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Black Women Build Community: An Examination Of The Radcliffe Black Women Oral History Project, Dawn Michelle Hinton

Dissertations

This study investigated the unique position of Black women in the creation of community. Narratives from the Radcliffe Black Women Oral History Project were the source of information used for this work. These 20 oral narratives were collected between 1978 and 1982 by the Schlesinger Library. The women studied were involved in various community activities and represent Black women from various social classes and geographical locations. An in-depth reading of each of the narratives identified three themes: life-informing work, community-building, and religion. The theme of life-informing work was identified because the work and community involvement of the narrators had a …

The Definition Of Fatherhood: In The Words Of Never-Married African American Custodial Mothers And The Noncustodial Fathers Of Their Children, Jennifer F. Hamer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This qualitative study explores the meaning of fatherhood from the perspective of never-married parents. Specifically, the study describes: how African American custodial mothers perceive the roles and responsibilities of their children's fathers; the extent to which these mothers' perceptions and definitions of noncustodial fatherhood are consistent with those of noncustodial fathers and the dominant cultural "ideal"; and what mothers do to enhance men's paternal participation. A convenience sample of 25 never-married,f ormer couples was drawn from the predominantlyA frican American population of a mid-sized Midwestern city. Data was collected via in-depth interviews with each individual respondent. The findings suggest that …

"Safe Places To Go And Things To Do": Political Texts From Urban Youth Of Color, Amory Starr

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper is the first to examine the political texts of urban youth of color. It presents their assessments of what kinds of policies and programs would improve their lives.

The Impact Of Selected Barriers On Students Completing Community College In Michigan, Terri Lynn Burt

Dissertations

Research studies have been conducted to investigate barriers that inhibit the ability of adult students to obtain a postsecondary education (Powell, 1989; Shields, 1990). These studies suggest that there are three distinct categories that could be used to describe this phenomenon: (1) situational, (2) dispositional, and (3) institutional. The overall purpose of this study was to determine what barriers, if any, are experienced by nontraditional African-American students in selected Midwest community colleges in comparison to White adult students according to selected demographic variables (e.g., age, sex, marital status, number of children, employment, status, income, and race). More specifically, this study …

Review Of Who Will Care For Us: Aging And Long Term Care In Multicultural America. Ronald L. Angel And Jacqueline L. Angel. Reviewed By Martin Tracy, University Of Southern Illinois., Martin Tracy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Ronald L. Angel and Jacqueline L. Angel, Who will Care for Us: Aging and Long-Term Care I Multicultural America. New York: New York University Press, 1997. $29.95 hardcover.

The Role Of Ethnicity Among International Students In Adjustment To Acculturative Stress, Mohd. Tajudin Hj Ninggal

Dissertations

This study examined whether there were differences in six acculturative stress themes among three Malaysian ethnic groups who were enrolled at Western Michigan University during the Fall, 1997 semester. The study also investigated whether the following demographic attributes: (a) gender, (b) academic major, (c) financial sponsorship, (d) family socioeconomic status, (e) type of residential setting, and (f) scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) affected Malaysian students in relation to the six acculturative stress themes: (1) Perceived Discrimination, (2) Homesickness, (3) Perceived Hate, (4) Fear, (5) Culture Shock, and (6) Guilt.

A total of 138 respondents …

African-American Females And The Glass Ceiling In The Defense Logistics Agency, Velma Lee Clay

Dissertations

This study explores the career advancement experiences of African American women who have successfully broken through the glass ceiling. The term “glass ceiling” refers to artificial or invisible barriers based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevent qualified women and minorities from advancing into senior-level management positions. Studies have confirmed that a glass ceiling does exist for African American women and that they are severely underrepresented in top level government jobs, they have less opportunity for advancement, and both gender and race are perceived as factors in their limited representation (MSPB 1992).

What is the Impact of Breaking the Glass …

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.

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 …

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.

Civil Rights And Asian Americans, Gerson David, Jan Lin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Asian American community composed of no less than 20 different ethnic groups is one of the most diverse and complex minority groups in the nation. This article examines the civil rights perspective on Asian Americans through a historical account of major Asian immigrant groups who have experienced and are confronting institutionalized discrimination and violence; and analyzes contemporary civil rights issues affecting Asian Americans in the areas of public and higher education, the work place, and voting rights.

