Contemporary Social Issues
Exam Preparation Guide
Course Introduction
This course examines the major social issues and challenges facing modern societies, exploring topics such as inequality, race and ethnicity, gender, poverty, environmental concerns, globalization, and the impact of technology on social life. Students will analyze the causes and consequences of these issues through diverse theoretical perspectives and case studies, learning to critically assess current debates and policy responses. Emphasis is placed on developing a sociological understanding of how social structures, cultural norms, and historical factors shape our responses to contemporary problems locally and globally.
Recommended Textbook
Sociology Your Compass for a New World 5th Canadian Edition by Robert J. Brym
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22 Chapters
3272 Verified Questions
3272 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: A Sociological Compass
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142 Verified Questions
142 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following terms refers to social relations that are stable and patterned?
A)sociological maps
B)social forces
C)social solidarity
D)social structures
Answer: D
Q2) Jonah is researching the ways that the public education system has taken on the work of educating children that families and religious groups used to do.What theoretical tradition is he most likely following in his research?
A)feminism
B)conflict theory
C)symbolic interactionism
D)functionalism
Answer: D
Q3) The concept of class conflict is more important in Marx's than in Weber's theory.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: How Sociologists Do Research
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160 Verified Questions
160 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following terms refers to the process whereby individuals are assigned to research groups by chance?
A)randomization
B)systematic sampling
C)experimentation
D)probability sampling
Answer: A
Q2) What is the relationship between quantitative and qualitative research?
A)They are incompatible.
B)They are complementary.
C)They are mutually dependent.
D)Quantitative research is a type of qualitative research.
Answer: B
Q3) Which outcome results from the process of randomization?
A)The experimental group experiences the independent variable.
B)The control group experiences the independent variable.
C)The experimental and control groups are equivalent on all variables.
D)The experimental and control groups are equivalent except for the experience of independent variable.
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: Culture
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152 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The growth of different religious beliefs and practices is a characteristic of which form of culture?
A)premodern
B)industrial
C)modernism
D)postmodern
Answer: D
Q2) What do we call a set of distinctive values, norms, and practices within a larger culture that sets members apart from the dominant culture?
A)alternative culture
B)subculture
C)counterculture
D)mini-culture
Answer: B
Q3) Theft is one of the widest spread taboos.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Socialization
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157 Verified Questions
157 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What type of socialization takes place when powerful socializing agents deliberately cause rapid change in people's values, roles, and self-conception, sometimes even against their will?
A)self-socialization
B)secondary socialization
C)anticipatory socialization
D)resocialization
Q2) Students may believe that they are evaluated solely on the basis of impersonal test scores.However, the textbook suggests that other criteria also influence success or failure in school and in the work world.What are these other criteria?
A)flattering teachers and bosses
B)class, gender, and race
C)physical strength
D)the definition of the situation
Q3) What specific factors contributed to the emergence of childhood and adolescence as distinct stages of the life cycle in our culture?
Q4) Define and compare primary socialization, secondary socialization, and resocialization.Which situations are these processes appropriate for?
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Chapter 5: Social Interaction
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158 Verified Questions
158 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the job of the ethnomethodologist?
A)to study social stratification
B)to study how people construct reality
C)to study the ways in which people make sense of the social world, particularly of hierarchical interactions
D)to study how people use preexisting, often unconscious, norms to smooth their everyday interactions
Q2) Larry and Kris are commonly seen standing close together, almost but not quite touching.As seen through North American eyes, what is their relationship most likely to be?
A)lovers
B)friends
C)acquaintances
D)strangers
Q3) Discuss differences between emotion management and emotion labour.Give one example of each.
Q4) Laughter is completely spontaneous.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Compare role strain and role conflict.Give examples.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Networks, Groups, Bureaucracies, and Societies
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178 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain what is meant by organizational environment.
Q2) How can those who helped to save the lives of prisoners during the Holocaust be best described, compared to those who either actively participated in the killings or who pretended not to know what was happening?
A)Those who helped to save the prisoners were more conformist.
B)Those who helped to save the prisoners were more poorly socialized.
