Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Practical Evaluation Of Psychotropic Medication, Lynne E. Turner

Masters Theses

Surveys indicate that 25-40% of students with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities receive one or more psychotropic medications, however, almost nothing is known concerning how the effects of the medications are monitored. Parents/guardians and teachers were interviewed to ascertain information regarding current monitoring procedures in the home and in the school setting. Additionally information was gathered to ascertain their knowledge regarding: 1) the reason for which their students were prescribed psychotropic medications; 2) the behavioral domains that those medications are intended to affect, 3) the current status of those behavioral domains, and 4) consumers' satisfaction with the pharmacological intervention. …

Non-Prescriptive Behavior Therapy: Effectiveness Of A Self-Help Book In Teaching Parents How To Manage Their Child’S “Picky Eating” Behavior, Sean T. Smitham

Masters Theses

The term "nonprescription" behavior therapies was first used by Rosen (1979) to describe behavioral interventions that could be totally self-administered without professional consultation. In his article, Rosen warned that empirical validation of self-help programs was needed. The present study examines the effectiveness of one such self-help program intended to help parents manage a minor pediatric feeding problem - "picky eating". "Picky Eating" (i.e., mild selectivity or selective eating) appears to be a common and relatively persistent feeding concern of otherwise typically developing children. Mild selectivity is usually regarded as a sub-clinical feeding problem. In the present study, five families with …

Lincoln Savings And Loan Scandal: A Case Study Of State-Corporate Crime, Ronald B. Coleman

Masters Theses

This thesis elaborates on the nature and scale of state-corporate crime in the Lincoln Savings & Loan Scandal. It provides an account of a political history of the savings and loan industry, the effect of economic deregulation, and the Garn-St. Germain deregulation legislation in the 1980s, which produced the criminogenic (conducive to crime) environment in the savings and loan industry.

This case study supports the hypothesis that criminal behavior at the organizational level results from a coincidence of pressure for goal attainment, availability and perceived attractiveness of illegitimate means, and an absence of effective social control. Therefore, the Lincoln …

Examining The Effects Of Conducting Beavior-Based Safety Observations, Joseph R. Sasson

Masters Theses

Eleven computer terminal operators participated in a series of interventions aimed at increasing safe ergonomic performance. All participants received ergonomics training and performance feedback, and approximately one half of the participants conducted observations for safe behavior. Conducting observations of safety-related behavior is a critical component of the Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) process, yet few researchers have studied the effects of conducting observations on the behavior of the observer. This study sought to examine the effects of conducting BBS observations on the safe performance of the observer in an applied setting. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to assess the …

"For Their Own Good?": Sex Work, Social Control And Social Workers, A Historical Perspective, Stéphanie Wahab

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article provides an overview of the social responses to prostitution since the mid 1800s and how the responses of social workers have been shaped by shifting social contexts. Understanding the complex interplay of these forces is key to mapping out the divergent social work practice approaches with sex workers and their influence over time. The article presents three main constructs which have influenced social work responses to sex work; 1) the notion that women needed to be protected for their own good, 2) competing class values and, 3) social control.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 29, No. 4 (December 2002)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• DIFFERENT TYPES OF WELFARE STATES? A METHODOLOGICAL DECONSTRUCTION OF
• COMPARATIVE RESEARCH - Rebecca A. Van Voorhis
• FROM SOCIAL WORK TO HUMAN SERVICES - David Stoesz
• "FOR THEIR OWN GOOD?": SEX WORK, SOCIAL CONTROL, AND SOCIAL WORKERS, A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE - Sephanie Wahab
• EXPLORATORY RESEARCH IN PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES: AS ASSESSMENT OF DISSEMINATION AND UTILIZATION - Teresa Dal Santo, Sheryl Goldberg, Pamela Choice, and Michael J. Austin
• HEALTH SERVICES SOCIAL WORKERS' ACTIVITIES WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: PREDICTERS OF COMMUNITY PRACTICE - Richard L. Beaulaurier
• OPEN FOR BUSINESS: EXPLORING THE LIFE STAGES OF TWO CANADIAN STREET YOUTH SHELTERS …

Open For Business: Exploring The Life Stages Of Two Canadian Street Youth Shelters, Jeff Karabanow

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Youth shelters have emerged as significant resources for homeless and runaway adolescents. Through participant observations of shelter culture, review of agency archival materials, and in-depth interviews with 21 shelter workers (front line staff, middle managers, and upper-level executives), this analysis explores the life stages of two Canadian street youth shelters, highlighting the dramatic transformations in their internal operations and external environments. This paper also offers an understanding of organizational evolutionary processes.

