Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 17, No. 4 (December 1990)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Contents

• HOW VOLUNTARY AGENCY NETWORKS FARED IN THE 1980S - Margaret Gibelman and Harold W. Demone, Jr.
• DIFFERENTIAL PERCEPTION AND ADOLESCENT DRINKING IN THE UNITED STATES: PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS - John B. Harms and James L. Wolk
• A REDEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM OF HOMELESSNESS AMONG PERSONS WITH A CHRONIC MENTAL ILLNESS - Donald M. Linhorst
• PARAPROFESSIONAL SOCIAL SERVICE PERSONNEL IN SPAIN - Edward A. Brawley
• EXCHANGE RULES IN THE MEDIATION OF SOCIAL WELFARE WORK - Paula L. Dressel, Michelle Waters, Mike Sweat, and Obie Clayton
• BURNOUT AND JOB SATISFACTION: THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO PERCEIVED COMPETENCE AND WORK STRESS AMONG UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE …

Paraprofessional Social Service Personnel In Spain, Edward Allan Brawley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study reveals the importance of front-line paraprofessional personnel in the rapidly expanding social services in Spain and identifies the functions they perform, the different kinds of training they receive, their opportunities for advancement, and several issues that must be addressed if they are to make their best contributions to Spain's social services.

Exchange Rules In The Mediation Of Social Welfare Work, Paula L. Dressel, Michelle Waters, Mike Sweat, Obie Clayton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article demonstrates the utility of the concept of exchange rules for understanding welfare worker agency in the mediation of workplace ideologies and behaviors. The exchange rules of complementarity, reciprocity, and beneficence are applied to the issues of service worker burnout, worker-client interactions, and labor issues to illustrate their conceptual and practical power. This analysis from an interactionist perspective complements the macro-level observations of the fundamental contradictions within the social welfare enterprise. It also suggests avenues for the mediation and alleviation of certain workplace dilemmas.

Testing The Underclass Concept By Surveying Attitudes And Behavior, Kathleen J. Pottick

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Recent interest in the problems of an underclass has highlighted deficiencies in the conceptual understanding of the term and empirical investigation into its dynamics. This research note describes the current definition of the concept and presents recent empirical tests of it. By presenting available survey data sets that can identify underclass attitudes, values and behavior, the note refines the deliberations on measurement. Two underclass groups, welfare recipients and criminals, are used to illustrate the methodology

Volunteer Opportunities In The Criminal Justice Area, Susan Pritchard

Honors Theses

The popularity of volunteerism and community service is quickly growing. Not only is volunteerism more prevalent in communities, there is also an increased number of college students making volunteer work, not only part of their lives, but part of their education. In this paper the author will 1) examine the possibilities of, 2) the involvement in, and 3) the necessity for volunteer work in the criminal justice area for criminal justice majors at Western Michigan University.

Applications Of The Tap Te Chino Of Lao Tzu To Psychotherapy Theory And Technique, Thomas E. Hranilovich

Dissertations

Existing paradigms in psychology are almost exclusively founded upon the hypothetico-deductive scientific tradition. As a consequence, prevalent psychotherapy theories and techniques are also founded upon this tradition. In recent years the realization has been growing, even among its adherents, that the hypothetico-deductive method is not the only avenue to knowledge about the nature of existence. An alternate avenue is provided by the mystic tradition, as exemplified by Zen Buddhism, Hesychasm, Indian and Tibetan Yoga, Sufism, Christian mysticism, Hindu mysticism, Jewish mysticism, and Taoism. This study is an examination of the central beliefs of tao chia, or the Taoist school, and …

Within-Subject And Between-Subjects Evaluation Of The Effects Of Hallucinogenic Drugs In Pigeons Responding Under Two Variations Of A Fixed-Consecutive-Number Schedule, Rodney D. Clark

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was twofold: To determine the effects of LSD (0.03 - 1.0 mg/kg), mescaline (0.3 - 5.6 mg/kg), and DMT (0.3 - 3.0 mg/kg) on the performance of pigeons under two variants on an FCN schedule and to determine whether these effects differed substantially as a result of experimental design (i.e., within subject or between-subjects). Under this schedule, food was delivered whenever subjects responded between eight and 12 times on one response key (work key), then responded once on a second key (reinforcement key). Under one version, (FCN-S^D), an external discriminative stimulus was correlated with …

Stimulus-Specific And Stimulus-Nonspecific Reinforcement: Effects On Tact Training With Severely Mentally Impaired Young Adults, Steven J . Braam

Dissertations

The effects of specific or similar physical properties between discriminative stimuli and reinforcers in tact training were studied. Stimulus-specific reinforcement and stimulus-nonspecific reinforcement conditions were compared using a matched-groups design. When subjects correctly tacted in the former condition, the experimenter gave reinforcers with identical physical properties to the training stimuli. When subjects correctly tacted in the latter condition, the experimenter delivered reinforcers with different physical properties from the nonverbal training stimulus.