Occupational Aspiration Among African-Americans: A Case For Affirmative Action, Ronald E. Hall

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The recent attack upon Affirmative Action in the workplace demands that merit be the sole criterion of employment. Policies designed to eliminate discriminatory practices are in themselves discriminatory and suggest minorities are inferior. Such suggestions are archaic and simplistic. Each assumes that the workplace operates in a social vacuum when in fact a complex system of cultural norms precedes the influence of merit. For African-Americans color is a predcedent of merit. The present study was undertaken to determine the implications of color in the workplace by analyzing it vis a vis occupational aspiration. Using a sample of African- American college …

The Effects Of Race And Marital Status On Child Support And Work Effort, Richard K. Caputo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experience (NLSLME), Young Women's Cohort, to assess the influence of race and marital status on levels of child support and work effort of recipients of child support in 1978,1983,1988, and 1991. Controlling for the number of children and highest completed grade of education, the study found that race exerted no effect on either level of child support payments or work effort in any of the study years. Marital status influenced level of child support in each study year and work effort only in 1983. Formerly-married mothers had the …

Review Of The Scar Of Race. Paul M. Sniderman And Thomas Piazza. Reviewed By Barbara W. White, University Of Texas At Austin., Barbara W. White

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Paul M. Sniderman and Thomas Piazza, The Scar of Race. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993. $19.95 hardcover.

Review Of The Color Of Welfare: How Racism Undermined The War On Poverty. Jill Quadagno. Reviewed By James Midgley, Louisiana State University., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Jill Quadagno, The Color of Welfare: How Racism Undermined the War on Poverty. New York: Oxford University Press, 1004. $24.00 hardcover.

Housing Satisfaction In The Suburbs: A Racial Comparison, Amonda Stokes

Masters Theses

The primary focus of this study was to compare African Americans' and European Americans' satisfaction with housing in the suburbs. Previous literature suggests that African Americans are living in older suburbs, close to the central city, and in lower quality housing than European Americans.

The population of this study consisted of black and white households living in the suburbs. This was a national sample taken from the American Housing Survey (1991). Cross-tabulations were conducted to determine differences by race of affordability, age of housing unit, ownership, neighborhood satisfaction, and housing satisfaction. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine which variables …

Sisters In The Hood, Deborah Burris-Kitchen

Dissertations

This research assembles and organizes the literature in the areas of African-American women, the political economy of racism, the Black feminization of poverty, drug use and distribution, and gang violence. This dissertation explores extant theoretical approaches with a special emphasis on their relationship to the underground economy. The researcher uses ethnographic methods to examine the role that female gang members play in the underclass drug infested community of south central Fort Wayne, Indiana. Of the Black females interviewed, some were drug dealers, others were using illegal drugs, and still others were females who just found themselves in the inner-city, in …

The Impact Of Mentoring On Leadership Among Young African-American Females, Joyce A. Montgomery

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived effectiveness of the mentoring relationship on the leadership behavior of female mentees in a community leaders program. More specifically, the researcher was concerned with what effects do the variables age, residence location, and family position have on aggressiveness, amount of influence, respect of knowledge, parental substitute and supportiveness components of leadership behavior among adolescent female mentees.

The target population consisted of 47 African-American adolescent females ages 14 through 18 years old attending the Community Leadership Program (CLP) based in Battle Creek, Michigan. The major data-gathering scale used, The Mentoring Leadership …

Race And Language On A College Campus, William H. Dozier

Masters Theses

This research was used to measure the attitudes of students toward African American English at a predominantly European American University. It was hypothesized that significant differences would be found between the responses of the African American and European American students. Using a random telephone survey of the population, three (Language Legitimacy, Language Acceptance, and Cultural Value) of the four hypotheses were found to be significant. The fourth hypothesis (Employment Inhibition) was rejected indicating that both groups felt language was used as an employment stratification device. The data showed that although there were significant differences in the attitudes by race over …

Role Of Social Institutions In A Multicultural Society, K. R. Ramakrishnan, Pallassana R. Balgopal

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

With the rapid change in the demographic structure of the American society, the United States is becoming a mosaic of multiculturalism. Such changes have dramatic implications for social institutions. To understand such changes an overview of the evolution of multiculturalism from a historical perspective is provided. The concept of cultural pluralism is discussed for delineating the role of social institutions. Also examined is the issue of affirmative action, and the role of social welfare institution.

Tripartite Cultural Personality And Ethclass Assessment, Ken Huang

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article assumes of the necessity of a theory of "tripartite personality" and utility of ethclass assessment in cross-cultural therapeutic interventions. It includes, (1) determinants of human behavior; (2) ethnocentrism and effects on groups and individuals, both majority and minority; (3) strategies of conventional intervention and its cultural encapsulation; (4) the proposed tripartite cultural personality, and psychocultural intervention; (5) the ethclass assessment and how it can be incorporated into the DSM-III-R (now, DSM-IV) Multiaxial Diagnostic System.

