Sociology Commons^™

Sexual Politics And Subversion: Feminist Utopia As Praxis, Jennifer Sue Boyers

Dissertations

Literary studies meets up with sociology as feminist utopian fiction Is examined for what sociologist Dorothy Smith (1990) labels normal narrative and counter-narrative articulations of gendered structures of power. The method of analytical Induction Is used both In the choosing of the four novels for study and the resulting textual analysis. Ursula Le Guln's The dispossessed (1974), Marge Plercy's Woman on the edge of time (1976), Suzy McKee Chamas's Motherllnes (1978), and Sally Miller Gearhart's The wandereround (1979) are examined for their constructions of dystopian normal narratives, as well as for their reconstructions of subversive utopian counter-narratives, both articulating gendered …

The Impact Of Women' S Traditional Caregiving Roles On Their Paid Labor Force Participation Throughout Their Lifecourse, Paulina X. Ruf

Dissertations

Since women are the majority of caregivers to older and/or disabled relatives, the increasing number of women in the labor force has meant that more caregivers are also employed. In an effort to expand our understanding of the perils and benefits of women's caregiving roles, the present study examines the impact of women's traditional caregiving roles on their paid labor force participation throughout their lives. This qualitative study involved semistructured, in-depth interviews with sixteen women (i.e., six in their 50s, four in their 60s, and six women in their 70s), to answer the question, "how do family caregiving roles cumulatively …

Max Horkheimer’S Critical Theory Of Religion:The Meaning Of Religion In The Struggle For Human Emancipation, Michael R. Ott

Dissertations

Over the past thirty years much has been written about the critical theory of society that was produced by a small group of left-wing Hegelians in the Institute of Social Research in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and in the United States. However, except for the pioneering work of Rudolf Siebert, little has been written about the critical theory of religion as a fundamental and dynamic element of the entire critical theory’s struggle for human emancipation. This study seeks to make a contribution in the development of the critical theory of religion as a corrective to the one-sided, positivistic development of …

Black Women Build Community: An Examination Of The Radcliffe Black Women Oral History Project, Dawn Michelle Hinton

Dissertations

This study investigated the unique position of Black women in the creation of community. Narratives from the Radcliffe Black Women Oral History Project were the source of information used for this work. These 20 oral narratives were collected between 1978 and 1982 by the Schlesinger Library. The women studied were involved in various community activities and represent Black women from various social classes and geographical locations. An in-depth reading of each of the narratives identified three themes: life-informing work, community-building, and religion. The theme of life-informing work was identified because the work and community involvement of the narrators had a …

Loss Of The Lifelong Partner: Implications For Social Adaptation, Anora Ackerson Grinwis

Dissertations

The death of a partner has long been recognized for its ability to alter the lifestyle of the survivor. This life event can be even more significant for older adults who may be facing loss in several areas of their lives simultaneously. The focus of this qualitative study is on how older adults socially reconstruct their lives following a partner's death. The social construction of reality (Berger and Luckmann, 1966) guides design and analysis. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 29 individuals following the death of a lifelong partner, described as a relationship of 45 or more years. Participants had been …

Resource Colonialism And Native Resistance: The Mining Wars In Wisconsin, Linda Marie Robyn

Dissertations

In recent years powerful multinational mining corporations have attempted to mine various minerals found on Indian lands in the northern region of Wisconsin. These lands are currently protected from corporate incursion by treaties between the Chippewa people and the United States government. The Chippewa are using the treaties as an obstacle to corporate access to their lands and to protect their lands from the environmental devastation that will occur from proposed mining ventures.

This case study utilizes a power-reflexive method to analyze the power of the state to control rich mineral resources known to be on reservation lands. Under examination …

Panther Stories: A Gendered Analysis Of The Autobiographies Of Former Black Panther Members, Monica Marie White

Dissertations

Literature on the influences and contributions of women within the Black Panther Party has been scant. Much of the documentation is written by and is about males. This dissertation uses the autobiographies of former Black Panther members, both male and female, to explore their experiences while in the organization. Each author's political ideology and his/her perceptions of sexism and racism and distinctions in the writing style of men and women are considered. Seven single-authored autobiographies written by former Panther members were analyzed both individually and comparatively. There were similarities among all members of the group, such as their support of …

Planning For Community Crisis: A Marketing Approach, Amnon Boehm

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The article is based on an examination of a nominal group procedure of two welfare agencies located on the confrontation line between Lebanon and Israel, which implemented a marketing approach in planning intervention for the population for times of community crisis. The agencies are located at a place that was attacked and suffered personal and property loss particularly by short range missiles.

