ABSTRACT
Truly comprehensive in scope - and arranged in A-Z format for quick access - this eight-volume set is a one-source reference for anyone researching the historical and contemporary details of more than 170 major issues confronting American society. Entries cover the full range of hotly contested social issues - including economic, scientific, environmental, criminal, legal, security, health, and media topics. Each entry discusses the historical origins of the problem or debate; past means used to deal with the issue; the current controversy surrounding the issue from all perspectives; and the near-term and future implications for society. In addition, each entry includes a chronology, a bibliography, and a directory of Internet resources for further research as well as primary documents and statistical tables highlighting the debates.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
letter Volume 1|257 pages
entry |13 pages
Abortion and Reproductive Issues
entry |10 pages
Academic Freedom
entry |13 pages
Adoption
entry |8 pages
Advertising, Children's
entry |16 pages
Affirmative Action
entry |6 pages
Ageism
entry |16 pages
AIDS/HIV
entry |17 pages
Air Pollution
entry |19 pages
Air Travel: Safety, Security, and Service
entry |11 pages
Alcohol and Alcoholism
entry |10 pages
Animal Rights
entry |12 pages
Anti-Muslim Discrimination and Violence
entry |10 pages
Anti-Semitism
entry |7 pages
Arson
entry |10 pages
Arts Funding and Censorship
entry |10 pages
At-Risk Students: Higher Education
entry |9 pages
Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder
entry |8 pages
Autism
entry |11 pages
Automobile and Highway Safety
entry |11 pages
Bilingualism
entry |14 pages
Birth Control
entry |16 pages
Campaign Finance Reform
letter Volume 2|280 pages
entry |12 pages
Cancer
entry |17 pages
Capital Punishment
entry |12 pages
Census Issues
entry |9 pages
Cheating, Academic
entry |11 pages
Child Abuse and Molestation
entry |13 pages
Child Labor
entry |10 pages
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
entry |14 pages
Church-State Separation
entry |13 pages
Civil Liberties
entry |16 pages
Civil Rights
entry |11 pages
Coastal Pollution and Wetlands Protection
entry |11 pages
College Sports
entry |12 pages
Computer Crime and Hacking
entry |7 pages
Consumer Debt and Bankruptcy
entry |9 pages
Corporal Punishment
entry |15 pages
Corporate Crime
entry |10 pages
Corporate Downsizing
entry |16 pages
Crime
entry |11 pages
Criminal Rights
entry |12 pages
“Cults𠇜 and Alternative Religions
entry |11 pages
Defense Spending and Preparedness
entry |14 pages
Deforestation and Logging
entry |14 pages
Disability Rights
letter Volume 3|277 pages
entry |9 pages
Divorce and Child Custody
entry |14 pages
Domestic Violence
entry |8 pages
Drought and Aquifer Depletion
entry |14 pages
Drug Abuse
entry |12 pages
Drugs, War on
entry |13 pages
Eating Disorders
entry |17 pages
Energy Dependency
entry |12 pages
Environmental Justice
entry |11 pages
Environmentally Induced Illnesses
entry |10 pages
Euthanasia
entry |10 pages
Evolution Education
entry |16 pages
Extinction and Species Loss: Biota Invasion and Habitat Destruction
entry |10 pages
Farm Issues
entry |14 pages
Food and Drug Safety
entry |10 pages
Foster Care
entry |12 pages
Gambling
entry |7 pages
Gangs
entry |17 pages
Gay and Lesbian Rights
entry |10 pages
Genetic Engineering
entry |9 pages
Gentrification
entry |13 pages
Global Warming
entry |10 pages
Gulf War Syndrome and other Veterans' Illnesses
entry |18 pages
Gun Violence and Gun Control
letter Volume 4|270 pages
