Introduction to Social Problems 10th Edition Sullivan - Test Bank

Introduction to Social Problems 10th Edition Sullivan – Test Bank

 

Instant Download – Complete Test Bank With Answers

 

 

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

 

Chapter 5 – Education, Science, and Technology

 

Multiple Choice Questions

 

1. ________ refers to the economic, social, and cultural changes that occur when a preindustrial society makes the transition to an advanced industrial society.
2. Mechanization
3. Cybernation
4. Gentrification
5. Modernization

 

Answer: d

 

Question Title: TB_05_01 Growth of Education and Technology, Remember, LO 5.1

Learning Objective: 5.1 Describe the changes that have occurred in education and technology as a part of the process of industrialization.

Topic: Growth of Education and Technology

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 1–Easy

 

2. ________ refers to the use of machines, such as computers, to control other machines, to make decisions, and to monitor the production process.
3. Gentrification
4. Cybernation
5. Modernization
6. Alienation

 

Answer: b

 

Question Title: TB_05_02 Growth of Education and Technology, Remember, LO 5.1

Learning Objective: 5.1 Describe the changes that have occurred in education and technology as a part of the process of industrialization.

Topic: Growth of Education and Technology

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 1–Easy

 

3. Mike, the CEO of Top Inc., a car manufacturing company, proposes that the company should upgrade its production facility by using computers and other machines to control and monitor the production activities and to make decisions. Which of the following technological changes is Mike proposing in the given scenario?
4. gentrification
5. alienation
6. modernization
7. cybernation

 

Answer: d

 

Question Title: TB_05_03 Growth of Education and Technology, Apply, LO 5.1

Learning Objective: 5.1 Describe the changes that have occurred in education and technology as a part of the process of industrialization.

Topic: Growth of Education and Technology

Skill Level: Apply What You Know

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

4. According to the functionalist perspective, which of the following is true of schools?
5. Schools perform a number of important functions in preparing people to fit into society and make productive contributions.
6. Schools become a social problem when important groups feel that they are not getting what they deserve from the institutions of learning.
7. Schools are more accessible to powerful and affluent families than families from lower-class backgrounds, and social arrangements most typically reflect what benefits the powerful.
8. Schools lower students’ self-esteem and make educational success more difficult to achieve.

 

Answer: a

 

Question Title: TB_05_04 Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology, Understand, LO 5.2

Learning Objective: 5.2 Analyze the role of education, science, and technology in society from the viewpoint of each of the sociological perspectives.

Topic: Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology,

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

5. How did the United States narrow the cultural lag between technology and social policy?
6. by ensuring that education is made available for all classes of society
7. by encouraging competition for societal resources among various groups
8. by establishing workers’ compensation and employer liability
9. by establishing strict dress codes with punishments for violation

 

Answer: c

 

Question Title: TB_05_05 Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology, Understand, LO 5.2

Learning Objective: 5.2 Analyze the role of education, science, and technology in society from the viewpoint of each of the sociological perspectives.

Topic: Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

6. The ________ perspective states that schools become a social problem when important groups feel that they are not getting what they deserve from the institutions of learning.
7. behavioral
8. interactionist
9. functionalist
10. conflict

 

Answer: d

 

Question Title: TB_05_06 Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology, Remember, LO 5.2

Learning Objective: 5.2 Analyze the role of education, science, and technology in society from the viewpoint of each of the sociological perspectives.

Topic: Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 1–Easy

 

7. Seven workers were killed and 30 others were severely injured in an accident at Dazzle Corp., a soft drink manufacturing company. The company uses advanced machinery for various processes that can prove to be risky for workers who operate them. Since there was nothing mentioned in the employee contract about employer liability in case of on-the-job accidents, the company refused to compensate the victims. However, the company eventually formulated a policy for compensating the victims of on-the-job accidents. This gap between installing advanced machinery and formulating a compensation policy at Dazzle Corp. is an example of ________.
8. cultural lag
9. social stratification
10. political discrepancy
11. alienation

 

Answer: a

 

Question Title: TB_05_07 Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology, Apply, LO 5.2

Learning Objective: 5.2 Analyze the role of education, science, and technology in society from the viewpoint of each of the sociological perspectives.

