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The Criminal Justice System: The Impact Of Legal And Extra-Legal Variables, Sanderson Charles Jeter

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effect of legal and extra-legal variables on the processing and sentencing outcomes of defendants. The data for this study were extracted from the case files of Kalamazoo (Michigan) County Circuit Court. The sample population is comprised of criminal defendants randomly selected and who were processed in the circuit court from May, 1987 through May, 1988. The statistical procedure applied was cross - tabulation, utilizing a chi-square measure of association. Legal and extra-legal variables independently and collectively have different effects on the processing and sentencing outcomes of defendants. Results indicate that legal variables (e.g., type of crime …

“The Mirror Crack'd": Women As Mothers And Wives In Paternally Incestuous Families, Mary Deyoung

Dissertations

Women often are blamed for paternal incest. Although the notion of women's culpability is repeated so often in the literature that it has all the tranquility of an axiom, few studies have even used these women as subjects. This study sought to remedy that flaw by using as its subjects 20 women from paternally incestuous families. Each participated in an in-depth interview comprised of life history questions, and in a shorter follow-up interview.

The women reported a moderate degree of conflict between their roles as mother and wife. Their strategies for coping with that conflict were categorized according to the …

Spatial Distribution Of Hispanic Households In Holland, Michigan: 1960-1990, Cynthia J. Longstreet

Masters Theses

This paper examines patterns of Hispanic household concentration and segregation from non-Hispanic households in Holland, Michigan for the decades from 1960 to 1990 with some analysis of 1950 patterns. Household data were obtained from United States census reports and Polk directories, from which location quotients and indices of dissimilarity were calculated for census tracts and census blocks within the study area.

Data showed that most of Holland’s Hispanic households have been found in the three census tracts closest to the central city, but that deconcentration is occurring as more Hispanic families setde in peripheral areas of Holland. Data also indicated …

The Debate On Lesbian Sadomasochism: A Discourse Analysis, Gudbjorg Ottosdottir

Masters Theses

This study examines an issue debated within the U.S. lesbian community since the mid-1970s, lesbian sadomasochism. The issue has been whether sadomasochism is consistent with lesbian feminism, a political ideology which has much shaped lesbian identity and community. The claims and counter-claims made about lesbian sadomasochism are analyzed, as are the underlying ideologies and their relationship to general lesbian political and cultural history. It is argued that the debate is the result of a limited subject position offered by lesbian feminism. The perspective of lesbian sadomasochists is seen as a call for a renewed lesbian feminist discourse. It is proposed …

Patterns Of Illicit Drug Use Among American High School Youth: An Examination For The Years 1976 And 1986, Dennis Rosado Malaret

Masters Theses

Previous studies have noted the importance of structural and demographic variables for the study of drug use among high school students. The present study focuses on the pattern and extent of legal and illegal drug use by high school seniors, by variables such as gender, race, religion, and academic achievement, among others.

The data used for this study were taken from Monitoring the Future (Bachman, O'Malley, & Johnston, 1980, 1987) for 1976 and 1986. Each data collection phase included a sample of over 15,000 students from approximately 125 to 135 public and private high schools, selected to provide an accurate …

State-Corporate Crime In The U.S. Nuclear Weapons Production Complex: A Case Study, David Kauzlarich

Masters Theses

The objectives of this research are (1) to identify the characteristics of the environmental law violations committed during the production of nuclear weapons, (2) to identify the historical forces and events which have contributed to those violations, and (3) to use data on the illegal acts of the nuclear weapons production complex to help adjudicate between a number of competing explanations of the causes of organizational crime.

