Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Political Activity Of Social Workers: A Post-Reagan Update, Mark Ezell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article reports the findings of a survey that examined the political activism of social workers and what changes may have occurred in their political participation during the Reagan years. Social workers are politically active largely by writing letters to public officials but also by discussing political issues with friends, by belonging to politically active organizations and by attending political meetings. In addition, a substantial proportion of social workers make campaign contributions and get involved in candidate elections. Among social workers, those with the highest educational degrees, those who are NASW members, those who are in macro type jobs, and …

Book Notes

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

BOOK NOTES

• Pure and Applied Sociological Theory: Problems and Issues. Calvin J. Larson.
• Postmodernization: Change in Advanced Society. Stephen Crook, Jan Pakulski and Malcolm Waters.
• Introduction to Macrosociology. James W. Russell
• The Renascence of Sociological Theory. Henry Etzkowitz and Ronald M. Glassman
• Erving Goffman and Modern Sociology. Philip Manning
• Pragmatism and Social Theory. Hans Joas

Neighborhood-Based Initiative To Address Poverty: Lessons From Experience, Robert Halpern

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The neighborhood has long been an important locus for efforts to address the causes and consequences of poverty in American society. Over the course of the past century neighborhood- based initiatives have been called on to reduce class conflict, counter feelings of alienation, localize control of social institutions, create jobs and reverse neighborhood economic decline, improve human services, and address a variety of specific poverty-related problems, ranging from infant mortality to juvenile delinquency. In this essay I draw on the historical experience with neighborhood initiative to illuminate its strengths and limitations as a strategy for addressing poverty and its correlates. …

Juvenile Delinquency And The Transition To Monopoly Capitalism, Kevin I. Minor

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper identifies three macrosociological forces (i.e., the social position of youth, private market relations, and poverty and inequality) that are crucial for understanding delinquency and analyzes how these forces evolved together as part of the historical transformation in the United States to monopoly capitalism. The thesis is that these forces have contributed to delinquency by acting collectively to decrease the capacity of social institutions to maintain informal social control. Implications for policy are also considered.

Access To Prenatal Care And County Size: Implications For Service Delivery, Ellen E. Whipple

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The impact of population size across twenty-three west Michigan counties was examined to determine access to prenatal care, low birth weight, and infant mortality. Surveys were completed by forty-five managers of hospitals and county health departments. Service availability, sociodemographic, system-related and lifestyle factors were examined as contributors to perinatal support utilization. Low birth weight and infant mortality were highest in the small- and large-sized counties. Positive birth outcomes in medium-sized counties may have been due to greater availability of infant and child health services through health departments, and the targeting of resources to specific problem areas, such as smoking cessation. …

Book Reviews

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

BOOK REVIEWS

• Encyclopedia of Sociology. Edgar F. Borgatta and Marie L. Borgatta (Ed). Reviewed by James Midgley, Louisiana State University
• Constructing a Social Science for a Postwar America: The Cybernetics Group, 1946-1954. Steve Jashua Heims. Reviewed by William E. Buffum,University of Houston
• Researching Social Life. Nigel Gilbert (Ed); Approaches to Social Research. Royce A. Singleton, Jr., Bruce C. Straits and Margaret Miller Straits. Reviewed by John G. Orme, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• The Underclass Question. Bill E. Lawson. Reviewed by Paula L. Dressel, Georgia State University
• Population Estimation. Raymondo. Reviewed by Michael D. Irwin, Louisiana State University
• Nationalism: Five Roads …

The Employed Homeless: A Crisis In Public Policy, Frederick A. Diblasio, John R. Belcher, Kathleen A. Connors

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Departing from the conventional wisdom of who constitutes the homeless, the "employed homeless" emerge as a subgroup of the homeless population in a state-wide Maryland Study (n= 178) at 25 shelter facilities. Twenty-four percent. of the homeless were found to work fulltime and eleven percent part-time. Gender disability, health, previous mental health hospitalization, military experience and education were significantly associated with employment status in the bivariate analysis. From these exploratory findings a theory of economic dislocation is hypothesized.

