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Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 3, No. 4 (March 1976)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Issue Editor: PRANAB CHATTERJEE, School of Applied Social Sciences, CASE-WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

• Editorial, pp. 370
• Philosophy, Sociology and The Theory of Social Welfare: A Conceptual Starting Point - ROBERT D. HERMAN, pp. 371
• Evaluation Research: Some Possible Contexts of Theory Failure - PRANAB CHATTERJE, LENORE OLSEN, THOMAS P. HOLLAND, pp. 384
• Social Participation and Social Integration of The Aged: Implications for Social Welfare - ELLEN FISCHGHUND, pp. 409
• Public Housing for the Elderly - CARA J. ORBEN, pp. 421
• Block Clubs and Social Action: A Case Study In Community Conflict - MOHAN L. KAUL, pp. 437
• An Analysis of Political …

Social Participation And Social Integration Of The Aged: Implications For Social Welfare, Ellen Fischgrund

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical review of the literature regarding the informal social participation patterns of the aged. The factors associated with degree of interaction with friends will be elaborated. For example, the relationship between morale and friendship patterns emerges as a predominant concern in the research literature. An effort will be made to examine the accumulated evidence in terms of implications for practice or further research. Finally, these findings regarding the informal social participation patterns of the aged will be analyzed within the framework of prevailing theoretical notions about social integration.

Public Housing For The Elderly, Cara J. Orben

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

"In passing the Older Americans Act of 10(5, the Congress took the position that 'in keeping with the inherent dignity of the individual, older people of our Nation are entitled to suitable housing, individually selected, designed and located with reference to special needs and available at costs which older people can afford'" From studies that have been done in different parts of the country, it has been found that most older people prefer independent living arrangements over living with children or in nursing homes. Housing becomes increasingly important as people get older. In a report on housing from the 1971 …

Evaluation Research: Some Possible Contexts Of Theory Failure, Pranab Chatterjee, Lenore Olsen, Thomas P. Holland

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

What can evaluation research tell us about social science theory? It is the purpose of this paper to examine that question. There has been much written in the current literature about the relationship between theory and practice. Because it is evaluation research (Breedlove, 1972: 71-89; Newbrough, 1966: 39-52; Suchman, 1971: 43-48; Suchman, 1967; Weiss, 1973: 37-45; Fitz- Gibbons and Morris, 1975: 1-4) that attempts to analyze the results of practice, it is the authors' belief that an examination of evaluation research studies for possible contexts of theory failure will contribute to a linkage between theory and practice.

Block Clubs And Social Action: A Case Study In Community Conflict, Mohan L. Kaul

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A "Block Club" may be defined as a group of citizens in a neighborhood who get together and work together to improve their neighborhood. Kahn defines "block organizing as a highly manageable technique, usually "an urban technique" (1970:36). In this context, "organizing may be viewed as a means of achieving and guiding local control over problems that orginate elsewhere in society" (Ecklein & Lauffer 1972:11). shereas services focus on individual needs, organizing focuses on the location of common problems and joint efforts aimed at their solution. Community organizers have generally used a natural leader-informal association approach to organizing Block Clubs …

An Analysis Of Political Violence With Ramifications For Options Of Response, James Lubben

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The latter years of the Sixties brought a wave of political violence to this country that paled the face of America in startled fear and utter disbelief. Unrest on college campuses, racial conflict spiraling crime rates, and civil disobedience related to the Viet Nam War caused many Americans to identify this period as one of the most violent in U.S. History. Such a sense of public paranoia swept the country that on July 29, 1967 President Johnson issued Executive Order 11365 establishing a National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. The nation remained tense and June 1968 saw the creation of …

Praxis In The Human Services As A Political Act, David G. Gil

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

My purpose in this paper is to develop a rationale for, and to suggest approaches to, the conscious integration of a political component into professional practice. Involved in this is a re-definition or re-conceptualization of professional roles in the human services as potentially powerful means of a radical, revolutionary political strategy. The overall aim of such a political strategy is to eliminate the systemic sources and dynamics of social, economic, and political inequalities - in my view, the major underlying causes of the entire array of social problems with which the human services profess to be concerned.