Topic: Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology

Skill Level: Apply What You Know

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

8. The ability of human beings to use symbols and thus to attach social meanings to words, objects, events, or people forms an important element of the ________ perspective.
9. interactionist
10. functionalist
11. conflict
12. behavioral

 

Answer: a

 

Question Title: TB_05_08 Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology, Remember, LO 5.2

Learning Objective: 5.2 Analyze the role of education, science, and technology in society from the viewpoint of each of the sociological perspectives.

Topic: Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 1–Easy

 

9. According to the interactionist perspective, which of the following is true of labeling?
10. Students from lower-class backgrounds are labeled to be deviant or dull to benefit students from affluent families.
11. Students who are labeled deviant receive more encouragement and assistance from teachers than bright students.
12. Students’ grades and teachers’ written reports become a publicly stamped label that follows them throughout their lives.
13. Students who have been labeled dull strive to not conform to the expectations of the labels attached to them.

 

Answer: c

 

Question Title: TB_05_09 Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology, Understand, LO 5.2

Learning Objective: 5.2 Analyze the role of education, science, and technology in society from the viewpoint of each of the sociological perspectives.

Topic: Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

10. Bruce, aged15, is an orphan living with his guardian, Fred. He lost his parents in a tragic accident. His parents have ensured that he gets the best education by creating a large trust fund to cater to his educational expenses. On turning 18, Bruce will inherit total control of Diamond Constructions Inc., America’s largest engineering and construction company, founded by his great grandfather. The passing of the control of Diamond Constructions Inc. to Bruce, and the access to quality education thus perpetuating the existing stratification system illustrates the concept of ________.
11. tracking
12. social reproduction
13. modernization
14. cultural lag

 

Answer: b

 

Question Title: TB_05_10 Problems in Education, Apply, LO 5.3

Learning Objective: 5.3 Elaborate on each of the five problem areas in education in the United States today, and analyze how the concept of “social reproduction” ties those five areas together.

Topic: Problems in Education

Skill Level: Apply What You Know

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

11. ________ refers to clustering people together into classes within classes that contain students of comparable abilities or students with similar educational goals.
12. Social reproduction
13. Tracking
14. Alienation
15. Gentrification

 

Answer: b

 

Question Title: TB_05_11 Problems in Education, Remember, LO 5.3

Learning Objective: 5.3 Elaborate on each of the five problem areas in education in the United States today, and analyze how the concept of “social reproduction” ties those five areas together.

Topic: Problems in Education

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

12. The ________ released a report indicating that schools in the U.S. are failing to prepare students adequately for work-related positions in an increasingly technological society.
13. Civil Rights Project
14. Educational Testing Service
15. Coleman Commission
16. National Center for Education Statistics

 

Answer: b

 

Question Title: TB_05_12 Problems in Education, Remember, LO 5.3

Learning Objective: 5.3 Elaborate on each of the five problem areas in education in the United States today, and analyze how the concept of “social reproduction” ties those five areas together.

Topic: Problems in Education

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

13. Thomas, an educationist, feels that tracking or formalized ability grouping of students in the U.S. is not a completely fair process. Which of the following is a reason for Thomas to have such an opinion?
14. Tracking decisions are made, at least in part, on the basis of stereotypes about social class and race.
15. Students from affluent families are more likely to be placed in lower tracks than lower-class students.
16. Decisions about tracking are based on the student’s performance in class or on standardized tests.
17. Tracking has resulted in an unacceptably large high school dropout rate in the United States.

 

Answer: a

 

Question Title: TB_05_13 Problems in Education, Analyze, LO 5.3

Learning Objective: 5.3 Elaborate on each of the five problem areas in education in the United States today, and analyze how the concept of “social reproduction” ties those five areas together.

