Enforcing the Work Ethic

"Rather than taking the idas of 'labor market,' 'job characteristics,' and 'skills' for granted and analyzing market conditions, Miller argues that these concepts are continually subject to definition by those concerned, and that their meanings are assigned under very practical circumstances."The complex practicalities we all face in life and work are not ignored in describing WIN, and therefore, show a recognition of real life circumstances, in particular the 'rhetoric' that endures in a street-level bureaucracy. This challenges major assumptions and presents a convincing case for an alternate point of view." — Jaber F. Gubrium"Few sociologists have the courage to examine the messy, ambiguous, complex world of social service provision. While this examination is not as neat and tidy as those seeking merely to apportion blame, it is truly a sociological analysis of interest to all people who strive to understand how the world actually works. In particular, Miller's perspective—new to sociology—has started to transform sociological studies of social problems and human services work." — Donileen R. Loseke

• Preface1: Human Service Work as Rhetoric2: The Work Incentive Program3: Social Relations in WIN as Potential Arguments4: Defining and Justifying WIN5: Defining Trouble in WIN6: Justifying Solutions in WIN7: Rhetoric, Argumentation, and Acquiescence in WINNotesReferencesIndex