social+problems

Databases
__**Facts on File- Issues and Controversies**__ || **ABC-Clio Issues ** || media type="custom" key="7842265" ||
 * [[image:Screen_shot_2009-11-01_at_8.53.05_AM.png link="@http://%20http://www.fofweb.com/Direct2.asp?ItemID=WE00&ID=18821"]]

Ebooks
**Sharpe (great Social Issues books)**



from home use 24029030532684 to log in
IConn.org - Academic OneFile, Educator's Reference
 * media type="custom" key="7842295" || media type="custom" key="7842317" ||

Websites
http://www.c-spanclassroomdeliberations.org/issues

Print Resources
BHS Online Catalog 

Citation
link to annotation samples



Abstract/Annotation writing tips:
When abstracting something you have not written, do not summarize key ideas just by cutting and pasting. You must determine what a prospective reader would want to know about the work. There are a few techniques that will help you in this process: // Identify key terms: // Search through the entire document for key terms that identify the purpose, scope, and methods of the work. Pay close attention to the introductory and Conclusion paragraphs. These may contain the main ideas and key terms in the article. When writing the abstract, be sure to incorporate the key terms. // Highlight key phrases and sentences: // Instead of cutting and pasting the, try highlighting sentences or phrases that appear to be central to the work. Then, in a separate document, rewrite the sentences and phrases in your own words. // Don’t look back: // After reading the entire work, put it aside and write a paragraph about the work without referring to it. In the first draft, you may not remember all the key terms or the results, but you will remember what the main point of the work was. Remember not to include any information you did not get from the work being abstracted. Your abstract/annotation should be 200-300 words and allow the reader to know the scope of your article.

Sample Citation and Annotation

Puri, Kunal and Rudy Pugliese. "Sex, Lies, and Video Games: Moral Panics or Uses and Gratifications." Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, October 1, 2012, Vol 32 pages 345-352. Print
This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that promises to affect the lives of many children. Up for debate is whether a law aimed at curbing children's access to violent video games violates their constitutional right to free speech. Signed 5 years ago by Governor Schwarzenegger, the California statute, which has yet to take effect pending legal review, would prohibit the sale or rental of violent video games--games that include images of physical or sexual assault to humans--to anyone under the age of 18. The law would include a fine of $1,000 to be assessed to retailers violating these restrictions and add labeling requirements regarding video game violence. Videogames have been increasingly available to children and adolescents for more than 3 decades. They were introduced to the American, Japanese, and European publics for home use in the early 1970s. Commercial viability was established with the advent of Atari and its premier game, Pong. In the almost 40 years since that slow paced, tennis-like game attracted the attention of teenagers across the globe, the availability and appeal of video games have skyrocketed. Video games have gone from very simple sport-oriented games to the current state of virtual reality, war, and avatars. Video games are now in the homes of most American youth, and the social, realistic, and futuristic caliber of the games is alluring to children and adults alike. As video games have become more engaging, children have become more engaged, spending ever-increasing amounts of time playing them. The negative impact on children's academic lives with increased time spent playing video games is two-fold: (1) school performance can suffer; and (2) children can become more aggressive. Concern about the effects of video games centers on both the time spent playing video games and the time not spent in more constructive activities, as well as the ever-increasing violence witnessed in video games

Assignment
<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Social Problems

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Introduction: When students are asked ‘what are the major social problems facing the world today’ their response tends to reflect the problems highlighted in the media, specifically AIDS, poverty, war, racism, sexism, crime, riots, child abuse, the environment, abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, and the state of the economy. These are all valid examples of social problems; however, some are very controversial and give rise to great differences of opinion. An example would be Dr. Jack Kevorkian in Michigan and his killing machine. Is he murdering the infirm and helpless or is he offering a merciful alternative to the slow and agonizing death of individuals with terminal illness? Another example would be abortion. What obligations do pregnant women have to themselves as opposed to the unborn? Both sides of either debate have valid facts and use societal-level values to support their claims. In 1970, Robin William Jr. identified a list of 15 dominant value orientations that represent the concept of the good life to many Americans:


