Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Client And Therapist Experiences With A Narrative Therapeutic Summary Format, Peter Duncan Whyte

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This qualitative research study explored the use of a narrative therapeutic summary letter format as an adjunctive intervention with clients engaged in individual therapy. The study’s sample consisted of six client subjects who received summary letters from six therapist subjects. Client subjects were furnished with written summaries of four consecutive counselling sessions. The summaries were based on pre-established narrative summary guidelines supplied to each respective therapist. After client subjects had received four consecutive summary letters, in-depth individual interviews were conducted with each client. The aim of these interviews was to explore and document clients’ experiences with the narrative therapeutic summary …

As If Born To: The Social Construction Of A Deficit Identity Position For Adopted Persons, Lise M. Beauchesne

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Many adopted persons report experiencing ongoing problems with identity, often resulting in feelings of personal deficiency to imprison their sense of self. The dominant position of the literature eon adoption individualizes and problematizes “identity” issues by locating the source of difficulties to individual traits of the adopted person and his/her adoptive family. Consequently, the struggle associated with the identity “adopted” is typically constructed as an individual struggle.

Drawing on my own lived experience as an adopted women, I have been engaged in a critical inquiry of the traditional view of adoption in order to understand the problem of identity not …

The Dance Of Many Partners: A Case Study Of Interorganizational Collaboration In The Social Services Sector, Elizabeth G. Brown

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis is a case study of interorganizational collaboration Qualitative methods facilitated reports of 25 participants’ experiences of a collaborative planning process to restructure children's social services in London, Ontario (Canada). The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the process dynamics of collaboration. Factors that impeded and/or facilitated collaboration were discussed. The influence of asymmetrical social relations of power on collaboration was observed in examples participants cited. However, much of the literature reviewed on factors that influence interorganizational collaboration did not include a critical analysis of social relations of power in collaboration. Social relations of power must …

The Experiences Of African American Male Clinical Social Work Supervisors In Cross-Racial Supervision: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Analysis, Mikal N. Rasheed

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Commitment Of Social Service Staff Members: An Exploration, Monica Nandan

Monica Nandan

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Juvenile Curfew Enforcement On Crime Statistics, Kevin Orron Thomas

Theses and Graduate Projects

While America's overall crime rate is in decline, juvenile crime is on the rise. One strategy to help prevent and reduce this phenomenon is the enforcement of a nocturnal juvenile curfew. In a five year period (1990-1994) fifty percent of major American cities took legislative action to enact a curfew ordinance for the first time, or revised an existing ordinance. The purpose of this study was to examine the enforcement of curfew as it related to the reduction or prevention of juvenile crime. The study analyzed selected crime statistics from two city's comparing and contrasting pre and post curfew enforcement …

Spruce Run News (December 1996), Spruce Run Staff

Maine Women's Publications - All

No abstract provided.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 23, No. 4 (December 1996)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• IMPROVING SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE WITH PERSONS WHO ARE HOMELESS AND MENTALLY ILL - Carol T. Mowbray, Shirley P. Thraser, Evan Cohen, and Deborah Bybee
• PREDICTORS OF DEPRESSION AMONG WORKERS AT THE TIME OF A PLANT CLOSING - Nancy R. Vosler and Deborah Page-Adams
• WOMEN BEHIND BARS: TRENDS AND POLICY ISSUES - Mark S. Kaplan and Jennifer E. Sasser
• IMPLICIT BELIEFS ABOUT CHANGE: A THEORY-GROUNDED MEASURE APPLIED TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS SERVING CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES - Susan B. Silverberg, Sherry C. Betts, Angela J. Huebner, and Sonia Cota-Robles
• PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZING - Sung Sil Lee Sohng …

Predictors Of Depression Among Workers At The Time Of A Plant Closing, Nancy R. Vosler, Deborah Page-Adams

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using an ecological theoretical perspective, this study of white male UAW workers stressed by a plant closing explored predictors of depression at multiple systems levels. The five best predictors of workers' depression were family strengths, age, economic strain, health, and social support. Additional bivariate predictors included self-esteem and having an alcohol problem at the individual level, marital status and family satisfaction at the family system level, and household income, home ownership, and key relationships at the social-environmental level. Implications for collaboration between direct-service and policy-practice social workers are discussed.

