Social Issues and Problems Final Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course offers an in-depth examination of contemporary social issues and problems that affect societies locally, nationally, and globally. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students will explore the root causes, consequences, and possible solutions to a range of challenges such as poverty, inequality, crime, discrimination, environmental degradation, and public health crises. Emphasis is placed on understanding how social structures, cultural norms, and public policies shape and are shaped by these issues. Students will engage in critical discussions, case studies, and research projects to develop informed perspectives and practical approaches to addressing complex social problems.
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New Society 8th Edition by Robert J. Brym
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Chapter 1: Introducing Sociology
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Q1) Durkheim,Marx,and Goffman initiated three of the major theoretical traditions in sociology.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Which of the following indicates greater social solidarity?
A) higher rates of divorce
B) higher rates of religious attendance
C) higher rates of unemployment
D) higher rates of novel reading
Answer: B
Q3) Which perspective assumes that society is stable and orderly?
A) knowledge-power
B) ethnomethodology
C) functionalist
D) symbolic interactionist
Answer: C
Q4) Identify and describe the great sociological puzzles of our time.
Answer: Postindustrialism and globalization
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Chapter 2: Research Methods
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Q1) In research,what term is used to refer to the accuracy or relevancy of measurement in relation to the theoretical concept that it is supposed to measure?
A) reliability
B) internal consistency
C) validity
D) randomization
Answer: C
Q2) Questioning lies at the heart of research.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Sound social research is required to design effective policy solutions that benefit all people.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Define and provide examples of spurious relationships.
Answer: Correlation does not prove causation;a third variable causes both;number of fire trucks and cost of fire damage correlated with size of fire.
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Chapter 3: Culture
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Q1) "Modern globalized culture allows people to be eclectic about preferences in music,but at the same time it limits mainstream lifestyle to one of consumerism in a capitalist society." What effect of culture has been identified in the preceding statement?
A) Modern culture is both freeing and constraining.
B) Globalization is resulting in a more heterogeneous world.
C) Globalization is resulting in a more homogeneous world.
D) Modern culture is fed by a barrage of media messages.
Answer: A
Q2) Judging another culture exclusively by the standards of one's own culture is called ethnocentrism.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Define norms and provide an example.
Answer: Norms are generally accepted ways of doing things,such as how family members cooperate to raise children.
Q4) What are the two faces of culture,as presented in the text?
Answer: Culture as freedom,culture as constraint
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Chapter 4: Socialization
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Q1) According to George Herbert Mead,children who are in the game stage are beginning the process of learning to internalize.What are they learning how to respond to?
A) significant other
B) peer expectations
C) reference groups
D) generalized other
Q2) The process of socialization begins at birth.When does it end?
A) when a stable personality is formed
B) when the individual becomes an adult
C) when the individual reaches middle age
D) when the individual dies
Q3) What is socialization?
A) the mechanism in place to bond infants to their parents
B) the process of assembling numbers of people for joyous interaction
C) the process of social interaction where we learn how to act in society
D) the process of teaching strangers societal norms and values
Q4) Describe and explain the three-stage ceremony that is typically followed in initiation rites.
Q5) Explain the difference between G.H.Mead's concepts the "I" and the "me."
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Gender and Sexualities
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Q1) Using the case of David Reimer,apply the sociological concepts of gender identity and gender roles.What social pressures did he or she face? Is taking estrogen simply a medical problem?
Q2) What is sociobiology?
A) a science that supports patriarchal society and the domination of women
B) a biological and genetic explanation of masculinity and femininity
C) a science of societally constructed notions about gender and sex
D) an assertion that males,not females,have a bigger stake in offspring survival
Q3) Using three of the six critiques of essentialism offered in the text,explain why the majority of sociologists today find the essentialist position on sexuality and gender to be problematic.
Q4) What were the first two countries to legalize same-sex marriage?
A) Netherlands and Belgium
B) France and Spain
C) Norway and Canada
D) Germany and Brazil
Q5) Think about and list some ways that you enact your gender.What do you imagine (or have experienced)are the risks of not doing gender according to the dominant rules?
Q6) Explain the difference between transgendered persons and transsexuals.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Communication and Mass Media
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Q1) When British songwriter Adele became known worldwide,the world was brought together through her shared meanings and understandings of heartbreak and dating relationships.Which term best characterizes the sharing of information and cultural understandings of life experiences?
