Houston Homeless Street Outreach

Abstract

Several cities in the nation have developed innovative programs to assist the homeless who are “living on their streets.” This paper describes one such program developed in Houston, Texas. The Homeless Street Outreach was a collaborative project of several service agencies in the greater Houston area. The outcome of this outreach project indicates that a coordinated effort can bring about delivery of more comprehensive services to the homeless population. The principles that emerge from the outreach include involvement of the homeless in planning and development, service agencies taking “ownership” of the project, and agency flexibility in delivering services to the homeless.     

State Government Funding of Research on Science and Technology: A Report on Michigan

Abstract

The question of this paper is: what factors explain the decisions of state governments to fund research on science and technology? The theoretical problem underlying the research question is patronage in the classical sense, that is, the support by one person or group for the activities of another person or group. Three models of explanation are proposed: “budget incrementalism,” a “rational” model, and a power model. The models are evaluated with information from a case study of a state government program in Michigan. The rational model best explains the state's selection of some proposals out of all the proposals submitted by each state university for funding. The power model best explains the overall allocation of program funds among Michigan's public universities. The budget incrementalism model helps explain the considerable stability from year to year in funding both for the entire program and for each university's share.     

Housework,Housewives, and Domestic Workers

ABSTRACT

This article sets established historical narratives of a mid-twentieth-century turn to privacy, new domestic identities, and new ways of thinking about housework into a broader history of domestic service. I argue that the new forms of domesticity were only ever partially and unevenly established in middle-class households. Domestic service emerges as a tenacious institution, which continued to be influential in the organization of middle-class or privileged homes throughout the mid- to late twentieth century. Middle-class women were exhorted to manage their homes without servants, and were offered the consolation of greater privacy and intimacy within their homes, as well as the dignity and emotional rewards of a housewife identity. But few found that this made the prospect of being “servantless” attractive. I will therefore examine the failures of the “servantless” home and the “strange survival” of domestic service in twentieth-century Britain.     

A Theory of Thinking: A Theory of Desiring

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on aspects of what is broadly known as countertransference in centering on the psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion’s explicit theory of thinking as constituting an implicit theory of desiring. I make a distinction between the discursive terms “thoughts,” “thinking,” “desires,” “desiring,” “wants,” and “craving” and tease out their relationship to one another for clinical practice. I explore how thinking and desiring operate in and around frustration and suggest that the thinking apparatus is not just a mechanism for dealing with thoughts but also is a way of transforming wants into desires. I separate out desires and the desiring apparatus, as Bion does with thoughts and thinking, and argue that thinking is inextricably linked to desiring and thoughts to desires. The interpretative act, moreover, constitutes the analyst’s acting on desire, whereas acts of projective identification are bound up with craving. I demonstrate the potential uses of this theory by discussing it with reference to two published clinical examples.     

Measuring Rational and Organizational-Political Planning Activities of Community Organization Workers

Abstract

Social planning in community organization work reflects two dominant planning styles-a rational style and an organizational-political style. Drawing upon literature from related disciplines, this article describes the development of an expert test that identified indices for the measurement of rational planning activity on the one hand, and organizational-political planning activity on the other. These indices were then applied to investigate the patterns of planning activities of a sample of 138 community organization workers in Israel. The findings show varying tendencies of workers in implementing planning activities, and indicate a lack of homogenous consolidated task patterns. Workers also were found to focus more on traditional planning activities than upon activities based on new knowledge. The findings underscore the importance of identifying factors which influence the tendency of workers to engage in planning activities in the two styles, rational and organizational-political.     

Consequences of the increasing rationality of music: A reassessment of Weberian rationalization

Max Weber's theory of the rationalization of music is used to demonstrate that there is a nexus between the tonal structure of music, which is formally “rational” in the Weberian sense, and the fundamental irrational properties on which it rests. It is posited that Weber, although failing to differentiate between types of irrationality, was primarily concerned with only two forms: harmonic‐structural and interpretational. Ironically, there is another more sociological type of irrationality that Weber failed to address. This type may be termed “interactional” irrationality. The importance of recognizing this element within the musical organization is critical, as the balance between rationality and irrationality becomes increasingly delicate. Case studies of professional, classically trained symphonic musicians and conductors illustrate the irrational consequences of growing rationality within the social organization of symphonic music.     

