<p>Social capital is a concept discussed in recent years in many debates, particularly in the development context. The objective of the study is to investigate empirically whether social capital as part of networks could promote political participation of interest groups in the policy formulation process. This thesis includes a theoretical perspective which is based on an assessment and selection of theoretical material as well as fieldwork.</p>

Trata sobre el derecho a la asistencia pública y las sociedades de asistencia pública, a partir del estudio de la asistencia social en el Perú. Además, se reflexiona sobre el futuro de la asistencia social en el Perú.

In this thesis I question whether social phenomena exist. Since social groups are perhaps the most widely recognised category of social phenomena, I focus my discussion on social groups. First I elucidate our common-sense intuitions about social groups. Thereafter, I distinguish between two problems: specifying the relation among the members of a social group (the individual-individual problem), and specifying the relation between social groups and their members (the social-individual problem). I argue that the individual-individual and social-individual problems comprise the core concerns of social ontology, at least insofar as social ontology is applied to social groups. I then examine a number of possible solutions to the individual-individual problem, and argue that none of these positions convincingly captures our common-sense intuitions about social groups. I divide these solutions into Objectivist and Subjectivist accounts. Objectivist accounts of social groups exclude reference to the reflexive mental states of the individuals underlying the group, and focus instead on the patterns of interactions among group members, observable from a non-member’s perspective. I argue that Objectivist accounts, including Elster’s transactional account, the organic account, and the teleological account of social groups, are unable to capture adequately the distinction between a mere aggregate and a social group because they exclude reference to reflexive mental states, rendering the accounts vulnerable to a number of counterexamples. By contrast, Subjectivist positions, including Sartre’s account, Gilbert’s plural subject theory, and Searle’s constructionism, hold that reflexive mental states provide the principle that unifies a collection of individuals into a social group. Subjectivists, however, are unable to account for the importance of the history of social phenomena. Thereafter I consider affirmative solutions to the social-individual problem, or positions that hold that social groups exist. These positions are divided into non-reductive and reductive accounts. Non-reductive accounts, including Social Dualism and Non-Reductive Individualism, hold that social groups are logically or conceptually distinct from the individuals that comprise them. Social Dualists posit that social groups and their members are distinct entities, while Non-Reductive Individualists hold that social properties are distinct from individualistic properties. I argue that Social Dualism problematically reifies the social, while Non-Reductive Individualism is unable to maintain the dependence of the social on the individual without collapsing into a reductive account. Reductionists hold that social groups are identical with their members, or with the intra-relations among their members. Logical Individualists hold that this identity is conceptual: the concept of a social group is the concept of a collection of individuals. Type Individualists claims that types of social groups are identical with types of members (or types of member intra-relations). And Social Functionalists hold that social groups are just phenomena with a certain function, and those functional phenomena are in turn instantiated by individuals. I argue that none of the reductive accounts are successful, however: Logical Individualism cannot account for the holism of the social, Type Individualism faces the problem of multiple realisation, and Social Functionalists cannot adequately individuate groups diachronically. Finally, I tentatively support an alternative, negative solution to the individual-individual and social-individual problems: Eliminative Individualism. Eliminative Individualism is the position that social phenomena do not exist, that Folk Sociology is a radically false and misleading theory, and that social terms have no referent. I discuss a number of strategies for eliminating social phenomena, ultimately providing a psychological and neurological explanation that I argue might be used to explain away the appearance of social groups. That is, I make a case for the possibility that we can explain away beliefs in social groups the way we explain away paranormal, or errant religious beliefs. Finally, I argue that “thick” social phenomena, such as the wisdom of the crowds and the unintended consequences of intended action, may be explained using reason-based, statistical and possibly network-based explanations. I conclude that Eliminative Individualism, although it faces certain challenges, is worthy of serious attention as a contender to affirmative social ontologies in the literature.

No description available.

Alcohol abuse is often considered a young person's rite of passage and part of the maturing process. Indeed, the developmental periods when alcohol misuse and abuse are highest are those of adolescence and early adulthood. The focus for alcohol use research and funding over the years has been with adolescent prevention and intervention. Because of this focus on adolescents, little is being done to explore and to learn more about adult use and adult entry into treatment. Since the average age of the population is increasing, these attitudes toward alcohol use and treatment are no longer valid. Use, misuse, and abuse of alcohol in adulthood, especially that leading to addiction and then treatment, is a problem within the United States (US) that merits careful attention. The purpose of this dissertation research is to investigate specific aspects of entry into alcohol abuse treatment across stages of the life course. The investigation used the sequential life course theory of Levinson as the primary guiding theory and incorporated those aspects of Bronfenbrenner's social ecology theory used by Levinson. Specifically, with a population of approximately 94,000, this research examined the differences among individuals who began alcohol abuse treatment in mid-life and who experienced variations in time duration from the age of first use to the age of first treatment. Additionally, this research evaluated the timing of treatment episodes in light of the transitions within the life course as outlined by Levinson. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester 2003. / Date of Defense: May 14, 2003. / Alcohol, Abuse, Treatment, Across stages of the life / Includes bibliographical references. / C. Aaron McNeece, Professor Directing Dissertation; Rebecca Miles, Outside Committee Member; Dianne F. Harrison, Committee Member.