 * 1) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Achievement and success as major personal goals.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Activity and work favored above leisure and laziness.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Moral orientation – that is, absolute judgments of good/bad, right/wrong
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Humanitarian motives as shown in charity and crisis aid.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Efficiency and practicality: a preference for the quickest and shortest way to achieve a goal at the least cost.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Process and progress: a belief that technology can solve all problems and that the future will be better that the past.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Material comfort as the ‘American Dream”
 * 8) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Equality as an abstract ideal.
 * 9) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Freedom as a person’s right against the state.
 * 10) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">External conformity: the ideal of going along, joining, and not rocking the boat.
 * 11) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Science and rationality as the means of mastering the environment and securing more material comforts.
 * 12) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Nationalism: a belief that American values and institutions represent the best on earth.
 * 13) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Democracy based on personal equality and freedom.
 * 14) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Individualism, emphasizing personal rights and responsibilities.
 * 15) <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Racism and group-superiority themes that periodically lead to prejudice and discrimination against those who are racially, religiously, and culturally different from the white northern Europeans who first settled the continent.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">This list includes political, economic, and personal traits that actually conflict with one another. These opposing views help explain why individuals hold contradictory views of the same behavior. Contemporary American society is typified by values that both complement and contradict each other. Sociologists focus on interactions between individuals and groups, between groups, and between groups and the larger society in which they are located. They try to identify those things that facilitate or hinder interaction, and the consequences of each.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Social Problems: a conflict of values, a conflict of values and duties, a conflict of rights (Hook, 1974), or a social condition that leads to or is thought to lead to harmful consequences.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">In American society, matters of collective welfare are sometimes problematic in that there can be considerable conflict of values and rights between various segments of society. However, there will remain agreement that the social problems whose harmful consequences would involve impairments to the collective welfare would include poverty, poor education, mistreatment of the young/elderly, excessive disparities in income distribution, discrimination against ethnic and other minorities, drug abuse, health and medical care, the state of the economy, and environmental concerns.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Directions:
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Within groups, select a social problem you would like to explore and get it approved.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Research the history of the social problem (include who is impacted) and causes of the problem (what values are contradicting or what groups are conflicting).
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Research any methods used to eradicate the problem and evaluate effectiveness.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Each member of the group must find a secondary source (journal, study, etc.) and write a review of the source. What does the author say? That is, what is the author's central claim or thesis, and the argument which backs it up? Is the thesis clear from the start? Does the author present his/her thesis in such a way that it passes the “Why should we care???” test? Where is the author's argument weak or vulnerable? Good historians and sociologists try to make a case that their conclusion or interpretation is correct. But cases are rarely airtight - especially innovative, challenging, or sweeping ones. At what points is the author vulnerable? Where is the evidence thin? What other interpretations of the author's evidence are possible? At what points is the author's logic suspect? If the author's case is weak, what is the significance of this for the argument as a whole? How does the author say it? What evidence does the author use to construct his/her argument? What kinds of primary sources does the author use? Secondary sources? How does the author use these sources to make his/her points? Is it effective? Is the author’s style engaging? Dry as dust? Is the source well organized? Visually appealing? Are there visual images?
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Prepare to present to the class the history of the problem and your evaluation of any methods used to help eliminate the problem. If little is being done about the problem offer you own insight.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sign up for a presentation date.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Grading:

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Criteria Points

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Analytical Skills (To what extent did you evaluate the methods of resolving the problem? 30 <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">(Did you evaluate why this is a social problem and why it has not been resolved?)

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">(Did each member of the group review a secondary source about the issue and

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">include the findings in the presentation and a written review?)

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Quality of research (Did you use a variety of reliable resources? Did you include a works cited?) 20

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Presentation (Did you address all of the requirements in your presentation? Was it interesting?) 25

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Professionalism (Did you use class time wisely? Is your presentation professional? Etc.) 10

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Eight Steps to create an infographic



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