The Dual Face Of Empowerment: A Model For Cooperative Resource Building, Eric C. Albers, Nancy Paolini

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Homelessness among families with children has become a nationwide problem. Although homelessness is difficult to document, it is estimated that approximately 250,000 to 3,000,000 people in the United States are homeless. Families, which comprise approximately one third of the homeless population, is its fastest growing segment (Mihaly, 1991; National Coalition for the Homeless, 1989; Van Vliet, 1989). This may be a conservative figure. Some of these families often go uncounted because they are part of the "invisible" homeless. They avoid agency contact for fear of losing their children or live in motels, cars, or campgrounds and thereby are not counted …

The Maintenance Of Statistical Process Control (Spc) With Organizational Behavior Management (Obm) Techniques, Pollis Robertson

Dissertations

Many organizations have implemented statistical process control (SPC) programs in response to demands in the marketplace for high-quality products that are efficiently built. Many of these organizations have been unhappy with the difficulty of getting their statistical process (SPC) control programs started and the long-term economic success of these programs.

This study systematically investigated for two years various components of statistical process control programs and attempted to enhance economic effectiveness by buttressing SPC methods with Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) techniques. This study was conducted in a Gray Ductile Iron Foundry that employed 87 employees.

Positive results were observed when OBM …

Satisfaction In Lesbian Relationships As Compared To The Qualities Of Mutuality, Cohesion, And Merging, Patricia R. Murray

Dissertations

Recently theorists have examined women's development as relational. The ability to use empathy, the value of mutuality, and a flexible boundary structure are components, which lead to psychological growth and emphasize the importance of relating within the relationship. Lesbian relationships are likely to be highly relational, as they consist of two women relating in an intimate way. Research regarding satisfaction in lesbian relationships has been sparse; satisfaction has been correlated with mutuality, intimacy, and dyadic attachment. Other variables such as an equal power balance, commitment, and cohesion have also been positively related to satisfaction. The purpose of the present study …

An Examination Of Depression In A Subclinical Eating Disorder Female Population, Christine Hill-Melton

Dissertations

This study examined depression and disordered eating symptoms in a population at high risk for the development of eating disorders. The level and prevalence of depression were compared between three groups of women with increasing severity of eating disordered symptoms.

Female undergraduate college students enrolled in psychology courses at four small colleges and one mid-sized university in Michigan completed a Biographical Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and an Eating Assessment Rating Scale (EARS). Participants were placed into one of three groups according to severity of disordered eating symptoms based on their responses on the EARS. The three groups were: …

Gatherings No. 5 Fall 1993, Friends Of The University Libraries

Gatherings: Friends of the University Libraries Newsletter

Complete issue of Gatherings no. 5. Edited by Laurel Grotzinger.

"A Great University...A Great Library", Lance Query

Gatherings: Friends of the University Libraries Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 20, No. 3 (September 1993)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

SPECIAL ISSUE: FOCUS ON FAMILY ISSUES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• FAMILY PRESERVATION: A PROFESSIONAL REFORM MOVEMENT - Marc Mannes
• DOUBLING UP: LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS SHELTERING THE HIDDEN HOMELESS - Edward F. Vacha and Marguerite V. Marin
• HOMELESSNESS: THE SERVICE PROVIDERS’ PERSPECTIVE ON BLAMING THE VICTIM - Elizabeth Tracy and Randy Stoecker
• WOMEN OFFENDERS INCARCERATED AT THE OHIO PENITENTIARY FOR MEN AND THE OHIO REFORMATORY FOR WOMEN FROM 1913-1923 - Rudolph Alexander, Jr., Lola Butler, and Patricia Sias
• UPPER MIDDLE CLASS SUPPORT FOR THE IDEA OF FAMILY ALLOWANCES - Beth Spenciner Rosenthal
• PUBLIC POLICY AND THE ENERGY NEEDS OF LOW INCOME FAMILIES …

Family Preservation: A Professional Reform Movement, Marc Mannes

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Family Preservation is examined as a manifestation of collective professional activity intent on reforming various aspects of the social welfare system. George Smelser's theoretical framework is used to analyze and interpret the emergence and development of the Family Preservation Movement. The article identifies societal problems which spawned the movement, the formation of a shared belief system, and the confirmation and sanctioning of those beliefs. Factors which mobilized increasing numbers of professionals to the cause, efforts which reflect collective action, and the conventionalization and standardization of the movement are discussed.