Assets And Neighboring: An Exploration Into Household Assets And Efforts To Be A Good Neighbor, Tim Reutebuch

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A non-random, cross-sectional sampling procedure was utilized in this study to explore the relationship between the level of household assets and their corresponding level of neighboring. Surveys from 111 households were collected from September 1997, to April 1999, in seven Ohio counties to elucidate the relationship between the level of assets in working poor households and selected household demographic variables, and their propensity to provide various forms of community assistance over the previous month from the time of survey. Findings revealed that households 1) with more than one adult and 2) with lower levels of monthly earned income were more …

Review Of Balancing Family-Centered Services And Child Well-Being: Exploring Issues In Policy, Practice, Theory, And Research. Elaine Walton, Patricia Sandau-Beckler And Marc Mannes (Eds.). Reviewed By Sherrill J. Clark., Sherrill J. Clark

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Elaine Walton, Patricia Sandau-Beckler and Marc Mannes (Eds.), Balancing Family-Centered Services and Child Well-Being: Exploring Issues in Policy, Practice, Theory, and Research. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. $49.50 hardcover, $29.50 papercover

Review Of Children, Family And The State: Decision-Making And Child Participation. Nigel Thomas. Reviewed By Eileen Munro., Eileen Munro

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Nigel Thomas, Children, Family and the State: Decision-making and Child Participation. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2001. $65 hardcover.

Review Of Hiv, Aids, And The Law. Donald T. Dickson. Reviewed By Ronald J. Mancoske., Ronald J. Mancoske

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Donald T. Dickson, HIV, AIDS, and the Law. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter, 2001. $49.95 hardcover, $24.95 papercover

Review Of Consumption And Social Welfare: Living Standards And Their Distribution In The United States. Daniel T. Slesnick. Reviewed By Sondra G. Beverly., Sondra G. Beverly

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Daniel T. Slesnick, Consumption and Social Welfare: Living Standards and Their Distribution in the United States. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. $54.95 hardcover.

The Road Not Taken: A History Of Radical Social Work In The United States. Michael Reisch And Janice Andrews

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Michael Reisch and Janice Andrews, The Road not Taken: A History of Radical Social Work in the United States. New York: Brunner- Routledge, 2001. $59.95 hardcover.

Welfare Reform: Failures And Remedies. Alvin L. Schorr

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Alvin L. Schorr, Welfare Reform: Failures and Remedies. Westport, CT: Praegar Publishers, 2001, $59.95 hardcover.

The New Poverty Studies: The Ethnography Of Power, Politics And Impoverished People In The United States. Judith Goode And Jeff Maskovsky (Eds.).

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Judith Goode and Jeff Maskovsky (Eds.), The New Poverty Studies: The Ethnography of Power, Politics and Impoverished People in the United States. New York: New York University Press, 2001. $55.00 hardcover, $19.50 papercover.

The Cultural Script Of Special Needs Adoption, George Grant, Jr.

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine special needs adoption from the perspective of the adoptive parents. Using the general guidelines of grounded theory, the study analyzed secondary data from a post-adoption program providing services to families who adopted special needs children. The data revealed that adoptive parents function under a cultural script of special needs adoption. The cultural script influences how families view themselves, the environment around them and how they decide to function as adoptive families. The study explains the cultural script, ways that professionals working in adoption can use that cultural script to support adoptive families …

Have Charter Schools Materialized Their Promise A Contrast Between Rhetoric And Reality, Mary Kay Kempker-Vandriel

Dissertations

Charter schools are a growing force in American education. Parents are demanding a choice in their child's public education. Are charter schools better than traditional public schools? Have charter schools kept their promise?

In the study regular public schools and charter schools were compared along five dimensions: (a) opportunity for learning and access to quality education, (b) innovative teaching methods and participative management, (c) teacher job satisfaction, (d) parent involvement, and (e) school accountability. Existing data from the 1999/2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) were analyzed with primarily chi-square tests and one t-test. These analyses provided results in relation to …

Perspectives On Power: John F. Kennedy And U.S.-Middle East Relations, April R. Summitt

Dissertations

A study of President John F. Kennedy's policy toward the Middle East illustrates the agency and unexpected power wielded by so-called "third world" countries during the Cold War era. In spite of careful planning in Washington, Middle East leaders often manipulated and directed Kennedy's approach to the region. Regional actors used American fears of Communism to gain increased financial aid, military support, and influence in the United Nations. Although seeming to submit to Western pressures in exchange for such support, these leaders played both superpowers against each other and shaped policy according to local needs. While this relationship meant a …

Examining The Effects Of Individualized Computer Work Station Adjustments And Performance Management On Safe Behavior, Kathryn Culig

