Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Critique Of The Truly Disadvantaged: A Historical Materialist (Marxist) Perspective, Ralph C. Gomes, Walda Katz Fishman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Scholars such as William J. Wilson, public policy analysts, politicians, media personalities and journalists have, in recent years, turned their attention to the pervasive and growing poverty, permanent unemployment and inequality in American society. They have noted the disproportionate occurrence of these phenomena among African Americans-especially women and children-and in the "inner city ghettos" of the former centers of industrial production. At the same time, they have either ignored or severed any connection between the deepening poverty of one section of society-whom they have called the "underclass"-and the vast accumulation of wealth among the capitalist class.

Problems Of Pragmatism In Public Policy: Critique Of William Wilson's The Truly Disadvantaged, Robert G. Newby

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

I want to begin by commending Professor Wilson for focussing his scholarly attention upon one of the more critical social problems confronting our society at this time. You will recall that in his earlier work, Professor Wilson found that the civil rights movement had made a major impact on the character of race relations in our society, particularly relative to the status of blacks. In that award-winning but controversial study, The Declining Significance of Race, Professor Wilson found two diverging trends within the black community: on the one hand, the growth of the black middle class which had benefitted from …

Challenges And Prospects Of William J. Wilson's The Truly Disadvantaged, Robert G. Newby

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

I feel that it is a real coup that I had the opportunity to assemble the right scholars and, in turn, edit this special issue of the Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare. These were "the right" scholars in that they offered varying progressive perspectives of high quality on William J. Wilson's award-winning book, The Truly Disadvantaged. Since so much of the debate on the so-called "underclass" is carried out in the parlance of conservative scholars, the articles which appear here are not encumbered in any way by such a retrogression. By contrast, I had the pleasure of engaging a …

The Sociology Of Knowledge Of William J. Wilson: Placing The Truly Disadvantaged In Its Sociohistorical Context, Andrew Billingsley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this paper I will do the following: first, set forth an introductory statement designed to place Wilson's work in some philosophical-theoretical perspective; then, I will identify and describe what I consider to be three distinct, yet overlapping, phases or central themes in Wilson's work; third, I will discuss how he treats Black families and discuss some features of his policy recommendations.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 16, No. 4 (December 1989)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Truly Disadvantaged: Challenges and Prospects

Editor's Introduction

• CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF WILLIAM J. WILSON'S THE TRULY DISADVANTAGED - Robert G. Newby

Part I. Challenges

• THE SOCIOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE OF WILLIAM J. WILSON: PLACING THE TRULY DISADVANTAGED IN ITS SOCIO-HISTORICAL CONTEXT - Andrew Billingsley
• RACISM IN ADVANCED CAPITALIST SOCIETY: COMMENTS ON WILLIAM J. WILSON'S THE TRULY DISADVANTAGED - Edna Bonacich
• OCCASIONAL LABOURERS AND CHRONIC WANT: A REVIEW OF WILLIAM J. WILSON'S THE TRULY DISADVANTAGED - Carole Marks
• A LIMITED PROPOSAL FOR SOCIAL REFORM: A RESPONSE TO WILLIAM J. WILSON'S
• THE TRULY DISADVANTAGED - Bonnie Thornton Dill
• A CRITIQUE OF THE …

Racism In Advanced Capitalist Society: Comments On William J. Wilson's The Truly Disadvantaged, Edna Bonacich

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Let me begin with words of praise. Bill Wilson's The Truly Disadvantaged is a serious and important work. In it he alerts the nation to the alarming rise of social dislocation in Black inner city communities. But rather than joining with the conservative chorus which dominates political debate about this issue, Wilson focuses on the social structure, especially joblessness, as the key to the whole network of pathologies. Black inner city joblessness is, in turn, explained by large-scale economic shifts, interacting with a legacy of past racial discrimination, as well as various demographic factors. The result is the construction of …

"Occasional Labourers And Chronic Want": A Review Of The Truly Disadvantaged, Carole Marks

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Truly Disadvantaged is an important book which brings the subject of poverty back into the forefront of sociological discourse. William Wilson's intent is to redirect its study by simultaneously mounting challenges to the ideological orthodoxy of the left and of the complacency of the right. Throughout, he attempts to subtly reconstruct current debates and controversies and to mould them into a form more palatable to the skeptical, voting age masses. For those interested in public policy formation, there is value in both the underlying purpose of such an exercise and in much of its form. Though the work is …

Comments On William Wilson's The Truly Disadvantaged: A Limited Proposal For Social Reform, Bonnie Thornton Dill

