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Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 8, No. 3 (September 1981)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Table of Contents

• Abusers of Clients of Women's Shelter: Their Socialization and Resources - M. M. Brown, B. E. Aguirre, Carol Jorgensen
• An Examination of Public Housing in the United States after Forty Years - Mary Jo Huth
• Services Aren't Goods: Post-Industrial Principles for Policy Design - Howell S. Baum
• Native American Elderly Formal and Informal Support Systems - Gregory R. Versen
• Factors Affecting the Economic Status of Elderly Chicanos - Alejandro Garcia
• The Future of Welfare Programs in the United States: Four Approaches - Wim Weiwel
• The Reagan Election and Mandate: Their Fiscal Policy Implications for the Welfare State …

Social Network Analysis: A New Tool For Understanding Individual And Family Functioning, Jane H. Pfouts, Ellen J. Safier

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

During the last decade, social work, along with the other helping professions, has moved toward conceptualizing practice within a social systems framework. Intrapsychic variables are still important but, increasingly, the emphasis is on the clients' intimate social network as both cause and solution of a wide range of social problems. It is now widely believed that clients' well-being is enhanced when system functioning is enhanced (Gitterman and Germain, 1976).

Most of what social workers know about social systems theory comes from the sociological literature, particularly the social action system of Talcott Parsons. Although this orientation has great heuristic value for …

An Examination Of Public Housing In The United States After Forty Years, Mary Jo Huth

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article first briefly reviews the history of public housing in the United States since its inception in 1937, noting that growing obsolescence of public housing units, the deterioration of inner-city neighborhoods surrounding public housing projects, racial tensions, and inflation have aggravated public housing problems in recent years. Moreover, public housing tenants are no longer predominantly white, upwardly-mobile, two-parent, working-class families, but predominantly non-white, non-mobile, female-headed, lower-class families. The remainder of the article presents the findings of a 1978 field survey of public housing in the United States conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in preparation for …

Services Aren't Goods: Post-Industrial Principles For Policy Design, Howell S. Baum

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

As the United States moves from an industrial society to a post-industrial society, fewer people are engaged in the production of goods, and a majority now produce services. The processes of designing and producing goods and services are radically different. This differences calls for innovation in both the structure of the work setting and the policies which govern work in the society as a whole. The article examines differences between goods and services and proposes a new model for designing and producing services, as well as new principles for social policy for service production. The model and principles are illustrated …

The Future Of Welfare Programs In The United States: Four Approaches, Wim Weiwel

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

There are many theories which attempt to explain why the United States has become a welfare state. Four main approaches can be distinguished which focus on 1) the maintenance of social order; 2) welfare as empowerment; 3) welfare as an expression of egalitarianism; and 4) welfare as contributing to economic growth.

Similarly, there are many predictions about the likely future of the welfare state. They can be related to the four approaches which analyze the welfare state's historical origins and current function. The aim of this article is to clarify the debate about the future by relating the different predictions …

The Reagan Election And Mandate: Their Fiscal Policy Implications For The Welfare State, James Fendrich, Douglas St. Angelo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper has three main thrusts. The first searches the Reagan campaign, the 1980 Republican Platform, the election and survey results to determine whether or not Reagan can creditably lay claim to a mandate for his social policies. The second thrust investigates the 1982 Reagan spending and taxing programs. Our purpose here is to ascertain if those policies denote major new directions in U.S. social policy. Our third purpose involves an assessment of the Reagan fiscal policies upon the U.S. economy.

This study concludes: (1) Reagan can claim a mandate for much of his social policies, (2) the Reagan fiscal …

Strategies For Crime Reduction In Public Housing, Mary Jo Huth

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Many recent studies have revealed that not only are residents of public housing the most vulnerable segment of the American population in terms of criminal victimization, but that even in projects where the actual incidence of crime is not high, a great fear of crime prevails, especially among the elderly tenants. There is general consensus among crime prevention experts that crime reduction programs in public housing must utilize an integrated set of measures, including: (1) physical design, security hardware, and maintenance improvements by management; (2) increased organization of tenants around crime prevention issues; (3) employment of unemployed tenants--both youths and …

Assessing Part-Time Education In An M.S.W. Program, Ursula C. Gerhart

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Because of the dearth of debates on the merits of full-time vs. part-time M.S.W. education, some findings on law-school part-time education are reported, together with the results of an empirical study which compared the achievement of part-time and full-time social work students. Given the same opportunities, parttime students do as well as full-timers.