An Exploratory Study Of Runaway Female Adolescents In A Residential Treatment Center, Mary E. Cook, Stan Jasper

Dissertations and Theses

If correctional institutions are to function according to established criteria, that is, to "correct" the deviant behavior of juvenile delinquents, then one obvious requirement is to have continuous contact with that individual over a period of time. This research project is one attempt to study runaways from the juvenile delinquent girls institution. This study specifically focuses on what factors influence a girl to run away and what factors encourage her to stay at Villa St. Rose.

Both researchers discovered in working at Villa St. Rose that one the biggest obstacles for the treatment program was the number of runaways that …

Review Of Women Of The Forest, By Yolanda Murphy And Robert F. Murphy, Janet Shapiro

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Proposed Community Involvement Activities Of The Multnomah County Department Of Public Safety : A Descriptive Study, Vertis Williams, Leearthur Madison

Dissertations and Theses

Serving in the capacity of Sheriff's interns during the time the decision had been made to implement Neighborhood Team Policing, the writers of this study propose to participate in evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the project. However, due to the size and complexity of such a task--and the time restrictions placed upon completion of this study--the boundaries of this research will be limited to those of providing descriptive data on the performance of project activities as they relate to the achievement of the objectives of Goal 1 of the Neighborhood Team Policing Project: Improved police-community mutual involvement and problem-solving.

Social Policies And Social Development - A Humanistic-Egalitarian Perspective, David G. Gil

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This essay explores the relationship of social policies and of policy-relevant societal values to social development. Its thesis is that the scope, direction, and quality of the social development process are largely shaped by the social policies and the dominant value positions of societies.

Social Change And Social Action, Bernard J. Coughlin, S. K. Khinduka

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

We define social action as a strategy to obtain limited social change at the intermediate or macro levels of society which is generally used in nonconsensus situations and employs both "norm-adhering" and "norm-testing" modes of intervention. In this formulation, the key concept is social change. This paper proposes to explore certain aspects of social change as they apply to social action.

The discussion is divided into two parts. The first is a brief summary of pertinent social change theory, presented as background for part two in which are presented and discussed certain propositions about planned change that are critical to …

Humanism As Demystification, Alfred Mcclug Lee

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Under a variety of labels, many academic disciplines focus on the unsettling impact of fresh and vivid interpersonal experiences upon pre-existing beliefs and behaviour patterns. Reference is to philosophical discussions of sophism and humanism, historical theories about frontier influences, anthropological interest in culture shock, psychiatric concern with empathy and with perceptive listening, and sociological analyses of marginality, uses of participant observation and life-history data, and clinical studies of social behavior. Their significant similarity is that they are all discussions of demystifying influences on social thought and action. They are demystifying in the sense that they tend to translate the distant, …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 3, No. 3 (January 1976)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Social Policies and Social Development-A Humanistic-Egalitarian Perspective - DAVID G. GIL, pp. 242
• Public Welfare: Utilization, Change, Appropriations, Services - JOHN E. TROPMAN, pp.264.
• The Punishment of Divorced Mothers - HERMAN BORENZWEIG, pp. 291
• Low Income, Ethnicity and Voluntary Association Involvement - NANCY G. KUTNER, pp. 311
• Social Change and Social Action - BERNARD J. COUGHLIN, S.K. KHINDUKA, pp. 322
• The Mystique of Expertise in Social Service: An Alaska Example - DOROTHY M. JONES, pp.332
• Humanism as Demystification -ALFRED McCLUNG LEE, pp. 347

Public Welfare: Utilization, Change, Appropriations, Service, John E. Tropman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

During the decade of the 1960's there was continually increasing interest in the programs of public welfare. This interest sprang from several sources. Citizens, always worried about welfare expenditures, developed resurgent concern. Recipients, long a quiet group, became more active, forming the National Welfare Rights Organization. And then there was the rediscovery of poverty as a social problem, and a realization that very many Americans were poor, many more than anyone had somehow realized.

