Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Quantifying Social Entities: An Historical-Sociological Critique, Julian Neylan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In formulating social policy the administrative arm of government relies heavily on number-based significations of knowledge, such as needs indicators and performance measures. Relying on numbers increases administrators' confidence in their decisions and shifts responsibility for error away from the decision-maker and towards the numbers. A close examination of the technology of social quantification reveals instability in many of the definitions and codes that needs analysts and program evaluators adopt when numerically inscribing social entities. To deal with these risks, bureaucracies must establish ways of explicitly assessing the uncertainty, imprecision and social construction that often lies behind the evidence presented …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 32, No. 4 (December 2005)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• THE ROLES OF BUDDHIST TEMPLES IN THE TREATMENT OF HIV/AIDS IN THAILAND - Tomoko Kubotani and David Engstrom
• QUANTIFYING SOCIAL ENTITIES: AN HISTORICAL-SOCIOLOGICAL CRITIQUE - Julian Neylan
• COPYING FAILURE: AMERICAN-STYLE WELFARE REFORM IN OTHER COUNTRIES LONE MOTHERS AND WELFARE-TO-WORK POLICIES IN JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES: TOWARDS AN ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVE - Aya Ezawa and Chisa Fujiwara
• WORKFARE IN TORONTO: MORE OF THE SAME? A RESEARCH NOTE - Ernie Lightman, Andrew Mitchell, and Dean Herd
• FROM SELF-SUFFICIENCY TO PERSONAL AND FAMILY SUSTAINABILITY: A NEW PARADIGM FOR SOCIAL POLICY - Robert Leibson Hawkins
• AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF NEIGHBORHOOD CHOICES …

Review Of One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All. Mark Robert Rank. Reviewed By Joel Blau., Joel Blau

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Mark Robert Rank, One Nation Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. $29.95 hardcover.

Review Of Perspectives On The Economics Of Aging. David A. Wise (Ed.). Reviewed By Martin B. Tracy., Martin B. Tracy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of David A. Wise (Ed.), Perspectives on the Economics of Aging. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2004. $90.00 hardcover.

From Self-Sufficiency To Personal And Family Sustainability: A New Paradigm For Social Policy, Robert Leibson Hawkins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Current social policy that affects welfare recipients focuses on the concept of "self-sufficiency" where leaving welfare for work is the goal. While this approach has reduced welfare rolls, it has not necessarily helped low-income people improve their economic, educational, or social outlook. This paper suggests that the concept of Personal and Family Sustainability (PFS) may be a better way to evaluate and direct social policy. A definition of PFS is developed from the environmental and community development roots of sustainability and four domains for creating PFS indicators are introduced.

How Has The Violence Against Women Act Affected The Response Of The Criminal Justice System To Domestic Violence?, Hyunkag Cho, Dina J. Wilke

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study uses an interrupted time series design to examine the association between the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) and several different dimensions of the criminal justice system's involvement in violence against women. These include examining the domestic violence incidence rate, and rates of police notification, arrest, and judicial authorities' involvement. Data from the National Crime Victimization Survey from 1992 to 2003 is used. Results suggest that overall the incidence of domestic violence has decreased while police notification and perpetrator arrest have increased over time. Further, victim involvement with judicial authorities significantly increased after enactment of the VAWA. …

Hate Crimes Against The Homeless: Warning-Out New England Style, Sandra Wachholz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article reports on the hate crime victimization experienced by thirty individuals over the course of their homelessness in a New England city. Indepth interviews were conducted with the participants in order to provide a detailed, contextual account of the nature and forms of their hate crime victimization in public and semi-public spaces. Central to the article is the argument that hate crimes against homeless people function as informal social control mechanisms that impose spatial constraints, not unlike the character and objectives of the warning-out laws that were used to exclude homeless people from the public and private space of …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 32, No. 3 (September 2005)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• EDUCATION PROBLEMS WITH URBAN MIGRATORY CHILDREN IN CHINA - Fei Yan
• CULTURE AS DEFICIT: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL WORK DISCOURSE - Yoosun Park
• APPLYING RAWLSIAN SOCIAL JUSTICE TO WELFARE REFORM: AN UNEXPECTED FINDING FOR SOCIAL WORK - Mahasweta M. Banerjee
• ENGLISH NON-FLUENCY AND INCOME PENALTY FOR HISPANIC WORKERS - Song Yang
• REFORMING WELFARE REFORM POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION POLICY: TWO STATE CASE STUDIES IN POLITICAL CULTURE, ORGANIZING, AND ADVOCACY - Charles Price
• IMPLICATIONS OF MEDIA SCRUTINY FOR A CHILD PROTECTION AGENCY - Lindsay D. Cooper
• IS INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL COLLABORATION ALWAYS A GOOD …