Topic: Problems in Education

Skill Level: Analyze It

Difficulty: 3–Difficult

 

14. Sarah, a student belonging to a minority community, is not in favor of the school integration policies formulated by the U.S. government. She is most likely to believe that ________.
15. minorities will be placed in curriculum tracks heavily populated by whites
16. the quality of education in majority white schools is not up to the expectations of the minorities
17. crime and violence are more serious problems in majority white schools than in schools heavily populated by minorities
18. a majority of the white schools are not necessarily the best environment for minority students

 

Answer: d

 

Question Title: TB_05_14 Problems in Education, Analyze, LO 5.3

Learning Objective: 5.3 Elaborate on each of the five problem areas in education in the United States today, and analyze how the concept of “social reproduction” ties those five areas together.

Topic: Problems in Education

Skill Level: Analyze It

Difficulty: 3–Difficult

 

15. The situation in which workers feel the effects of automation and view themselves as mere cogs in the bureaucratic machinery is known as ________.
16. alienation
17. gentrification
18. loss of privacy
19. loss of control

 

Answer: a

 

Question Title: TB_05_15 Problems of Science and Technology, Remember, LO 5.4

Learning Objective: 5.4 Elaborate on the five problem areas in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Problems of Science and Technology

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 1–Easy

 

16. Which of the following is true of genetic engineering?
17. Unlike many other forms of environmental pollution, biological pollutants produced from genetic engineering do not reproduce themselves.
18. It manipulates the genes of organisms to alter their characteristics in ways that would have occurred naturally at a later stage.
19. It opens the door for eliminating characteristics deemed socially undesirable by those in positions of power.
20. Unlike many other forms of environmental pollution, biological pollutants produced from genetic engineering are much easier to remove from the ecosystem.

 

Answer: c

 

Question Title: TB_05_16 Problems of Science and Technology, Understand, LO 5.4

Learning Objective: 5.4 Elaborate on the five problem areas in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Problems of Science and Technology

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

17. ________ is the problem resulting from the use of global positioning systems (GPS) by car rental companies to obtain a minute-by-minute record of where their vehicles are.
18. Alienation
19. Gentrification
20. Loss of privacy
21. Loss of control

 

Answer: c

 

Question Title: TB_05_17 Problems of Science and Technology, Remember, LO 5.4

Learning Objective: 5.4 Elaborate on the five problem areas in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Problems of Science and Technology

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 1–Easy

 

18. ________ refers to the use of organisms or parts of organisms to make products or carry out tasks.
19. Social reproduction
20. Biotechnology
21. Gentrification
22. Mechanization

 

Answer: b

 

Question Title: TB_05_18 Problems of Science and Technology, Remember, LO 5.4

Learning Objective: 5.4 Elaborate on the five problem areas in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Problems of Science and Technology

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 1–Easy

 

19. Saul, a genetic engineer, takes a portion of DNA from a bacterial family and combines it with the DNA of a virus to observe the characteristic of the bacteria in the virus. Which of the following genetic engineering processes is seen in the given scenario?
20. gene splicing
21. mechanization
22. cybernation
23. gene culturing

 

Answer: a

 

Question Title: TB_05_19 Future Prospects, Apply, LO 5.4

Learning Objective: 5.4 Elaborate on the five problem areas in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Problems of Science, and Technology

Skill Level: Apply What You Know

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

20. Which of the following is true of home schooling?
    a. Students of home schooling do not get an opportunity to participate in school events such as athletics and other programs.
21. It permits students to attend any school they wish, whether in their district or elsewhere in the state, and many states now allow this.
22. Proponents of home schooling argue that this system offers students more choices, and the competition among schools will enhance the quality of education.
23. It has developed because of parents’ motivations to provide moral, ethical, or religious training that they see as lacking in the public schools.

 

Answer: d

 

Question Title: TB_05_20 Future Prospects, Understand, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

21. How are public schools and charter schools different from each other?
22. Public schools tend to rely on a much younger, less-experienced faculty that is considerably less likely to have a teaching credential and is less well paid than faculty in charter schools.
23. Charter schools tend to be highly racially segregated, much more so than public schools.
24. Public schools operate autonomously with an authorization directly from the state, while charter schools operate under local school district control.
25. Public schools receive state funding, while charter schools do not.