The general interest in poverty and the measures used to relieve it had an effect on the academic community, generating some sustained and critical attention to …

The Punishment Of Divorced Mothers, Herman Borenzweig

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

As the clinical social worker to seven young divorced mothers I began to wonder why the lives of these women had become so remarkably unbearable. I compared the experiences of the women who were coming to me for group psychotherapy with about thirty similar divorced mothers who were also members of the West Side Jewish Community Center of Los Angeles. All the women were experiencing similar difficulties. I also explored some of the literature about the problems faced by divorced mothers! This essay is the culmination of my research. It summarizes some of my conjectures about the disadvantaged social status …

Low Income, Ethnicity, And Voluntary Association Involvement, Nancy G. Kutner

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Data on voluntary association participation among low-income members of major ethnic groups in the U.S. are reviewed. Low-income blacks are most likely to participate, followed by (2) whites and Mexican Americans and (3) Italian Americans and Puerto Ricans. Reasons for these ethnic differences are considered. More general factors affecting voluntary association patterns of low-income persons are also considered, and a means for increasing their voluntary association involvement is suggested.

The Mystique Of Expertise In Social Services: An Alaska Example, Dorothy M. Jones

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this paper I shall examine the roots and manifestations of the mystique of expertise, its consequences for agency evaluation practices, and its consequences for clients.

The Black Elderly Volunteer, Sandra E. Gonzales

Dissertations and Theses

The present study represents an attempt "to seek out one possible subgroup of the black elderly population--the volunteer. Black elderly volunteers are a puzzled about but largely unknown group. Very little systematic research has been done on this subject. Recently there has been an increased interest in volunteering among the elderly population as a whole, as social welfare planners seek new ways for the aged to find fulfillment and enjoyment. It is felt that volunteering can offer prestige, feelings of usefulness and other gratifications that may be lacking in the aged person's life.

Economic Coping Patterns Of Chinese Foreign Students In Portland State University, Kim Bik Au

Dissertations and Theses

The nature of this study is exploratory. It aims to explore the financial situation and the resources which students can use to cope with their problems. The primary purpose is to obtain a clearer picture of the situations of certain Chinese foreign students, to help those who intend to study abroad with their budgeting and planning. A secondary aim is to draw the attention of authorities concerned to improve or expand services to foreign students who already have overwhelming adjustment problems and who still have to carry the additional burden of pressure from restrictive regulations.

The Utilization Of Preventive Health Care Services By Low Income Members Of A Comprehensive Prepaid Health Plan : The Impact Of Outreach Services, Linda Elmlund Mahoney

Dissertations and Theses

A reading of recent studies in preventative health care behavior recalls the proverb about the blind men and the elephant: each man is able to describe the part of the animal he is closest to, but none can see, and so none can put their diverse and often contradictory opinions together to come up with an accurate description of the whole elephant. Similarly, in preventative health care studies, each researcher or research group is able to observe the preventative health care utilization patterns of specific populations at particular times, but the conclusions reached are often based on less than complete …

A Model For Teaching Small Group Skills In A Laboratory Setting, Larry Ferguson, James Reavis

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research practicum is to present the development, implementation, and evaluation of a model for teaching small group skills. This model was designed for a class in small groups that the authors of this paper taught at Portland State University in the School of Social Work. In designing this class, the authors were concerned with goals somewhat different than the more traditional goal of imparting knowledge about groups to the learner. The main goal of this class was to teach to students skills in working with small groups. This approach required developing a knowledge base about small …

The Negative Effects Of Divorce On The Behavior Of Children, David Hawkins, Karen Lloyd

Dissertations and Theses

Our study is concerned with the effects of filing for divorce on the behavior of children. We are interested in the adjustment of the child to the changes which occur during separation and divorce, and we maintain the attitude that the lives of children are affected in some way when a marriage or family unit dissolves. A generally accepted belief is that divorce produces negative consequences in the lives of children as shown in their behavior. However, recently a number of studies have suggested that divorce need not be a negative experience, at least to the degree most people feel …

Need Assessment Methodology, Gerald A. Burns, Janet S. Putnam

Dissertations and Theses

A need assessment is a systematic process of determining community needs through the comparative analysis of people, problems, and services. Although need assessments of some form have existed since biblical times, it has only been within recent years that their use in social planning has become prominent. This is attributed to the increasing belief in the necessity of pertinent data to make decision-making responsive to community needs.