Addressing Wife Abuse in Mexican Immigrant Couples: Challenges for Family Social Workers

SUMMARY

In blended families, the two parents have a unique challenge to develop a united front (“WE”) in the face of “us” and “them” thinking. Without such a united front, the children will naturally manipulate the situation and further divide the blended family. The key to successful step-parenting is the development of a solid “WE” between two parents so that the whole family works together as a unit. Practical suggestions are given for development of this united front so that step-parenting can become a positive experience.     

Planning for permanency planning in foster care

The perceived severity of the problem of “drift” in the foster care system has encouraged agencies nationwide to accept permanency planning, but perhaps with limited attention to the planning process. This article examines the phenomenon of permanency planning from a planning perspective by focusing on: (a) definition of the permanency planning problem, (b) understanding of issues relevant to permanency planning (caseworker, program and systemic), (c) appreciation of the operational context (political, economic and social factors), and (d) evaluation of available options and possible consequences in developing or improving a permanency planning program. Permanency planning is not a simple, ready-made program applicable to any situation; it involves coordinated efforts by workers, service systems, and society in general, and requires time, commitment and resources. Successful planning for permanency planning can permit more children to grow up in homes providing continuity and stability.     

Family Social Work: The Past and the Present

SUMMARY

It is easy to blame the dysfunction of a family member on his or her behavioral patterns. I use the title, “It's the Relationship, Stupid!” not to talk down to family therapists, but to remind myself that the source of dysfunction is usually family relationships, especially the marriage relationship. This article gives several case studies for practical application of therapy techniques that focus on developing the “WE” of the family unit. One practical technique that I developed is a communication typology. The married couple (and family members) are divided into “Painters” and “Pointers.” This typology explains much of the conflict and mis-communication that leads to the breakdown of the “WE.” This article also presents dysfunction within the individual as a relationship problem and introduces the concept of the “spirit” of the individual as expressing the relationship the person has with self.     

The Emergency Dental Service at Southern Illinois University/Carbondale

Abstract

The Student Emergency Dental Service (SEDS), a program of Allied Health and Public Services, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC), began treating patients in January 1978. The purpose of the program is twofold. The main emphasis of SEDS is to treat patients with dental-related disorders of an emergency nature. The other purpose of SEDS is to help raise the level of dental knowledge among the student population so as to prevent the emergency situations from occurring.

The Student Emergency Dental Service is essentially an “emergency only” service, even though prevention is highlighted. Such an emergency service cannot compete with a comprehensive service in terms of providing total patient dental care. Hence, the SEDS program has some innate limitations a comprehensive service does not. It must work from certain guidelines. It cannot treat everyone, and the mode of treatment must be altered to aid the emergency patient. This creates dilemmas that will be addressed in this paper. The organization, accomplishments, and advantages and disadvantages of the SEDS program at Southern Illinois University are also discussed.     

Social Capital for Vulnerable Groups: Insight from Employed People Experiencing Homelessness

Abstract

Social capital is a term that has evolved within the social sciences, and has been presented as a mediating factor in how people experience the social environment. In 2008 and 2009 we conducted one-to-one interviews with 61 people experiencing homelessness in an effort to investigate the concept of “pathways” from homelessness. Our findings show that social capital was not just about making positive friends or improving social relationships. Instead, personal issues of identity, self-esteem, and individualization were contributing factors to developing social capital; and social service agency practices could contribute to how these are experienced. Further areas of research are discussed along with the application of research findings to other vulnerable populations.     

“Everyone Knows It's a Social Construct”: Contemporary Science and the Nature of Race

Abstract

Sociological literature frequently claims that scientists across the disciplinary spectrum have arrived at the common conclusion that race is socially constructed, not biologically anchored. I investigate contemporary scientific thinking about race by interviewing more than 40 biologists and anthropologists at four northeastern universities. Contrary to sociologists' expectations, racial constructionism is revealed to be a minority viewpoint. Moreover, this research shows that the usual “constructionist” versus “essentialist” dichotomy a blunt tool for characterizing the debate about race; a third platform—“antiessentialism”—must be taken into account. Recognizing antiessentialist discourse calls for a reevaluation of prior research that emphasizes socioeconomic status and professional affiliation as influences on interviewees' concepts of race; this project demonstrates that such tectors do little to distinguish essentialist from antiessentialist veiwpoints.     