Families Of People With A Severe Mental Illness: Role Conflict, Ambiguity And Family Burden, James G. Hanson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The perspective of families of people with a severe mental illness has become a focus of interest for mental health professionals. This paper reports the results of an ethnographic study of families' perceptions of dealing with a severe mental illness in their midst. The findings suggest that the families face continual role conflict and ambiguity as the illness moves through characteristic stages. Attention is given to the families' experience and needs and to social workers' responsibilities for involving and communicating with such families in order to reduce a portion of their burden.

Home Care Allowances For The Frail Elderly: For And Against, Jorma Sipila

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Arguments that have been presented for and against HCAs are considered below. The focus is on debates around traditionalist and feminist standpoints. Another central concern is to draw attention to the contextual boundaries of these debates; therefore we shall consider arguments both from the U.S. and Europe. Finland is presented as a special case, because this Scandinavian welfare state has an exceptionally extensive HCA programme.

The Fifty Percent Divorce Rate: Deconstructing A Myth, Dennis L. Peck

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

An overview of competing perceptions about divorce in the United States establishes the basis for a discussion of the incidence of divorce, divorce rates, and the public myth of a 50 percent divorce rate. A partial explanation for the acceptance of this myth is offered through a discussion of the salience of attitude as well as other public issues.

Doubling Up: Low Income Households Sheltering The Hidden Homeless, Edward F. Vacha, Marguerite V. Marin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The costs and benefits of sheltering the homeless experienced by "informal shelter providers "-people who shelter their homeless friends and relatives-are investigated. The benefits of informal sheltering to the community are also examined. Informal shelter providers are among the most destitute in the community, and they are at great risk of becoming homeless themselves. The community receives considerable benefit from informal sheltering. The dependency of the community on the fragile system of informal shelter providers for prevention of homelessness indicates the inadequacy of present housing programs and the failure of our housing policies. Recommendations for preserving and nurturing the invisible …

Homelessness: The Service Providers' Perspective On Blaming The Victim, Elizabeth Tracy, Randy Stoecker

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Service providers who work with the homeless are frequently characterized as victim blamers. Eighteen service providers who work with homeless people were interviewed. The victim-blaming typification oversimplifies service providers' views on homelessness and of the individuals their programs serve. Service providers have a wholistic analysis of homelessness which encompasses both individual and systemic components.

Women Offenders Incarcerated At The Ohio Penitentiary For Men And The Ohio Reformatory For Women From 1913-1923, Rudolph Alexander, Jr., Lola Butler, Patricia Sias

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Unquestionably, women offenders have been subjected to discrimination by the criminal justice system. However, the quality and extent of the discrimination have been the subject of debate. Early male scholars wrote that women offenders were treated chivalrously and leniently. Later female scholars have disagreed and contended that under so-called chivalry women offenders were punished more severely, especially for sex crimes. World War I had a national influence on women imprisoned in reformatories for prostitution, as federal legislation was passed to suppress prostitution and related behaviors. This paper examines qualitative and quantitative data from 1913 to 1923, especially data on the …

Upper Middle Class Support For The Idea Of Family Allowances, Beth Spenciner Rosenthal

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

There is a newly arisen opportunity for reassessment and redirection of children's policy using non-ideological, pragmatic solutions. Middle class attitudes toward family allowances are crucial to the implementation of the proposed solutions. This paper presents preliminary data indicating that current middle class attitudes are favorable toward the idea of family allowances. Potential explanations of this phenomenon are presented along with policy implications.

Public Policy And The Energy Needs Of Low Income Families, W.M. Theisen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Iowa legislature debated whether to change its utility disconnection policy. The debate centered around three questions: 1) whether family size or income influences energy consumption; 2) whether elderly people consume more energy than families; and 3) whether energy subsidies foster increased energy use and energy waste. This paper reports energy consumption patterns for a sample of low income people. Economic demand theory predicts that energy consumption will increase as income increases. This hypothesis was statistically rejected. Second, legislators assumptions about energy consumption were formulated into hypotheses. These hypotheses were statistically rejected.