 

Answer: b

 

Question Title: TB_05_21 Future Prospects, Analyze, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Analyze It

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

22. Which of the following is true of the back to basics approach to schooling?
23. It does not mandate students to take up academically demanding coursework.
24. It increases the number of elective courses available to students.
25. It emphasizes the traditional core curriculum and a return to strong discipline.
26. It reduces the amount of face-to-face classroom contact between students and teachers.

 

Answer: c

 

Question Title: TB_05_22 Future Prospects, Understand, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

23. Which of the following is an advantage of a decentralized educational system?
24. It provides parents with more control over the schools their children attend.
25. It has fewer disparities in the resources available to students.
26. It has independent educational boards to make decisions.
27. It generally spends the same amount of money on students, no matter where their school is.

 

Answer: a

 

Question Title: TB_05_23 Future Prospects, Understand, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

24. Which of the following is true of the school choice reform?
25. Schools should not compete for students in the same way that other businesses compete for customers.
26. Schools will be motivated to provide the best educational programs if they were to attract students by convincing them and their parents about the quality of their education.
27. Schools would operate with a charter directly from the state instead of being under local school district control with less freedom in making budgeting, hiring, and curriculum decisions.
28. Schools should not mandate students to take up academically demanding courses.

 

Answer: b

 

Question Title: TB_05_24 Future Prospects, Understand, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

25. Which of the following is true of charter schools?
26. They are schools that operate autonomously with a charter directly from the local school district.
27. They have been established with the aim of reinforcing the traditional core curriculum and strong discipline.
28. They divide students into academic and vocational tracks at an early age, and by high school, as many as half the students may be in vocational apprenticeship programs.
29. They receive state funding but are free from many school district and state rules and have more freedom than mainstream schools in budgeting, hiring, and curriculum decisions.

 

Answer: d

 

Question Title: TB_05_25 Future Prospects, Understand, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

26. Schools following the back to basics approach to education are most likely to ________.
27. reduce the amount of face-to-face interactions between students and teachers
28. let students decide if they want to take up academically demanding courses
29. reduce the number of elective courses and have more required courses
30. eliminate standardized examinations

 

Answer: c

 

Question Title: TB_05_26 Future Prospects, Analyze, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Analyze It

Difficulty: 3–Difficult

 

27. ________ refers to research that studies the impact of technology on our physical, social, and ethical environments and seeks solutions to social problems that arise from technological development.
28. Technology assessment
29. Appropriate technology
30. Mechanization
31. Cybernation

 

Answer: a

 

Question Title: TB_05_27 Future Prospects, Remember, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 1–Easy

 

28. ________ refers to a technology that is limited in size, decentralized, and responsive to human values and needs.
29. Indigenous technology
30. Appropriate technology
31. Capital-intensive technology
32. Autonomous technology

 

Answer: b

 

Question Title: TB_05_28 Future Prospects, Remember, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 1–Easy

 

29. Why is appropriate technology considered a solution to problems associated with modern technology?
30. It makes possible an enormous increase in human productivity and a highly specialized division of labor.
31. It does not alienate people and returns the control of technology to the hands of individuals.
32. It opens the door to eliminating characteristics deemed socially undesirable by those in positions of power.
33. It completely eliminates large-scale technology.

 

Answer: b

 

Question Title: TB_05_29 Future Prospects, Understand, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in or-der to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 3–Difficult

 

30. Which of the following is true of large-scale technology?
31. It is often the discovery ground for developing new alternative technologies.
32. It is appropriate to what people can comprehend and relate to.
33. It is less injurious and causes minimal damage to people.
34. It does not alienate people and returns the control of technology to the hands of individuals.

 

Answer: a

 

Question Title: TB_05_30 Future Prospects, Understand, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

Short Answer Questions

 

31. What is technology? What are the two types of technologies?

 

Answer: Technology refers to the knowledge, tools, and practices that use scientific or other organized knowledge to achieve some practical goal. In other words, technology puts scientific and other knowledge to use. Technology can be simple—such as a shovel to dig a hole—or it can be dazzlingly complex—such as the Internet communications network that now encircles the globe. Technology can be both material and nonmaterial. Material technology would include things such as robots, computers, and nuclear bombs, whereas nonmaterial technology includes modes of social and economic organization, such as bureaucratization, mechanization, and automation.