Program Evaluation of “Young at Heart”

Abstract

We conducted a program evaluation study of “Young at Heart,” a Texas (United States) program that places elderly volunteers in childcare settings. The main constructs evaluated in this research-based article are Erikson's generativity (a motivation to guide younger generations) and life satisfaction. We compared four groups of elderly persons on these constructs: Young at Heart volunteers, Meals on Wheels volunteers (who deliver food to other elderly persons and thus gain volunteer experience, but not with children), non-volunteers drawn from the general population of one Texas community, and individuals in the same community who volunteered in a variety of activities (“miscellaneous volunteers”). Our guiding assumption was that volunteering with children would appear to be a clear expression of generativity; we thus hypothesized that YAH volunteers would score highest in it. Contrary to prediction, the miscellaneous volunteers averaged the highest generativity, followed by YAH volunteers. Philosophical and conceptual issues are identified with regard to research on generativity and intergenerational programming.     

A Missing Voice

Abstract

Contemporary gay and lesbian social service literature still heavily focuses on White middle/upper-class issues and uses an isolated and fixed concept of homosexuality. As a result, the discourse has only a limited applicability to people with “dual” or “multiple” identities, accentuating the power of those who control the discourse and the oppression of those with “dual” or “multiple” identities. Using Asians as a case example, I argue that the lack of published articles about Asians in contemporary gay and lesbian social service literature is the result of the different worldviews of Asian and White queers. However, this deficiency is sustained by social structures that are saturated with White middle/upper-class values. Implications of this situation and some directions for social change are discussed.     

The Manageable Approach to College Health Services Planning Part I

Abstract

College health services must function effectively within two dynamic and complex environments-higher education and health. College health services are also increasingly expected to respond to emerging forces within the fields of adolescent medicine and college health itself and to seize opportunities to improve the health status and lifestyles of college-age adults. Thus, it is essential that college health services be well planned to meet student needs more completely and to ensure a more appropriate role for college health in both the health and higher education fields. This article depicts the strategic and operational planning that is necessary and delineates how such planning can be accomplished within 10 weeks through the application of the “Manageable Approach.” Basic concepts of the Manageable Approach are presented, its six major stages are described, and detailed guides to the success of each stage are included. These guides focus on the purposes and results of each stage, the group maintenance activities necessary, the specific steps to be followed, the special techniques to be employed, and the planning aids to be used in the discussion of substantive issues. In this first part of a two-part series, strategic and operational health planning are described, the Manageable Approach is introduced, and the first two stages—organization and education, and mission and program goals—are delineated.     

Family Support Center Village: A Unique Approach for Low-Income Single Women with Children

ABSTRACT

The Family Support Center, recognizing the need for single women with children to maintain stability, has developed a program referred to as the Family Support Center Village, which incorporates a service enriched co-housing model. The “Village” will be the catalyst for these mothers' self-sufficiency and will provide opportunities to develop tools for success and independence.     

How local health departments work towards health equity

BackgroundHealth inequities are exacerbated when health promotion programs and resources do not reach selected populations. Local health departments (LHDs)¹ have the potential to address health equity via engaging priority populations in their work. However, we do not have an understanding of what local agencies are doing on this front.MethodsIn the summer of 2016, we collaborated with informants from thirteen LHDs across North Carolina. Via semi-structured interviews, the research team asked informants about their LHD’s understanding of health equity and engaging priority populations in program planning, implementation, and evaluation.FindingsAll informants discussed that a key function of their LHD was to improve the health of all residents. LHDs with a more comprehensive understanding of health equity engaged members of priority populations in their organizations’ efforts to a greater extent than LHDs with a more limited understanding. Additionally, while all LHDs identified similar barriers to engaging priority populations, LHDs that identified facilitators more comprehensively engaged members of the priority population in program planning, implementation, and evaluation.ConclusionsLHDs are ideally situated between the research and practice worlds to address health equity locally. To promote this work, we should ensure LHDs hold an understanding of health equity, have the means to realize facilitators of health equity work, and recognize the complex context in which health equity work exists.     

Creating and Sustaining a Practice-Based Research Group in an Urban Adolescent Mental Health Program

Summary

This article describes the initiation, implementation, and accomplishments of a practice-based research group within a mental health program serving inner-city adolescents. Begun in 1995 and co-led by a program manager and a clinical social work practitioner, the group fosters and supports practitioner-driven research projects as part of a “reflective” organizational development strategy.