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Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 24, No. 4 (December 1997)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• THE BIOGRAPHY OF A SCALE: CONTEXTUAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE MEASUREMENT OF FAMILY FUNCTIONING - Ludwig Geismar
• LESSONS FROM YELLOW MEDICINE COUNTY: WORK AND CUSTODIAL SERVICE AT THE COUNTY POOR FARM, 1889-1935 - Ralph Woehle
• ECO MAPS: A TOOL TO BRIDGE THE PRACTICE-RESEARCH GAP - Rena D. Harold, Lucy R. Mercier, Lisa G. Colarossi
• NEW COMMUNITARIAN THOUGHT AND THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL POLICY - John McNutt
• TIME SERIES ANALYSIS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT POLICIES IN FEDERAL REGION V STATES - Susan Gaffney, Sumati Dubey
• THE PROCESS AND IMPLICATIONS OF DOING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: AN ANALYSIS …

Connecting To Communities: Transformational Leadership From Africentric And Feminist Perspectives, Joan L. Arches

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Twenty female administrators in human service agencies serving diverse ethnic communities were interviewed to provide an understanding of their struggles and leadership styles. Applying both Africentric and feminist theoretical frameworks to inform the political frame advanced in theories of transformational leadership, connecting with community and community building were strategies for providing leadership.

Review Of Still The Promised City?: African-Americans And New Immigrants In Postindustrial New York. Roger Waldinger. Reviewed By Charles Jaret, Georgia State University, Charles Jaret

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Roger Waldinger. Still the Promised City?: African-Americans and New Immigrants in Postindustrial New York. New York. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996. $35.00 hardcover.

Review Of Rethinking Abortion: Equal Choice, The Constitution And Reproductive Politics. Mark Graber. Reviewed By Margaret Severson, University Of Kansas., Margaret Severson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Mark Graber, Rethinking Abortion: Equal Choice, the Constitution and Reproductive Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996. $29.95 hardcover.

Review Of Queer Science: The Use And Abuse Of Research Into Homosexuality. Simon Levay. Reviewed By Carol Tully, Tulane University., Carol Tully

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Simon LeVay, Queer Science: The Use and Abuse of Research into Homosexuality. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1996, 364 pages, $25.00 hardcover.

Latvians In Southwest Michigan: A Transnational Perspective, Andrew K. Dove

Masters Theses

The focus of this study was to look at the Latvian population in Southwest Michigan utilizing the transnational theoretical framework. Transnationalism examines the three-way relationship between the migrant, home community (Latvia), and host community (United States). First and second generation Latvian-Americans were interviewed to assess the nature of their transnational activities with regard to economics, politics, family ties, communication, and organizational membership.

The data were collected through the use of in-depth interviewing. Both an interview protocol and demographic survey were utilized. A total of 16 adult Latvian-Americans (N = 16) were interviewed. Eight were first generation Latvian-Americans (N = 8), …

Search And Destroy: African American Males In The Criminal Justice System. Jerome J. Miller

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Jerome J. Miller. Search and Destroy: African American Males in the Criminal Justice System. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. $ 24.95 hardcover.

A Study Of Ideological Change In Reggae Music From 1971 To 1993, William H. Stanley

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to see if the reggae music that became popular in the United States was ideologically different from the reggae that originated in Jamaica. The hypothesized change was derived from a model developed by Humphrey Regis (1994, 1988) labeled “cultural domination by re-exportation”. It was determined that early reggae music and the Rastafarian religion had very similar ideologies. The change within reggae music was measured against the Rastafarian belief system.

A content analysis of twenty-five songs was undertaken. The method of doing ideological analysis of the reggae lyrics was derived from Cormack (1992). The sample …

Moving Along: An Exploratory Study Of Homeless Women With Children Using A Transitional Housing Program, Sondra J. Fogel

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The increase in the number of women and children who are homeless, particularly in the last fifteen years, has generated the innovation of shelters that combine longer term housing arrangements and social services. These organizations are usually called "transitional housing," intended to assist this population toward the economic goal of "self-sufficiency." The impact and success of this strategy is often debated. However, there has been scant research investigating how residents of this setting use skills and resources to secure housing outcomes and community re-integration. Through multiple in-depth interviews and other qualitative data collecting strategies, a conceptual model is presented which …

The Framing Of Political Advocacy And Service Responses In The Crime Victim Rights Movement, Frank J. Weed