Women Behind Bars: Trends And Policy Issues, Mark S. Kaplan, Jennifer E. Sasser

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In the crusade to get tough on crime, policy makers have also gotten tough on women, drawing them into prisons in rapidly growing numbers. Today, incarcerated women are predominately poor, uneducated, and unskilled; are disproportionately African American and Latina young women with children; and have severe health and mental health problems. This article examines the characteristics and needs of these women and presents recommendations for their more humane and pragmatic treatment and for social policy that is relevant for the decarceration of this country's soaring female prison population.

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 …

A Statewide Study Of Neighbors' Knowledge Of And Reactions To Physical Child Abuse, Gary W. Paquin, Janet Ford

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Neighbors are believed to have an important influence on child abuse prevention and intervention. This article reports the results of a statewide telephone survey of Kentucky (n = 650) which examined the extent to which respondents suspected neighbors of child abuse (9.4%), and had ever taken in a neighbor's abused or neglected child (7.2%). Variables related to parenting (having a minor child, age, employment status, receiving AFDC benefits) were the only demographic characteristics significantly associated with suspicion of neighbors' abuse; only being the parent of a minor child was significantly associated with taking in a neighbor's child. The results imply …

Review Of The Poverty Of Welfare Reform. Joel F. Handler. Reviewed By Howard Karger, University Of Houston., Howard Karger

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Joel F. Handler, The Poverty of Welfare Reform. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1995. $25.00 hardcover, $12.00 papercover.

Review Of Black Wealth. White Wealth. Melvin L. Oliver And Thomas M. Shapiro. Reviewed By Lolita Perkins, Louisiana State University., Lolita Perkins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Melvin L. Oliver and Thomas M. Shapiro, Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality. New York: Routledge, 1995 $22.95 Hardcover.

Improving Social Work Practice With Persons Who Are Homeless And Mentally Ill, Carol T. Mowbray, Shirley P. Thrasher, Evan Cohen, Deborah Bybee

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Despite a proliferation of programs targeted for persons who are homeless and mentally ill, few reports in the literature detail the challenges experienced or strategies utilized by workers, the majority of whom are social workers. The present study reports results from two focus group sessions held with staff running a model service intervention for this population at two separate sites. The methodology that was utilized quanitified results, allowing presentation of themes, as well as comparisons of the frequency of responses across categories and by site. Staff perceived barriersa ssociatedw ith client behaviors and characteristicsp redominated at both sites. However, systemic …

Implicit Beliefs About Change: A Theory-Grounded Measure Applied To Community Organizations Serving Children, Youth, And Families, Susan B. Silverberg, Sherry C. Betts, Angela J. Huebner, Sonia Cota-Robles

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The aim of this study was to design and evaluate a theory-grounded measure that taps staff beliefs about the possibility for change in an organization which serves children, youth and families at the community level. The rationale for measuring staff beliefs about change derived from a motivation theory that features two contrasting beliefs structures (entity vs. incremental), and the goals and behavioral dispositions associated with each (Dweck & Leggett, 1988). Twenty-nine individuals associated with the community-based organization completed the newly developed Implicit Beliefs About Change Scale (IBACS) and participatedi n a semi-structured interview. Quantitative analyses indicated that the IBACS has …

Participatory Research And Community Organizing, Sung Sil Lee Sohng

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The paper summarizes the political economy of knowledge production in an increasingly privatized, postindustrial world of knowledge society. This analysis is linked to the emergence of participatory research movements. It argues that the participatory approach to community research offers epistemology and methodology that address people, power and praxis in our postmodern, information society. The paper then describes howa participatory research project is carried out in community practice, articulating key moments and the roles of the researcher and participants. In order to develop this understanding further, it examines the efforts of two specific projects and shows how knowledge production can serve …

Gay And Lesbian Adoptions: A Theoretical Examination Of Policy-Making And Organizational Decision Making, Thom Reilly

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Most of the inquiry into gay and lesbian adoptions has focused on the rights of this population toadopt, the constitutional issues surrounding gay and lesbian parenting, and the outcomes of children raised by homosexual parents. There has been scant focus at the policy-making or organizational level on this issue. Why have public adoption agencies failed to provide either regulation or written policy on the topic of adoption of children by gays and lesbians?