Ethnic Identity, Intergroup Relations And Welfare Policy In The Canadian Context: A Comparative Discourse Analysis, Adrienne S. Chambon, Donald F. Bellamy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper illuminates the negotiation of group identities and intergroup relations in the Canadian context. It presents an empirical, comparative analysis of group claims around social assistance policy using discourse analysis. Lexical, semantic and narrative analyses of Aboriginal and multicultural documents show a complex organization of intergroup relations, with distinct and at times conflicting claims. In view of the tensions, responsive policy development requires that historical specificity, complexity, and even incompatibilities be taken into account.

Ethnic And Minority Groups In Israel: Challenges For Social Work Theory, Value And Practice, Eliezer D. Jaffe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Israel is a Western, democratic, pluralistic enclave in the Middle East. Multiple ethnic groups, mass immigration, religious diversity, and the current ethnic dilemmas experienced there provide ample opportunity for study. The social work role in addressing the ethnic and cultural challenges in Israel is discussed without minimizing or reducing the complexity of the issues. A closer examination of social work as a vehicle for ethnic sensitivity and understanding of ethnic diversity is required. Knowing how to work with diverse populations and ethnic conflict is imperative in Israel and elsewhere.

Responses To Aging In Great Britain: The Black Experience, Wynetta Devore

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Ethnic minority persons who migrated to Britain from the Caribbean and Asia in response to the call for workers are now elderly. British social workers have not responded well to their needs. This article examines recent progress in social work education and practice in West Yorkshire. It examines research related to elderly needs conducted by the Kirklees Metropolitan Council. Also examined are anti-racist, ethnic-sensitive education and practice models developed by faculty and practitioners.

Cultural Values And Minority People Of Color, Doman Lum

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article delineates various dimensions of culture, factors influencing acculturation, majority and minority values, and etic and emic dimensions of cultural values. It contributes to the debate about whether there are distinctive minority people of color values or whether these values are a function of migration and social class. It introduces the concepts of transcultural, cross cultural, paracultual, metacultural, and pancultural as well as cultural ethclass.

Review Of The Velvet Glove: Paternalism And Conflict In Gender, Class And Race Relations. Mary R. Jackman. Reviewed By Doreen Elliot, University Of Texas At Arlington., Doreen Elliott

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Mary R. Jackman, The Velvet Glove: Paternalism and Conflict in Gender, Class and Race Relations, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994. $38 hardcover.

... And We Keep On Building Prisons: Racism, Poverty, And Challenges To The Welfare State, Paula L. Dressel

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Prison-building is argued to be an intervention of last resort when a nation loses faith in the social welfare enterprise. Recent proposals for more punitive regulations for means-tested benefits, along with the recent dramatic growth in the construction of prisons and in the size of the inmate population, indicate that we are moving as a society toward heightened levels of scapegoating and victim-blaming as a response to troubles generated by significant structural shifts in the economy. This paper analyzes the connections between poverty, punishment, and prisons, with particular emphasis on the scapegoating of people of color. The role of racism …

Elderly Hispanics In The United States: Their Use And Non-Use Of Social Services, Paulina X. Ruf

Masters Theses

The Commonwealth Fund Commission on Elderly people Living Alone (1988), conducted the National Survey of Hispanic Elderly, 1988. Using data from this survey, the present descriptive work, examines the use and non-use of selected social services by general demographic characteristics of the elderly Hispanic sample. In addition, general characteristics of this sample are discussed. A summary of the findings and recommendations for future research conclude this thesis.

The findings indicate that although the elderly Hispanics in the United States reported needing the selected social services used in this thesis, many of them reported not using these services. Additionally, as the …

Introduction - The Legacy Of African-American Leadership In Social Welfare, Iris Carlton-Laney

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The legacy of African-American leadership in social welfare history is only recently finding space in social work literature. The small number of professional journals in social work that publish historical articles, along with institutionalized resistance to the acknowledgement of African-Americans contributions to the development of the profession, have contributed to this dearth of scholarship. The results have been that many professionals are disinclined to perceive of African-Americans as resourceful, skilled and powerful. Instead, the theme of pathology permeates social work literature, teaching, and ultimately social work practice. The social work profession emphasizes the importance of diversity, yet fails to acknowledge …

African-American Males In Prison: Are They Doing Time Or Is The Time Doing Them?, Anthony E. O. King

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

African-American males comprise a disproportionate percentage of the individuals imprisoned in State correctional institutions across the United States. The purpose of this paper is to describe how incarceration affects African-American males. The author recommends more rigorous and systematic analysis of the prison experience, and how it affects the mental, physical, and social well-being of African-American males. Given this nation's commitment to using imprisonment as the principal means for punishing convicted felons, it is imperative that society ascertain the social, psychological, and economic effects of such confinement on millions of African-American males.