Essentials of Sociology. George Ritzer

dropping, reaching 3 percent in 1930, and falling to a low of 1 percent in 1970. After this period, the curve starts rising again, climbing to 3 percent in 2000, and reaching almost 4 percent in 2019.

      The second line represents the immigrant curve based on their numbers. This curve begins at 3 million in 1850. The curve begins rising after this, attaining levels of 5 million in 1870, 10 million by 1900, and reaches 14 million by 1920. After a brief period where the curve plateaus at this level, it begins dropping for the next 50 years, to reach levels of 10 million in 1970. Post this level, the curve begins a steep upward climb, easily breaching the 15 million mark in 1980, 20 million level in 1990 and 35 million range in 2000. By 2019, the curve has attained a level of almost 42 million.

      Back to Figure

      The map of the United States shows the locations of various immigration detention facilities in 2017. The legend attached to the map is color-coded, with different colors representing the number of such facilities in a state.

       Orange: 24 – Texas

       Dark Green: 7 to 10 – California, New York

       Medium green: 5 to 6 – Florida, Ohio, New Jersey

       Grey Green: 3 to 4 – Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts

       Light Green: 1 to 2 – Washington, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Wisconsin

       Grey: None – Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, West Virginia, Vermont

      The source of the map data has been attributed to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, Detention Facility Locator, March 2017.

      Back to Figure

      The line graph in the figure represents the per capita credit card debt in the United States during the period from 1969 to 2017.

      The X axis represents the years from 1969 to 2017, rising in increments of 5 years. The Y axis denotes the dollar debt and ranges from 0 to 9000, rising in increments of 1000.

      The curve begins at a level of 0 in 1969, rising very slowly to touch 500 dollars by the 1970s period. It manages to reach 1000 dollars by 1985, and post this period, suddenly grows explosively. By 1989, the level is almost at 2000 dollars, while the 3000 level is breached by 1993. 4000 is crossed in 1996, 5000 in 1997 and 6000 in the following year. A high of almost 9000 is achieved by 2009, after which the curve moderates and begins dropping. At the end of the graph, in 2017, the curve has reached a level of 6000.

      The source of the data is the U.S. Federal Reserve and U.S. Census Bureau and Dickler.

      Back to Figure

      The bar graph lists the percentages of population that have internet access in various geographic regions in the year 2018. The X axis denotes the percentage of the population.

      Details follow below:

       North America: 95 percent

       Europe: 85.2 percent

       Australia/Oceania: 68.9 percent

       Latin America/Caribbean: 67.2 percent

       Middle East: 64.5 percent

       World, Avg: 55.1 percent

       Asia: 49 percent

       Africa: 36.1 percent

      The source of the data is credited to Internet World Stats, Miniwatts Marketing Group.

      Back to Figure

      The bar graph lists different professions and the percentage of women employed in them. The professions are categorized as well. The Y axis lists the percentages and ranges from 0 to 100. The X axis denotes the professions.

      Details are below:

       MedicineRegistered Nurse: 87.9Physicians and Surgeons: 34.1

       DentistryDental Assistants: 92.2Dentists: 29.3

       EducationElementary and Middle School Teachers: 77.9Postsecondary Teachers: 46.6

       LawParalegals and Legal Assistants: 86.4Lawyers: 36.2

      The data has been sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2016.

      Back to Figure

      The map is of the United States and denotes the estimated percentage of adults who think climate change is happening. Their location by county within a state is shown on the heat map. The legend denotes the following;

       85.0% to 89.9%: none

       80.0% to 84.9%: Selected counties in California, New York, Washington, Hawaii, North Carolina, Oregon

       75.0% to 79.9%: Selected counties in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, Florida,

       70.0% to 74.9%: Selected counties in California, Colorado, Texas, New England states, New York, Montana, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alaska

       65.0% to 69.9%: Many counties in California, New York, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, New England states, Michigan, Florida, Mississippi

       60.0% to 64.9%: Most counties across the nation

       55.0% to 59.9%: Many counties across Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Midwest states of Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska, Kentucky, West Virginia, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and North Dakota

       50.0% to 54.9%: a few counties in Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Kansas

       45.0% to 49.9%: Utah counties

      A key below the map shows the responses to the question ‘Global warming is happening’. While 70.1 percent answer yes, 12.4 percent say no.

      The data of the map has been taken from Howe, Peter D., Matto Mildenberger, Jennifer R. Marlon, and Anthony Leiserowitz (2015). “Geographic Variation in Opinions on Climate Change at State and Local Scales in the USA.” Nature Climate Change.

      2 Thinking About and Researching the Social World

      Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post

      Learning Objectives

       2.1 Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

       2.2 Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

       2.3 Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

       2.4 Summarize five key issues in social research.

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      Do Sociological Theory and Research Help Us Understand Today’s Overheated Politics?

      Since the 2016 election of Donald Trump, American politics has been far more fraught than