The subjects demonstrated no overall differences in learning trials. Only one subject, trained with stimulus- specific reinforcement learned tacts in consistently fewer trials than his counterpart trained with stimulus-nonspecific …

The Effects Of Relapse Prevention Training On Exercise Adherence, Sandra Beaty

Dissertations

Behavioral techniques have proven effective in the acquisition and maintenance of new behaviors. However, health related behaviors, such as exercise, pose a special problem for the field of behavior change in that they require long-term lifestyle changes. This study assessed the effectiveness of relapse prevention training on exercise adherence within the framework of a formal exercise program. There were 20 subjects in the experimental group and 20 subjects in the control group. Both groups met for three, one-hour sessions weekly for eight consecutive weeks. Exercise class attendance was recorded by the instructor. In addition, the Physical Activity Index (PAI, n.d., …

The Effects Of Accountability Procedures On The Productivity Of Academic Performance Contractors In An Academic Support Program, Brian Delano Yancey

Dissertations

The purpose of the research was to evaluate the effects of accountability procedures on the productivity of performance managers in an academic support program. The contractors were responsible for supporting the academic performance of high-risk students enrolled in a one-credit-hour self-management course. The contractors awarded students points that counted toward their self-management course grade when the students produced assignments of value in their content courses. Prior research had shown that students sometimes performed poorly in the self-management course and that the contractors were often unsuccessful in helping these students improve their grades. Consequently, the experimenter speculated that the amount of …

Comparison Of The Effects Of Biofeedback Assisted Treatment On The Reduction Of Stress Among African-American And White Employees, Ollie O. Barnes Iii

Dissertations

Seventy-four employees at an internationally based Fortune 500 corporation participated in a comparative biofeedback study. The study was designed to determine whether there is a difference in the way African-Americans and white Americans respond to biofeedback-assisted stress management treatment. The study also serves as a springboard for increasing the quantity of empirical literature in the area of biofeedback in general and biofeedback using African-Americans as subjects, in particular. The researcher randomly assigned the employees to one of three groups (biofeedback, traditional, control). Each subject was assessed on six variables: state anxiety, trait anxiety, heart rate, skin temperature, blood pulse height, …

Gatherings (No. 2) Fall 1990, Firends Of The University Libraries

Gatherings: Friends of the University Libraries Newsletter

Complete second issue of Gatherings. Editor: William K. Smith.

Child Support Enforcement Reform: Can It Reduce The Welfare Dependency Of Families Of Never-Married Mothers?, Ann Nichols-Casebolt, Marieka Klawitter

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Among all groups of single-parent families, those created by a birth to an unmarried woman have the least likelihood of receiving child support and the greatest risk of becoming dependent on welfare. Wisconsin data indicate that child support reform-specifically the immediate income assignment-is improving child support payment performance. But the modest increases in payments to nonmarital children will have little effect on their welfare recipiency. The fathers of these children lack the economic resources to aid their families much in the short term. However, cost effectiveness should not be the only criterion used in enforcing child support. It is important …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 17, No. 3 (September 1990)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Contents

• PERCEIVED STRESS, SOCIAL SUPPORT AND SURVIVAL: NORTH CAROLINA FARM OPERATORS AND THE FARM CRISIS - Michael D. Schulman and Paula S. Armstrong
• CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT REFORM: CAN IT REDUCE THE WELFARE DEPENDENCY OF FAMILIES OF NEVER-MARRIED MOTHERS? - Ann Nichols-Casebolt and Marieka Klawitter
• PERMANENCY PLANNING AND THE CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT ACT: THE PARADOX OF CHILD WELFARE POLICY - Mary Ann Jimenez
• A CRITIQUE OF FAMILY CASEWORKERS 1900-1930: WOMEN WORKING WITH WOMEN - Beverly A. Stadum
• GENDER, EMPLOYMENT AND PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING - David C. Congdon
• ILLNESS CAREER DESCENT AND THE DESCENDING HIERARCHY: THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF A RETIREMENT …

Perceived Stress, Social Support And Survival: North Carolina Farm Operators And The Farm Crisis, Michael D. Schulman, Paula S. Armstrong