A) interaction
B) sharing
C) targeting
D) communication
Q2) Nazi Germany was the first totalitarian state to use radio as a propaganda tool.Which term best describes this use of media?
A) language-based
B) symbol-based
C) space-based
D) time-based
Q3) In the propaganda model of the media put forward by Edward S.Herman and Noam Chomsky,what are their five main arguments?
Q4) List three benefits of social media and discuss.
Q5) List and discuss three drawbacks of social media.
Q6) What is cultural imperialism? Explain how this relates to Canada.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Social Stratification
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Q1) According to the text,how long would it take the average Canadian worker (employed full-time and year-round)to earn as much as the average annual income of the top 100 CEOs of Canada?
A) 20 months
B) 200 months
C) 20 years
D) 200 years
Q2) A child complains,"It's not fair! My parents make me go to bed early just because I'm younger than them!" According to the text,which term best describes the situation the child is referring to?
A) inferior status
B) achieved status
C) set status
D) ascribed status
Q3) Which of the following two status sets would describe (in order)a female who is also a nurse?
A) achieved status;ascribed status
B) informal status;formal status
C) formal status;informal status
D) ascribed status;achieved status
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Chapter 8: Gender Inequality
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Q1) Which of the following was the basis for the institutionalization of a gendered division of labour?
A) inherent abilities
B) sexual discrimination
C) sex differences
D) abuse of authority
Q2) Approximately 40 percent of women are likely to take leave from paid work throughout their lifetime as a result of work-family conflict.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In which occupation does the predominance of women exemplify horizontal segregation?
A) blue-collar work
B) teaching jobs
C) self-employment
D) supervisory positions
Q4) What is queuing theory and why is it an important theoretical tool for sociologists?
Q5) What is the gender wage gap? How has it changed in Canada since 1992?
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Chapter 9: Race and Ethnic Relations
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Q1) An academically outstanding First Nations boy is teased by his reserve chums,who call him an apple: red on the outside,but white on the inside.Embarrassed about not fitting in,this young man's grades soon fall.Which theoretical perspective best predicts this kind of behaviour?
A) split ethnicity theory
B) culture of poverty thesis
C) frustration-aggression thesis
D) new racism theory
Q2) Justine attends a high school that has two predominant cliques-keeners who are very academically inclined,and the jocks-students who are very involved in sports.Both groups have very negative and stereotypical notions of the other.Which term best describes these negative beliefs?
A) racism
B) bigotry
C) discrimination
D) prejudice
Q3) Define the Quiet Revolution and explain its significance in present-day Canadian society.
Q4) Define institutional racism and list the three forms that it can take.
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Chapter 10: Development and Underdevelopment
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Q1) Tatiana lived in Mexico between 1950 and 1970.When telling her children about her experience growing up in Mexico,what would she be saying to them?
A) It was a time when there was very little poverty.
B) The rich were getting richer,and the poor were getting poorer.
C) The country was so poor that everyone was impoverished.
D) Neoliberal policies were responsible for decreasing the gap between the rich and the poor.
Q2) Country X is a newly industrializing country in the era of globalization and transnational trade.Whose economic approach should government mirror in order to stimulate the economy and benefit the citizens?
A) Keynes
B) Marx
C) Friedman
D) IMF
Q3) According to W.W.Rostow,an early development theorist,how do societies progress?
A) through fixed stages of development
B) through a process known as colonization
C) by population growth and expansion
D) by an evolution of national identity
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Chapter 11: Families
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Q1) Last year,David's mom decided to divorce his father.David knew it was coming because of the physical abuse she had endured over their 30-year marriage.He accompanied her to the court house and helped her file the paperwork.What reason would be given in order to obtain a divorce decree?
A) physical and mental cruelty
B) marriage breakdown
C) no reason required;just a three-year separation
D) no reason required;just a 12-month separation
Q2) Family policies in Western Europe indicate that families are considered to be an individual responsibility.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What are the main reasons divorce rates increased rapidly during the latter half of the twentieth century?
Q4) Select two theoretical perspectives and compare and contrast their views of the family.