This article pursues a theoretical examination of policy-making and organizational decision making to explore this issue. Additionally, a survey was distributed to adoption officials in each of …

Services Provided By A Homeless Intervention: Policy And Planning Implications, Carol T. Mowbray, Deborah Bybee

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Despite the acknowledged need for effective programs to serve persons who are homeless and mentally ill, few evaluations of these programs provide quantitative details on service provision. Such information can be useful to planners for replication and also for public policy concerning the need to mandate services most in demand. This report on a successful outreach intervention reports information on service amounts, duration, and types, as well as identifying predictors of service use. The overall amount of service provided to eligible participants varied substantially. While the median duration was only three months, repeat service episodes were common. For most clients, …

Review Of Challenges To Social Security: An International Expoloration. James Midgley And Martin B. Tracy (Eds.). Reviewed By Leon Ginsberg, University Of South Carolina., Leon Ginsberg

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

James Midgley and Martin B. Tracy, Challenges to Social Security: An International Exploration. Westport, CT: Auburn House. 1996, $49.95.

Review Of Small Change: Domestic Policy Under The Clinton Presidency. David Stoesz. Reviewed By James Midgley, Louisiana State University., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

David Stoesz, Small Change: Domestic Policy under the Clinton Presidency. New White Plains, NY: Longman, 1996. $25.00 papercover.

Review Of Growth Theories In The Light Of The East Asian Experience. Takatoshi Ito And Anne 0. Krueger (Eds.). Reviewed By K. L. Tang, University Of Northern British Columbia., K. L. Tang

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Takatoshi Ito & Anne 0. Krueger (Eds.), Growth Theories in Light of the East Asian Experience. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1995. $65 Hardcover.

The New Generational Contract: Intergenerational Relations, Old Age And Welfare. Alan Walker (Ed.).

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Alan Walker (Ed.), The New Generational Contract: Intergenerational Relations, Old Age and Welfare. London: UCL Press, 1996. $24.95 papercover. [Available from Taylor and Francis, Bristol, PA].

The Populist Persuasion. Michael Kazin.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Michael Kazin, The Populist Persuasion. New York: Basic Books, 1995. $24.00 hardcover.

America Unequal. Sheldon Danziger And Peter Gottscshalk.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Sheldon Danziger and Peter Gottscshalk, America Unequal. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995. $26.00 hardcover.

The Disposable Workforce. Thomas S. Moore.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Thomas S. Moore, The Disposable Workforce. Hawthorne, NY: 1996. $37.95 hardcover, $18.95 papercover.

The Underdevelopment Of Development: Essays In Honor Of Andre Gunder Frank. Sing C. Chew And Robert A. Denmark, (Eds.).

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Sing C. Chew and Robert A. Denmark, (Eds.), The Underdevelopment of Development: Essays in Honor of Andre Gunder Frank. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1996. $58.00 hardcover, $27.95 papercover.

Understanding Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Khmer Traditional Healers: A Case Study, Chang Thach

Theses and Graduate Projects

Approximately three million Cambodian (Khmer) people were victims of political genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge in 1975 inside Cambodia. A significant number of survivors of this holocaust immigrated to Minnesota. The psychological trauma of living through the genocide by the Khmer Rouge has caused many Khmer immigrants to seek mental health services. Many of these seeking mental health services have been diagnosed as suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Two groups of Khmer healers currently live in Minnesota: the Buddhist monk and Kru healer. Traditional Khmer immigrants suffering from PTSD symptoms may be inclined to seek help from …

Personal And Social Factors Related To Adolescent Recidivism, Edgar Young Jr

Theses and Graduate Projects

More than 45,000 Minnesota juveniles were arrested for all types of offenses in 1993, and 8.3 out of every 100 Minnesota juveniles arrested were between the ages of 10 and 17 (MN State Legislative Auditor, 1995). This exploratory research is a study using face to face interviews with seven professionals working directly with adolescent males who have been arrested and convicted of illegal activity (including status offenses). Six social service professionals from Minneapolis/St. Paul and surrounding metro counties were interviewed. Participants shared their perspective on the personal and social forces they think influence adolescent recidivism. Recidivism in this study is …

Children: America's Greatest Natural Resource, Don P. Diffine Ph.D.

Belden Center Books

This book deals with two profound questions: First, "what can we do, in the name of Godly charity and true religion, to keep on providing help, assistance, support, love, care and nurturing for birthmothers? And second, "what can we also do to keep finding ways, in these complex legal times, that such children can continue to fill the aching voids in the hearts of other childless couples?"