C)Those who helped to save the prisoners were less anti-Semitic.
D)Those who helped to save the prisoners were more devoutly religious.
Q3) What do "quality circles" help to overcome?
A)bureaucratic inertia
B)democratic deficit
C)network boundaries
D)anomie
Q4) In her analysis of the Holocaust, Hannah Arendt wrote that, in the Nazi regime, evil became normal.Which social phenomenon made this possible?
A)religion
B)organization
C)conformity
D)solidarity
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Chapter 7: Deviance and Crime
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183 Verified Questions
183 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Compare strain and subcultural theories of deviance and crime.
Q2) Should a society attempt to eliminate all forms of deviance? Why or why not? Base your answer on one of the theories of deviance discussed in the textbook.
Q3) Define white-collar crime and give an example of it.
Q4) How has increasing gender equality affected women's involvement in crime as perpetrators and victims?
Q5) Reena and Ray are adolescent siblings.Ray is allowed to go out with friends whenever he wishes, whereas Reena is only allowed to go out accompanied by her brother.What would Hirschi predict about Reena's behaviour?
A)She is more likely to engage in deviance than Ray is.
B)She is less likely to engage in deviance than Ray is.
C)She will engage in physical aggression.
D)She will engage in verbal aggression.
Q6) The difference between male and female youth crime rates in Canada is decreasing.
A)True
B)False
Q7) What function does a criminal subculture fulfil for its members?
Q8) How may legalization of abortion have influenced crime rates?
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Chapter 8: Social Stratification
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170 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Jackson has been homeless for 15 years.With regard to income distribution in Canada, what position does Jackson occupy?
A)near the top
B)the middle
C)near the bottom
D)the bottom
Q2) Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) is a celebration of capitalism.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Ruth has been to a finishing school where, besides academic subjects, she was taught other skills such as how to speak and walk properly, manners, and public speaking.What has Ruth invested in by learning these skills?
A)cultural capital
B)network capital
C)social capital
D)human capital
Q4) Compare the usefulness of class analysis and functionalist analysis of stratification in explaining poverty.
Q5) What factors influence the level of rewards one is able to derive from work?
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Chapter 9: Globalization, Inequality, and Development
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156 Verified Questions
156 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to the textbook, what should underdeveloped countries do to initiate successful early industrialization?
A)maintain tariff barriers
B)allow foreign direct investment
C)privatize transportation infrastructure
D)stop government intervention in the economy
Q2) Which of the following should be considered part of an anti-globalization movement?
A)the World Trade Organization
B)the United Nations
C)the European Union
D)the Occupy Movement
Q3) When you buy a pair of Nike shoes endorsed by Kobe Bryant, which of the following accounts for the largest share of the purchase price?
A)materials
B)workers' wages
C)workers' health benefits
D)Bryant's endorsement fee
Q4) How have South Korean politics contributed to that country's economic growth?
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Chapter 10: Race and Ethnicity
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180 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Nowadays, Aboriginal Canadians can identify themselves as Aboriginal or Canadian at will.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is meant by Jean-Paul Sartre's statement "the anti-Semite creates the Jew"?
A)The identity of Jews in particular is socially constructed and based on angst.
B)Jewish identities are mainly shaped by anti-Semitism.
C)People's ethnic identification is shaped partly by the way others perceive and act toward them.
D)Any ethnic identity based on hatred is unstable and changeable.
Q3) Segregation is the intentional extermination of an entire population defined as a "race" or "people."
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are the economic advantages of ethnicity?
Q5) Using an example, describe a transnational community.
Q6) What is a scapegoat? Give an example.
Q7) Define "vertical mosaic" and describe how it has changed over time.
Q8) How are multiculturalism and symbolic ethnicity related?
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Chapter 11: Sexualities and Gender Stratification
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195 Verified Questions
195 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Historically, men have always enjoyed more power and authority than women.
A)True
B)False
Q2) How significant is heteronormativity in contemporary Canadian society? Illustrate your answer with examples.
Q3) How does the textbook explain occupational sex segregation in Canada?