Book Reviews

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

BOOK REVIEWS

• Profiles in International Social Work. Merl C. Hokenstad, S. K. Khinduka and James Midgley (Eds.) Reviewed by Fredrick L. Ahearn, Jr. Catholic University of America.
• Internationalizing Social Work Education. Richard Estes. Reviewed by Charles Guzzetta, Hunter College.
• The Welfare State in Israel. Abraham Doron and Ralph Kramer, Reviewed by Howard Jacob Karger, Louisianna State University.
• The Radical Right and the Welfare State: An International Assessment. Howard Glennerster and James Midgley (Eds.). Reviewed by Michael Sherraden, Washington University.
• The New Eastern Europe: Social Policy Past, Present and Future. Bob Deacon. Social Policy, Social Justice and Citizenship in Eastern Europe. …

Book Notes

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

BOOK NOTES

• The Study of Welfare State Regimes. Jon Eivind Kolberg (Ed).
• Between Work and Social Citizenship. Jon Eivind Kolberg (Ed).
• The Welfare State as Employer. Jon Eivind Kolberg (Ed).
• Social Policy and Social Security in Australia, Britain and the USA. Helen Bolderson and Deborah Mabbet.
• Political Economy of Development: Development Theory and the Prospect for Change in the Third World. Burch Berberoglu.
• Social Policy in a Changing Europe. Z. Ferge and J. Kolberg (Eds).
• Arguing about the Welfare State: The Australian Experience. Peter Beilharz, Mark Considine and Rob Watts.

Correlates Of Job Satisfaction Among Private Sector Employees In Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Al-Helelah

Masters Theses

The primary objectives of the present study were to explore the level of job satisfaction and commitment among private sector employees in Saudi Arabia, and to examine the relationship between job satisfaction and employees' commitment.

Seven alternative hypotheses were tested against seven null hypotheses. Chi-square (x^2) was the test statistic for all seven hypotheses. The critical value of chi-square was determined by the degrees of freedom (df) and an alpha level of.05. Three hypotheses were confirmed that related job satisfaction to employees' commitment, satisfaction with length of working hours, and satisfaction with opportunities for interaction with co-workers on the job. …

Effects Of Checklists And Feedback On Interviewer Documentation Errors, Ann Lynn Linklater

Masters Theses

A multiple baseline design was used to compare the effectiveness of checklists and feedback to improve marketing research telephone interview documentation. Three measures based on the combined errors of four interviewers were obtained: (1) errors per completed interview, (2) errors per interview with errors, and (3) most frequently occurring error in each of three error groups. The effects of three additional factors believed to affect interviewer performance were also investigated: (1) marketing research project, (2) complexity of the interview, and (3) lead worker responsible for editing completed interviews.

Only slight, mostly positive changes were visually evident across the dependent measures. …

Contracts In Conflict: Perestroika And The Decline Of Soviet Legitimacy, Karl Glenn Hokenmaier

Masters Theses

Gorbachev's perception of the Soviet Union's socio-economic crisis and his subsequent actions to correct the economy and reform the political system were linked with attempts to renegotiate the social contract between the state and the Soviet people. However, reformulation of the social contract was incompatible with the conditions of a second arrangement between the leadership and the nomenklatura--the Soviet ruling class. The failure of Gorbachev's reforms and the decline of Soviet legitimacy were linked to the irreconcilability of the nomenklatura's "political contract" and the social contract.

The construct of the social contract was utilized to represent the Soviet state-society relationship …

Computer-Based Fluency Training With The Terminology Of Behavior Analysis, Guillermo E. Yaber-Oltra

Dissertations

This study examined the effects of computer-based fluency training on the learning of behavior-analysis terminology. Sixty-nine undergraduates studied the definitions of half a set of behavior-analysis terms using a computer program Think Fast (Parsons, 1989), and half using their regular methods. Think Fast training items consisted of typing the words missing from definitions. On seven out of nine post-training quizzes, students were better able to define terms previously studied with the computer program. In a related experiment, volunteers studied half a new set of terms using the computer, either typing or saying the answers. Students mastered the definitions better when …

The Acute Effects Of Cocaine In Pigeons Performing Under A Progressive-Ratio Schedule, Claudia Ann Jones

Masters Theses

Although the progressive-ratio (PR) schedule has been used frequently to quantify the reinforcing effectiveness of self-administered drugs, it has seldom been used to examine the effects of drugs on food-maintained behavior and has never been used to evaluate the effects of cocaine on such behavior. In the present study, the effects of acute administrations of cocaine were evaluated in pigeons responding under a PR schedule of food delivery. Overall, cocaine produced a dose-dependent effect on food-maintained behavior. In general, acute administrations of cocaine at 0.56 to 3.2 mg/kg increased breaking points, whereas doses above 5.6 mg/kg decreased breaking points. Low …