Yuk-Fai Au. / Running title: Group process control effects. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1991. / Bibliography: leaves 45-50. / Acknow1edgements --- p.2 / Abstract --- p.3 / Introduction --- p.4 / Method --- p.15 / Results --- p.23 / Discussion --- p.35 / References --- p.45 / Tables --- p.51 / Footnotes --- p.57 / Figure --- p.58 / Appendices --- p.59

This study investigated the relationship of unemployment, family support, and mental disorder to the recidivism of incarcerated females in a Georgia State Prison. The research hypothesis of the study was: unemployment, family support and mental disorder are significantly related to the recidivism of incarcerated females in a Georgia State prison. Two hundred and seventy-two female prisoners, consisting of randomly selected first-time and repeat offenders, participated in the study. The questionnaire used in the survey had three sections with a total of forty-six questions. Professional counselors, under the supervision of the researcher, administered the questionnaire to the participants. The statistical procedures used to describe and analyze the data included descriptive measures, correlation analysis and the chi-squared distribution. The findings of the study indicated that the three variables: unemployment, family support and mental disorder are significantly and highly correlated with recidivism.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / We have investigated whether or not the behaviors of individuals who are differentially ranked along a consistency dimension within a profession are parallel to the behavior of similar categories in the population as a whole. We also examined the utility of the status inconsistency variable for the prediction of selected role behaviors of those within the social work profession. The three indices selected on which individuals were ranked on a high-low continuum were education, ethnicity and job position. The social work literature revealed that these three measures were related to differences in prestige and esteem within the profession. The population studied included all social workers who were charter members of the Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the professional association - The National Association of Social Workers - who were (1) members of specialty sections or subdivisions of the chapter, and (2) who were employed in nonhospital settings. Data were gathered by means of mailed questionnaires. Seventy-six per cent of the population replied, and these respondents are shown to be representative of the entire group. Comparable scales for each of the three vertical hierarchies, education, job position and ethnicity, were established. The relative position of respondents in the several hierarchies were compared. On the basis of the information, the sample was divided into the two subgroups of consistents and inconsistents. We predicted that within the profession the inconsistents would be subjected to more stresses and strains than the consistents, and would more often deviate from the norms of the overall profession. The analysis reveals statistically significant differences between the major groups of consistents and inconsistents for two of the three categories of hypotheses. These were (a) those hypotheses patterned after Lenski 's findings in his pionee·ring study of status consistency and (b) those hypotheses dealing with satisfaction within the profession. We did not find significant differences between the two subgroups for a third group of hypotheses (c), those dealing with strength of identification with the profession. Our findings confirm Lenski 1s results in showing the utility of status inconsistency as an explanatory variable for political behavior and for voluntary association patterns. Compared with consistents, inconsistents are more politically liberal, participate less often in voluntary associations and, when they do participate in such associations, more often express 11nonsociable" reasons for membership. We also demonstrate that status inconsistency is one explanation as to why the traditional view of professions as a relatively homogeneous community is not always tenable. Inconsistents appear to derive less satisfaction from the practice of social work, to be less inclined to view social work as a terminal occupation and to have more unhappy experiences within the profession. Further analysis and significance tests concerning the three components of the status consistency index, education, job, and ethnicity were made. Overall the subvariable analysis did not invalidate the explanatory power of the composite concept of inconsistency. / 2031-01-01

This study examines attitudes toward sources of assistance in a white, working class, ethnic neighborhood in east Baltimore. The study is based on a random sample of one hundred ethnic neighborhood residents. The sample includes fifty Polish-Americans and fifty Italian-Americans between the ages of twenty-one and fifty. The primary method of data collection is the face-to-face interview. The interview schedule includes structured and unstructured questions in addition to six reaction vignettes developed by Shirley Star. The study is an attempt to provide up-to-date information regarding preferred sources of assistance in an urban, ethnic neighborhood. The major finding of the study is that working class, ethnic, Catholics prefer traditional structures for meeting social needs. Traditional structures such as the family, the church, and to some extent the ethnic voluntary association, have not been significantly overshadowed by functionally specialized service organizations of the wider community. Members of the extended family and traditional professionals such as the clergy and the general physician are key gatekeepers and preferred sources of assistance. The data in the study provide a basis for suggesting adaptations in case services and greater pluralism in social service delivery strategies.