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper analyses two major aspects of the mobilizing frames found among local organizations in the crime victim rights movement. A national survey of 301 organizations demonstrated that organizations shape their service/action responses in terms of three conceptualizations of the "victim problem." These conceptualizations clearly influence the pattern of service programs found in different types of organizations. In addition it is shown that some types of organizations are more oriented to political advocacy than others; yet all types of organizations are more apt to be involved in political action if their staff members are oriented to "victim rights" framed as …

Debunking: A Role For The Practicing Sociologist, Harris Chaiklin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Individual sociologists have been effective in solving organizational problems. They have been spectacularly unsuccessful in solving persistent social problems such as poverty. These ultimate troubles may never be solved but they must always be worked with. Sociological ideas cannot be the only knowledge system used in working with social difficulties. No reductionistic system has ever been successful. Creating the conditions which will even improve any deleterious social behavior requires a wider perspective and more resources than the sociologist, as sociologist, can muster. Practicing sociologists can make their greatest contribution to ameliorating major social malfunctions by putting increased emphasis on their …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 24, No. 3 (September 1997)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• EDITORIAL - Bob Leighninger
• ESCAPING POVERTY AND BECOMING SELF-SUFFICIENT - Richard K. Caputo
• SUCCESSFUL ADAPTATION OF IMMIGRANTS FROM THE FORMER SOVIET UNION TO PROJECT RENEWAL NEIGHBORHOODS - Haya Itzhaky
• THE FRAMING OF POLITICAL ADVOCACY AND SERVICE RESPONSES IN THE CRIME VICTIM RIGHTS MOVEMENT - Frank J. Weed
• CONCEIVING IDENTITY: BISEXUAL, LESBIAN AND GAY PARENTS CONSIDER THEIR CHILDREN'S SEXUAL ORIENTATIONS - Carrie Yang Costello
• A MAN WITHOUT A JOB IS A DEAD MAN: THE MEANING OF WORK AND WELFARE IN THE LIVES OF YOUNG MEN - Kathleen A. Kost
• MOVING ALONG: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF HOMELESS WOMEN WITH …

Conceiving Identity: Bisexual, Lesbian And Gay Parents Consider Their Children's Sexual Orientations, Carrie Yang Costello

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study demonstrates the inadequacy of the traditional theory of childhood socialization and identity formation, which holds that children are socialized to internalize the key parameters of their parents' identities. The lesbian, gay and bisexual parents studied were willing actively to foster a sexual identity different from their own in their children. This illustrates that parents may seek to shape the process of internalization so that their children are able to develop identities fundamentally different from their own. The implication for social work is that adoptive or birth parents may successfully instill identities in their children which differ from their …

A Man Without A Job Is A Dead Man: The Meaning Of Work And Welfare In The Lives Of Young Men, Kathleen A. Kost

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Little is known about the use of welfare by young men as most research and debate have concentrated on the use of welfare by families headed by single women. This research includes young men in this debate by examining the personal characteristics, events that precipitated their use, why they exited, and the barriers they faced in obtaining employment. Data are from qualitative interviews of 20 young men who resided in Madison, Wisconsin. Findings suggest that these men use General Assistance as a type of unemployment insurance between jobs. Policy, program and research recommendations are made regarding the need for assistance …

The Class Politics Of Domestic Violence, John P. Mckendy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The claim is often voiced that wife abuse is a problem that "cuts across" all social and economic lines. Yet there is considerable research evidence suggesting an inverse relationship between wife abuse and the socioeconomic status of both victims and perpetrators. The question of the relevance of social class has generally been construed as a factual one, in principle resolvable by collecting more and better data. Doing a participant observation study of a treatment programme for men who batter, I was forced to bracket the "objective," empirical question, but freed to see how certain ideological practices worked to keep class …

The Impact Of Sex And Gender-Role Orientation On Student Evaluations Of Professor Competence In Counselor Education And Counseling Psychology, Suzanne M. Hobson

Dissertations

The focus of this study was on the potential impact of sex and gender-role orientation on one form of evaluation within higher education. Specifically, this study investigated sex and gender-role orientation as they relate to graduate student end-of-course evaluations of professors in the Counselor Education and the Counseling Psychology fields.