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The current farm crisis draws attention to the sources and consequences of the stress process among farm operators. Using panel data from statewide surveys of North Carolina farm operators collected during a period of economic and ecological crisis, the relationships among perceived stress, social support, and survival in agriculture are investigated. Analyses reveal that while the level of perceived stress has no relationship with survival, social support has a significant impact upon both social psychological (plans to remain in farming) and behavioral (continuing as a farm operator) dimensions of survival in agriculture. Perceived social support increased plans to remain in …

Permanency Planning And The Child Abuse Prevention And Treatment Act: The Paradox Of Child Welfare Policy, Mary Ann Jimenez

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 and the Adoptions Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 have imposed conflicting mandates on the public child welfare system. CAPTA places the moral weight of the federal government behind professional intervention with troubled families, while the Adoptions Assistance Act was designed to protect the autonomy of families. As these policies currently stand, the goal of protection of vulnerable children is seriously undermined.

Illness Career Descent And The Descending Hierarchy: The Organizational Structure Of A Retirement Facility, Bradley J. Fisher

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Illness career descent is a process involving the downward trajectory of chronic illness and the residents' downward movement through the organizational structure of the retirement facility. This structure can be conceptualized as a "descending" hierarchy where residents experience downward mobility through successively lower statuses. These conceptualizations are grounded in three years of participant observation and interviews with over 150 residents at a multilevel care retirement facility. Downward mobility, within the facility, entails relocation to more regimented and stigmatized residency situations. The individual's goal is to slow down the pace of this illness career timetable. Descending hierarchical structures within facilities for …

The Use Of Volunteers By Governmental Social Services In Israel, Ram A. Cnaan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article studies an important aspect of coprovision in social service agencies. It focuses on how social welfare departments utilize the resources of volunteers. An indepth study of 14 Local Departments of Social Service (LDSS) in Israel identifies several issues regarding the use of volunteers that have theoretical and practical implications not only for social services but also for other government service organizations engaged in coprovision.

A Critique Of Family Case Workers 1900-1930: Women Working With Women, Beverly A. Stadum

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Case records from a charity organization/family case work agency in the early century provide means for evaluating the interaction of nascent social workers with female heads of poor households receiving relief 1900-1930. Class differences and social control appear in retrospect as defining certain elements of this activity; although social workers provided needed material resources, positive impact on poor women's lives was limiited by workers' lack of knowledge and unquestioning commitment to traditional values. Casework, however, is shown as a complex process with concerned leaders in social work trying to shape professional behavior and recipient families engaged in their own problem …

Gender, Employment And Psychosocial Well-Being, David C. Congdon

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Although authors are increasingly addressing the specific needs of men and women at work, no theory based comparison of how employment affects their psychosocial well-being has been available. A six dimensional index was developed to explore a social exchange model of the associations among employment, psychosocial well-being, and worker productivity for men and women. Findings based on two samples of 41 (instrument pretest) and 143 (model test) employed and unemployed union workers suggest strong reliability and validity estimates for the index, support for the model, high explanatory power, and different results for men and women. Implications for further research and …

Women In Blue-Collar Occupations: An Exploration Of Constraints And Facilitators, Kris Kissman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study reports on some of the variables which facilitate and impede work satisfaction among women in nontraditional occupations. A small sample of women working as machinists, pipe fitters, carpenters, electricians, technicians, and construction workers reported that sexual harassment on the job impeded their work satisfaction. Respondents' perceptions of equality in pay and promotion on the job, and congruence between work and domestic roles, served to enhance work satisfaction. Age was related to a sense of competence, perception of equality on the job, and congruence between work and domestic roles. Social support significantly enhanced work satisfaction.

Research And Theory On The Housing And Care Of Laboratory Pigeons And Rats, Dylan David Schmorrow

Masters Theses

This study was an experimental analysis of: (a) housing preference of laboratory pigeons and, (b) the effects of housing on laboratory rat health. Pigeon preference between containment cages and fly cages was determined on the basis of exit time from the containment cage to the fly cage. Rat health was determined by the departmental veterinarian. The rats were exposed to traditional and alternative methods of housing.