A)by women's choice of programs of study
B)by women's choice to interrupt their careers for childbearing
C)by undervaluation of women's skills
D)by gender discrimination in hiring
Q4) Jason firmly believes that homosexuals choose their sexual orientation.Based on research, which of the following most likely describes Jason's attitude?
A)He is likely to be more tolerant of homosexuals.
B)He is likely to be less tolerant of homosexuals.
C)He is likely to explore his own homosexual desires.
D)He is likely to be even less tolerant of bisexuals than of homosexuals.
Q5) Many men are less aggressive than many women.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Sociology of the Body: Disability, Aging, and Death
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127 Verified Questions
127 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross discovered that North Americans have trouble accepting death; therefore, she developed a framework to demonstrate the emotions that dying people experience.
A)True
B)False
Q2) How many times more likely are women to become centenarians in comparison to men?
A)almost five times
B)almost four times
C)almost three times
D)almost two times
Q3) Discuss some of the possible policy proposals to deal with the potential crisis in government support for the elderly.
Q4) Explain what the rehabilitation movement is.
Q5) Link personal body weight to social class.
Q6) North American-born children of immigrants are usually shorter than their parents who were born abroad.
A)True B)False
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Chapter 13: Work and the Economy
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148 Verified Questions
148 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss why part-time work been increasing in Canada, along with the pros and cons of part-time work.
Q2) What is "Fordism"?
Q3) At a fast-food burger joint, workers are exclusively assigned one of the following tasks: a chipper who fries potatoes, a flipper who grills meat patties, and a condiment person who puts garnish on the buns.What is a common sociological term for the way this establishment is organized?
A)deskilling
B)scientific management
C)productivity
D)division of labour
Q4) Describe the three sectors of the economy.
Q5) Where do unions participate with management to control rates of pay?
A)in quality circles
B)in union collectives
C)in internal labour markets
D)in codetermination cooperatives
Q6) Henry Ford was the originator of the deskilling thesis.
A)True
B)False
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Politics
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140 Verified Questions
140 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which theory argues that the distribution of power changes very little, if at all, over time?
A)pluralist theory
B)elite theory
C)state-centred theory
D)power resource theory
Q2) When considering its basic form, what is the most fundamental characterization of power?
A)legitimate authority
B)influence
C)force
D)potency
Q3) Describe the organizations in civil society that shape and regulate the state.
Q4) What was the basis of the resistance to democracy exhibited by "the dinosaur" of Robert Brym's Russian trip?
A)prejudice against Western values and beliefs
B)a fear of modernization
C)the equation of democratic freedom with greed and inequality
D)the belief that Russians would be unable to overcome earlier values associated with communism
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Families
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138 Verified Questions
138 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Calliope and George are excited because Calliope's sister has offered to be implanted with Calliope and George's frozen embryos and carry the baby to term, surrendering the baby to them after birth.What is this method of reproduction called?
A)parthenogenesis
B)artificial insemination
C)in vitro fertilization
D)surrogate motherhood
Q2) Most North Americans believe that marriage ought to be based on demographic and compositional factors.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Children with homosexual parents are significantly more likely to be homosexual themselves in adulthood.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Living apart together is a living arrangement that falls between singlehood and cohabitation.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 16: Religion
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119 Verified Questions
119 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Ecclesia refers to those people who break away from established churches because of doctrinal disagreements.
A)True
B)False
Q2) According to William James, religion is the common human response to the fact that all human beings must die.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What is the market theory of religion?
Q4) What was one effect of the differentiation of worldly institutions like education from religion?
A)It made religion more applicable to the non-spiritual aspects of people's lives.
B)It caused people to look to other places for moral guidance.
C)It caused people to look increasingly at religion for moral guidance.
D)It encouraged people to remain closer to strict interpretations of religious beliefs.
Q5) Compare and contrast the positions of Émile Durkheim and Karl Marx on the nature and consequences of religious practice.
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Chapter 17: Education
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128 Verified Questions
128 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Educational attainment is the learning or skill that an individual acquires and that is, in principle, reflected in grades.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Before the rise of Protestantism, merchants and tradesmen held a virtual monopoly on literacy.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Sandra's parents both have master's degrees in sociology.According to the 2011 data in the textbook, what is Sandra most likely to do after high school?
