Deck 9: Communities in the Macro Social Environment: Theories and Concepts

Question 1

Which theories focus on how we use language, words, and signs to maintain our social reality?

A) Functionalist
B) Symbolic interactionist
C) Conflict
D) Empowerment

Answer 1

Symbolic interactionist

Question 2

Which of the following statements accurately social work in rural areas?

A) Due to the rural community's specific needs, practitioners with specialized skills are in high demand.
B) Most community members warrant and will welcome outside services.
C) Non-Christian churches provide most services to recent immigrants.
D) Dual relationships are common, so practitioners must establish boundaries.

Answer 2

Dual relationships are common, so practitioners must establish boundaries.

Question 3

A(n) _____ is a unit of 15,000 to 20,000 people and has internal operations.

A) small town
B) small city
C) rural community
D) institutional community

Answer 3

small city

Question 4

Demographics, competition, and segregation are very important concepts of the _____ perspective.

A) social system
B) social-psychological
C) human ecology
D) structural

Question 5

_____ is the ability of any size system to recover from adversity and resume functioning even when suffering serious trouble, confusion, or hardship.

A) Resiliency
B) Equifinality
C) Entropy
D) Competence

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT an approach to viewing a community's structure according to structural theories?

A) Geographical organization
B) Political-legal perspective
C) Power structure
D) Professional perspective

Question 7

The ______ perspective emphasizes a community's purpose and how that community can continue working to attain that purpose.

A) functionalist
B) structural
C) social systems
D) human ecology

Question 8

Which term refers to the ranking of people in society based on their wealth, power, and family background, and is often related to competition within the community?

A) Segregation
B) Social class
C) Demographics
D) Proletariatism

Question 9

Which theories pose direct opposition to functionalist theories?

A) Structural
B) Social-psychological
C) Conflict
D) Social systems

Question 10

Which term refers to the intended and recognized consequences of an activity or social process?

A) Latent function
B) Manifest function
C) Dysfunction
D) Social disorganization

Question 11

Which of the following is an example of a locality-based community?

A) The National Association of Social Workers
B) LGBTQ people
C) Those who live in posh suburban neighborhood
D) A group of scuba divers

Question 12

The Rodriquez family always participates in their neighborhood's Cinco de Mayo celebrations. It helps them link between the past and the future. Which theory best explains this behavior?

A) Social systems theory
B) Empowerment theory
C) Functionalist theory
D) Social-psychological theory

Question 13

The _____ perspective is based on the assumption that groups in society are engaged in a continuous power struggle for control of scarce resources.

A) structural
B) social-psychological
C) conflict
D) social systems

Question 14

From a social systems perspective, if a community, or possibly some of its subsystems, is progressing toward disorganization, this would be considered:

A) negative entropy.
B) entropy.
C) equifinality.
D) homeostasis.

Question 15

Labeling theory has developed from:

A) functionalism.
B) symbolic interactionism.
C) structuralism.
D) social system theory.

Question 16

Which of the following is true regarding rural areas?

A) The actual number of rural residents has decreased rapidly since the first census in 1790 to the present.
B) About 10 million people reside in rural areas.
C) The proportion of people who work as full-time farmers is less than 10 percent and includes forestry, fishing, hunting, and mining.
D) Most residents have moved there from other states.

Question 17

Which terms refers to the ratio of people living within a particular space?

A) Density
B) Population size
C) Heterogeneity
D) Disbursement

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT an area on which urban social workers must focus?

A) Paying close attention to human diversity
B) Using advocacy
C) Understanding their agency environment
D) Community building

Question 19

What term do Coleman and Kerbo define as a breakdown of social structure, so that its various parts no longer work together as smoothly as they should?

A) Latent function
B) Manifest function
C) Dysfunction
D) Social disorganization

Question 20

Which term refers to an ethnic person's adoption of the dominant culture in which he or she lives?

A) Homogeneity
B) Acculturation
C) Heterogeneity
D) Assimilation

Question 21

Conflict theories emphasize a community's purpose and how that community can continue working to attain that purpose.

Question 22

Satellite communities are also called institutional communities.

Question 23

The National Association of Social Workers is a nongeographical community.

Question 24

The exodus of community residents from inner city neighborhoods to outlying suburbs would be a focus of the human ecology perspective of a community.

Question 25

Practitioners serving people in the rural environment must be true generalists.

Question 26

An aspect of a human ecological perspective on communities involves the extent to which community members feel they have similar concerns.

Question 27

A metropolitan community has at least 100,000 people.

Question 28

Communities are of two primary types-geographically based and interests based.

Question 29

Out of the perspective of conflict theory comes the troubling idea that capitalism encourages corporate violence.

Question 30

Population is the total number of persons living in a designated community.

Question 31

Population in rural counties declined between 2010 and 2012, the first time this happened since census-taking began.

Question 32

Religion serves an integrative function in communities by establishing norms and values.

Question 33

Involvement in multiple communities reinforces an individual's sense of belonging.

Question 34

Social workers can use generalist practice skills to mobilize citizens within communities in order to accomplish the goals these citizens define for themselves.

Question 35

Dual or multiple relationships may be unavoidable for a generalist practitioner in a rural community.

Question 36

Social workers adopting a symbolic interactionist theory on communities are primarily concerned with how the rich and powerful within society constrain and define the less powerful.

Question 37

The social-psychological perspective focuses on the inequalities and problems faced by people with fewer community resources.

Question 38

Generalist practitioners working in urban communities must pay close attention to human diversity.

Question 39

Social systems theories are flexible and unbounded.

Question 40

Urban centers tend to be more specialized in function than rural communities.

Question 41

To which geographical and nongeographical communities do you belong? Describe each.

Question 42

List and briefly explain three of conceptual frameworks on communities explained in the text.

Question 43

Cite an example of an institutional community.

Question 44

To what extent do you think it is ethical to view the social problem of homelessness from a functionalist perspective that focuses on its positives? Explain.

Question 45

Explain the special issues faced by social workers practicing in rural communities.

Question 46

Explain the major arenas in which urban social workers must focus their skills.

Question 47

Compare and contrast social work practice in rural settings to urban settings.

Question 48

Cite two examples of nongeographical communities. Explain how each enhances community members' well-being.

Question 49

To what extent are social service agencies, religious organizations, and community groups and service workers dependent on the homeless for their existence?

Question 50

Which theories and concepts on communities do you think have the most relevance to social work practice in communities? Explain your reasons.

Question 51

To what extent should corporations be held accountable for the production and distribution of harmful goods nationally and internationally? If they should be held accountable, in what ways? Who should hold them accountable?

Question 52

Define community and the two types of communities. Why is the study of communities important to the social work practitioner?

Question 53

Explain how the concepts of competition, segregation, and integration fit within the human ecology theories.

Question 54

In what ways are social systems, human ecology, social-psychological, and structural theories similar? In what ways do they differ?

Question 55

To what extent do you agree with the comment, "Once a person is labeled as having a deviant role, that label is impossible or nearly impossible to escape"? Explain.