Q5) According to Talcott Parsons,what functions does the family perform?
Q6) What criticisms have current feminists launched against second-wave feminists from the 1960s and 1970s?
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Work and Occupations
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Q1) The hospital nurses were upset because they were not allowed to give advice to patients,but the doctors were often unavailable.The nurses had no recourse to protest,because the doctors held more power within the hospital administration.What type of job is this a disadvantage of?
A) nonstandard jobs
B) shift work
C) semiprofessions
D) professions
Q2) Lawrence worked for a fisherman,heading out to sea at 5 a.m.each day.However,last week,he was sick and unable to go to work.When he was able to return to work,he found out that he had been replaced.In what sector of the economy is this job?
A) core
B) periphery
C) flexible
D) standard
Q3) Since the 1970s,the Canadian labour force has changed dramatically.List and discuss the ways in which our present labour force is different from that of three to four decades ago.
Q4) Discuss the pros and cons of McDonaldization.
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Chapter 13: Education
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Q1) According to the text,how have sociologists interpreted the obsession of young people with physical appearance?
A) It is a hindrance and distraction to learning,which supports the use of school uniforms.
B) It is a by-product of their relative immaturity and lack of taste in style,clothing,etc.
C) It is a response to adolescent social conditions that leave them little other power or choice.
D) It is merely a stage of socialization many children go through that eventually passes.
Q2) The theory of multiple intelligences contends that the traditional notion of intelligence based on IQ testing is an overly narrow model of human potential.How many kinds of intelligence does Gardner propose?
A) 4
B) 5
C) 8
D) 9
Q3) Explain how low-achieving students respond to their institutional environment.
Q4) Explain how school choice is growing in Canada.
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Chapter 14: Religion
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Q1) Sally is happiest when she is working in her home,making sure it is neat and clean,preparing meals for her family,and ensuring that her children are content.Weber would argue that this approach to hard work is part of Sally's religious upbringing.What label would he apply to it?
A) Catholic dedication
B) being Christian
C) the sacred approach
D) the Protestant ethic
Q2) According to the text,what trend is evident among U.S.mega-churches?
A) They have not been able to compete with TV evangelists.
B) They have been closing and their properties are being sold.
C) They can no longer make ends meet because of poor attendance.
D) They make it more difficult for smaller congregations to attract members.
Q3) What does Reginald Bibby (the author of this chapter)mean when he asserts that "the "no religion" category is a temporary residence for most people"?
Q4) "If I was to personally define religion,I would say that it is a bandage that man has invented to protect a soul made bloody by circumstances" (Theodore Dreiser,1941).Which theoretical perspective does this quote remind you of? Explain and discuss.
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Chapter 15: Deviance and Crime
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Q1) According to the text,which of the following individuals would be most likely to become a gang member?
A) Jeremy,who has very few friends
B) Jakob,who is continuously looking for the next thrill
C) Jared,whose mother is working minimum wage jobs to support them
D) Joshua,after his parents grounded him
Q2) Kaila's husband beat and abused her regularly.She considered stealing all his money and running away,but the bank would have had a paper trail of her activity.Instead,Kaila decided to kill her husband,because she believed no one would be able to prove her guilt.According to the text,which principle influenced her choice of crime?
A) abuse principle
B) certainty principle
C) deterrence principle
D) specific deterrence principle
Q3) Who is credited for developing differential association theory?
A) Travis Hirschi
B) Robert Merton
C) Edwin Sutherland
D) Albert Cohen
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Chapter 16: Population and Urbanization
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Q1) Examine whether a relationship exists between people's social class and the type of city or neighbourhood where they reside.
Q2) Which of the following caused gentrification in the 1970s and 1980s?
A) dislike of mass-produced housing
B) baby boomers looking for houses of their own
C) a proclivity for antique objects
D) acceptance of the suburban way of life
Q3) What five major elements comprise the corporate city?
Q4) Brian refused to donate money to the Somali famine relief fund.When asked why he was so miserly,his response was that famines and pestilence were nature's way of controlling population growth because people wouldn't take responsibility for the number of children they were producing.Whose perspective does Brian's point of view reflect?
A) Jeremy Bentham
B) Thomas Malthus
C) Julian Simon
D) Karl Marx
Q5) Don Mills,on the northern fringe of Toronto,was Canada's first mass suburb.
