James D Wright – författare

"Homelessness is not one problem, but many different kinds of problems involving many different kinds of people, each of them homeless for different reasons or who have become homeless in different ways… Among the homeless of today are men, women, children, and whole families; victims of domestic violence and male abandonment; young, middle-aged, and elderly; veterans; illegal immigrants; persons of every ethnic description; people who are homeless for strictly economic reasons; others who are homeless because they drink and drug too much; the lucid and the deranged; and on through a long list…."

 

                                                James Wright

                                                University of Central Florida

 

Bringing together international perspectives from sociology, political science, public policy, criminology, urban studies, adolescent research, and social work, this fascinating April 2005 issue of American Behavioral Scientist (ABS), entitled Homelessness and the Politics of Social Exclusion focuses on pioneering research about how the homeless are marginalized in societies around the world and the consequences of this social exclusion. 

 

Based on presentations at the American Sociological Association's 2003 Annual Meeting, the authors of this unique volume discuss:

 

Why the characteristics of both Los Angeles and Berlin homeless populations are similar despite different welfare systems and public policies (von Mahs) How staff create, sustain, and escalate conflict in a drop-in center for street kids (Joniak) Structural changes in Japanese society and the recent growth of homelessness (Hasegawa) The risks and conditions of semipermanent makeshift housing such as RVs (Wakin) Whether the presence of homeless persons near or in residential areas is a mark of encroaching urban disorder that undermines neighborhood quality and engenders fear among neighborhood residents (Farrell) Marginality and criminal victimization among homeless people (Lee and Schreck) The complex relationships between homeless women and their intimate partners (Wesley and Wright) How peer networks affect substance abuse among newly homeless adolescents (Rice, Milburn, Rotherham-Borus, Mallett, and Rosenthal) Negotiating rules, power and social control within an emergency youth shelter (Armaline) 

Whether the original cause of a person's homelessness is economic, social, cultural or political, homelessness carries a stigma  This absorbing issue of American Behavioral Scientist offers new ways of observing this global social problem and should be included in every sociology, social work, and political science library!

 

The research reported in this volume was designed to provide estimates of the extent of damages and injuries from certain natu­ ral hazards inflicted on households in the United States. In addi­ tion, it reports on sources of aid proffered to households and the extent to which there are differences among households in the receipt of help. This volume represents the latest installment in a series of monographs stemming from the Social and Demographic Re­ search Institute''s (SADRI) program of research on the effects of natural hazard events in the United States. The first volume in our series (Wright, Rossi, Wright, & Weber-Burdin, 1979) reported on the long-range effects of natural hazards on the population and housing stocks of neighborhoods and communities. The second volume (Rossi et aI. , 1982) assessed the support for hazard mitiga­ tion policies existing among local and state political elites in a sample of states and local communities in the United States. The main findings of these two monographs can be summarized as follows. First, long-range effects (up to 10 years postevent) of nat­ ural hazard events are minimal: Local communities and neighbor­ hoods that have been impacted by floods, tornadoes, or hurricanes appear to be no different in their population and housing growth patterns over the period 1960 to 1970 than comparable commu­ nities that went unscathed. Apparently, household and communi­ ty resources plus outside aid were sufficient ordinarily to restore impacted areas to normal growth patterns.

The research reported in this volume was designed to provide estimates of the extent of damages and injuries from certain natu­ ral hazards inflicted on households in the United States. In addi­ tion, it reports on sources of aid proffered to households and the extent to which there are differences among households in the receipt of help. This volume represents the latest installment in a series of monographs stemming from the Social and Demographic Re­ search Institute's (SADRI) program of research on the effects of natural hazard events in the United States. The first volume in our series (Wright, Rossi, Wright, & Weber-Burdin, 1979) reported on the long-range effects of natural hazards on the population and housing stocks of neighborhoods and communities. The second volume (Rossi et aI. , 1982) assessed the support for hazard mitiga­ tion policies existing among local and state political elites in a sample of states and local communities in the United States. The main findings of these two monographs can be summarized as follows. First, long-range effects (up to 10 years postevent) of nat­ ural hazard events are minimal: Local communities and neighbor­ hoods that have been impacted by floods, tornadoes, or hurricanes appear to be no different in their population and housing growth patterns over the period 1960 to 1970 than comparable commu­ nities that went unscathed. Apparently, household and communi­ ty resources plus outside aid were sufficient ordinarily to restore impacted areas to normal growth patterns.

Natural Hazards and Public Choice: The State and Local Politics of Hazard Mitigation presents a research project that emerged from a concern for estimating the balance of support versus opposition to prospective social policies that aim to reduce the risks of damage or injuries from major natural hazard events via the regulation of land use and establishment of building and occupancy standards in high-risk areas. The volume begins with an overview of the research project and the main findings. Separate chapters describe the study design; assess the views of politically influential people regarding the seriousness of natural hazards; measure the support for federal disaster policies; and consider public opinion on hazards-mitigation issues in California. Subsequent chapters cover the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP); patterns of activity, influence, and power among key positions and groups in local communities with respect to issues involving disasters; and hazard mitigation activities at the state level.

Handbook of Survey Research provides an introduction to the theory and practice of sample survey research. It addresses both the student who desires to master these topics and the practicing survey researcher who needs a source that codifies, rationalizes, and presents existing theory and practice. The handbook can be organized into three major parts. Part 1 sets forth the basic theoretical issues involved in sampling, measurement, and management of survey organizations. Part 2 deals mainly with ""hands-on,"" how-to-do-it issues: how to draw theoretically acceptable samples, how to write questionnaires, how to combine responses into appropriate scales and indices, how to avoid response effects and measurement errors, how actually to go about gathering survey data, how to avoid missing data (and what to do when you cannot), and other topics of a similar nature. Part 3 considers the analysis of survey data, with separate chapters for each of the three major multivariate analysis modes and one chapter on the uses of surveys in monitoring overtime trends. This handbook will be valuable both to advanced students and to practicing survey researchers seeking a detailed guide to the major issues in the design and analysis of sample surveys and to current state of the art practices in sample surveys.