Work tests for welfare recipients: The gap between the goal and the reality

In the past, work tests have largely failed to reduce the rising cost of welfare programs. Part of the reason has been a slippage between the objective and the way it has been implemented. The slippage, according to one major study, has been due to a number of causes: a failure to translate the objective into operating rules consistent with the objective; the difficulties of enforcing the requirement in the field; and the unwillingness to penalize innocent dependents of uncooperative welfare recipients. But more effective implementation may be possible through a number of measures.     

Accidental methylene chloride fatality

A case of accidental methylene chloride poisoning by inhalation is presented. The methylene chloride concentration in post-mortem blood was 29.8 mg% as determined by a headspace gas-chromatography technique. The accidental death was attributed to improper ventilation of vapors.     

Professional Projects of Elite Chicago Lawyers, 1950–1974

This article reports results of an inquiry into the composition and policies of the leaders of the Chicago Bar Association. The leadership cadre was partitioned into three status groups on the basis of background characteristics and law school attended. Outside educational elites, dominating the board during the early 1950s, pursued policies that defended prestigious areas of legal work from other encroaching professionals and sought to constrain the plaintiff side of the personal injury bar. Local ethnic elites obtained a share of the leadership during the mid-1960s and transformed the judicial politics of the CBA to conform to local Democratic party objectives. At the center of the leadership cadre was a group of local aristocrats, well connected to major corporate and civic organizations, whose participation in the leadership roles fluctuated less dramatically than that of the other groups. A review of policies suggests that the local aristocrats were responsible to some extent for integrating the various specialized projects pursued by disparate segments of the Chicago bar. Detailed examination of the composition and policies of this local bar leads to the conclusion that associations of the legal profession are capable of accommodating diverse interests to an extent not previously measured or assessed.     

Physically abused parents

A review of the literature as well as of 300 impatient and outpatient cases was performed to assess the incidence of physical abuse of young healthy parents by their children. A higher than expected incidence was found. Four general areas of symptomatology are described. The greatest number of cases seems to arise in well-educated, White, nonpathological family situations, rather than in disturbed situations seen with other types of family violence. Suggestions as to sociologic and child rearing philosophies which may contribute to the development of the phenomena are made.