A)True
B)False
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Sociology and the Environment
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Q1) It has been said that most Canadians will recycle,purchase "green" products,and act positively toward the environment,but only to the extent that such action does not require any real sacrifice in terms of time or money.Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer,incorporating concepts from the chapter.
Q2) Jason loved taking long showers,but his environmentally conscious mom knocked on the bathroom door after 10 minutes,saying that he had used enough water.For a birthday gift,he gave his mom a shower head that uses 50 percent less water.Since then,both he and his mom take half-hour showers.What explains the change of attitude of Jason's mom?
A) a reframing of environmental issues
B) an energy conservation attitude
C) the effect known as Jevon's paradox
D) an ecostandards approach
Q3) What is the polluter pays principle?
Q4) In what ways can citizens,businesses,and government interact,so we can all contribute to protecting the environment?
Q5) Over the last few decades,organic food has become more popular.Why?
Q6) What is corporate greenwashing? Why would companies be inclined to practise it?
Q7) Define sustainable development and explain its significance.
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Chapter 18: Health and Aging
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Q1) Several years ago,the province of Alberta contracted with an organization called Networc Health to provide knee,foot,and ankle surgeries.It was the only organization outside the Alberta Health Authority's government-run medical facilities to provide any surgical services.What term best describes Alberta's agreement with Networc Health?
A) contracting
B) privatization
C) outsourcing
D) rationalization
Q2) From a sociological perspective,how do social inequalities lead to poorer health in disadvantaged groups?
A) The disadvantaged have inadequate diets and they exercise less than others.
B) The disadvantaged have lower incomes and poorer material living conditions.
C) The disadvantaged tend to smoke and drink more than others.
D) The disadvantaged do not seek the medical advice they need when they are ill.
Q3) An emphasis on lifestyle factors to explain health inequalities has been criticized for "blaming the victims" of inequality for its effects.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 19: Politics and Social Movements
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Q1) According to the text,to what stage have newer social movements been able to carry the struggle for citizenship rights in Canada?
A) universal citizenship
B) global citizenship
C) civil citizenship
D) political citizenship
Q2) Why does the United States have one of the lowest voter turnouts of any rich democracy in the world?
Q3) Normal politics is politics as it is practised when the legitimacy of authority grows weak.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which group of people is least likely to be attracted to the new social movements?
A) business people
B) journalists
C) students
D) teachers
Q5) What was the Occupy Wall Street movement,and what did it achieve?
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Chapter 20: Globalization
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Q1) The term "majority world" references countries in which the population is generally well educated and has access to good jobs and public goods such as health care.
A)True
B)False
Q2) When Renata moved to Canada,she communicated with her brother via electronic media,but her parents lived in a poor,rural area and did not have access to computers or the Internet.What phenomenon was impeding communication between Renata and her parents?
A) rural exclusion
B) digital divide
C) diminished digital capacity
D) generational resistance to technology
Q3) According to the text,which statement best describes globalization?
A) It is associated with a global decline in consumerism.
B) It is part of dynamic top-down and bottom-up forces.
C) It is conventionally dated from the 2000s onward.
D) It is a process connected to a global surge in nationalism.
Q4) What is the basis of neoliberal economic policies?
Q5) Define the terms "majority world" and "minority world".
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Chapter 21: Networks, Groups, and Bureaucracies
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Q1) In his research of small group (5-6 people)communications,social psychologist Robert Bales discovered that three roles regularly emerged in discussion groups.One person would become the task leader,another the emotional leader,and a third would be the joker of the group.Do you think these particular roles would more likely emerge in primary groups or secondary groups,or equally in both? Explain your answer.
Q2) According to the text,we live in a small world.What is behind this assertion?
A) rapid transit,such as jet airliners
B) mobile communication
C) social networks connect us
D) the effects of globalization
Q3) An undergraduate student in his early 20s befriends a new,but shy,sociology professor only slightly older than himself.With the guidance of his professor friend,the student eventually becomes a sociology professor,too.How was this accomplished?
A) getting multiple degrees
B) by hard work and merit
C) by politics at a micro level
D) networking and mentorship
Q4) Discuss the two main factors that underlie bureaucratic inefficiency.
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