PRODUCT ONLY AVAILABLE WITHIN CENGAGE UNLIMITED. UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL PROBLEMS, progresses from micro to macro analysis, focusing first on health care, drugs and alcohol, families, and crime and then looking at the larger issues of poverty and inequality, population growth, aging, environmental problems, and global conflict.

Every chapter defines the nature of the social problem in a global context as well as U.S. The text explores each of the three major theoretical explanations (in a balanced manner), describes the consequences of the problem, and provides alternatives solutions and policies. In the midst of this macro analysis the authors use pedagogy to bring the micro application alive, e.g. The Human Side and Self and Society so that the students can apply and understand the social problem.

Written from a distinctly Canadian point of view, Understanding Social Problems, Fourth Canadian Edition, examines how the structure and culture of societies contribute to social problems and their consequences. This text has strong pedagogical features and is comprehensive in its coverage, progressing from micro to macro levels of analysis. It focuses first on problems of health care, drug use, and crime, and then broadens to the widening concerns of population, health and welfare, science and technology, large-scale inequality and environmental problems. Known for its inclusive approach, Understanding Social Problems, Fourth Canadian Edition, explores powerful stories of real life people struggling with the challenges society and its problems have thrust upon them.

This is a comprehensive mid-level text that takes a theoretically balanced, student-centered approach to social problems and offers top quality content at a low, student-friendly cost. It is unique in that it progresses from a micro- to macro-level of analysis, focusing first on such problems as health care, drug use, and family and then broadening to the widening concerns of such topics as population growth and conflict around the world. The text is also distinctive in that every chapter defines the nature of social problems in a global context as well as a U.S. context. Its micro- to macro-level of analysis is also present in the way it explores social problems and enables students to apply what they learn to themselves. On the macro level, the text explores each of the three major theoretical explanations, describes the consequences of the problem, and provides alternatives solutions and policies. On the micro level, pedagogical features such as The Human Side and Self and Society enable students to understand social problems and see how what they learn applies to themselves. This dual approach enables students to learn about social problems in a unique organized manner that facilitates learning by making it more relevant to themselves on a personal level.

"Understanding Social Problems, Policies, and Programs offers a comprehensive analysis of policies used in the United States to address social problems and to develop social programs. Leon Ginsberg, a respected authority in the field of social work policy, provides a framework for understanding some of the most controversial issues facing the nation, including welfare assistance, food stamps, and health care reform. In this timely volume, he defines the components of social welfare policy and illuminates the complex issues encountered by helping professionals." "Intended for practitioners, educators, administrators, and students, Understanding Social Problems, Policies, and Programs focuses on the history and analysis of social welfare policies as well as the political process of policymaking. Ginsberg describes social problems as their inevitable result of people living together in complex societies, and he traces society's desire to help its most vulnerable members - the children, the elderly, the homeless, and the poor. By explaining how policies and programs are developed, Ginsberg offers insight into the ways that individuals and groups might initiate, modify, and implement improved programs for the disadvantaged."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

An introduction to how social psychological theories, methods and interventions can be applied to manage real-world social problems.

Provides an introduction to the core issues in social theory. This book will be useful reading for students in sociology, social psychology, social theory, political theory and organization studies.