many challenges: crime, drug addiction, urban pollution, daily stress, domestic violence, and overpopulation. Significant levels of success in avoiding these problems brings a noticeable measure of tranquility, but it does not necessarily generate a positive life. Personal Decisions in the Public Square draws upon, in large part, the sociology of leisure, a "happy science." Among the basic concepts in the sociology of leisure are activity and human agency. The centrality of positive activity is one of its hallmarks and separates it from other social science specialties. Stebbins's positive sociology centers on conceptual roots found in the "serious leisure" perspective. This theoretical framework synthesizes three main forms of leisure (serious, casual, and project-based) while showing their distinctive features, similarities, and interrelationships. Positive sociology also considers two other domains of life: work and non-work obligations. This new approach focuses on the pursuit of "that which makes life worth living." Stebbins explores goals that are important to all people, such as negotiating the right work/family or obligation/leisure balance and the tricky relationship between money and happiness. Research scientists or the general public may find the ideas presented in this volume help them better understand and negotiate situations, by showing how to approach them in a positive way rather than as "problems" that need to be solved.
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 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 Sociology in Action written by David S. Hachen and published by Pine Forge Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Part 1 Doing Sociology Seeing Society Using Theory Decoding Culture Uncovering Inequalities and Power Imagining Futures Part 2 Decision Cases The Worth of a Sparrow Conflict at Riverside Tossin' and Turnin' Lucy Allman In the Eye of the Beholder The Case of the Minnetonka Kawn Ordinance Off to College What's So Scary about the Truth? People Like You Lisa's Hidden Identity.
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 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 Group Problem Solving written by Patrick R. Laughlin and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-01-24 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experimental research by social and cognitive psychologists has established that cooperative groups solve a wide range of problems better than individuals. Cooperative problem solving groups of scientific researchers, auditors, financial analysts, air crash investigators, and forensic art experts are increasingly important in our complex and interdependent society. This comprehensive textbook--the first of its kind in decades--presents important theories and experimental research about group problem solving. The book focuses on tasks that have demonstrably correct solutions within mathematical, logical, scientific, or verbal systems, including algebra problems, analogies, vocabulary, and logical reasoning problems. The book explores basic concepts in group problem solving, social combination models, group memory, group ability and world knowledge tasks, rule induction problems, letters-to-numbers problems, evidence for positive group-to-individual transfer, and social choice theory. The conclusion proposes ten generalizations that are supported by the theory and research on group problem solving. Group Problem Solving is an essential resource for decision-making research in social and cognitive psychology, but also extremely relevant to multidisciplinary and multicultural problem-solving teams in organizational behavior, business administration, management, and behavioral economics.
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 322 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 Handbook of Clinical Sociology written by Howard M. Rebach and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clinical sociology is an action-oriented field that seeks to prevent, reduce, or resolve the seemingly overwhelming number of social problems confronting modern society. In an extensive revision of the first edition of this classic text and reference, published by Plenum in 1990, the editors have assembled a distinguished roster of contributors to address such topics as theory and practice; intervention at various levels of social organization; specific kinds of sociological practice; social problems; and the process of becoming a clinical sociologist.
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 Passion Action and Politics written by Irving Tallman and published by San Francisco : W. H. Freeman. This book was released on 1976 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Policy Analysis as Problem Solving written by Rachel Meltzer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-12-07 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing extensively from real-life cases, Policy Analysis as Problem Solving helps students develop the analytic skills necessary to advise government officials and nonprofit executives on a wide range of policy issues. Unlike other texts, Policy Analysis as Problem Solving employs a pragmatic, heterodox approach to the field. Whereas most texts on policy analysis are anchored in microeconomics, emphasizing economic efficiency, this book takes a broader view, using realistic examples to illustrate the full scope of policy analysis. The book provides succinct but thorough discussions of the key elements of the policy-analytic process, including problem definition, objectives and criteria, development of alternative policy options, and analysis of these alternatives. The text’s practical approach and extensive downloadable resources—which include interviews, case studies, and further readings—will be of enormous benefit to both students and instructors of policy analysis.