Masters Theses

The first purpose of this study was to examine the effects of office ergonomic assessments and resulting computer workstation adjustments on safe behavior. The adjustments were designed to reduce or eliminate barriers to performing safely, thus creating an environment that would allow participants to assume safe behaviors. The second purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a performance management (PM) package, including ergonomic information, graphic feedback, and praise, which targeted those behaviors that did not substantially change as a result of the workstation adjustments. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to assess the effects of …

History In The Present—I, Maria A. Perez-Stable

Gatherings: Friends of the University Libraries Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Searchpath To Information Literacy, Elaine A. Jayne

Gatherings: Friends of the University Libraries Newsletter

No abstract provided.

President Dwight B. Waldo Speaks His Mind, David Isaacson

Gatherings: Friends of the University Libraries Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Gatherings No. 31 Fall 2002, Friends Of The University Libraries

Gatherings: Friends of the University Libraries Newsletter

Complete issue of Gatherings no. 31. Edited by Laurel Grotzinger.

From Henry Street To Contracted Services: Financing The Settlement House, Robert Fisher, Michael Fabricant

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article tracks historically the direct connection and shifting relationship between the larger political economy, the extent and arrangement of financing, and agency programming in the settlement house from 1886 to the present, with particular attention to agency experience in New York City. During this time the settlements changed from being informal organizations oriented to service provision and community building, in which funding was a highly private matter, to formalized, multiservice agencies dependent on contracted public funds for categorical programs. This transformation resulted not as a linear progression of organizational development but rather as an historical process tied to shifting …

Domestic Violence Law Reforms: Reactions From The Trenches, Carol Bohmer, Jennifer Brandt, Denise Bronson, Helen Hartnett

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In recent years, feminists have worked hard to pressure society and the criminal justice system into taking domestic violence seriously. These efforts have resulted in more government funding and increased services to victims. In addition, there have also been legal and policy reforms which have affected the way cases are handled in the criminal justice system. This article reports on research on the reactions to those reforms by those most directly affected by them, the victims themselves and those who provide services to them.

Recruitment And Foster Family Service, Mary Ellen Cox, Cheryl Buehler, John G. Orme

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using data from the National Survey of Current and Former Foster Parents this study examined how foster parents first found out about the need for foster parents (mass media, other foster parents, religious organization, or civic organization) affected foster family service (number of children fostered, years of fostering service, fostering of children with special needs, and families' intent to continue fostering). Respondents who became aware of the need for foster parents through religious organizations fosteredfor more years; respondents who became aware through mass media fostered for fewer years. How foster families first found out about the need for foster parents …

Family Diversity: Continuity And Change In The Contemporary Family. Pauline Irit Erera.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Pauline Irit Erera, Family Diversity: Continuity and Change in the Contemporary Family. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications, 2001. $64.95 hardcover, $29.95 papercover. [January 15, 20021.

Heterosexual Males: A Group Forgotten By The Profession Of Social Work, Jordan I. Kosberg

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social work literature has mainly focused upon females and gay males. A search was undertaken of general references to heterosexual males in published social-work authored articles and appearing in book reviews and publishers' ads in two prominent social work journals during the last decade. The conclusion reached was that heterosexual males are seldom discussed and when they are discussed they are portrayed in a very biased manner. It is believed that social workers do not receive necessary preparation for understanding and working with heterosexual males, especially from minority and immigrant groups, who are facing emotional, physical, interpersonal, and family problems. …

Differential Test Performance In The American Educational System: The Impact Of Race And Gender, Stephen J. Finch, Harvey A. Farberman, Jordan Neus, Richard E. Adams, Deirdre Price-Baker

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Contrary to Herrnstein and Murray (1994) who claim that racial groups have different cognitive endowments and that these best explain differential test score achievements, our regression analyses document that there is less improvement in test scores per year of education for African-Americans and women. That is, the observed group test score differences do not appear to be due to racial cognitive differences but rather to other factors associated with group-linked experiences in the educational system. We found that 666 of the subjects in the Herrnstein-Murray database had actual IQ scores derived from school records. Using these as independent controls for …

Review Of Counseling Female Offenders And Victims: A Strengths-Restorative Approach. Katherine Van Wormer. Reviewed By Elizabeth C. Pomeroy., Elizabeth C. Pomeroy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Maluccio, A.N. & Daly, J. (2000). Family group conferencing as "good" child welfare practice. In Gail Buford & Joe Hudson (Eds.), Family Group Conferencing: New Directions in Community- Centered Child and Family Practice (pp. 66-71). New York: Aldine DeGruyter.