The Fine Points of Giving Money Away—and Trying to Do It Right

Qualitative Sociology -     

A Career Development Program for Inner-City Black Youth

This article describes an innovative project designed to more effectively meet the career development needs of inner-city Black youth. The model for this project includes a multi-service approach that integrates many traditional vocational development services and community counseling strategies within a culturally sensitive program.     

Evaluation of adjustments for partial non-response bias in the US National Immunization Survey

Summary.  Many health surveys conduct an initial household interview to obtain demographic information and then request permission to obtain detailed information on health outcomes from the respondent's health care providers. A 'complete response' results when both the demographic information and the detailed health outcome data are obtained. A 'partial response' results when the initial interview is complete but, for one reason or another, the detailed health outcome information is not obtained. If 'complete responders' differ from 'partial responders' and the proportion of partial responders in the sample is at least moderately large, statistics that use only data from complete responders may be severely biased. We refer to bias that is attributable to these differences as 'partial non-response' bias. In health surveys it is customary to adjust survey estimates to account for potential differences by employing adjustment cells and weighting to reduce bias from partial response. Before making these adjustments, it is important to ask whether an adjustment is expected to increase or decrease bias from partial non-response. After making these adjustments, an equally important question is 'How well does the method of adjustment work to reduce partial non-response bias?'. The paper describes methods for answering these questions. Data from the US National Immunization Survey are used to illustrate the methods.     

Latino Children's Integration into American Society: The Dynamics of Bilingual Education

Abstract

The Latino population has grown in recent decades due to increased immigration. This group is largely urban, disproportionately young, and typically enters American society with a low socioeconomic status, which has implications for urban schools. Using data from a three-year investigation of the bilingual education program at Maya Angelou Elementary in Texas, this study examines the integration of Latino students into the educational system. More specifically, I utilize a sociological framework which incorporates structural and sociocultural factors of immigrant adaptation to investigate bilingual education at Angelou and the broader context of educating Latino English Language Learners (ELLs). At Angelou, I find evidence of commitment to bilingualism, yet structural constraints in the school undermine this commitment. However, these challenges are minimal in comparison to the broader policy environment concerning the ELLs' education. On this front, Angelou must confront teacher shortages, scarcity of materials, and high-stakes standardized testing. Conclusions indicate the treatment of Spanish language and Latino culture as subordinate despite the school's efforts to serve their students.     

Social work training in Asian countries

The welfare of working mothers is a subject which has captured the attention many organizations and professional people who have examined the implications from their own particular points of view. For example, among Australian studies, Scott (1962) examined the personality development of pre-school children of working mothers, Bryson, et al. (1965), considered the effects on family life, and Nurcombe (1971) made a general assessment of some aspects of the welfare of infants and children under three years of age whose mothers are in full-time employment. The Women's Bureau of the Commonwealth Department of Labour and National Service has published booklets on various related topics under the general heading of “Women in the Workforce” and statements on policies related to the day care of children have been prepared by such bodies as the Australian Pre-school Association, the Australian Council of Social Service, the Queensland Creche and Kindergarten Association, the Victorian Council of Social Service and the Social Planning and Action Committee of the Australian Association of Social Workers.     

Taarab Clubs and Swahili Music Culture

Histories of East Africa in this century generally focus upon the political dimensions of resistance, culminating in the nationalist movements which brought about independence by Kenya African Union KANU and Tanganyika African National Union TANU in those respective nations in the early 1960s. This essay examines a cultural basis of nationalism, namely the taarab orchestras and music clubs that proliferated in coastal Kenya and Tanganyika, and on Zanzibar, shortly after World War II. They were formed by Waswahili, residents of the region who spoke Kiswahili, as the language is known. I analyse a form, taarab, probably the most typically Swahili popular music, its origins, history, and role in revitalising the Waswahili. Through taarab music clubs, the Swahili developed and paid homage to their language and traditions, providing the cultural basis from which political nationalism might operate.     

Paternal domination: Its influence on child guidance results 1

Acknowledging the limitations of adhering to one particular theoretical orientation in helping clients with multiple issues, psychotherapy integration in treatment becomes a prominent trend in clinical practice. However, we have few guidelines for an integrated case formulation. Also, there have been some concerns that available treatment options limit and even pre-determine how clinicians understand and formulate cases. In order to address these concerns, this article first critically reviews the psychotherapy integration movement and highlights social work contributions to this movement. Next, using a clinical case example, we illustrate an integrated case formulation in clinical social work practice, which comprehensively assesses a client-in-context from psychodynamic, behavioral, and cognitive approaches. We also delineate how social workers can directly link this integrated assessment to selecting the integrated treatment options to custom-fit with the idiosyncratic needs of the client. This formulation is then truly client-centered. Thus, formulating a case is developing a theory of a client.     

Book reviews

Qualitative Sociology -     

Self-deception and self-discovery in fieldwork

This paper shows how fieldwork experiences create a situation in which the researcher and the native reveal their characters in the course of requesting and offering information about the study. The personalities of the fieldworker and the natives help to color and may even define the nature of the interaction. It would be a mistake to ignore the effect of character on the content of studies. Researchers learn about their own strengths and weaknesses as fieldworkers by examining that effect.This paper was originally prepared for the conference on Ethical Problems of Fieldwork, held by Joan Cassell and Murray Wax at Berkeley Springs, W.V., 1979, sponsored by the program in Ethics and Values in Science and Technology, National Science Foundation. I should like to give particular thanks to Murray Wax for his helpfulness and kindness in guiding this paper toward publication.