Students enrolled in graduate courses in counselor education or counseling psychology at a large university in the Midwest completed the Instructional Development and Effectiveness Assessment (IDEA) end-of-course rating form, a modified version the Bern Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) short form, and a student questionnaire. Professors also participated by completing the IDEA …

Discrimination Against Female Graduate Teaching Assistants, Joanne Ardovini-Brooker

Dissertations

Many studies have been done concerning the classroom climate, particularly in the university setting. It has been found that the classroom climate for women is one that is cold, unreceptive, unwelcoming, and even hostile to women. This chilly reception is endured by female undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors. This researcher believes that the chilly classroom climate also extends to female graduate teaching assistants/instructors. I also believe that this chilly climate may be chillier and more hostile for them, since graduate teaching assistants/instructors do not have the status associated with a doctoral degree. This concept is the basis for what …

What’S Good For Gm… : Deindustrialization, And Crime In Four Michigan Cities, 1975-1993, Rick Matthews

Dissertations

This study examines the effects of deteriorated economic conditions caused by General Motor's deindustrialization efforts between 1975 and 1993 on crime rates in four Michigan cities. The Michigan cities ofFlint and Saginaw are used as examples of cities that were highly dependent on General Motors for their economic well-being, and are compared with Lansing and Grand Rapids which had more diversified economies and experienced less social disorganization. It is hypothesized that General Motor's deindustrialization efforts in Flint and Saginaw caused social disorganization to increase, which, in turn, caused crime rates to increase. Lansing and Grand Rapids, on the other hand, …

Underdevelopment As Meta-Axiological Dilemma: The Socioeconomic Implications Of African Axiology For Rational Choice Determinants Of Microeconomic Agency, Sundiata Keita Ibn-Hyman

Dissertations

The intergenerational problems of indigence, poverty and social dysfunction that plague African societies are inextricably grounded in the broader issue of ethnocentrism in neoclassical microeconomics. Economic anthropology provides a methodological critique of the conceptual limitations of neoclassical micro-behavioral assumptions narrowly imposed on non-westem economic organization. While recognizing non-westem economic praxes, the sociological implications of strict neoclassical microeconomic agency for non-westem socioeconomic development is conspicuously ignored. The critique fails to specifically consider the impact of neoclassical ethnocentrism to non-westem sociocultural organization and improvement.

This research utilizes an African-centered, social psychological approach to examine the paradigmatic implications of rational choice criteria for …

Flying Universities: Educational Movements In Poland 1882-1905 And 1977-1981, A Socio-Historical Analysis, Gregory A. Lukasik

Masters Theses

In Poland in 1977, a group of intellectuals formed an independent educational enterprise under the name "Flying University." Interestingly, the original "Flying University" was organized by a group of radical professors nearly a century earlier, at a time when the Polish state disappeared from the political map of Europe. I was interested in seeing whether the two were the same, as their common name would suggest, or if they differed in any respect. I attempted to answer this question by focusing on the so-called universities' memberships, ideologies, and objectives.

I have followed the method of interpretive historical sociology (Skocpol, 1979) …

Little Golden Bookstm: An Analysis Of Every Child’S Literature, Sandra Ballman-Burke

Masters Theses

Modeling theory proposes that consequences received by the model are considered critical in determining whether or not modeled behaviors will be imitated (Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1961).

Despite the apparent significance of consequences, analyses of children's literature have failed to explore this link. Utilizing feminist research perspectives, I sought to examine variables explored in previous analyses of picture books, with emphasis on consequences received by models. I was interested in (a) consequences received by female and male characters when engaged in instrumental/independent activities (Kortenhaus & Demarest, 1993); (b) the ways in which female and male characters are stereotyped; and (c) …

An Afrocentric Perspective On Social Welfare Philosophy And Policy, Jerome H. Schiele

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Although much of the literature on American social welfare philosophy and policy is progressive and sincere in its objectives to dismantle poverty and economic oppression, the literature is limited in two important areas: 1) identifying American social welfare philosophy and policy as primarily Eurocentric in its worldview, and 2) applying the cultural values of people of color as a conceptual base to advance and diversify views on social welfare philosophy and policy. To address this gap, this paper draws on the viewpoints of a cadre of social scientists called Afrocentrists and applies the Afrocentric worldview to deseribe how it conceives …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 24, No. 2 (June 1997)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• INDOCHINESE MENTAL HEALTH IN NORTH AMERICA: MEASURES, STATUS, AND TREATMENTS - Thanh V. Tran and Donna L. Ferullo
• AN AFROCENTRIC PERSPECTIVE ON SOCIAL WELFARE PHILOSOPHY AND POLICY - Jerome H. Schiele
• TOWARD A SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT FOR UNDERSTANDING VIOLENCE AND DISRUPTION IN BLACK URBAN SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES - Linwood H. Cousins
• RECONSTRUCTING SEX OFFENDERS AS MENTALLY ILL: A LABELING EXPLANATION - Rudolph Alexander, Jr.
• PERSONAL NARRATIVE AND THE SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE LIVES OF FORMER PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS - Robin M. Gilmartin
• ETHICS IN FIELD EDUCATION: PROMISE, PRETENSION, OR PRACTICE? - Gary Mathews, Susan Weinger, and Marion Wijnberg
• THE …