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This is an important book which has already had a major impact on discussions of poverty, race and public policy in the United States. Wilson is to be commended for his willingness to step boldly into the arena of public discourse in an effort to blaze a new trail between the "rock" of conservative thinking on the underclass and the "hard place" of contemporary liberal perspectives. His project-the refocusing of the liberal perspective and the definition of a bold new public policy agenda is inherently controversial. Wilson is quite correct in his assertion that the conservative perspective captured public attention …

Poverty And Electoral Power, Richard A. Cloward, Frances Fox Piven

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The poverty of the American underclass cannot be overcome by any single strategy. But surely it will not be reduced without new government interventions in education, training, employment, housing, and social welfae. That raises the question of how the electoral power-especially electoral power exercised by the underclass itself-can be mobilized to win new public policies.

The Truly Disadvantaged: Structuring An Agenda For Change, James A. Geschwender

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This manuscript addresses the question as to how we may best structure an agenda for change aimed at improving the economic situation for the "truly disadvantaged." I have chosen to address this question within the limits set by existing political circumstances. Policy proposals are presented because they are believed to be achievable and would be effective if implemented. It is impossible to think about this question without considering the proposals presented by William J. Wilson in his pathbreaking book, The Truly Disadvantaged (1987). Consequently, I briefly describe the intellectual context within which Wilson wrote his book and analyze the basic …

Corporate Resistance To Early Return To Work Policy, Roger J. Shoemaker

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to discover the extent and patterns of resistance the concept of an early return to work policy is encountering in private corporations. Early return to work policies encourage and enable injured/disabled employees to return to duty before being fully recuperated. The degree of resistance was examined through variables which are component elements of the macro themes of corporate culture and corporate structure theory. Corporate culture embodies a set of beliefs and values collectively held and socialized by a corporation. Specific elements of corporate culture which were examined are corporate goals (to increase market share, …

The Development And Use Of A Locus Of Control Board Game For 7 Through 11 Year Old Children, Nancy J. Kaniuga

Dissertations

In this study, a children's board game, The Clubhouse Game, was developed, described and evaluated. Created by the author, The Clubhouse Game addresses locus of control and was designed for use in psychotherapy with 7 through 11 year old children. A review of selected writings of Piaget, Erikson and Winnicott yielded four concepts which were incorporated into the game. The Clubhouse Game was evaluated in terms of its effectiveness in modifying belief in locus of control in children who played the game, and its ability to serve as a stimulus or point of reference for discussions of situations which contain …

Behavioral Treatment Of Headaches, Walid Salim Salah-Kailane

Dissertations

Headaches are common and frequent forms of pain, and are classified on the basis of inferred physiological factors (Ad Hoc Committee on the Classification of Headache, 1962).

Behavioral treatment of headaches was the subject of this study which focused on improving our understanding of the psychophysiological mechanisms of head pain. It is believed that understanding the physiological and psychological mechanisms of head pain assist in designing treatment using effective behavioral and cognitive methods (Olton & Noonberg, 1980).

Twenty-four headache patients diagnosed as muscle contraction (tension), or migraine headache sufferers were chosen as subjects. The length of the study was one …

Effects Of The Great Depression On Private Higher Education: Impact On Private College And University Planning, J. Michael Hostetler

Dissertations

Private higher education has suffered a loss of dominance in enrollment over the last four decades. Increases in tuition escalated making private higher education distinctly more expensive than options in the public sector. A sharp decline in the birth rate during the 1970s indicates there will be fewer high school graduates for private higher education to recruit. Some private colleges have already been forced to close, while others appear threatened by enrollment decline in the 1990s and beyond.

The Great Depression of the 1930s was a challenging period for the country and the academic community. To discover how private institutions …

Conversion Of The Coldwater Regional Mental Health Center: The Impact On Employees, Connie Dunham Dykman

Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine what effects the conversion of the Coldwater Regional Mental Health Center from a facility serving developmentally disabled residents to one serving mentally ill residents had on the lives of its employees.

Deinstitutionalization has been taking place nationwide at the same time prisons have been expanding. In Coldwater, Michigan, buildings that were left empty as a result of deinstitutionalizing mentally retarded individuals were taken over by the Department of Corrections to be used as prisons. This action inspired advocates for retarded citizens to call for the closure of the Coldwater Regional Center. Instead …

The Perceptions Of Family Environment Between Black Adolescent Users And Nonusers Of Alcohol Or Drugs, Jesse Aaron Brinson Jr.

