First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

"One of the most creative among the younger generation of critical social theorists, Giddens stands alone in his concern for the classical tradition on sociology; but he also makes brilliant use of the latest philosophical and theoretical work of several contemporary schools and disciplines. A very important book for all of social science."—Jeffrey C. Alexander

This comprehensive text provides a constructionist/conflict approach to the various kinds of social problems that relate to deviance, institutions, and globalization. Social Problems consists of 16 chapters divided into 5 parts. Each chapter opens with a vignette that provides the nature and extent of a social problem, the conflicting views of the problem, various sociological theories of the problem, global aspects of the problem, social policies for dealing with the problem, and sociological insights on the problem that students can use to enhance their lives. Each chapter concludes with key terms, critical thinking questions, and internet resources. Key Features: *Provides an accessible, engaging writing style designed to help students master core concepts so you can spend less classroom time explaining basic concepts! *Includes interdisciplinary examples throughout making it ideal for courses taught out of Criminal Justice or Sociology departments. *Written to reflect the 2010 Census Update, this text is the most up-to-date and relevant resource on the subject. Instructor Resources include: *Instructor Manual - Includes tips for instructors for creating the course syllabus and both in-class and online student activities. Additionally, the manual includes answers to the questions in the student study guide and lecture outlines. *Complete TestBank - includes multiple-choice and true or false questions, all with answers and page references. Also includes short-answer questions and essays. *Microsoft? PowerPoint? lecture slides Student Resources will include a Companion Website featuring: *practice quizzes *chapter outlines & summaries *interactive flashcards *links to relevant research databases *newsfeed updates

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.

This book is an economical introduction to social problems with a built-in study guide, emphasizing an applied approach that looks at the interplay between research and policy in finding solutions. This book explores the nature and extent of social problems, documents the advances and setbacks that we as a society have made, and analyzes what works and what doesn't work regarding solutions to todays problems. This straightforward book helps readers study this constantly changing field by applying social science research to the solutions of some of the most difficult and controversial problems confronting the United States and the world today. Designed for those interested in social problems, sociology or social sciences.