Social Problems [RENTAL EDITION], 8th Edition

Highlights of the DIGITAL UPDATE (available for Fall 2021 classes)

• NEW - Social Problems has been revised to include new and updated material on important recent developments.
  • In-depth coverage of COVID-19, including its effects on U.S. society and global societies, has been incorporated into every chapter.
  • Extensive coverage of the Black Lives Matter social movement has been integrated throughout many chapters.
  • Other recent key topics receiving significant coverage include the following:
    • Proposals for a wealth tax
    • Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour
    • The increasing health gap between rich and poor
    • The increasing number of multiracial people and the increasing trend toward a minority-majority
    • Problems and solutions as discussed in the 2020 presidential campaign
• NEW - Comparison maps enliven Window on the World global maps and Seeing Ourselves national maps by inviting students to explore how variables are linked. New to the Digital Update, these accompanying maps provide students opportunities to engage in comparative analysis.
• ENHANCED - Window on the World global maps encourage students to think globally, allowing them to see that many social problems we face in the United States are more widespread and severe in other regions of the world.
• ENHANCED - Seeing Ourselves national maps convey key domestic information visually, helping students to better understand demographic differences in the risks of violent crime, teenage pregnancy rates, and home foreclosures across the U.S.
• NEW - Each global and national map is now accompanied by a comparison map that invites students to see how variables such as income, gender equality, and life expectancy vary from place to place. By comparing each pair of maps, and responding to included questions via a journal prompt, students engage in a journey of sociological discovery.
• UPDATED - Trending Now Current Event Bulletins bring currency into your classroom with author-written articles that connect key concepts with real-life current events. Each semester, author John Macionis updates his Current Event Bulletins with new or revised articles to ensure that your students have relevant examples to help them engage with the course. New topics include:
  • The Black Lives Matter movement
  • The COVID-19 pandemic
  • Political debate over the makeup of the Supreme Court
• UPDATED - The Digital Update includes the latest available data on all dimensions of economic inequality involving income and wealth, with a focus on gender, race and ethnicity. In all, more than 2,000 updated individual statistics and more than 450 new research references make the text as current as possible.

Compelling features capture student attention and boost knowledge retention 

• A chapter wholly dedicated to social media, the first in a Social Problems text, emphasizes how this important form of communication and culture impacts society.
• Coverage of sexuality, with an emphasis on social inequality, focuses not only on the diversity of sexual identity in our society but also how sexuality is linked to social stratification.
• Social Problems in Focus features highlight issues of particular importance, delving into the nuances of some of the key problems we face today.
• Social Problems in Global Perspective features offer a global view of social problems, and suggest innovative ways that other nations define problems and devise solutions.
• Diversity: Race, Class and Gender features highlight how social stratification by race, class, and gender figures into various social problems.
• Social Policy features discuss social issues and various ways to respond with policies and programs.
• Personal Stories features put a human face on specific social problems, helping students to more closely relate to what they're learning.
• A Defining Moment boxes highlight game-changing people and events that had a significant impact on how our society defines a social problem, inspiring students with examples of how an individual can bring about meaningful change. People profiled in these features include Rosa Parks, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Alfred Kinsey.
• Defining Solutions features at the end of each chapter shows how political attitudes guide the selection of solutions, and also suggests ways in which young people can get involved in finding solutions to social problems. Accompanying Where Do You Stand? writing opportunities encourage students to state their own thoughts on the potential solutions to social problems.

Dynamic content brings concepts to life 

• Videos and interactives integrated directly into the narrative get students learning actively, making it more likely that they'll retain what they've read. 
• Understanding the Other interactive exercises, written by John Macionis and unique to this title, give students the opportunity to understand the world from the point of view of people in a different social category. Based on recent research, these exercises present real-life, everyday situations in which race, class, gender, and sexual identity have profound, and often unrecognized, effects on social outcomes. Accompanying Understanding the Other writing prompts direct students to reflect on the world through different perspectives, encouraging them to focus on the causes and potential solutions to social problems.
• Chapter Evaluate features with accompanying reflection questions encourage students to think through the ways social problems are considered via different sociological theories.
• Data-rich interactive maps, figures, and tables with Social Explorer technology let students interact with real data to explore the concepts they've just read about.
• Contemporary and enlightening, the Pearson Originals video collection helps students further develop their understanding of key course topics.
  • Documentary Sociology videos help students connect to the concepts that matter most today, putting human faces on the opioid epidemic, immigration issues, the changing labor force, and more.
  • Sociology Explained videos illustrate complex sociological concepts in a simplified and entertaining way.
• Embedded assessments afford students regular opportunities to check their understanding. The results enable instructors to gauge student comprehension and provide timely feedback to address learning gaps along the way. 
• Writing assignments, such as journaling prompts, shared writing activities, and essays, enable educators tofoster and assess critical thinkingwithout significantly impacting their grading burden.
• Video quizzes offer students opportunities to further their knowledge by applying concepts and testing their understanding. Instructors can share videos accompanied by time-stamped multiple-choice questions.
• Shared multimedia assignments make it easy for instructors and students to post and respond to videos and other media. Students can also record and upload their own presentations for grading, comments, or peer review.
• The Revel^® mobile app lets students read and practice anywhere, anytime, on any device,online and off. It syncs work across all registered devices automatically, allowing learners to toggle between phone, tablet, and laptop as they move through their day.
• The audio playlist lets students listen and learn as they go. 

Actionable insights help improve results 

• The educator dashboard offers an at-a-glance look at overall class performance. It helps instructors identify and contact struggling and low-activity students, ensuring that the class stays on pace.
• The enhanced grades view provides detailed insights on student performance, from specific assignments to individual student scores.
• LMS integration provides institutions, instructors, and students easy access to their Revel courses via Blackboard Learn, Canvas, Brightspace by D2L, and Moodle. Single sign-on lets students access Revel on their first day.