Web Exercises
Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.
1. Reasons for More Caution in Recommending Medical Tests and Surgery
This link is to a section of the American Association of Retired People’s website on recommendations regarding medical intervention.
- Note what surgical interventions may be recommended less often and why.
- Connect this trend to analysis in Chapter 9 of the health care system in the United States.
- Look for other information on the Internet about reasons to curtail some types of medical testing, and note the reasons that are given.
- Write a paragraph summarizing the information you found, and e-mail it to the instructor.
- In class, discuss how the frequency of tests and surgical intervention affects the quality and cost of health care in the U.S.
*LO 9.2 Recogize national and global trends in seven major social institutions (government and political, economic, education, health care, social welfare, religious, and mass media).
2. History of the Environmental Movement
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/earthdays/
This link is to a timeline of the environmental movement on the American Experience Series section of the PBS (Corporation for Public Broadcasting) website.
- Review the history of events addressing environmental problems on the timeline; use the definition of social movements in the textbook to determine at what point a movement actually formed.
- In class or in a small group, add what you believe are the most significant events in the movement since the last event given on the timeline (1990).
- Analyze the environmental movement using the three perspectives on social movements: cultural framing (CF), political opportunities (PO), and mobilizing structures (MS).
- Make notes on the above questions; submit your notes to the instructor, and share your answers in a class or small-group discussion.
* LO 9.4 Define social movements.
LO 9.5 Compare and contrast three theoretical perspectives on social movements (political opportunities, mobilizing structures, and cultural framing).
3. Analyze Pope Francis’s Impact as a Global Leader of the Religious Institution
http://www.biography.com/people/pope-francis-21152349
Read the biography of Pope Francis, and update it with additional current information from news sources about his statements and actions.
- Analyze the role of the Roman Catholic Church as a major religious institution in shaping the beliefs, values, and behavior of individuals and families, communities, and even nations.
- Choose a statement or action of the pope with which he intended to influence attitudes about world events. What was the statement or action, what was his intention, and did he succeed in having significant influence?
- In class or in a small group, identify other prominent religious spokespeople; choose one of them, write a paragraph, and submit it to your instructor comparing that person’s efforts with those of Pope Francis.
- In class or in a small group, discuss your reaction to the fact that religious leaders try to use their influence to have an impact on other major institutions, such as government, education, and social welfare.
LO 9.2 Recogize national and global trends in seven major social institutions (government and political, economic, education, health care, social welfare, religious, and mass media).
4. The Clean Clothes Campaign
Follow up on the Rana Plaza collapse, which killed over 1,000 garment workers in Bangladesh in 2013.
- What has the Clean Clothes Campaign accomplished since the Rana Plaza tragedy?
- What other concerns is it addressing besides compensation for the Rana Plaza victims and families of those killed and the need for safer working conditions?
- What is the connection between consumers and companies in the U.S. and workers in the garment industry?
- In class or small-group discussion, brainstorm ways that social workers, individually and in their jobs and professional organizations, can support efforts to reduce the exploitation of low-wage workers in the global economy.
* LO 9.4 Define social movements.
LO 9.6 Apply knowledge of social institutions, social structure, and social movements to recommend guidelines for social work assessment and intervention.