This research, a qualitative, socio-historical case study, found that a historical and structural level of analysis is best equipped to explain the causes of the weapons production complex's criminality. The conclusion of this …

Reagan-Bush Drug Crusades: An Historical Perspective And Critique, Martin Randall Hill

Masters Theses

This study is a sociological analysis of anti-drug legislation during the last one hundred years within the United States. Anti-drug legislation is explored with regard to specific substances, as well as in general, and compared to anti-drug legislation of today. The conflict perspective was employed as an aid in understanding the occurrence of such phenomena as anti-drug legislation and drug wars. It becomes apparent that social problems or deviance, related to drug use, are more than simply a matter of someone transgressing. The laws are created in an effort to perpetuate the existence of groups with access to power and …

Drug Problem And Social Change In Saudi Arabia: A Study Of The Attitude Of Saudi Students Studying In The U.S.A. Towards Drug Use In Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Yousef

Masters Theses

The main focus of this study is the relationship between level of income, level of education, length of stay in U.S.A., frequency of contact with foreigners, and level of religiosity on student attitudes towards smoking cigarettes and hashish, and drinking alcohol.

A sample of 110 students was randomly drawn from three areas: Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, and Lansing, Michigan. Data were collected through administering a questionnaire.

Analysis of the data revealed the following: income, level of education, length of stay in the U.S., frequency of contact with foreigners, and level of religiosity were associated with student attitudes towards drug use.

An Analysis Of Self-Report Delinquency: A Test Using An International Instrument, Linda Robyn

Masters Theses

This is part of an international pilot study on juvenile delinquency in the U. S. and six European countries. Research questions were designed based on using Hirschi’s (1969) theory of Social Control as a guide. Among the questions to be studied are the relationships between delinquency and single- and two-parent homes, participation in organized sports, and acts committed alone or with others. Interviews were conducted with 100 youths from 14- to 18-years of age. The population consisted of past and present students from junior high and high school in a mid-western city. The data were stratified into census tracts and …

Social Support For The Black Elderly: Is There A Link Between Informal And Formal Assistance?, Susie A. Spence

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study explores informal and formal social support among a sample of elderly southern Blacks. The results reveal that all respondents received informal assistance and that while overall formal assistance was low, a number of respondents received support from both sources. The author discusses these findings in relation to the supplement model of elderly social support and their implications for social service providers.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 18, No. 2 (June 1991)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

CONTENTS

• GLOBAL ECONOMY AND THE AMERICAN WELFARE STATE - Howard Jacob Karger
• DOES SOCIAL SECURITY REDISTRIBUTE INCOME?: A TAX-TRANSFER ANALYSIS - Namkee G. Choi
• SOCIAL SERVICE VOUCHERS: ISSUES FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE - Michael D. Parker
• HERMENEUTICS AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES: AN EVALUATION OF THE FUNCTION OF HERMENEUTICS IN A CONSUMER DISABILITY STUDY - Charles Ringma and Christopher Brown
• WAR, PEACE, AND "THE SYSTEM": THREE PERSPECTIVES - Paul Adams
• JOB SATISFACTION AMONG PARAPROFESSIONALS IN ISRAEL - Moshe Sherer
• ASIAN AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS: A COMPARISON OF THE CHINESE, JAPANESE, AND FILIPINOS - Jon K. Matsuoka and Donald H. Ryujin
• OCCUPATIONAL SOCIAL WORK …

Occupational Social Work And Multinational Corporations, Chathapuram S. Ramanathan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In a global economy, transfer of human technology via multinational Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) is a reality. Successful development and implementation of multinational EAPs require attention to the host country's political, legal frameworks, and cultural issues. The roles of occupational social workers vary based on these dimensions and issues. The targets of interventions are foreign executives and their families, host country employees and their families, and the organization itself.

Crime And Development: A Comparative Analysis, Dick Taver'shima Andzenge

Dissertations

The study examines the extent to which social and economic development might be related to crime. Modernization theory of crime posits that the process of social and economic development involves changes in the society which are criminogenic. These changes include: urbanization, industrialization, longevity or increased life expectancy, increased manufacturing and gross domestic products. According to this theory these characteristics alter social tendencies to stability and conformity, and therefore result in increased deviance and crime.

