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Not In My Social World: A Cultural Analysis Of Media Representations, Contested Spaces, And Sympathy For The Homeless, James A. Forte

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The social constructionist approach offers conceptual tools that may augment social workers' persuasive powers and problem solving capacities. In this case study, I examine a newspaper campaign to cast the homeless in negative terms and justify the closing of a shelter. Findings are presented as seven themes used by competing claims-makers. Each constructs a different depiction of the homeless, of homelessness, and of preferred solutions. Linkages between community memberships and favored problem definitions are identified. I conclude with suggestions for how "intelligent social reconstruction" might help social workers function as sympathy brokers for the vulnerable. (Key words: homelessness, NIMBY, mass …

Review Of Preserving Privilege: California Politics, Propositions, And People Of Color. Jewelle Taylor Gibbs And Teiahsha Bankhead. Reviewed By Devon Brooks., Devon Brooks

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Jewelle Taylor Gibbs and Teiahsha Bankhead, Preserving Privilege: California Politics, Propositions, and People of Color. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001.

Lifecourse Of A Community Survey, Craig Tollini

Masters Theses

This paper seeks to uncover the factors that may have impacted how the officials of a medium sized, Midwestern city used the results of a survey of city residents, which had been conducted by the same university-based research center for sixteen years, in their budget and policy decision-making process. The researchers who directed the survey project and the officials who designed the survey and/or were in a position to use its results were interviewed, and various written materials related to the survey project, from memos between the city manager and the researcher to the final report the researcher provided to …

Review Of Love's Revolution: Interracial Marriage. Maria P. Root. Reviewed By Dianne Rush Woods., Dianne Rush Woods

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Maria P. Root, Love's Revolution: Interracial Marriage. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2001. $69.50 hardcover, $22.95 papercover.

They're Getting Away With Murder: The Social Account Ability Of Collegiate Athletes, Justina Ixcia Phillips

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research is to study deviant behavior among collegiate student athletes. This study involves institutions in the Midwest region of the United States, particularly the Mid-American Conference (MAC). This study took on a sociological approach by interviewing specialized athletic officials, and examining different levels of social control by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), along with its interaction with the Mid-American Conference. Various variables that affect social control such as gender, race, and economic conditions were also examined to get an understanding of how these factors influence behavior.

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 …

Examining The Experiences Of Nontraditional Undergraduate Women: Pedagogy Versus Andragogy, Beverly Ann Hair

Dissertations

Increasing numbers of nontraditional students, of whom many are women, are enrolling in two-year and four-year colleges and universities. The purpose ofthis study is to critically examine the experiences of nontraditional undergraduate women and their preferred learning environment--pedagogy vs. andragogy. Students were asked to respond to a variety of questions in order to reflect upon their preferred learning environment. The researcher looked for differences inthe experiences of 20 (ten Black and ten White) nontraditional female undergraduate college students within their respective institutions based on their race, socioeconomic background, age, and religious background. Also, the researcher focused on why these nontraditional …

The Social Construction Of Personal Protection Orders: Gendered Differences?, Kristen E. Devall

Masters Theses

Personal Protection Orders (PPOs) were enacted as one method of responding to the issue of domestic violence that was thought to be escalating in epidemic proportions across the United States. This research was grounded in social constructionist theory and sought to examine the perspectives of judges who authorize/deny PPOs and the implications these perspectives have for the legal process as well as the larger criminal justice system. Through my examination of the petitioning process, I gained insights about the relationships that exist between petitioners and respondents as well as the reasons petitioners cite for why s/he is seeking a PPO. …

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 …

Tales Of Forbidden Love: A Sociological Analysis Of Interracial Intimacy, Candice L. Bryant

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the constructions of race, marriage, and love insofar as these components promote the exclusion of interracial intimacy and marriage from the dominant discourse. The study focuses on the ways in which the social sciences have polarized "blacks" and "whites" (linguistically, socially, and economically) thus, making it difficult for persons living in black and white skin to experience social affirmation through literature, media, and agents in everyday life.

A qualitative content analysis of historical and contemporary literature regarding interracial marriage and intimacy were conducted in conjunction with an auto ethnography of the author's …

"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 …

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.