Determinants Of Primary Group Assistance During Unemployment, Martin D. Hanlon

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In recent years much research attention has been given to the role of primary groups in ameliorating stressful life events. However, little is known about what factors determine the amount of assistance people receive from relatives and friends during a situation of crisis. This is the focus of the present study. The data base is a sample of public sector workers who were involuntarily laid off from their jobs.

The data revealed that respondents received considerable assistance from parents and friends--the two primary group types included in the analysis--during the period of unemployment. Objective economic deprivation, indexed by the difference …

Organizational Resistance To Serving The Disadvantaged: The Case Of A State Employment Service, Ronald Randall

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Maintaining the commitment of public agencies to serve the disadvantaged persists as one of the most vexing problems in public affairs. This study places in an historical perspective the commitment of the Wisconsin State Employment Service (WSES) to serve the disadvantaged during the late 1960s and the retreat from this emphasis in the 1970s. The WSES displays a tradition of tension between operating-level employees who aspire to serve a job-ready clientele, and top decisionmakers who, from time to time, sense a need for direct service to the disadvantaged. The study suggests that effective service to the disadvantaged depends upon continuous, …

Child-Care Usage Patterns As Estimates Of Child-Care Need, Nancy Hendrix

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Child-care utilization studies are often used to estimate the need for future child-care. The author stresses the limitations of the use of past patterns to judge future needs. Specifically the article focuses on the reliability and validity of measures of usage and satisfaction with various child-care modes, errors in study design, lack of conceptual clarity, and problems of the correlation of child-care modes and other variables.

The Effect Of Active-Participation With Feedback In A Videotape, Discrimination-Training Program, Stephen M. Brewer

Masters Theses

With the use of a multiple-baseline design, the present experiment examined the effect of three training conditions on the acquisition of tutoring techniques in four volunteer college students. The three training conditions were: (1) Guidelines, subjects read and were tested over a manuscript; (2) Passive-Participation Without Feedback, subjects viewed 15 vignettes of a model's correct and incorrect use of tutoring techniques without receiving feedback on the model's behavior; and (3) Active-Participation With Feedback, subjects actively scored and received feedback on the same videotaped model's use of tutoring techniques. Subjects participated in one of the training conditions once at the beginning …

Factors Influencing Termination Status Of Clients In The Kalamazoo County Juvenile Court Volunteer Probation Program: November 1969-June 1973, Christine Clare Iavelli

Masters Theses

This study was designed to identify the factors which were associated with the juveniles and their volunteers within the Kalamazoo County Juvenile Court Volunteer Probation Program from November 1969 through June 1973 resulting in a successful or unsuccessful termination of informal probation. Data on 317 juveniles and their volunteers were compiled and analyzed. A bivariate test was conducted to determine the relationship of ten independent variables for the juveniles and six independent variables for the volunteers to the dependent variable, the probationer's termination status. Those independent variables considered to be significantly related to the dependent variable were retained and tested …

A Study Of The Library Knowledge Of A Sample Of Freshmen Students Enrolled At The University Of Puerto Rico For The School Year 1980-81, Sarai Rodriguez De Perez

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to collect data that could help assess the library needs of a sample of college freshman enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico for the school year 1980-81.

Data were collected by means of a 50 item library test and 8 survey type questions.

As indicated by the test scores and by the students' answers to the survey questions: library instruction is needed in six of the seven subject areas covered by the library test and in a ll the subject areas specified by the questionnaire; library instruction is needed by 75% of the …

An Analysis Of The Behavioral Consequences Of An Attendance Bonus Program, David William Smith

Masters Theses

Absenteeism is one of the most expensive and complex problems faced by management. Previous efforts to ameliorate attendance problems have focused on demographical analysis of absent workers, providing information of little value in designing remedial programs. The current project is an analysis of an Attendance Bonus Program in terms of contingencies of reinforcement. Six hundred union employees of a manufacturing plant served as subjects, with two comparison plants of 100 and 600 employees as comparative populations. Analysis of the prevailing contingencies identified a number of deficiencies. Attendance reinforcement aspects were appropriate, but a response criterion needs to be established. The …

Choice As A Dependent Measure In Autoshaping: Sensitivity To Frequency And Duration Of Food Presentation, Mitchell Jon Picker

Masters Theses

Previous investigations have shown that rate, latency, and percentage of trials with at least one response are somewhat insensitive measures of the strength of autoshaped responding. In two experiments, nine pigeons were exposed to an autoshaping procedure in which the successive presentation of three stimuli were followed by food on either 100%, 50%, or 0% of the trials. Choice testing involved the simultaneous presentation of the three stimuli. In Experiment I, all pigeons consistently directed their initial choice responses and the majority of subsequent responses to the stimulus always followed by food. In Experiment II, rate, latency, and percentage of …