Toward A Sociocultural Context For Understanding Violence And Disruption In Black Urban Schools And Communities, Linwood H. Cousins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article examines violence and disruption in a Black urban school and community. The author argues that an unempowering framework of culture has restricted our understanding of violence and other social issues affecting Black schools and communities. From such a backdrop, a sociocultural framework is presented that captures the strain, solidarity, and contemporary emergences that area part of school, American and Black culture, and a part of the context in which violence occurs in Black schools and communities. Broad implications are posited for human service policy, research, and direct practice.

The Education And Cultural Adaptation: Experiences Of Japanese Children In Foreign Cultures, Akiko Namiki

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the experiences of Japanese children and adolescents who reside in the United States as a consequence of their parents' jobs and examines how they adapted to a local society and how their cultural identities were affected by living in the United States before establishing stable identities. This study was completed by relating existing literature to interviews with a sample of Japanese children and adolescents, their mothers, and their teachers who reside in a Midwestern urban areas.

Experiences of the Japanese children and adolescents were examined in terms of their English language skills, Japanese language skills, family lives, …

Rape Law Reform: The Law And Its Perceived Impact, Jennifer D'Ette St. Pierre

Masters Theses

The research examines "model" rape reform legislation in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Interviews were conducted with area judges, attorneys, victim advocates, and law enforcement officers to assess the variety of perceptions regarding the problems that remain for rape victims in the past two decades since reforms have been implemented. Discussion details the perceived successes, failures, and overall impact of reforms. The research identifies problem areas which affect both victims and practitioners within the legal processing of sexual assault cases. The study concludes with recommendations for possible courses of action for abating the difficulties surrounding the crime of rape in the 1990s.

Determinants Of Worker Perceptions Of Team Effectiveness, Scott D. Mist

Masters Theses

This study measures perceptions of team effectiveness in a research and development organization from data obtained during an evaluation of a Federal Re-Invention Laboratory. The study is a secondary analysis which examines five scales, selected for their ability to measure team performance and satisfaction through the use of several values, behaviors and attitudes. These include empowerment, cohesion, team fitness, culture-power distribution, and culture.

A confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyze the strength of the question items of the scales. The factors were then utilized in four logistic regression analyses of dependent variables.

The analyses showed the relative strength of …

Caroline Bartlett Crane And Progressive Era Reform: A Socio-Historical Analysis Of Ideology In Action, Linda J. Rynbrandt

Dissertations

This dissertation is a sociohistorical analysis of women and social reform in the Progressive Era. Until recently, the role of women has been virtually invisible in accounts of Progressive social reform. While this is no longer the case, considerable questions remain. Using the archival records of one woman, Caroline Bartlett Crane (1858-1935), which document her professional, intellectual and personal life, I describe her contribution to social reform and early sociology. I analyze how her life and work reveals a greater understanding of current feminist debates and other social, historical and political questions.

The White Extremist Movement: A Metatheoretical Analysis, Suzanne Vanweelde

Masters Theses

This study is a metatheoretical analysis of the white extremist movement in the United States. Five separate major and several smaller white extremist organizations were examined with respect to updated information as to the organizational levels, membership profiles and activities of: (1) the Ku Klux Klan, (2) the Militia, (3) Skinheads, (4) Aryan Nations, (5) the Neo-Nazi and (6) other organizations.

Several theories developed by foundational, developmental and contemporary sociologists were analyzed for their individual concepts. Pertinent and significant concepts were noted as being applicable to a theory of white extremism. Specific examples of the concepts' usage within the extremist …

Decision Making And The Felony Offender: A Cognitive Approach, Marlene O’Hara

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the theory of cognitive self-change as it applies to increasing the successful completion rate of felony offenders sentenced to a probation half-way house. Subjects used were young, males who had been convicted of non-violent crimes and who were ordered to complete the Alternative Directors Residential Probation program as part of their probation order.

The group of residents who entered Alternative Directions in October, 1994 was given an intensive ten hour course using cognitive decision making techniques during their first two weeks in residence. The groups of residents entering the …