Perceptions Of A Prejudiced Campus: Institutional Antecedents And Personal Consequences For African-American Students, Brenda Taylor King

Dissertations

The present research consists of two studies designed to (a) identify those institutional characteristics that African-American students, themselves, consider to evaluate the campus environment of predominately White colleges and universities (PW'CUs). and (b) examine the relationship between African-American students' perceptions o f the campus environment at a PWCU (based on institutional characteristics) and their expectations of quality of life and academic achievement In Study One. African-American and White students at Western Michigan University and high school seniors at two public high schools completed the Campus Climate Survey, designed to identify the institutional characteristics to which African- American students spontaneously attend …

Teaching My Son To Be A Father: The Plight Of Unmarried Adolescent African American Fathers, Michael George Till

Dissertations

A quantitative research design was utilized to examine and understand the perceptions of fatherhood and manhood held by unmarried African American adolescent fathers. In face-to-face 60-90 minute interviews using a semistructured interview guide developed by the researcher, participants were asked open-ended questions to provide these young men with a voice and an opportunity to express their needs, support, neglect, understanding, and perception of how society views them and its impact on the functioning of the family unit. Using purposeful sampling, 10 unmarried African American adolescent fathers, located in the southwestern area of Michigan, were interviewed for data collection.

Interviews were …

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.

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.

Exchange, Action, And Social Structure: Elements Of Economic Sociology. Zafirovski, Milan.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Zafirovski, Milan. 2001. Exchange, Action, and Social Structure: Elements of Economic Sociology. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press. Hardcover, $68.00.

Productive Aging: Concepts And Challenges. Nancy Morrow- Howell, James Hinterlong And Michael Sherraden (Eds.).

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book note for Nancy Morrow-Howell, James Hinterlong and Michael Sherraden (Eds.), Productive Aging: Concepts and Challenges. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. $48 hardcover.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 29, No. 3 (September 2002)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• FROM HENRY STREET TO CONTRACTED SERVICES: FINANCING THE SETTLEMENT HOUSE - Robert Fisher and Michael Fabricant
• "I RAISED MY KIDS ON THE BUS": TRANSIT SHIFT WORKERS' COPING STRATEGIES FOR PARENTING - Blanche Grosswald
• HETEROSEXUAL MALES: A GROUP FORGOTTEN BY THE PROFESSION OF SOCIAL WORK - Jordan I. Kosberg
• DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW REFORMS: REACTIONS FROM THE TRENCHES - Carol Bohmer, Jennifer Brandt, Denise Bronson, and Helen Hartnett
• 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, and Deirdre Price-Baker
• DESIGNING POLICIES …

Designing Policies That Address The Relationship Between Woman Abuse And Economic Resources, Kameri Christy-Mcmullin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Given the disproportionate and increasing number of impoverished women, and poor women's increased vulnerability to woman abuse, it is crucial we examine economic policies in regards to their equity and adequacy for abused women. Current policies and programs designed to address the economic resources/needs of abused women are analyzed. Limitations in current policies are addressed, and a recommendation is made for the formation and implementation of a policy that would serve to empower women economically. Both the prospect and achievement of economic independence for women may not only reduce woman abuse, but will also increase women's options for economic security.

Beyond Welfare Or Work: Teen Mothers, Household Subsistence Strategies, And Child Development Outcomes, Gunnar Almgren, Greg Yamashiro, Miguel Ferguson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

There is probably no aspect of the work versus welfare debate that is more contested than the effects of welfare use on child development outcomes. Liberals tend to emphasize the detrimental effects of poverty and welfare stigma on children, while conservatives cite the negative socialization that occurs regarding the value of work within welfare dependent families. However, large scale longitudinal studies that have been used to address this question only indirectly measure critical influences on child development such as maternal mental health and do not consider the effect that a range of economic strategies that low-income mothers might undertake may …

The Increase In Incarcerations Among Women And Its Impact On The Grandmother Caregiver: Some Racial Considerations, Dorothy S. Ruiz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article analyzes census data on the increase in incarcerations among women, with specific emphasis on some racial differences. The steady rise in female incarcerations and its impact on grandmothers who are caregivers of their children is the focus of this analysis. The article includes sociodemographic and health characteristics of imprisoned mothers, a review of relevant research, the impact of incarcerations on family caregivers, and implications for research. The rate of female incarceration has increased by 11% per year since 1985. A disproportionally higher number are women of color. Approximately fifty-three percent of the children whose mothers are imprisoned are …

Review Of Family Group Conferencing: New Directions In Community-Centered Child And Family Practice. Gail Buford And Joe Hudson (Eds.). Reviewed By Richard P. Barth., Richard P. Barth

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Gail Buford and Joe Hudson (Eds.), Family Group Conferencing: New Directions in Community-Centered Child and Family Practice. New York: Aldine DeGruyter; $25.95, papercover, 2002.

Review Of In The Name Of Hate: Understanding Hate Crimes. Barbara Perry. Reviewed By Wilma Peebles-Wilkins., Wilma Peebles-Wilkins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Barbara Perry, In the Name of Hate: Understanding Hate Crimes. New York: Routledge, 2001. $22.95 papercover.