Response Latency: A Function Of Within-Session Differences In Intertrial Interval, Training History, Cue Condition, And Ratio Requirement, James Bryant Nuzzo

Masters Theses

Skinner has suggested that latency does not vary in an orderly manner and short latencies result from the development of effective waiting behavior not specified by the experimental contingencies. Recent experimentation has found latency to vary as a function of a within-session difference in parameters of reinforcement correlated with two components of a discrete-trial multiple schedule. Also found was the attenuation of within-session differences in latencies with the change in intertrial interval (ITI) from 5 seconds to 20 seconds. This suggests that the ITI may be variable which controls latency. This study investigated the effect on latency of within-session differences …

Assimilation Of Korean College Students, Jei Hyun Yoo

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine four of Gordon's seven types of assimilation (cultural, structural, marital and identificational) among Korean college students.

Data were gathered from a combination of 23 interviews (14 males and 9 females) at Western Michigan University and 104 mail questionnaires (63 males and 41 females) from the University of Michigan.

The degree of assimilation was positively related to the length of residence in the United States, SES of parents and age. No evidence was found to suggest that one sex was more highly assimilated into American society than the other. By utilizing path analysis, …

A Functional Analysis Of Response Contingent Full Physical Guidance, Richard J. Jackle

Masters Theses

Two experiments were conducted in this study of effects of full physical guidance (folding the subjects' hands) that was made contingent on a mechanically defined leg movement response. Two severely mentally impaired adolescents served as subjects. Experiment I compared the effects of baseline and contingent full physical guidance procedures upon the leg movement response. Experiment I I compared the effects of several procedures incorporating full physical guidance to ones which developed operant baselines of leg movement responses. The results Indicated that full physical guidance functioned as an evocative stimulus for Subject 1 and as mild reinforcement for Subject 2.

The Effects Of Performance Appraisal On Staff Performance, Steven S. Armstrong

Masters Theses

Performance appraisals are increasing in numbers, but their effectiveness has little empirical validation. A major objective of the present study was to examine the effects of performance appraisals on the actual performance of supervisees. In addition, it assessed the effect of qualitative, rather than quantitative statements by supervisors. Five staff members participated in this study while working as teaching assistants. Ten dependent variables were observed and recorded per individual, after which the experimenter reviewed the baseline data and targeted six dependent variables for change, based on their low frequencies. The independent variable consisted of a performance appraisal which was a …

The Nixon Doctrine: Its Application In The Arabian Gulf, Abdulwahed Al-Mawlawi

Masters Theses

Western Europe and Japan have been heavily dependent on Arabian Gulf oil; the United States' dependency is growing. Hence, the "security" of this region and consequently the securing of the oil flow has become a major strategic issue to the Western and particularly the U. s. policy makers. To the U. s., the British "withdrawal" from the Gulf in 1971 created a strategic "vacuum". Aggressive arms sales to the region and the "policeman" role of the Shah of Iran in the Gulf served as the main U.S. instruments of filling this vacuum. This was a direct application of the "Nixon …

Intimacy In Context: A Theory Of Interpersonal Relationships, Sara Mirjam Terian

Masters Theses

To define intimacy, interpersonal relationships are divided into four major categories that encompass the whole range of interpersonal behavior: strangers, acquaintances, friends, and intimates. These are seen as progressive stages, defined by the individual's subjective, affective orientation, and discernable by behavioral indicators. Strangers are divided into total, encountered, and familiar strangers, acquaintances into mere and friendly acquaintances, and friends into Just friends, casual friends, and close friends. The process culminates in intimacy which is divided into three aspects: psychological, the necessary aspect, biological, and ideological. Total intimacy is the presence of all three. This framework has explanatory and predictive value, …

Formulation Of The Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Second Edition For Indonesian National Library Cataloguing: An Analytical Study, Wirawan Wirawan

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to find out the problems which would be met and their solutions if the Indonesian National Library applied the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, second edition (AACR2).

Comparison between AACR2 rules and those of its predecessor's as well as international cataloguing and cataloguing practice in Indonesia was conducted. AACR2 rules were analyzed and examples of their application were shown.

The findings indicated that the translation of the terms used in AACR2 to Indonesian language and the choice of the option rules would become the main problem. But it was predicted that the Indonesian people would easily …

Politics And Medicine In The Estrogen Replacement Controversy: A Comparative Analysis Of The United States And Great Britain, Frances B. Mccrea

Masters Theses

This thesis investigated social and medical aspects of the Estrogen Replacement Controversy (ERT) in the United States and Great Britain. American researchers claim that ERT, a treatment for menopausal and postmenopausal problems, substantially increases the risk of endometrial cancer; British researchers minimize the risk and instead emphasize benefits of the treatment. Whereas British medical practitioners are reluctant to prescribe ERT, their American counterparts widely prescribe the treatment. American feminists and consumer groups strongly oppose ERT; similar groups in Britain demand the treatment. Whereas the British government has not regulated the drug, in America, increasing restrictions have been placed on ERT. …

The Effects Of Written Instructions And Videotape Modeling On The Quality Of Performance Feedback Provided For Subordinates, Ileana Habsburg-Snyder

Masters Theses

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of instructions and modeling in training supervisors to provide performance feedback to their subordinates. Four part-time supervisors served as subjects. An across subjects multiple-baseline design was used which employed a baseline phase, an instructions phase and a modeling phase. Data were collected on the percentage of component behaviors performed during roleplay test sessions and actual performance reviews. Modeling and instructions were found to be equally effective in training, however, a sequential presentation of both methods increased performance substantially. The effects of transfer of training were also examined. The results suggest that …

The Relationship Between Knowledge Of Teamwork, Satisfaction, And Perceived Performance Effectiveness Among Professional Human Service Teams, Sonya Monroe-Clay

Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between knowledge of teamwork, performance, and satisfaction in members of human service teams. Team Knowledge was conceptualized as encompassing four critical areas: Personal-Interpersonal, Team Environment, Team Leadership, and Team Processing.

Research findings in the literature point to certain general benefits of the team model. Nevertheless, some teams are dysfunctional, which may be reflected in poor performance and low morale or satisfaction. Lack of knowledge about teamwork was identified as a possible contributor to such problems.

A major hypothesis of the present study was that there is a direct relationship between team knowledge and satisfaction, team …

A Nonvocal Method For Teaching Reading And Spelling To The Deaf, Amy A. Barmeier

Dissertations

Teaching reading and spelling to the deaf requires materials and methods which compensate for the two problems of the deaf child. The first is that the deaf typically have a small verbal history in either the sign language or lipreading modes. The second is that the deaf cannot identify unknown written words by phonetically sounding them out. In comparison, the hearing child has sophisticated sounding out skills and an extensive auditory-vocal history.

The seven experiments in this research investigated a method for teaching vocabulary comprehension and spelling to the deaf which assumed neither a verbal history with respect to the …

Peer Training Of High-Risk Low-Frequency Staff Behaviors In An Institutional Setting, Richard Aart Van Den Pol

Dissertations

Four experienced and four newly employed psychiatric attendants were assessed on their performance of three high-risk low-frequency behaviors during simulated emergencies. The three skills measured were Convulsive Seizure Management, Fire Safety Procedures, and Self-Defense. Each of the behaviors directly affected the safety and well-being of staff and retarded residents of the facility. The experienced employees, labelled "Trainers", received a series of workshops on how to perform and teach the requisite skills to other staff. Following each workshop, according to a multiple baseline across skills experimental design, the Trainers each taught one new staff member, labelled "Trainee" how to perform the …

College Students' Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action Policies For Non-Whites And Women, Susan Ann C. Tong

Dissertations

This research was designed to assess college students' attitudes toward affirmative action policies for non-whites and women. As suggested by a review of the literature, five hypotheses were posited as possible factors related to attitudes toward antidiscrimination public policies. In addition, seven demographic variables were examined as control variables.

This study indicated that the majority of respondents were most in favor of equal opportunity and least in favor of discrimination-in-reverse. However, there were significant differences toward affirmative action based on the race and sex of the respondents. Non-whites overwhelmingly supported discrimination-in-reverse and did not favor equal opportunity. The converse was …

The Interpersonal Dimensions Of Depression As Differentiated By Cognitive Style, Frederick Tobias Sulier

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between field dependence-independence cognitive style and the interpersonal behavior of depressives. The interpersonal behavior of depressives ranges from passive and withdrawn to hostile and aggressive. This wide variety of depressed interpersonal behavior has not been satisfactorily explained by research or clinical observation.

Reseach results have indicated that field dependent (FD) and field independent (FI) people differ in their interpersonal behavior. Nondepressed FD people are often oriented towards people, whereas nondepressed FI people are usually oriented away from other people. It was hypothesized that these interpersonal orientations would also apply to …