entry |11 pages
Hate Crimes
entry |7 pages
Hate Radio and Internet
entry |9 pages
Hate Speech
entry |18 pages
Healthcare Reform
entry |7 pages
Heart Disease and Cardiology
entry |13 pages
Homelessness
entry |10 pages
Housing, Affordable
entry |11 pages
Human Experimentation
entry |12 pages
Identity Theft
entry |16 pages
Immigration Policy and Law
entry |12 pages
Immigration, Illegal
entry |8 pages
Indoor Air Pollution
entry |11 pages
Infectious Disease and Epidemics
entry |10 pages
Infrastructure Deterioration
entry |11 pages
Intellectual Property Rights
entry |11 pages
Journalistic Ethics
entry |14 pages
Judicial Reform
entry |8 pages
Juvenile Justice
entry |8 pages
Legal Services for the Poor
entry |12 pages
Literacy
entry |10 pages
Mandatory Sentencing
entry |11 pages
Marijuana
entry |9 pages
Mass Transit
entry |8 pages
Media Bias
entry |13 pages
Media Consolidation
letter Volume 5|279 pages
entry |8 pages
Media Sex and Violence
entry |10 pages
Medical Malpractice Reform
entry |11 pages
Medicare and Medicaid Reform
entry |12 pages
Medicine, Complementary and Alternative
entry |12 pages
Mental Illness
entry |12 pages
Migrant Workers
entry |13 pages
Militia Movement
entry |13 pages
Minimum and Living Wages
entry |14 pages
Money Laundering
entry |22 pages
Native Americans and Government Policy
entry |10 pages
Natural Disasters and Disaster Relief
entry |13 pages
Needle Exchange Programs
entry |8 pages
Noise Pollution
entry |9 pages
Not in My Backyard (NIMBY) Issues
entry |12 pages
Nuclear Power and Waste
entry |15 pages
Nuclear Weapons
entry |14 pages
Obesity
entry |14 pages
Occupational Safety and Health
entry |10 pages
Organ and Tissue Transplants
entry |7 pages
Organic Foods
entry |13 pages
Organized Crime
entry |6 pages
Plagiarism, Literary and Artistic
entry |9 pages
Police Abuse and Corruption
entry |12 pages
Pornography
letter Volume 6|276 pages
entry |9 pages
Poverty and Wealth
entry |15 pages
Prison Reform and Prisoner Rights
entry |15 pages
Privacy
entry |9 pages
Prostitution
entry |9 pages
Public Opinion Polling
entry |10 pages
Racial Profiling
entry |11 pages
Rape
entry |10 pages
Recycling and Conservation
entry |9 pages
Redlining, Loan Discrimination, and Predatory Lending
entry |8 pages
Rioting
entry |11 pages
School Standards and Testing
entry |9 pages
School Violence
entry |10 pages
School Vouchers and Privatization
entry |9 pages
Scientific Research Ethics
entry |12 pages
Secrecy, Government
entry |12 pages
Sex Education
entry |10 pages
Sexual Harassment
entry |8 pages
Single Parenting and Out-of-Wedlock Births
entry |15 pages
Social Security Reform
entry |9 pages
Space Exploration
entry |11 pages
Special Education
entry |11 pages
Stem Cell Research
entry |14 pages
Stress
entry |10 pages
Students' Rights
entry |9 pages
Suicide
entry |11 pages
Superstores vs. Main Street
letter Volume 7|284 pages
entry |13 pages
Sweatshops
entry |14 pages
Taxes and Tax Reform
entry |17 pages
Term Limits
entry |14 pages
Terrorism, Domestic
entry |16 pages
Terrorism, Foreign
entry |13 pages
Terrorism, War on
entry |11 pages
Tobacco
entry |14 pages
Tort Reform
entry |10 pages
Toxic Waste
entry |13 pages
Traffic Congestion
entry |14 pages
Unemployment
entry |14 pages
Unions
entry |14 pages
Urban Sprawl
entry |13 pages
Voluntarism and Volunteering
entry |12 pages
Voting Issues
entry |11 pages
Waste Disposal
entry |14 pages
Water Pollution
entry |10 pages
Weapons of Mass Destruction
entry |13 pages
Welfare and Welfare Reform
entry |9 pages
Wilderness Protection
entry |12 pages
Women's Rights
entry |13 pages
Xenophobia and Nativism