English Non-Fluency And Income Penalty For Hispanic Workers, Song Yang

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using the 2001-2002 California Workforce Survey, this paper examines the income gap between Hispanic and Caucasian workers. I attribute the income gap between Hispanic and Caucasian workers to differentials in their human capital. However, data analyses indicate that classical human capital indicators such as education,job training, and work experiences are not sufficient to account for the observed income gap between Hispanics and Caucasians. Instead, English fluency is a highly valuable aspect of human capital for Hispanic workers. English non-fluency, along with less education, job training, and work experiences explain why Hispanic workers earn less than Caucasian workers. However, variations in …

Review Of Technology And The African American Experience: Needs And Opportunities For Study. Bruce Sinclair (Ed.). Reviewed By John Mcnutt., John Mcnutt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Bruce Sinclair (Ed.), Technology and the African American Experience: Needs and Opportunities for Study. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2004. $35.00 hardcover.

Culture As Deficit: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Concept Of Culture In Contemporary Social Work Discourse, Yoosun Park

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper is a critical discourse analysis of the usage of the concept of "culture" in social work discourse. The paper argues that "culture" is inscribed as a marker for difference which has largely replaced the categories of race and ethnicity as the preferred trope of minority status. "Culture" is conceived as an objectifiable body of knowledge constituting the legitimate foundationfor the building of interventions. But such interventions cannot be considered other than an instrument which reinforces the subjugating paradigm from which it is fashioned. The concept of culture, constructed from within an orthodoxic, hegemonic discursive paradigm, is deployed as …

Applying Rawlsian Social Justice To Welfare Reform: An Unexpected Finding For Social Work, Mahasweta M. Banerjee

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper sketches social workers' understanding of social justice and reliance on Rawls (1971), highlights findings about "hard to employ" welfare recipients facing welfare reform, and articulates the parameters of Rawlsian justice (Rawls, 1999a; 2001) with particular emphasis on people who have been on welfare for long. The paper shows that social workers do not have any space to maneuver in Rawlsian justice to uphold justice for long-term welfare recipients, and welfare reform's "work first" stipulation does not violate Rawlsian justice. The paper raises some questions about social workers' continued reliance on Rawls. It suggests social workers update the literature …

Is Inter-Organizational Collaboration Always A Good Thing?, Richard A. Longoria

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The human service literature suggests that the concept and outcomes of inter-organizational collaboration are not well understood. Nonetheless, inter-organizational collaboration has emerged as a statement of direction for social welfare policy and professional practice. In light of an unclear understanding of collaboration, this analysis suggests the concept has powerful symbolic qualities, which perpetuates its continued use. While the general notion of collaboration is promising, human service administrators and stakeholders must couple critical thinking and action to clarify the meaning, intent, application, and outcomes of inter-organizational collaboration. This article raises the question as to whether the popularity of inter-organization collaboration is …

Family Structure Effects On Parenting Stress And Practices In The African American Family, Daphne S. Cain, Terri Combs-Orme

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The predominant approach to African-American parenting research focuses on disadvantages associated with single parenthood to the exclusion of other issues. The current research suggests that this does not represent the diversity in family structure configurations among African-American families, nor does it give voice to the parenting resilience of single mothers. We argue that rather than marital status or family configuration, more attention needs to be given to the inadequacy of resources for this population.

In the current study, we examined the parenting of infants by African- American mothers and found that mothers' marital status and family configuration did not affect …

Distribution Of The Federal Tax Burden, Share Of After-Tax Income, And After-Tax Income By Presidential Administration And Household Type, 1981-2000, Richard K. Caputo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Findings of this study show that the lowest- and middle-income households overall and those with children had lower total effective Federal tax rates during the Clinton administration than during the Reagan and G.H. Bush administrations. Concomitantly, the top one percent and highest income quintile households overall, those with children, and those headed by an elderly person age 65 or older without children had higher total effective Federal tax rates during the Clinton administration. Nearly every category of household type and income level measured in this study had more after- Federal-tax income during the Clinton administration than either the Reagan or …