In the nominal group procedure, five elements of the marketing approach (target market, service mix, place and distribution, price, and promotion) were implemented, for four phases of community crisis (warning, shock, organizing, and changing). The results show that …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 25, No. 4 (December 1998)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• ORGANIZATIONAL POSITION: INFLUENCES ON PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL PROPERTIES - Moshe Sherer
• PLANNING FOR COMMUNITY CRISIS: A MARKETING APPROACH - Amnon Boehm
• EMOTIONAL AND EMBODIED KNOWLEDGE: IMPLICATIONS FOR CRITICAL PRACTICE - Colin Peile
• TERMINATION: EXTENDING THE CONCEPT FOR MACRO SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE - Marcia P. Harrigan, David P. Fauri, and F. Ellen Netting
• THE DEFINITION OF FATHERHOOD: IN THE WORDS OF NEVER-MARRIED AFRICAN AMERICAN CUSTODIAL MOTHERS AND THE NON-CUSTODIAL FATHERS OF THEIR CHILDREN - Jennifer F. Hamer
• SOCIAL SUPPORT'S CONTRIBUTION TO REDUCED WELFARE DEPENDENCY: PROGRAM OUTCOMES OF LONG TERM WELFARE RECIPIENTS - Frank A. Sansone
• INSTITUTIONAL ETHNOGRAPHY: STUDYING INSTITUTIONS …

The Definition Of Fatherhood: In The Words Of Never-Married African American Custodial Mothers And The Noncustodial Fathers Of Their Children, Jennifer F. Hamer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This qualitative study explores the meaning of fatherhood from the perspective of never-married parents. Specifically, the study describes: how African American custodial mothers perceive the roles and responsibilities of their children's fathers; the extent to which these mothers' perceptions and definitions of noncustodial fatherhood are consistent with those of noncustodial fathers and the dominant cultural "ideal"; and what mothers do to enhance men's paternal participation. A convenience sample of 25 never-married,f ormer couples was drawn from the predominantlyA frican American population of a mid-sized Midwestern city. Data was collected via in-depth interviews with each individual respondent. The findings suggest that …

Perceptions Of Americanization In Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, John W. Mcconnell

Masters Theses

This thesis examines perceptions and interpretations of American cultural influences in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. It is aimed at describing typical discourse genres and evaluative patterns in which these cultural influences are interpreted by various social groups of Costa Rican society. The study is based on a series of qualitative interviews and observations conducted in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica in the summer of 1996. The findings show that there exists a largely positive reaction to these images and objects emanating from the United States, and behind this positive evaluation lie attitudes of conformity, fatalism, and reification. The study contributes to …

Communities In Conflict: Resolving Differences Through Collaborative Efforts In Environmental Planning And Human Service Delivery, Thom Reilly

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Increasingly, public administrators and managers in the fields of human service and environmental planning have been exploring new avenues to resolve complex and seemingly intractable public problems. Confronting such controversial issues as land management plans, common-pool resources, endangered species, welfare reform, health care and immigration are requiring new and more innovative ways of doing business-ways in which problem-solving and leadership is a shared pursuit of governmental agencies and concerned citizens.

Since collaborative efforts in these arenas have recently reemerged as one avenue to resolve complex policy disputes, it is premature to give an accurate assessment of their long term viability. …

On Whose Watch? The Silent Separation Of American Children From Their Fathers, Nancy S. Coney, Wade C. Mackey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Within two generations, the primary reason that American children were deprived of a father shifted from a father's death to a woman's choice. That is, prior to the 1960s, the major cause of fatherlessness was the death of the father through illness or accident. After the 1960s, the children became deprived of fathers primarily because of women's decisions to petition for a divorce or to become a single parent mother. The path of the shift is examined, and the consequences writ small per child and writ large for the commonweal are examined.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 25, No. 3 (September 1998)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND ACTIVIST SOCIAL WORK: INVESTIGATING PRACTICE PROCESSES - Karen Healy and Joan Mulholland
• PROACTIVE RHETORIC - David Stoesz
• UNDERSTANDING THE DEBATE OVER THE PRIVATIZATION OF SOCIAL SECURITY - Eric R. Kingson and John B. Williamson
• THE RUSH TO MEASURE PERFORMANCE - Lawrence L. Martin
• "SAFE PLACES TO GO AND THINGS TO DO:" POLITICAL TEXTS FROM URBAN YOUTH OF COLOR - Amory Starr
• KNOWLEDGE UTILIZATION IN SOCIAL WORK AND LEGAL PRACTICE - Karen M. Staller and Stuart A. Kirk
• COMMUNITIES IN CONFLICT: RESOLVING DIFFERENCES THROUGH COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND HUMAN SERVICE DELIVERY - Thom …

"Safe Places To Go And Things To Do": Political Texts From Urban Youth Of Color, Amory Starr

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper is the first to examine the political texts of urban youth of color. It presents their assessments of what kinds of policies and programs would improve their lives.