Ten basic issues should be considered in designing a need assessment, These are: 1) Purpose; 2) Decision-making context; 3) Agency resources; 4) Scope; 5) Future studies; 6) Staff roles; 7) Data collection; 8) …

Residential Treatment Of Emotionally Disturbed Adolescents, Rosemary Brown Sutherland

Dissertations and Theses

This study was requested by Dr. Ira B. Korman, Administrator, Woodland Park Mental Health Center. Woodland Park Mental Health Center currently provides a program of short-term evaluation and crisis care for adolescents. The staff there find it is difficult to locate suitable out-of-home placements for certain of their adolescent patients concluding hospitalization. Their concern for this group of hard-to-place patients has led to this inquiry, the purposes of which are to (1) assess need, (2) design a residential program, and (3) consider the feasibility of its implementation.

The No-Fault Dissolution Of Marriage Act In Oregon: A Study Of Its Effect On Selected Factors, Dennis Arthur Armstrong

Dissertations and Theses

In October of 1972, the Dissolution of Marriage Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) became a part of the law and judicial practice of the state of Oregon. The Act represents a significant change in Oregon's law. It also represents a significant evolutionary development in the 'attitude of the legal community toward the process of divorce or as it is now termed, dissolution of marriage.

The Act was a response to extensive criticism from professionals and from the public. The problem is the legislators were not sure of the effects of the Act and now that it is in …

Social Workers' Attitudes About Poverty, Trudy Hussmann

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to assess the attitudes of a select group of social workers in the Portland area. The study will focus on their attitudes about the causes of poverty and actions to deal with problems of poverty. These attitudes will be examined in the context of a theoretical framework. The sample consists of those social workers and social work-related professionals who serve as field instructors for the Portland State School of Social Work. This means that the study will also provide information about the attitudes that Portland State social work students are likely to encounter in …

Happenings 11 (December 1975-January 1976 Newsletter), College Of Public Affairs And Community Service, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

CPACS Newsletters

The College of Public Affairs and Community Service (CPACS) newsletter that reported on the news, collaborations, events, and general happenings of the UNO College of Public Affairs and Community Service. This newsletter has had many names and variations over the years including SPACS Newsletter (1973); Newsletter of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service (1973-1974): Happenings (1974-1980s); and the current e-newsletter titled the CPACS Collective (2021-)

Social Service And Urban-Renewal: A Case Illustration, Brian J. Langdon, Norman N. Goroff

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The city of Stamford, Connecticut has an Urban Renewal project as have most Urban centers. The Family Relocation Divison of Stamford's Urban Redevelopment Commission (URC) entered into a contract with the Family and Children's Services (FCS) to provide one day a week consultation to the Relocation staff and client services to the families in the renewal area. This consultation involved in-service training programs geared toward helping the relocation staff increase their skills in identifying problems within families and in assisting families to obtain help. As a result of this consultation, the relocation workers frequently would discuss the problems of the …

Social Research On Housing In The United States: Directions And Themes, Shirley S. Angrist

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

I shall present a selective overview of recent themes and directions in social research on housing in the U.S. I narrowed the topic by focusing on research centering on the family and on neighborhood. These topics offer ways to concentrate on "social" research and to narrow a rather broad topic.

My meaning of "social" research encompasses work not only by sociologists. It also includes the separate or collaborative work of other disciplines, especially psychology, anthropology, social psychology, architecture and urban planning. Research on housing has from its Post-World War II flowering been an interdisciplinary enterprise. And it continues to be …