The findings from this study indicate that (a) on the basis of pigeons' preferences concerning size, it may be more appropriate to house pigeons in fly cages; and (b) alternative methods of care and …

Of Berry Pickers, Shanty Boys, And The Jack Pine Bird: Patterns Of Settlement And Subsistence In Nineteenth Century Oscoda County, Rose Lockwood Moore

Masters Theses

The provisions of the Homestead Act of 1863 (U.S. Congress 1862a) required a settlement pattern of dispersed single families on small tracts of land, which, in turn, affected the subsistence strategies available to the homesteaders. The interaction of federal land legislation with the ecosystem of southern Oscoda County resulted in marked spatial and temporal differences between the tracts that were homesteaded as opposed to those acquired for their timber. A sample population of quarter sections was analyzed in terms of the physical and biotic environments, date of entry, and use. The analysis confirmed that the timber lands were located on …

The Effects Of Anabolic Steroids On Measured Personality Traits Of Male Weight Trainers, Kraig Libstag

Dissertations

This research was undertaken to explore the effects of anabolic steroid use on the measured personality traits of male weight trainers. The use of these drugs by competitive and non-competitive athletes worldwide has grown to enormous proportions. Anecdotal case reports that discuss various psychological manifestations associated with the use of anabolic steroids by athletes have been presented in professional journals and in the popular press in recent years. However, there have been few studies that systematically examine the psychological consequences of steroid utilization.

The underlying assumption of this study was that anabolic steroids would affect the measured personality characteristics of …

A Theoretical Integration Of Robert Kegan's Developmental Psychology And Heinz Kohut's Self Psychology, Wilmar Vanderpol

Dissertations

Theory and research about psychological development tends to be dichotomized into two broad approaches that have never been integrated. The one is Piagetian-based cognitive-developmentalism, and the other is Freudian-based psychoanalytic developmentalism. The first predominates in academic research and application and the second in clinical research and therapy. This dissertation is a theoretical integration of the Piagetian-based theory of Robert Kegan with the Freudian-based theory of Heinz Kohut known as self psychology. A rationale for the integration of these two theories is given, along with an overview of each theory with respect to their developmental aspects. Analysis of their respective basic …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Differential Behavioral Strategies On Therapeutic Compliance: Making And Keeping Appointments, Shara Johnson

Dissertations

The present research grew out of a larger study, The Transgenerational Project for Parents and Children (TG) (Epps, 1986), which was conducted at the Howard University Child Development Center in Washington, D.C. This study provided the model for simultaneously addressing the needs of parents as well as their preadolescent children who exhibited specific learning disabilities that significantly decreased achievement levels. The present research compares the effectiveness of combining behavioral strategies, which previous research has shown to individually contribute toward enhancing patient compliance, in order to increase parental compliance with referrals for child psychotherapy.

Twenty-one parents or guardians of children whose …

Demographic Characteristics, Rehabilitation Outcomes, And Family Concerns Of Individuals Who Are Older And Blind, John E. Crews

Dissertations

This study was conducted to create a description of the demographic characteristics, rehabilitation outcomes, and concerns of the family members of a group of people who are older and blind. The sample for this study included 112 people who were blind and over the age of 55. In addition, the study included a description of the concerns of 40 family members who had a spouse or parent who was older and blind.

Five instruments were used to gather data for this study. A survey instrument provided demographic data and reported levels of productivity for each client. A functional assessment form …

Performance And Satisfaction Ratings By Nurses, Supervisors, And Patients In Jordanian Government And Private Hospitals, Diab Mousa Al-Badayneh

Dissertations

This is a study of performance and satisfaction ratings by supervisors, patients, and nurses in the Jordanian government and private hospitals. Comparisons of total performance ratings scores as well as individual performance items were made between (a) registered nurses vs. supervisors and registered nurses vs. patients within government and private hospitals and in all hospitals combined^ (b) combined as well as separate ratings of registered nurses, supervisors, and patients between government and private hospitals; and (c) total performance ratings scores only between registered nurses vs. supervisors and registered nurses vs. patients within each hospital. Comparisons of total satisfaction ratings scores …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of A Linear And An Exponential Performance-Pay Function On Work Productivity, Shezeen Oah

Dissertations

This study examined how work productivity was affected by the way in which individual monetary incentives were related to performance. Two types of relationships, or performance-pay functions, were compared: a linear function in which a specific per piece incentive was provided for each piece completed in excess of a performance standard and an exponential function in which the amount of the per piece incentive accelerated as productivity increased. Forty college subjects were randomly assigned to one of the two pay conditions. Each subject participated in 15 forty-five minute sessions. Subjects performed a computerized work task that simulated the job of …

Effects Of Performance Feedback And Goal Setting On The Productivity And Satisfaction Of Clerical Workers, Leslie Ann Wilk

Dissertations

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Performance Management (PM) intervention designed to improve the productivity and job satisfaction of clerical employees in a university admissions department. During the first phase of the intervention, supervisors applied a PM program which included an individualized daily goal setting and verbal feedback program. During phase two, graphic display of individual performance levels was added to the goals and verbal feedback program. Productivity was measured via daily self reports of tasks completed. Job satisfaction was assessed by taking measures prior to and following the intervention using the Work …