Review Of Nothing Happens To Good Girls: Fear Of Crime In Women's Lives. Esther Madriz. Reviewed By Deborah Page Adams, University Of Kansas., Deborah Page Adams

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Esther Madriz, Nothing Happens to Good Girls: Fear of Crime in Women's Lives. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997. $40 hardcover.

For Crying Out Loud: Women's Poverty In The United States. Diane Burton And Ann Withorn (Eds.). Reviewed By Tracy Maybrey, Western Michigan University., Tracy Maybrey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Diane Burton and Ann Withorn (Eds.), For Crying Out Loud: Women's Poverty in the United States. Boston, MA: Southend Press, 1997. $ 22.00 papercover.

The New Temperance: The American Obsession With Sin And Vice. David Wagner.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

David Wagner, The New Temperance: The American Obsession with Sin and Vice. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997. $60 hardcover, $16.00 papercover.

The Impact Of Selected Barriers On Students Completing Community College In Michigan, Terri Lynn Burt

Dissertations

Research studies have been conducted to investigate barriers that inhibit the ability of adult students to obtain a postsecondary education (Powell, 1989; Shields, 1990). These studies suggest that there are three distinct categories that could be used to describe this phenomenon: (1) situational, (2) dispositional, and (3) institutional. The overall purpose of this study was to determine what barriers, if any, are experienced by nontraditional African-American students in selected Midwest community colleges in comparison to White adult students according to selected demographic variables (e.g., age, sex, marital status, number of children, employment, status, income, and race). More specifically, this study …

The Relationship Between Organizational Culture And The Practice Of Program Evaluation In Human Service Organizations, Lorraine Marais

Dissertations

There are many obstacles for human service organizations in evaluating programs. Some of these barriers are the difficulty in defining human behavior and the change that needs to be evaluated, human service programs that take a long time to show results, agency capacity to do evaluation, and cost (Young, Hollister, Hodgkinson, & Associates, 1993). Another subtle yet powerful influence on the practice of evaluation in nonprofit organizations may be organizational culture (Schein, 1990). If an organization is going to employ self-evaluation, an organizational culture may be needed that will support such efforts. This study was designed to assess the relationship …

Perceptions Of Corporate Crime: Assessing The Seriousness, Dale J. Ardovini-Brooker

Masters Theses

Many studies have been done concerning the seriousness of traditional street crime. There is a need in the field of criminology to expand our knowledge about how serious corporate crimes are. A key feature of seriousness is how researchers measure it. Using a survey, I analyzed people's perceptions of corporate crime. I had the respondents indicate the seriousness of the crime and harm by using a Likert Scale as well as identifying the appropriate sanction/sentence for the company convicted of the crime. This proved useful in attempting to identify how seriousness is measured by the sanctions/sentences imposed by the respondents. …

A Kierkegaardian Understanding Of Self And Society: An Existential Sociology, Chris L. Jakway

Dissertations

In examining the history and development of existential sociology, it becomes clear that in its initial phases it was not intended to oppose traditional sociological research, but to complement it. I intend to show that the contemporary chasm between the methodologies can be narrowed with a reconsideration of their common roots in the work of G.H. Mead and the symbolic interactionists. Existential sociologists today offer a practical synthesis that combines that theoretical heritage with philosophic ontology dating back to the writings of Soren Kierkegaard.

My conceptual goal is reveal how the existential philosophy of Kierkegaard, while not irrational or solipsistic, …

The Influence Of Promise Keepers On Fathers’ Involvement With Their Children, Michael J. Walcheski

Dissertations

This study explores the influence of Promise Keepers (PK) on fathers’ involvement with their children. The large numbers o f men involved with PK and the anecdotal success of fathers and their families have created considerable dialogue in the popular press. However, there have been no empirical studies to date that contribute data about the influence of PK on father involvement.

The conceptual framework informing this study combined father involvement and postmodern feminist perspectives. A father involvement perspective emphasizes fathers’ presence, their capability and strengths, the moral dimension to fathers’ responsibility for their children, and factors that establish responsible fathering. …

The Implementation Of Group Mentoring Between At-Risk Teenage African American Males And Successful Adult African American Men, Cornell Mathis

Masters Theses

Little research has been done to examine the implementation of group mentoring. This study of group mentoring involving at-risk teenage African American males and successful adult African American men will provide insight into group mentoring as demonstrated through interpersonal communications.