Gender Poverty Disparity In Us Cities: Evidence Exonerating Female-Headed Families, Sara Lichtenwalter

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Utilizing data from the 2000 Census, this study examines the impact of family composition, education, and labor force factors on the difference between female and male poverty rates in the 70 largest U.S. cities. A stepwise regression analysis indicates that 41 % of the difference between female and male poverty rates can be explained by the percent of women in the three US Bureau of Labor Statistic's lowest wage occupations. There was no evidence of a unique impact from the percentage of female headed families in each city, or the study's other independent variables, on the gender poverty gap, with …

Theories Of Urban Poverty And Implications For Public Housing Policy, Alexandra M. Curley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Urban poverty has been the subject of sociological and political debate for more than a century. In this article I examine theories of urban poverty and their place in American housing policy. I first discuss theories that have arisen out of the sociological and policy discourse on urban poverty and the research that supports and challenges these theories. I then review current public housing initiatives and discuss the impact of these theories on current housing policy.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 32, No. 2 (June 2005)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• DISTRIBUTION OF THE FEDERAL TAX BURDEN, SHARE OF AFTER-TAX INCOME, AND AFTER-TAX INCOME BY PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION AND HOUSEHOLD TYPE, 1981-2000 - Richard K. Caputo
• FAMILY STRUCTURE EFFECTS ON PARENTING STRESS AND PRACTICES IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN FAMILY - Daphne S. Cain
• THE POVERTY OF UNATTACHED SENIOR WOMEN AND THE CANADIAN RETIREMENT INCOME SYSTEM: A MATTER OF BLAME OR CONTRADICTION? - Amber Gazso
• AGING AND FAMILY POLICY: A SOCIOLOGICAL EXCURSION - Jason L. Powell
• GENDER POVERTY DISPARITY IN US CITIES: EVIDENCE EXONERATING FEMALE-HEADED FAMILIES - Sara Lichtenwalter
• THEORIES OF URBAN POVERTY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HOUSING POLICY - Alexandra …

Engendering Citizenship? A Critical Feminist Analysis Of Canadian Welfare-To-Work Policies And The Employment Experiences Of Lone Mothers, Rhonda S. Breitkreuz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Like other liberal-welfare states, Canada, in a climate of balanced budgets and deficit reduction, has been active in developing policies intended to move welfare recipients into employment in order to achieve selfsufficiency. The purpose of this paper is to employ a critical feminist analysis to examine the extent to which these policies, developed under the ideological umbrella of neo-liberalism, are gender sensitive. Literature on the economic and non-economic impacts of welfare-to-work policies is reviewed to evaluate whether these initiatives, while mandating lone-mothers into employment, recognize the gendered nature of work, employment and poverty. Gaps in current research are identified and …

Review Of Inequality In America: What Role For Human Capital Policies. James J. Hechman And Alan B. Krueger. Reviewed By Sondra Beverly., Sondra Beverly

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of James J. Heckman and Alan B. Krueger, Inequality in America: What Role for Human Capital Policies? Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2004. $40.00 cloth.

The Poverty Of Unattached Senior Women And The Canadian Retirement Income System: A Matter Of Blame Or Contradiction?, Amber Gazso

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Structural and financial inadequacy of Canada's retirement income system, especially with respect to income support benefits (i.e. Old Age Security), are often identified as one major reason unattached senior women experience poverty. While it may be compelling to blame low benefit levels and changing eligibility requirements, particularly because 'crisis' policy discourses have influenced questionable restructuring over time (i.e. the clawback), this paper argues that this is too simplistic of an account of the relationship between these women's poverty and the retirement income system. Other broad social-structural factors are at play in women's lives that have the potential to disentitle their …

Aging And Family Policy: A Sociological Excursion, Jason L. Powell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The contemporary focus on family policy and old age has become increasingly important in social discourses on aging both within the discipline of Sociology and social policy practices of welfare institutions that attempt to define later life. Using the United Kingdom as a case study, sheds light on wider current trends associated with aging in United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. Social welfare is a pivotal domain where social discourses on aging have become located. Narratives are 'played out' with regard to the raw material supplied by family policy for identity performance of older people. Therefore, grounding developments in 'narrativity' …

Taking A Juvenile Into Custody: Situational Factors That Influence Police Officers' Decisions, Terrence T. Allen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Situational factors that influence police officers decisions to take juveniles into custody were investigated. A cross-sectional self administered survey was conducted. Four-hundred and twenty-eight male and female police officers from six police districts in Cleveland Ohio completed and submitted a twenty-five item questionnaire. Using a logistic regression model the study identified: adolescents who disrespect police officers; adolescents who are out late at night; adolescent males; anyone looking suspicious; and the age of the police officer as the most significant predictors. This was an exploratory study that sought to investigate police/juvenile encounters from a street level situational perspective. The results provided …

Shifting Identity: Process And Change In Identity Of Aging Mexican-American Males, Gary L. Villereal, Alonzo Cavazos

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article addresses the shift in machismo identity that occurs in Mexican-American male identity and the developmental process and the change in one's role as an elderly Mexican-American man.

