John E. Tropman

Exit Interviews with Departed Child Welfare Workers: Preliminary Findings

A total of 69 departed public child welfare workers responded to a telephone interview asking why they left their positions and what might have made them stay. Their open-ended responses were then coded into domains and subcategories and also converted into quantitative data for descriptive analysis. The model developed describes the effect of child welfare work (mentioned by 26.1% of respondents) and working conditions (supervision, 28.9%, agency climate, 31.8%, agency behavior, 57.9%, workload, 47.8%) having an impact on the self (noted by 72.4% of respondents) which then resulted in departure. Factors that workers said would have made them stay included changes in the child welfare work, 17.4%, supervision, 24.6%, agency climate, 26.1%, agency behavior, 43.5%, manageable workload, 52.1%, and impact on the self, 24.6%.

Critical issues in aging policy : linking research and values

Aging Policy and Societal Values - Edgar F Borgatta and Rhonda J V Montgomery Demography - Susan de Vos A Source of Knowledge for Gerontology Conceptualization and Measurement of Well-Being - Donald E Stull Implications for Policy Evaluation The Social Relationships of Older People - M Powell Lawton and Miriam Mass Research on Mens and Womens Retirement Attitudes - Laurie Russell Hatch Implications for Retirement Policy Dependency, Family Extension and Long-Term Care Policy - Laurie Russell Hatch et al Values, Perceptions and Choice in Living Arrangements of the Elderly - Andrew V Wister and Thomas K Burch Senior Center Research - Penny A Ralston Policy from Knowledge? Values, Costs and Health Care Policy - Rhonda J V Montgomery and Edgar F Borgatta Causes and Correlates of Crime Committed by the Elderly - Kyle Kercher

Professionalizing Social Work at the National Level Women Social Work Leaders, 1910-1982

This study examines the presidential addresses of the 21 women presidents of the National Conference of Social Work. Although content analysis is difficult because the speeches cross seven decades, three components stood out: The women presidents primarily used their expertise as power, used partisan leadership techniques with a conservative slant, and avoided discussing women or women’s issues. The authors argue that these three stylistic components reflect the common desire of the women presidents to advance the professional status of social work, under conditions of subdominant professional and gendered status, despite the span of years.

Energy and American values

A multi-disciplinary team consisting of an engineer, a political scientist, an historian, and a professor of religion and physics view the question of energy and values from each others perspective. The result is a synthesis of the teams views on all aspects of energy technology and how it affects human life in general as well as the lives of different classes and specific groups in our society. It begins with an historic overview of the way an abundance of energy has shaped Americas use of it. It continues by considering the energy debate as a conflict between Jeffersonians who believe in decentralized, appropriate technology and the centralized, efficient technology of Hamiltonians. The authors wrestle with regional and geographical differences in energy resources, environmental impacts, and ethical problems. 384 references.

Winners and Losers: Social and Political Polarities in America

Acknowledgments ix Introduction xiii I. Society 1. Class Composition and Competition 3 2. Holy Ghosts in Ethnic Closets 20 3. Environmental Options versus Economic Imperatives 40 4. Unlimited Equality and Limited Growth 47 5. Winners and Losers 63 6. Presenting the Self for Social Immortality 78 7. Alienation and the Social System 83 8. Futurology and Millenarian Visions 89 II. Polity 9. Interest Groups and Political Partisans 105 10. Bureaucracy, Administration, and State Power 115 11. Political Bases of Equity Goals 126 12. From the New Deal to the New Federalism 143 13. Transnational Terrorism, Civil Liberties, and the Social Fabric 158 14. Routinized Terrorism and Its Unanticipated Consequences 169 15. Revolution, Retribution, and Redemption 177 16. Marginality, Originality, and Rootless Cosmopolitanism 192 III. Ideology 17. Left-wing Fascism 209 18. Multiplication of Marxism 220 19. Methodology, Ideology, and Society 232 20. Developmental Dilemmas 246 21. Advocacy and Neutrality in Research 256 22. Language, Truth, and Politics 269 23. Moral Development and Authoritarian Distemper 276 24. Moral Implications of Social Science Disputations 289 Notes 303 Index 323

Fiscal austerity and aging : shifting government responsibility for the elderly

The authors draw on the work they have done for a major research centre, in order to assess both the shifts in policy towards the elderly which have been wrought by the austerity politics of the 1980s, and the likely long-term impact of such changes. The views taken of older people, the history of public policy toward the aged, the shifting responsibility between state and federal government are discussed.

Does America Hate the Poor? The Other American Dilemma

Preface Who are the Poor, and Does America Hate Them? How America Hates the Poor Poorfare Culture Welfare State Pictures in Plenty: Conceptions of the Underclass Laggards and Lushes: Images of the Poor The Decent Poverty Stricken: Images of the Near Poor The Overseer of the Poor: View from the County Welfare Office Mothers: Opinions and Stereotypes The Life Cycle Poor: Images of the Aged Images of the Elderly American Culture and the Aged: Stereotypes and Realties What the Public Thinks: Older and Younger Adults Why America Hates the Poor The Poorfare State: Embodiment and Revelation Social Exploitation Mirror of Destiny References Bibliography Index

The social meaning of social indicators

While new modes of data processing have provided reams of data, there has been relatively less effort in seeking to comprehend the social meaning of results of empirical work. A set of previously developed indicators of urban social structure is here examined for its link to theory, and to the social structure of the city itself. The original indicators (size, social class, racial composition and community maturity) were empirically derived. In this paper, each is taken in turn, and explored with respect to several possible social meanings. Size, for example, is considered to be itself an indicator, and an imperfect one, for system complexity; percent non-white is seen to be itself an indicator for a slowdown in the mobility process, or a slower social metabolism. These and other results are suggestions, with illustrations, but not conclusive support, from other than the original data. While it is hoped that the theoretical suggestions may themselves be of interest, it is also hoped that approach itself can indicate the fertility and usefulness of going back to theory once empirical measures have been developed.

The 7C Approach to Conceptualizing Administration: Executive Leadership in the 21st Century

The field of administration of organizations is huge. There are about 1.1 million 501©3 organizations in 2011 (Independent Sector). Each has a CEO, and other top administrators. Let’s assume an average of 4—which would generate 5.5 million Executive Leaders. On the operation level there are huge questions about how these individuals are recruited, trained and educated, paid, replaced and so on. Then there are questions about what, actually, should they DO? And on the conceptual level, there are questions about how we understand the thousands of pieces of writing—both popular and scholarly—about Administration and Executive Leadership. This editorial makes two overall points. One is that the taxonomic device discussed here— the 7Cs—is a good way to think about Executive Leadership and that vast literature. Second the word “Administration” is made up of two parts—Executiveship—the tactical/management part, and Leadership—the strategic/visioning and strategic. Further, as is perhaps evident from the previous definition—Executiveship and Leadership conflict with each other. Many of us are oriented more one way or the other and a few are nimble enough to do both, each when necessary. Let’s discuss each in turn.

Income Sources of the Elderly

Many social policies focus on the elderly, but we often lack detailed information about their social and economic situation. In this paper the economic situation of households headed by elderly persons is analyzed in terms of sources of income and differences associated with key variables such as household size, race, and gender. The results identify the differential levels of income among elderly households and the relative contribution of earnings, assets, Social Security, private pensions, and Supplemental Security Income. The income patterns uncovered reaffirm the need to consider policies for the aged in light of the systematic differences experienced in their younger years.