 

Question Title: TB_05_31 Growth of Education and Technology, Remember, LO 5.1

Learning Objective: 5.1 Describe the changes that have occurred in education and technology as a part of the process of industrialization.

Topic: Growth of Education and Technology

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

32. According to the interactionist perspective, what are the consequences of labeling?

 

Answer: According to the interactionist perspective, labeling can have serious consequences for students.

Labeling a person as a deviant, for example, can serve as a self-fulfilling prophecy when people begin to conform to the expectations of the labels attached to them. Likewise, a similar process can occur in the classroom when teachers label students as bright or dull. When students are so labeled, teachers may treat them differently, possibly giving the students who are labeled bright a little more encouragement and assistance. In addition, those labeled dull may assume that there is some truth in the label and may not try very hard. The result of both the students’ and the teachers’ reactions may be reinforcement of the label, or a self-fulfilling prophecy as the labelers create what they thought they were merely identifying in the first place. Schools, then, become a social problem when these face-to-face educational encounters produce stigmatizing results, lower students’ self-esteem, and make educational success more difficult to achieve.

 

Question Title: TB_05_32 Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology, Understand, LO 5.2

Learning Objective: 5.2 Analyze the role of education, science, and technology in society from the viewpoint of each of the sociological perspectives.

Topic: Perspectives on Education, Science, and Technology, Knowledge

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

33. What is the viewpoint of conflict theorists about the race for higher educational credentials?

 

Answer: Conflict theorists argue that a credentials race occurs because some groups have a vested interest in placing greater emphasis on the importance of educational degrees. For example, raising the educational threshold for particular jobs is an easy out for harried personnel managers who can use educational degrees as a simple sifting device in selecting employees. In addition, educational institutions have a vested interest in this degree inflation because it generates a greater demand for their educational services. Students may not need the degrees to do the job, but they need the degrees to get the job. Most important, however, degree inflation serves as a way of maintaining the privileges of some while controlling the aspirations of others. By elevating degree requirements for particular jobs, people who have earned the degrees, or who are in a position to obtain them, protect their own positions and those of their offspring by restricting competition.

 

Question Title: TB_05_33 Problems in Education, Understand, LO 5.3

Learning Objective: 5.3 Elaborate on each of the five problem areas in education in the United States today, and analyze how the concept of “social reproduction” ties those five areas together.

Topic: Problems in Education

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

34. Define tracking. How is it done?

 

Answer: Tracking, or ability grouping, refers to clustering people together into classes or tracks within classes that contain students of comparable abilities or students with similar educational goals (for example, academic versus nonacademic tracks). Tracking is done in some cases on the assumption that students will be better able to learn if they are in a classroom with others who have equal ability. In other cases, the tracking is based on directing students into curricular paths where it is presumed they are capable of succeeding. Decisions about tracking are based on the student’s performance in class or on standardized tests, the teachers’ judgments about students, and, in some cases, the student and her or his parents’ choices.

 

Question Title: TB_05_34 Problems in Education, Remember, LO 5.3

Learning Objective: 5.3 Elaborate on each of the five problem areas in education in the United States today, and analyze how the concept of “social reproduction” ties those five areas together.

Topic: Problems in Education

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

35. Why have some schools in the United States discarded the concept of formalized ability grouping?

 

Answer: The danger in tracking is that the track becomes a label that creates expectations on the part of both the teacher and the students regarding how well individual students are capable of performing. Teachers may tend to encourage performances that are consistent with the track a student is in, and students assume that being placed in a track indicates the performance level of which they are capable. In addition, research shows that lower-class students and minority students are considerably more likely to be placed in the lower tracks than other students, even among students of equal abilities and performance levels. This suggests that tracking decisions are made, at least in part, on the basis of stereotypes about social class and race, and that racism may influence the outcome. It certainly raises troubling questions about how fair the process is. Because of these problems, some schools have discarded formalized ability grouping.