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine Black American adolescents' substance use (alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine) and their perceptions of their family environments. Sixty-two male and female subjects between the age of 13-21, from a large northeast medical facility, who reported exposure to alcohol or drug use, were asked to complete Moos' (1986) Family Environment Scale (FES). The subjects were divided into users and nonusers. Users were described as those having used alcohol or drugs at least three or more times per week within the previous month. Nonusers were described as those not having used alcohol or drugs less …

Assessment Inequities Of Residential Properties In Nine Michigan Townships, Sivaswami Amarnath

Dissertations

Horizontal equity in property tax administration has been neglected by researchers in favor of research on incidence of the property tax. The present study, conducted within nine townships in Allegan, Barry, and Grand Traverse Counties in Michigan, investigated differences of practices in assessing residential properties. Three hypotheses test differences in ratio of assessed value to sale price for properties owned by nonresidents and residents, properties with water frontage and without water frontage, and properties of higher value and those of lower value. Both parametric and nonparametric statistics were utilized to test the research hypotheses.

The study findings were: (1) Properties …

The Relationship Between Selected Work Behaviors And Closed Head Injury, Douglas A. Walter

Dissertations

Each year approximately 30,000 to 50,000 individuals suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) serious enough to limit their ability to return to their pre-injury life style. A large portion of these individuals are men in their early adult years who are primary wage earners and, additionally, are in the process of establishing primary career tracks. The consequences of the injury, although not negatively impacting on their life expectancy, pose barriers to obtaining and maintaining employment. A persistent problem for rehabilitation specialists is predicting job performance following a TBI. Existing instruments were not available to assess behavioral changes resulting from the …

The Relationship Between Therapist Personality And Theoretical Orientation, David J. Wagner

Dissertations

This research project sought to examine the relationship between a therapist's personality and theoretical orientation. It was hypothesized that therapists with similar personalities would possess similar theoretical orientations.

Forty male and 22 female therapists from a variety of clinical settings participated in the study by volunteering to answer a one-page questionnaire and take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Form G. In addition to demographic data, the questionnaire asked the therapist to select one of six theoretical orientations which they felt best described them. Each orientation was briefly described and defined. The six orientations were: (1) psychodynamic, (2) behavioral, (3) cognitive, …

The Integration Of Metabolic Measurement And The Behavioral Management Of Nutrition And Exercise For Treating Obesity, Cheryl Rae Maphies

Dissertations

Four female subjects participated in an eight-week, behavioral weight control treatment program that emphasized changing the behavior of food choice and aerobic exercise. This study also tested the hypothesis that by utilizing measurements of an individual's resting metabolic rate to determine caloric level, an individual could lose weight without a disproportional drop in metabolic rate. During the initial eight weeks, subjects' resting metabolic rates were determined through the measure of oxygen consumption. Caloric intakes were based on a reduction of 500-1000 calories per day from the estimated number of calories expended daily. Using a multiple-baseline design, the effects of diet …

A Study Of Personality Style And Intergenerational Attitudes On Parenting, David Lee Russell

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interrelationships of health in one's family-of-origin, one's parents' attitudes about parenting, personality style, personal effects of parental dysfunction and one's own parenting attitudes.

Subjects (N = 163) were adults from three different educational levels: adult education, community college and graduate school. Four different instruments were used in the collection of data: the Family-Of-Origin Scale, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (AV), a semantic differential on parenting and a second semantic differential on one's parents' parenting. Both parents and non-parents participated in the study. One way analysis of variance and Pearson correlation analysis were …

Social Work And Sexual Harassment, Surjit Singh Dhooper, Marlene B. Huff, Carrie M. Schultz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Ninety-seven members of the Kentucky chapter of National Association of Social Workers were surveyed about their knowledge of and experience with sexual harassment in their work places. Fifty-one percent knew of sexual harassment of female social workers and 18% knew of similar harassment of male workers. Twenty-six percent had themselves been victims of sexual harassment. Verbal harassment was the most common followed by a combination of verbal and physical harassment in the form of sexy jokes and unwanted touching. A majority of the victims resorted to either avoidance, defusion, or reason in dealing with their harassers. Young workers from small …

Court-Ordered Consent Decree For The Homeless: Process, Conflict And Control, Alice K. Johnson, Larry W. Kreuger, John J. Stretch

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A 1985 class action suit on behalf of homeless individuals living in the City of St. Louis mandates both short-term and long-term services to homeless persons. These court-ordered requirements bring together an interesting triparite system: (1) the adversarial and justice-oriented legal system, (b) the highly political city government, and (c) the traditionally voluntary system of human service providers. Service provision to the homeless, the utility of advocacy, privatization, and the ethics of public disclosure are examined from a sociological conflict and control perspective. The St. Louis experience provides guidance for communities wishing to engage the legal, political, and social service …

