Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Paraprofessional Social Service Personnel In Spain, Edward Allan Brawley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study reveals the importance of front-line paraprofessional personnel in the rapidly expanding social services in Spain and identifies the functions they perform, the different kinds of training they receive, their opportunities for advancement, and several issues that must be addressed if they are to make their best contributions to Spain's social services.

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 …

Differential Perception And Adolescent Drinking In The United States: Preliminary Considerations, John B. Harms, James L. Wolk

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper addresses adolescent drinking from a perspective very similar to Sutherland's differential association theory. Drinking occurs when positive perceptions of drinking outweigh or outnumber negative ones. Our research focuses on images of drinking communicated by rationalized sources organized specifically to shape perceptions of drinking. We call these organizations "agencies" and assess their impact on perceptions of drinking. It is our contention that the political economic context of the United States in which these agencies function is such that positive images of drinking outnumber and outweigh negative ones, and that this is an important factor contributing to adolescent drinking.

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.

Response By Ralph Segalman To Isidore Walliman's Review Of The Swiss Way Of Welfare Which Appeared In Volume Xv, Number 2 (June, 1988), Ralph Segalman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

I find the Walliman review deeply faulted in many ways.

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 …

Perceived Stress, Social Support And Survival: North Carolina Farm Operators And The Farm Crisis, Michael D. Schulman, Paula S. Armstrong

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The current farm crisis draws attention to the sources and consequences of the stress process among farm operators. Using panel data from statewide surveys of North Carolina farm operators collected during a period of economic and ecological crisis, the relationships among perceived stress, social support, and survival in agriculture are investigated. Analyses reveal that while the level of perceived stress has no relationship with survival, social support has a significant impact upon both social psychological (plans to remain in farming) and behavioral (continuing as a farm operator) dimensions of survival in agriculture. Perceived social support increased plans to remain in …

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.

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 …

Permanency Planning And The Child Abuse Prevention And Treatment Act: The Paradox Of Child Welfare Policy, Mary Ann Jimenez

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 and the Adoptions Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 have imposed conflicting mandates on the public child welfare system. CAPTA places the moral weight of the federal government behind professional intervention with troubled families, while the Adoptions Assistance Act was designed to protect the autonomy of families. As these policies currently stand, the goal of protection of vulnerable children is seriously undermined.

A Critique Of Family Case Workers 1900-1930: Women Working With Women, Beverly A. Stadum

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Case records from a charity organization/family case work agency in the early century provide means for evaluating the interaction of nascent social workers with female heads of poor households receiving relief 1900-1930. Class differences and social control appear in retrospect as defining certain elements of this activity; although social workers provided needed material resources, positive impact on poor women's lives was limiited by workers' lack of knowledge and unquestioning commitment to traditional values. Casework, however, is shown as a complex process with concerned leaders in social work trying to shape professional behavior and recipient families engaged in their own problem …

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 …

The Use Of Volunteers By Governmental Social Services In Israel, Ram A. Cnaan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article studies an important aspect of coprovision in social service agencies. It focuses on how social welfare departments utilize the resources of volunteers. An indepth study of 14 Local Departments of Social Service (LDSS) in Israel identifies several issues regarding the use of volunteers that have theoretical and practical implications not only for social services but also for other government service organizations engaged in coprovision.

Philosophical Disputes In Social Work: Social Justice Denied, Dennis Saleebey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The debate in the social work academy about the pertinence of empiricist/positivist modes of knowing and doing is epistemological in character. It is the argument of this essay that prior ontological questions must be answered before the profession of social work can profitably enter this debate. These questions center on the nature of social work, the symbolic and moral essence of the social work enterprise and what the profession is becoming.

The Demise Of The Catastrophic Coverage Act: A Reflection Of The Inability Of Congress To Respond To Changing Needs Of The Elderly And Their Families, Linda Boise

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper considers the recent demise of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 in the context of the needs of the elderly and their families. Although the surtax imposed on middle and upper income elderly was the ostensible reason for the anger this Act generated among the elderly, other factors related to the concerns and needs of the elderly and of their families also prevented it from being supported. This article discusses the characteristics of the Catastrophic Coverage Act as a continuation of the historical bias of Medicare in favor of acute medical care and as an effort by …

Implications Of Conservative Tendencies For Practice And Education In Social Welfare, David G. Gil

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This essay explores the meanings, sources, dynamics, and ideological themes of conservative tendencies in societal evolution and traces the dominance of these themes and tendencies in social welfare practice and education. The essay also suggests approaches for moving beyond these tendencies in our society and proposes an agenda for transition policies. Finally, the essay examines principles and elements of social-changeoriented political action and their implications for practice and education in social welfare.

