Question 1: The focus of social problems work differs from that of social problems claims making or policymaking in that it tends to be more
a. objective because it involves real people.
b. slow because it requires more activity.
c. narrow because it focuses on practical problems.
d. difficult because it involves more people.
Question 2: Social problems work is
a. the application of a particular social con-struction of a troubling issue to the development or implementation of a solution.
b. efforts to gain attention for a particular social construction of an issue.
c. paid labor that can be shown to cause or contribute in some way to a problem.
d. research devoted to developing solutions to social problems.
Question 3: The standardization of training for both police officers and medical personnel are examples of efforts to
a. reduce individual social problems workers independence.
b. increase profit at the cost of quality of service.
c. alter the public's perception of the profession.
d. shift power away from the institution and toward the social problems workers.
Question 4: In comparison to the way problems are typically constructed by primary claims makers, the reality faced by social problems workers is typically
a. more melodramatic.
b. less melodramatic and more complex.
c. less complex.
d. more highly regulated.
Question 5: When a social problems worker tries to identify a case, he or she is
a. identifying which person or persons are involved in a particular incident.
b. looking to see if this situation matches the characteristics of an already defined troubling condition.
c. seeking employment within a particular policy domain.
d. attempting to define a particular situation as troubling enough to be called a problem.
Question 6: The negotiation of guilty pleas is an example of
a. the use of a routine to deal with a heavy caseload.
b. efforts to counteract unpopular legislation by finding ways around it.
c. social problems workers who react to low wages by seeking shortcuts.
d. efforts by social problems workers to reclaim power for themselves in the face of greater institutional regulation.
Question 7: Joel Best suggests that most social problems workers face two challenges:
a. getting policymakers to take their issue seriously and raising public awareness.
b. finding funding sources and keeping those funding sources.
c. categorizing an instance as a particular type of case and helping the subject understand what this construction means.
d. identifying enough cases to justify their own job and finding enough time to deal with all their cases.
Question 8: The relationship between social problems workers and subjects is typically characterized by
a. a great deal of give and take as they cooperatively define the situation.
b. struggle as the social problems workers try to get the subjects to adopt the same interpretation as the worker.
c. dependence as the subjects look to the workers to tell them how to interpret their lives.
d. confusion as workers try to understand the way subjects see reality.
Question 9: Social problems workers typically prefer to be evaluated by
a. subjects because they are most familiar with the real effects of social problems work.
b. other social problems workers because they understand the realities of the work.
c. government agencies because they are known for using unbiased measures.
d. funding agencies because positive reviews typically result in wage increases.
Question 10: When subjects have more resources, social problems workers are typically
a. under more scrutiny.
b. less carefully supervised.
c. less assertive.
d. better paid.