SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND PROCESS - AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF HALFWAY HOUSES FOR CRIMINAL OFFENDERS

• NCJ Number: 48911
• Author(s): C J MOTTAZ
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 473 pages
• Sale Source: UMI Dissertation Services
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - DOCTORAL THESIS

Annotation

THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY IN PEOPLE-CHANGING ORGANIZATIONS IS EXAMINED IN RELATION TO HALFWAY HOUSES FOR CRIMINAL OFFENDERS.

Abstract

SPECIFICALLY, THIS STUDY ATTEMPTS TO CONCEPTUALIZE AND OPERATIONALIZE THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY IN A MEANINGFUL WAY, AND TO EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS VARIABLE AND SEVERAL DIMENSIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES IN HALFWAY HOUSES. THE STUDY IS BASED ON A SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO ORGANIZATIONS AND BEGINS WITH AN ASSESSMENT OF THE FIELD OF ORGANIZATIONS IN SOCIOLOGY. THE OBJECTIVE IS TO PINPOINT IMPORTANT VARIABLES AND TO DEVELOP A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK THAT COULD BE USED AS A BASIS FOR A STUDY. FORMAL ORGANIZATION IS EXAMINED WITH EMPHASIS ON ORGANIZATION DEFINITIONS, CONCEPTUAL MODELS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS, ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE, INTERNAL FACTORS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, EXTERNAL FACTORS, AND THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONS. CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS ARE EXAMINED AS A PARTICULAR TYPE OF PEOPLE-CHANGING ORGANIZATION. THE OBJECTIVES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCH ORGANIZATIONS ARE DELINEATED AND LITERATURE ON CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS IS REVIEWED. THREE MODELS OF INMATE SOCIAL SYSTEMS ARE IDENTIFIED AND DISCUSSED, INCLUDING THE DEPRIVATION MODEL, THE GOAL MODEL, AND THE IMPORTATION MODEL. THE IMPACT OF THE INMATE SOCIAL SYSTEM IS ALSO ASSESSED. NEXT, THE HALFWAY HOUSE ITSELF IS EXAMINED. THE HISTORY OF THE HALFWAY HOUSE MOVEMENT, SOME GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HALFWAY HOUSES, TYPES OF HALFWAY HOUSES, TREATMENT PROGRAMS, PREVIOUS RESEARCH, AND RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS AND OBJECTIVES ARE REVIEWED. THE RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ARE OUTLINED, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE SAMPLE, THE RESEARDH INSTRUMENT, INTERVIEWER TRAINING, THE FIELD STUDY, AND THE MEASUREMENT PROCEDURES APPLIED TO A SELECT GROUP OF HALFWAY HOUSES. FINALLY, DATA ANALYSIS IS DETAILED, WITH A FOCUS ON THE FOLLOWING: ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS; PROGRAM COMPLEXITY; PROGRAM COMPLEXITY AND OTHER DIMENSIONS OF TECHNICAL COMPLEXITY; PROGRAM COMPLEXITY AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE; PROGRAM COMPLEXITY, ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES, AND PERFORMANCE; AND PROGRAM COMPLEXITY AND RESIDENT-GROUP CHARACTERISTICS. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS PROVIDED. APPENDED MATERIALS INCLUDE AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR INTERVIEW SCHEDULE, A STAFF INTERVIEW SCHEDULE, A RESIDENT INTERVIEW SCHEDULE, A DESCRIPTION OF STAGES FOR COMPLEX PROGRAMS, AND INDIVIDUAL MEAN SCORES AND RAW DATA FOR RESEARCH VARIABLES. GRAPIC AND TABULAR DATA ARE INCLUDED. (KBL)