Black portraits in African-American literature: A perpective from 1920–1996, including the midwest

What is the effect of sociocultural conditioning in creating black portraits in African-American literature? As twentieth century cultural attitudes change, stereotyped portraits have evolved to more individualized portraits. The question of how these changes have occurred caused me to research the “spirit or ethos” of selected black literature from 1920–1996. After screening various works, I selected authors representing the Harlem Renaissance 1920–1930; the Depression Era 1930–1940; World War II and the Post-War Period 1940–1960; Civil Rights/Black Power Movement 1960–1970; and Contemporary Literature 1970–1996. The results show these particular qualities in African-American Literature: use of explicit, distinctive language and folk idioms; protests against dehumanization and victimization; awakened moral and racial consciousness; emphasis on cultural nationalism; rebellion against racism, and a private search for self-realization by the characters.     

The vicissitudes of adoption for parents and children

This paper attempts to illustrate how adoption is understood by children according to their developmental stages within the context of their families. Illustrations of children's thought processes and inner fantasies are presented in the form of interviews and observations. The inner thoughts and experiences of adoptive parents are also presented, from the time of the application process through infancy, toddlerhood, school age and adolescence. A major thesis is that adoptive parents who are comfortable with their own feelings about the birthparents and the child's specific history are more able to provide an atmosphere where the child feels valued when she asks questions or communicates fantasies about her story. In this manner adoption is integrated into the child's growing self-esteem and, as time goes on, the adoption becomes less important.The author wishes to thank Lynn Borenstein, L.C.S.W. for her helpful suggestions. Marilyn Silin, M.A. is on the faculty of The Institute for Clinical Social Work.     

Graph theory in network analysis

For many centuries ideas now embodied in graph theory have been implicit in lay discussions of networks. The explicit linking of graph theory and network analysis began only in 1953 and has been rediscovered many times since. Analysts have taken from graph theory mainly concepts and terminology; its theorems, though potentially valuable for the analysis of real data, are generally neglected. Network analysts thus make too little use of the theory of graphs. Some instances of the use of theorems for network analysis are noted.     

The normalization of social interaction: When shared assumptions cannot be assumed

This article presents data gathered during a participant-observation study of an educational program for adults identified as mentally retarded. The difficulties inherent in trying to make retarded people appear normal (normalization) and the implications of these for the study of social interaction are examined. “Normal” social interaction is shown to depend upon a huge body of tacit knowledge as well as an assumption by the participants that they share a common understanding of the situation at hand.     

The female manager—The pressures and the problems

There are an increasing number of women entering full-time careers in occupations that were once male dominated, for example, management. Recent surveys have suggested that more women are pursuing management careers in Western Europe and the United States. The pressures on these women are enormous in view of industry's inflexibility. Corporate policies must change if women are to survive in organizations. A variety of these policies are discussed in this paper, e.g. flexible work weeks, maternal and paternal leave, change and relocation policies, career planning, etc.     

Financial management in stepfamilies

This study is an investigation of the financial management practices of 105 remarried couples who have at least one child from a previous marriage. The majority of the couples pool their financial resources and share equally in decisions made about their finances. Financial management practices tend to be different from those of prior marriages. Remarried women experience more changes than remarried men. In general, remarried people are satisfied with how they are handling their finances. The data from this study partially supports Fishman's hypothesis that remarried families who pool resources are closer. Marital relationships are not affected by the method of pooling, but adult-child relationships are closer when resources are pooled than when they are not.This study was funded by the University of Missouri Weldon Springs Research Fund.Marilyn Coleman is Professor and Chair of Human Development and Family Studies, 28 Stanley Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211. She received her Ed.D. from the University of Missouri.Lawrence H. Ganong is Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies/Nursing, 313 School of Nursing, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211. Dr. Ganong received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. Both he and Dr. Coleman are currently doing research on stepfamily dynamics as well as sex roles.     

Protest or Partnership? The Voluntary and Community Sectors in the Policy Process

The growing emphasis on partnership is opening up new opportunities for voluntary and community organizations, many of which have felt themselves hitherto to be “outsiders” in the policy process. But it is also generating new dilemmas as they strive to maintain their autonomy while increasingly operating as insiders. This article examines the strategic choices that such organizations make in seeking to influence policy and the challenges that they face. It rejects the simple categorizations made between “insiders” and “outsiders” in the policy process, arguing that strategic choices are more complex and dynamic than this, with insider strategies dependent on outsider strategies and vice versa, and many organizations operating from both arenas.     

Using a stress audit: The construction site manager experience in the UK

The aim of this study was to conduct a stress audit among construction industry site managers in the UK as a precursor to a stress management intervention programme. Qualitative data were obtained from in-dept interviews with a total of 36 male middle and senior construction site managers; and aquantitative data were obtained by questionnaire. Based on the analysis of 561 postal quenstionnaires, eight stressor factors were identified, most significantly, ambiguity (i.e. role and task). Job satisfaction levels were low compared to a normative population and influenced by grade level. Measures of mental health were similar to the norm for males, but both grade of management and type of contract affected mental health. Anxiety levels were signficantly high, independent of managerial grade. The stress of work overload and role insecurity (fear of failure) were associated with reduced mental health and high anxiety, and the stress of the organizational culture and climate was the strongest predictor of job dissatisfaction. There was some cause for concern for the vulnerable high-risk groups, i.e. the extreme type A and those working overtime. Medical data from a small subset of managers (n = 78) revealed that this group evidenced a better quality of psychological health than the group in total; but a high percentage of personnel had high levels of triglycerides and cholesterol. Recommendations for action focused on the needs of specific subgroups, and guided the organization on the acceptability of possible interventions at individual, interpersonal and organizational levels.