An investigation of the composite reduction provides the foundation for establishing the following definition of the group mentoring experience. The mentees are drawn to the mentors by mutual respect developed through the use of a special language. Availability leads to bonding between the mentees and mentors. The relationships are fostered by the authenticity of both individuals while producing social enlightenment …

Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Doctoral Students Mentoring Relationships With Faculty In Counseling Psychology A Qualitative Study, Julianne S. Lark

Dissertations

Mentoring is often endorsed within broader discussions of the education and training of students in counseling and psychology (e.g., Ellis, 1992; Gelso & Fretz, 1992; Kilburg, 1991), although, there is very little in the professional literature about these relationships (Carden, 1990). Out of the small amount of professional training literature on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) issues, Buhrke and Douce (1991) have provided the only discussion of counseling psychology trainees who themselves are LGB. There are no other published sources that discuss the practice of mentoring with LGB students in counseling psychology.

This qualitative study investigated (LGB) doctoral students’ mentoring …

The Relationship Of Gender Role Conflict To Male College Students' Receipt And Use Of Violence In Heterosexual Dating Relationships, Brady R. Harnishfeger

Dissertations

This dissertation assessed the relationship of attitudes toward aggression, dating relationship seriousness, and aspects of men's conflicted beliefs and expectations about the male role to involvement in physically violent dating relationships. Grounded in conflict theory, which states that conflict is an integral part of all close relationships, this research hypothesized that more accepting attitudes toward aggressian, more serious dating relationships, higher levels of concerns with success, power, and competition, and greater tendencies toward restrictive emotionality would be related to, and would combine to represent significant predictors of, men's receipt and use of physically violent conflict tactics while dating.

The sample …

Review Of Alternatives To Social Security: An International Inquiry. James Midgley And Michael Sherraden. Reviewed By Eric Kingson, Boston College., Eric Kingson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

James Midgley and Michael Sherraden (Eds.), Alternatives to Social Security: An International Inquiry. Westport, CT: Auburn House, 1997. $49.95 hardcover.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 25, No. 2 (June 1998)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• CONTESTED WORKPLACE: THE CASE OF THE STRIKE OF THE UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS UNION VERSUS MEIJER - Barbara Thomas Coventry and Marietta Morrissey
• EXPOSING AND REFRAMING WELFARE DEPENDENCY - Elizabeth Bartle
• THE FORGOTTEN MANY: A STUDY OF POOR URBAN WHITES - Reba L. Chaisson
• ATTITUDINAL PREDICTORS OF PREFERRED POLICY OPTIONS: CONTRASTING AFDC WITH WORK PROGRAMS - Jill Littrell and Sahna Diwan
• POOR CHILDREN "KNOW THEIR PLACE:" PERCEPTIONS OF POVERTY, CLASS, AND PUBLIC MESSAGES - Susan Weinger
• RETHINKING SELECTIVISM AND SELECTIVITY BY MEANS TEST - Chack-kie Wong
• ESTIMATING HOMELESS POPULATIONS THROUGH STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING - Christopher G. …

Contested Workplace: The Case Of The Strike Of The United Food And Commercial Workers Union Versus Meijer, Barbara Thomas Coventry, Marietta Morrissey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper examines the struggle between labor and management at four, newly-opened supermarket/discount stores, culminating in a strike. It considers workplace control as an issue in the strike and its resolution. Edwards' typology of workplace control is reviewed, along with other indirect forms of control explored in recent literature. Workers complained most stridently about direct control mechanisms. Workers' objections to technical and bureaucratic control played only a minor part in workers' decision to strike and the work stoppage's outcome. Indirect controls, including customer and gender-specific control mechanisms, were seldom questioned or acknowledged by workers. On the other hand, both the …

Poor Children "Know Their Place": Perceptions Of Poverty, Class, And Public Messages, Susan Weinger

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This qualitative study hears and clarifies some of the voices of children concerning how they feel their lives are circumscribed by living in poverty, by public messages about the poor, and by their views of their socioeconomic status. Twenty-four children between the ages of 5-12 years were interviewed using snapshots of different economic level homes in order to capture their uncensored responses. Findings reveal that the children view poverty as a deprivation, perceive societal messages as disparaging of the poor, and have some difficulty holding on to positive views of themselves. These children's thoughts about the realities of their lives …