A)attend a university
B)attend a college
C)attend a trade school
D)join the military
Q4) What was the purpose of the September 1969 demonstration in Montreal?
A)to ensure that the French language became the official language in Quebec
B)to ensure that the English language in Quebec was only used in government
C)to ensure that French became a requirement of immigration to Quebec
D)to ensure that English was not taught in any Quebec schools
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Chapter 18: Mass Media and Mass Communication
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121 Verified Questions
121 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) When the cellphone was invented, Josh was ten years old.Approximately what age is he today?
A)10-19
B)20-29
C)30-39
D)40-49
Q2) The Internet penetration rate in Canada is second only to that of the United States.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Outline the historical development of mass media.
Q4) What is cultural imperialism? Illustrate your answer.
Q5) Which of the following theoretical approaches advocates a two-step model of communication?
A)postmodernist
B)feminist
C)functionalist
D)interpretive
Q6) What is the two-step flow of communication?
Q7) Explain how viewers or audience members influence mass media.
Page 20
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Chapter 19: Health and Medicine
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129 Verified Questions
129 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Besides higher rates of illness and mortality, what else increases as income decreases?
A)stress
B)public education
C)physical activity
D)prescription drug use
Q2) Life expectancy is calculated by utilizing morbidity statistics.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Samantha is taking a course that concentrates on acute and chronic illnesses and diseases and the symptoms and impairments they produce.What is Samantha studying?
A)longevity
B)morbidity
C)health expectancy
D)burden of disease
Q4) Discuss how "normal" aspects of life, such as birth, aging, and sexual development, have become medicalized in the twentieth century.What role did professionalization play in this development?
Q5) What accounts for unevenly distributed health risks in the human population?
Page 21
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Chapter 20: Population and Urbanization
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Sample Questions
Q1) Rita and her family are thrilled to have bought a house in a clean, quiet neighbourhood.The neighbourhood, which is outside the downtown core, has fairly uniform single family housing, and has a water park and outdoor basketball court for children to play at.What term do sociologists use to describe this way of life?
A)urbanism
B)suburbanism
C)postmodern
D)gentrification
Q2) Several places in Asia experienced a fairly rapid drop in mortality due to economic growth, even as their rates of live births remained high.At which stage of the demographic transition theory are these places?
A)preindustrial period
B)transitional period
C)mature industrial period
D)postindustrial period
Q3) What is a postmodern city?
Q4) How did the government of Kerala, India, solve its overpopulation problem?
Q5) What is the Malthusian trap?
Q6) Outline the four stages of demographic transition theory.
Page 22
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Chapter 21: Collective Action and Social Movements
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Sample Questions
Q1) In this textbook, the authors argue that the history of social movements is the history of attempts by privileged groups to narrow their members' citizenship rights and narrow the scope of protest to the global level.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What was the 1907 Vancouver Riot an example of?
A)anarcho syndicalism
B)revolutionary Marxism
C)democracy in action
D)non-routine collective action
Q3) Which of the following theories is a variant of functionalism?
A)breakdown theory
B)frame alignment theory
C)solidarity theory
D)postmodern theory
Q4) What type of unified action is Mothers Are Workers (MAW) a part of?
A)a non-routine collective action
B)irrational collective action
C)traditional collective action
D)routine collective action
Page 23
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Chapter 22: Technology and the Global Environment
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124 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What type of waste is produced by nuclear power facilities?
A)radioactive waste
B)chemical waste
C)solid waste
D)liquid waste
Q2) What has led some scientists and others to see technology as a "monster run amok"? How convincing is their view?
Q3) Heather is angered because people only see the cost of fuel at the pump but not the overall cost to the environment of extracting the fuel, transporting the fuel, and storing the fuel.What is she angry about?
A)environmental costs
B)social costs
C)market costs
D)technological costs
Q4) Technological determinism is the belief that technology is the major force shaping human society and culture.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are normal accidents?
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