 

Question Title: TB_05_35 Problems in Education, Understand, LO 5.3

Learning Objective: 5.3 Elaborate on each of the five problem areas in education in the United States today, and analyze how the concept of “social reproduction” ties those five areas together.

Topic: Problems in Education

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

36. What is biotechnology? What is its basic principle?

 

Answer: Biotechnology is the use of organisms or parts of organisms to make products or carry out tasks. Biotechnology is based on a very important discovery: the identification in 1953 of the nature of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as the basic genetic material that is found in each cell and that contains the “blueprint” for the entire organism. DNA has been mapped and cataloged with great precision. By manipulating DNA, scientists have been able to create organisms that perform new tasks or that produce substances they would not normally produce.

 

Question Title: TB_05_36 Problems of Science and Technology, Remember, LO 5.4

Learning Objective: 5.4 Elaborate on the five problem areas in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Problems of Science and Technology

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

37. What is gene splicing? What are its uses?

 

Answer: In gene splicing, DNA from one organism is spliced into the genetic material of another organism to produce some new characteristics in the host or even a novel form of life. Gene splicing has been used, for example, to produce large quantities of insulin and interferon, used in the treatment of diabetes and cancer, respectively. This is done by introducing human genes that govern the natural production of insulin or interferon into a bacterium that is then induced by this new genetic material to produce insulin or interferon.

 

Question Title: TB_05_37 Problems of Science and Technology, Remember, LO 5.4

Learning Objective: 5.4 Elaborate on the five problem areas in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Problems of Science and Technology

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

38. Explain how school systems vary in the United States and other countries in terms of the centrality of the planning and decision making.

 

Answer: One way in which school systems vary is in terms of the centrality of the planning and decision making. In France, Sweden, and Japan, for example, the central government, through ministries of education, controls educational policy, curriculum design, and even textbook selection. Such education ministries also determine personnel policies, ensuring that teachers with equivalent training are available to all students. Centralized systems generally spend the same amount of money on students, no matter where their school is. The United States, on the other hand, has a highly decentralized educational system where state and local school boards make most decisions. Decentralization provides parents with more control over the schools their children attend, and decentralized schools are more responsive to the needs of the community in which they are located. However, decentralized school systems also tend to have greater disparities in the resources available to students and in levels of achievement from one school to another. In some cases, central-city schools may spend less than half the money spent in affluent suburbs on each student.

 

Question Title: TB_05_38 Future Prospects, Understand, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

39. What are the differences between charter schools and public schools?

 

Answer: Charter schools tend to rely on a much younger, less-experienced faculty that is considerably less likely to have a teaching credential and is less well paid than faculty in public schools. This is especially true in schools with low-income and minority students. In addition, charter schools tend to be highly segregated—much more so than public schools. As for student achievement, studies are now accumulating that show consistently that charter school students do not perform better academically than public school students, and by many measures they do worse. In addition, these findings have been supported even when comparing students of similar races and socioeconomic backgrounds.

 

Question Title: TB_05_39 Future Prospects, Understand, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate

 

40. Explain briefly the concept of appropriate technology.

 

Answer: One proposed solution to deal with many of the problems associated with modern technology is to develop what has been called appropriate technology, or a technology appropriate to the human scale, to what people can comprehend and relate to; it would be a technology that is limited in size, decentralized, and responsive to human values and needs. In most cases, an appropriate technology would be considerably smaller than what exists today. An appropriate technology would avoid the tendency of technology to alienate people, and it would return control to the hands of individuals. An example of an appropriate technology is solar energy. Solar energy does not require the building of large centralized power plants as do nuclear and coal-fired facilities. The technology is decentralized, with each household or community producing some of its own energy rather than having energy production controlled by large corporations.

 

Question Title: TB_05_40 Future Prospects, Remember, LO 5.5

Learning Objective: 5.5 Describe and evaluate the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the area of education, and do the same for the reforms that have been considered or implemented in order to alleviate the problems in the realms of science and technology.

Topic: Future Prospects

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Difficulty: 2–Moderate