The Impact Of Americanization On Intergenerational Relations: An Exploratory Study On The U.S. Territory Of Guam, Amanda Smith Barusch, Marc L. Spaulding

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In-depth interviews with a sample of 60 elderly from the indigenous (Chamorro) population and the immigrant (Filipino) population examined their current lifestyles, with emphasis upon intergenerational relations. Results underscore the dramatic lifestyle changes experienced by Guam's elderly in the wake of Americanization. Among these is an intergenerational "language gap", wherein a majority of the grandchildren do not speak the native language of their elders. Ethnicity, mixed marriage, and length of residence on Guam are discussed as possible determinants of the language gap. The language gap is associated with lower life satisfaction for elders, as well as reduced family contact and …

Counseling Troubled Adolescents: An Evaluation Of A Statewide Training Program, Susanne Mitchell, Anne White, Wynn S. Wright, Peter J. Pecora

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Susanne Mitchell was a graduate student at the School of Social Work, University of Utah. Anne White, M.S.W, is a staff social worker at the Diabetes Health Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. Wynn S. Wright, M.S.W., was the Project Coordinator of the Utah Child Welfare Training Project, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Utah; and currently is psychiatric social worker at Primary Children's Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. Peter 1. Pecora, Ph.D., is Associate Professor and Principal Investigator of the Child Welfare Training Project at the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Utah. The research for this …

Mainstreaming The Underclass, David Stoesz, John Poole, Martha Joseph

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The underclass has become a prominent issue in American social welfare, yet welfare professionals have focused on maintenance as opposed to mainstreaming strategies in working with this population. A mainstreaming strategy would emphasize individual incentives, community reconstruction, and program reorganization, focusing on the social disorganization of underclass communities. The essay details specific programs in each of these areas: transitional benefits, Community Enterprise Zones, and Integrated Service Agencies, among others. Welfare professionals must find ways to stretch existing public resources and identify new private resources if they are to pose plausible programs for the underclass. The public image of welfare professionals …

Low-Income Parents' Attitudes Toward Parent Involvement In Education, Nancy Feyl Chavkin, David L. Williams Jr.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using data from 978 parents who indicated their family income level on a descriptive survey about attitudes toward parent involvement in education, this article reports on comparisons among low-income, middle- income, and high-income parents. Despite some differences among the groups, the results clearly dispute any idea that low-income parents lack interest in their children's education. The authors provide recommendations of key strategies that social workers can use to facilitate effective involvement of low-income parents in their children's education.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 16, No. 3 (September 1989)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

• MAINSTREAMING THE UNDERCLASS - David Stoesz, John Poole, and Martha Joseph
• LOW-INCOME PARENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARD PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATION - Nancy Feyl Chavkin and David L. Williams, Jr.
• A COURT-ORDERED CONSENT DECREE FOR THE HOMELESS: PROCESS, CONFLICT, AND CONTROL - Alice K. Johnson, Larry W. Kreuger, and John J. Stretch
• OLD FOLKS' HOMES FOR BLACKS DURING THE PROGRESSIVE ERA - Iris Carlton-LaNey
• THE IMPACT OF AMERICANIZATION ON INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE U.S. TERRITORY OF GUAM - Amanda Smith Barusch and Marc L. Spaulding
• EASTERN EUROPEAN REFUGEES: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK - Richard P. Baker
• COUNSELING TROUBLED ADOLESCENTS: …

Old Folks' Homes For Blacks During The Progressive Era, Iris Carlton-Laney

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper discusses the development of old folks' homes for Blacks during the Progressive Era. Churches, women's clubs, and secret societies played a major role in the development, funding, and operation of these institutions. These groups adhered to the doctrine of self-help and group solidarity which provided impetus for their charitable activities. The members of these organizations believed that leaving "'worthy" indigent Black aged to live out their last years in almshouses was cruel and intolerable. This paper highlights some of the efforts and many of the homes that were established for the Black aged through the cooperation and material …

Eastern European Refugees: Implications For Social Work, Richard P. Baker

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The project examined and analyzed the adaptation and ethnicity of Eastern European immigrants. The methodology consisted of in-depth interviews with 28 families. White ethnic groups are able to rapidly adapt to their new environment, but their ethnic heritage diminishes. Securing employment and learning the language are the two most serious problems for immigrants. A serendipitous analysis concerns the estranged relationship between the immigrants and the refugee center. Improvement of social services to immigrants is also addressed.