This study tests the theory by using longitudinal data collected over a 25-year period from 54 countries. A sample of these data representing 34 countries from …

Private Versus Public Operation: A Comparison Of Two Juvenile Restitution Programs, Sudipta Roy

Dissertations

The present research focuses on the effectiveness of two restitution programs for juvenile offenders, one in Elkhart County, Indiana, and the other in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Effectiveness refers to the impact of the two restitution programs on offender restitution to their victims and on offender recidivism. The two programs are a Victim Offender Reconciliation Project (VORP) in Elkhart County and a non-VORP restitution program administered by the Juvenile Probate Court in Kalamazoo County. The VORP is operated by a private agency--the Center for Community Justice, while the Kalamazoo program is publicly operated. This study focuses on the impact of the …

Value-Orientations, Socialization And Social Mobility: A Replication And Conceptual Extension Of Kohn, Eric O. Johnson

Masters Theses

This thesis replicates and extends Kohn and associates' (Kohn, 1969; Kohn et al, 1986) research on the differing value orientations of the middle and working classes, self direction and conformity to authority, respectively. Using the findings that these values are reflected in child socialization, investigation was extended to those socially mobile from the working to middle class. Since parental resocialization of the mobile occurs over time, it is hypothesized that eldest children of the mobile will be socialized to working class values and successive children increasingly to middle class values. Examination of this process also informs about the class maintenance …

Political Perspectives In Encyclopedias: Portrayal Of The Nicaraguan Revolution, Brian B. Smith

Masters Theses

Encyclopedia text is most often presented as objective, factual, authoritatively documented truth. To examine this knowledge claim, this thesis analyzes the portrayal of the 1979 Nicaraguan revolution in editions of the four major U.S. encyclopedias. A qualitative content analysis is employed to determine the political perspectives present in encyclopedia coverage of the Nicaraguan revolution and the subsequent changes in Nicaraguan political economy brought about by that revolution.

The findings indicate that significant differences among and within the encyclopedias existed in the text analyzed. A variety of political perspectives were found to have influenced the content of the text, and to …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 18, No. 1 (March 1991)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

CONTENTS

• PRIVATE CHILD SUPPORT: CURRENT AND POTENTIAL
• IMPACTS - Donald T. Oellerich, Irwin Garfinkel, and Philip K. Robins
• AN EXAMINATION OF RESEARCH EXPLAINING PUBLIC WELFARE SPENDING AT THE STATE LEVEL - Robert G. Mogull
• CONSERVATIVE WELFARE REFORM PROPOSALS AND THE REALITY OF SUBEMPLOYMENT - Robert Sheak and David D. Dabelko
• WORKFARE PROGRAMS IN RURAL AMERICA: JOBLESSNESS IN OHIO'S APPALACHIAN COUNTIES - Karen V. Harper and Richard W. Greenlee
• FAMILY TIES DURING IMPRISONMENT: IMPORTANT TO WHOM AND FOR WHAT? - Creasie Finney Hairston
• SELF-EMPOWERMENT AMONG ADULTS WITH SEVERE PHYSICAL DISABILITY: A CASE STUDY - Nancy A. Brooks
• THE INTRODUCTORY COURSE IN …

Family Ties During Imprisonment: Important To Whom And For What?, Creasie Finney Hairston

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper reviews research on the social functions of prisoner-family ties. Three areas are examined: the preservation of marital units and parentchild bonds; the individual well-being of prisoners, children and other family members; and the prisoner's post-release success. The literature indicates that the maintenance of family ties during imprisonment is desirable, but difficult. Benefits suggested by empirical findings include decreased rates of recidivism following imprisonment, improved mental health of inmates and other family members, and an increased probability of reunification of the family household following imprisonment. The paper concludes with the identification of an agenda to guide future policy and …

Chair's Annual Report, 1990-91, Lewis Walker

The Socializer

Chair's Annual Report to Department of Sociology Faculty 1990--91.

Professional Life, 1990-91, Department Of Sociology

The Socializer

Department of Sociology Professional Life, 1990-91.