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 …

Back To Our Roots Towards A Specialization In Social Justice, Linda Cherrey Reeser, Leslie Leighninger

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article describes a proposed social justice curriculum and presents a case study of attempts to establish it in a graduate school of social work. The study is set in the context of the history of activism in social work and an analysis of societal and professional forces which may inhibit such activism. The rationale for a specialization in social justice is discussed along with the process and politics and developing the program and seeking its acceptance. The article describes specific types of resistance to a social change curriculum and possible strategies for dealing with such resistance.

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.

Discipline And Pacification In The Modern Administrative State: The Case Of Social Welfare Fraud, Alec Pemberton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Foucault and Giddins emphasise the power of the modern "Administrative State", arguing that we now have at our disposal an enormous bureaucratic machinery for processing and controlling various problematical human behaviours. Australian data on fraud of the social welfare system are examined to throw light on Foucault's and Giddens' views. Figures relating to prosecution for fraud of both the Unemployment and Supporting Parents Benefits system in the last six years throw some doubt on the concept of a vastly powerful "Administrative State apparatus.'" Certainly a massive state bureaucracy has been established to apprehend cheats, yet the data show consistently that …

Norman N. Goroff - In Memoriam, Shimon S. Gottschalk

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Norman was a radical humanist - not a secular humanist, but a spiritual one. His definition of self was inextricably intertwined with his affirmation of life and of all humanity. He loved all of us, and in turn, he taught us all how to better love each other.

Advocacy/Empowerment: An Approach To Clinical Practice For Social Work, Stephen M. Rose

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social Work has been embedded in a structural and ideological contradiction throughout its history. The profession, its employing institutions, and the problems confronted by its clients are all produced by the same political economy that pays its workers and supports its schools. Ideologically, the profession has avoided the confrontation implied by its dependency upon individual defect explanatory or causal analysis frameworks that constitute a betrayal of its real constituencies. An advocacy! empowerment paradigm is offered as an alternative.

Empowerment Through Advocacy And Consciousness-Raising: Implications Of A Structural Approach To Social Work, Maurice J. Moreau

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Empowerment of oppressed clients requires of social workers to act as advocates and to assist clients in changing the dynamics which contribute to self-oppression or the oppression of others. The paper explores a five-stage process wherein oppressed individuals contribute to the social order that devalues them and, in the process, also participate in the oppression of others. The practice implications of a structural approach to social work committed to client empowerment in each of these stages are described.

Detecting And Reporting Child Abuse: A Function Of The Human Service Delivery System, George E. Fryer Jr.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper reports the results of a regression analysis performed on 48, 499 reports of known or suspected child abuse submitted from 1974 through 1983 to the Colorado Department of Social Services Central Child Abuse Registry. Enrollments in human service programs, combined with events which precipitate enrollee use of services, and the presence of human service professionals and institutions are strongly related to the number of abuse cases reported.

Home Safety-The Challenge To Public Health, Ray Ranson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Home accidents are now a leading cause of death and injury particularly in young children and the elderly. For example, 3.1 million accidents occur in the home every year in the United Kingdom with no signs of diminishment. More effective systems of accident recording, monitoring, investigation, intercollaboration and education are urgently needed to redress this epidemic. More attention needs to be given to preventive safety design in architect training and adoption of home safety design standards and legislation. The major threat to public health which home accidents represent must not go unchallenged.

Health Implications Of Homelessness: Reports From Three Countries, Gerald Daly

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper discusses the health implications of homelessness in the context of problems discovered and remedies proposed in three countries: Britain, Canada, and the United States. The findings, particularly with respect to programmatic responses, are selective. Based upon personal observation over the past four years, they are intended, however, to offer a glimpse at the range of projects which have evolved in the three countries during the eighties.

An Ecological Perspective On Housing, Health And Well-Being, Claude Raffestin, Roderick Lawrence

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Human ecology is a term that has been used frequently since the beginning of this century to examine some of the relationships between people and their surroundings. This article presents a different interpretation to that commonly used by academics and professionals in the medical and social sciences. The ecological perspective developed and illustrated here stems from an appraisal of many contemporary contributions, and an examination of Hippocrates's treatise "On Airs, Waters, And Places". The perspective presented herein accounts for the impacts of human products and processes on the biotic and abiotic constituents of the environment, as well as the human …

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 …

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 …