Socialization of male-ism in Mexican-American boys begins with the cultural expectation that a young boy is and will be a man. There are also explicit expectations that girls should be respected but that, in contrast to boys, girls should be submissive and obedient. This is the beginning of machismo and the separation of being a "man" versus being a "woman."

Aging results in a loss of machismo and this is evident …

Grandfathers And The Impact Of Raising Grandchildren, Karen Bullock

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Objectives. As grandparents are continuing to take on the responsible of raising their grandchildren in the absence of parents much attention in the literature is given to women. Little is known about the adjustment that older men make in these families. This study explored the experiences of grandfathers raising grandchildren.

Methods. Data were gathered by semi-structured interviews in a rural community in southeastern North Carolina and analyzed using a qualitative content analysis mode. Twenty-six men, age 65+, who were responsible for the care of at least one grandchild, participated.

Results. Eighty-one percent (N = 21) reported that their perception of …

Social Security And The African American Male (A Cash Transfer System), Eddie Davis

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

All employed workers are required to contribute to the Social Security System; however,a disproportionatep ercentage of African American males never live long enough to collect any benefits from their contributions. On the other hand, the life-expectancy of white males is significantly longer than the life expectancy of African American males, and their collection of Social Security benefits tends to exceed their contributions to the system. The federal government keeps the Social Security system from becoming completely solvent by raiding it of any surplus funds it collects; thereby, preventing the Social Security Fund from developing interest income, and accumulating funds for …

Review Of Gender And The Social Gospel. Wendy J. Deichman Edwards And Carolyn De Swarte Giffors (Eds.). Reviewed By John Herrick., John M. Herrick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Wendy J. Deichman Edwards and Carolyn De Swarte Giffors (Eds.), Gender and the Social Gospel. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2003. $49.95 hardcover, $21.95 papercover.

Meeting The Needs Of Older Men: Challenges For Those In Helping Professions, Jordan I. Kosberg

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The uniqueness of men's lives has not been revealed in the social service literature. Therefore policy makers and practitioners are without the necessary knowledge base and research to create programs and services that will engage men and, in particulara, ging men. This articlep resents an overview of the state of knowledge in general and the specific areas significant to policy and practice development.

Aging And Older Men: Thoughts, Reflections And Issues: Introduction, Robert Blundo, Deborah E. Bowen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Efforts across many fields engaged in addressing the population of aging in this country have tended to create a nearly homogenous cohort that often does not recognize the heterogeneity of aging across gender, race, ethnicity, geography, socioeconomic status, cultural and sexual orientation. The diversity within aging members of our society brings about many variations and unique issues that need to be recognized and explored by policy makers and practitioners. Among these is aging related to gender, which has tended to pay much less attention to men than women. Content analysis of journals and texts on aging has revealed a significant …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 32, No. 1 (March 2005)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPECIAL ISSUE ON AGING AND OLDER MEN: THOUGHTS, REFLECTIONS AND ISSUES

• INTRODUCTION - Robert Blundo & Deborah E. Bowen, guest editors
• MEETING THE NEEDS OF OLDER MEN: CHALLENGES FOR THOSE IN HELPING PROFESSIONS - Jordan I. Kosberg
• SHIFTING IDENTITY: PROCESS AND CHANGE IN IDENTITY OF AGING MEXICAN/AMERICAN MALES - Gary L. Villereal & Alonzo Cavazos
• GRANDFATHERS AND THE IMPACT OF RAISING GRANDCHILDREN - Karen Bullock
• THE PECULIARITIES OF MEN AGING: A COLLECTION OF ANECDOTES - Robert Blundo & Tamara Estes
• SOCIAL SECURITY AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE (A CASH TRANSFER SYSTEM) - Eddie Davis
• VIAGRA: MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY …