Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

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

Promoting Voting Behavior Among Low Income Black Voters Using Reminder Letters: An Experimental Investigation, William Kelly Canady, Bruce A. Thyer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A controlled experimental design applied in a field setting was used to determine the effectiveness of a bipartisan mailed letter reminding registered low income black voters to participate in the 1988 Presidential election. Each member of three groups of approximately 85 voters received either one, two or three such reminder letters shortly before the election. A fourth, control group of voters did not receive any letters. Statistical analysis revealed that the reminder letters appeared to have no effect on voting behavior.

How Voluntary Agency Networks Fared In The 1980s, Margaret Gibelman, Harold W. Demone Jr.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Believing that the least government is the best government, the Reagan Administration favored, in both principle and practice, the transfer of functions to and fiscal independence of the private sector. This article provides a comparative analysis of the financial status of three major types of voluntary agency networks before and near the end of the Reagan era. Focusing on national voluntary health, child welfare league, and family service agencies, proportionate and absolute revenues, sources of income, and new income generating strategies are examined within the context of philanthropic trends and the compensatory role of state and local governments.

These agency …

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 …

Do Respondents Who Pen Comments Onto Mail Surveys Differ From Other Respondents? A Research Note On The Human Services Job Satisfaction Literature, R. L. Mcneely

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A current study has criticized the human services job satisfaction literature for relying solely on information obtained by "closed-ended" questionnaires. Stating that these studies may not accurately reflect the actual conditions under which public welfare employees function, the authors base their criticisms on an analysis of the extemporaneous comments of subjects participating in a national study. Nonetheless, whether or not those who pen comments are representative of the broader population of human service workers remains an open question. The study reported in this article sought to shed light on this issue by comparing respondents who commented versus those who did …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 17, No. 2 (June 1990)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

• NORMAN N. GOROFF: IN MEMORIAM - Shimon Gottschalk
• IMPLICATIONS OF CONSERVATIVE TENDENCIES FOR PRACTICE AND EDUCATION IN SOCIAL WELFARE - David G. Gil
• PHILOSOPHICAL DISPUTES IN SOCIAL WORK: SOCIAL JUSTICE DENIED - Dennis Saleeby
• ADVOCACY/EMPOWERMENT: AN APPROACH TO CLINICAL PRACTICE FOR SOCIAL WORK - Stephen M. Rose
• EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ADVOCACY AND CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING: IMPLICATIONS OF A STRUCTURAL APPROACH TO SOCIAL WORK - Maurice M. Moreau
• BACK TO OUR ROOTS: TOWARD A SPECIALIZATION IN SOCIAL JUSTICE - Linda Cherrey Reeser and Leslie Leighninger
• THE NEW CHRISTIAN RIGHT, SOCIAL POLICY AND THE WELFARE STATE - James Midgely
• THE DEMISE OF THE CATASTROPHIC COVERAGE …

The New Christian Right, Social Policy And The Welfare State, James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

While the campaigns of the New Christian Right on abortion, affirmative action, school prayer and other issues have been well documented, little is known about the movement's attitude towards state welfare programs. Identifying three distinctive sources of fundamentalist antipathy to the welfare state, this paper seeks to draw attention to interesting although unconventional ideas about social welfare that should be recognized and understood by scholars concerned with the study of social policy.

Witches Every Month? The Social Construction Of Premenstrual Syndrome, Suzanne Latham

Masters Theses

Premenstrual syndrome was first reported in 1931, but it was not until the early 1980s that it received widespread attention in the medical literature and the popular press. This thesis is a sociological analysis of how physicians and others were able to define premenstrual problems as an illness. The thesis uses a phenomenological approach, referred to as social constructionism, to explore how medical researchers, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, feminists, various entrepreneurs, and others have attempted to define premenstrual problems to promote their own interests. The analytic method is documentary analysis. The thesis argues that physicians were able to make powerful claims, …

A Comparison Of Sociological And Demographic Factors Of Custodial And Noncustodial Single Fathers, Daniel D. Petterson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what differences, if any, exist in the sociological and demographic factors that are observed to be characteristics of fathers who have custody of their children, as opposed to fathers who do not have custody of their children. A review of the literature revealed that a large amount of information has been collected dealing with the situation of single mothers, but that nothing comparable exists regarding single fathers. The evidence from the literature also indicated that the increase in single fathering is at least paralleling the increase in single parenting in general. It …

Housing And Health In Beijing: Implications Of High-Rise Housing On Children And The Aged, Solvig Ekblad, Finn Werne

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The authors are at present engaged in a Swedish-Chinese interdisciplinary and crossectional project on housing and health in Beijing. This article is concerned with a literature review on the topic and general observations during two recent visits to China.

After some basic assumptions concerning high-rise dwellings, private space and life style, this paper contains explicit comparisons of the design, use and experience of traditional courtyard houses, flats in midrise and high-rise buildings as well as a comparisons of two vulnerable groups , i.e., children and elderly residents.

The article ends with a discussion, and the authors conclude that city planning …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 17, No. 1 (March 1990)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

CONTENTS

• EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION - Roderick L. Lawrence
• HEALTH ASPECTS OF HOUSING AND TOWN PLANNING - Eric Giroult
• RELOCATION AND HEALTH EFFECTS ON THE ELDERLY: A COMMENTED RESEARCH REVIEW - Berth Danermark and Mats Ekstrdm
• HOUSING AND HEALTH IN BEIJING: IMPLICATIONS OF HIGH-RISE HOUSING ON CHILDREN AND THE AGED - Solvig Ekblad and Finn Werne
• FACTORS IN URBAN STRESS - Ian Burton
• HOME SAFETY: THE CHALLENGE TO PUBLIC HEALTH - Ray Ranson
• HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF HOMELESSNESS: REPORTS FROM THREE COUNTRIES - Gerald Daly
• THE ROLE OF REGULATION IN THE CONTROL OF HOUSING CONDITIONS - Roger Burridge and David Ormandy
• AN ECOLOGICAL …

Relocation And Health Effects On The Elderly A Commented Research Review, Berth Danermark, Mats Ekstrom

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper summarizes and comments on the research on the relationship between relocation and morbidity/mortality among the elderly. In the present state of research there are not sufficient grounds for the drawing of general conclusions. On the other hand there is good reason for assuming that relocation under certain circumstances and for certain groups does lead to ill-health and to an increase in mortality. There is a lack of studies devoted to systematic investigation of the influence of such conditions. Various designs and methods have been used, and this reduces comparability. There is also a lack of theoretically guided empirical …

Factors In Urban Stress, Ian Burton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper examines changing patterns of health, causes and effects of urban stress, and approaches to the management of stress.

Professional Life, 1989-1990, Department Of Sociology

The Socializer

Department of Sociology 1 989-90 Professional Life.