Deck 2: Analyzing the Problem

Question 1

"Incidence" refers to the number of new cases of a problem within a specified time period.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The "change agent" is defined as anyone who helps raise awareness about a specific problem.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

According to the text, it makes no difference whether we define something as a "need" or a "problem."

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A "key informant" is paid by the police to give information about criminal activities.

Question 5

Wherever time and resources permit, it is always desirable to use as many techniques as possible to analyze and provide evidence for a problem.

Question 6

The Uniform Crime Reports is an excellent example of a social indicator.

Question 7

Examination of social indicators often leads to the definition of a problem and attempts at change.

Question 8

Police performance is often evaluated on the basis of numbers such as arrest rates and clearance rates rather than mediation skills.

Question 9

Overlapping roles among stakeholders are not allowed (e.g., the change agent may not be part of both the target system and the action system).

Question 10

Current thinking about criminal justice as a "system" was largely influenced by the 1968 President's Commission report.

Question 11

A "stakeholder" includes:

A) any person, group, or agency who has a legitimate interest in the problem or the intervention
B) etiology
C) social indicators
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 12

The planned change technique of ________________________________ is based upon an analogy to physics: a body will remain at rest when the sum of forces operating on it is zero.

A) conflict strategies
B) key informants
C) amenability
D) force field analysis
E) monitoring

Question 13

When we attempt to "apply boundaries" to a problem, we would consider which of the following?

A) a specific age group
B) a specific place or jurisdiction
C) a specific type of behavior
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 14

_______________________ refers to statistics reflecting some set of social conditions in a particular area over time.

A) initiator system
B) social indicators
C) problem
D) etiology
E) change agent

Question 15

______________________ refers to all factors that cause or contribute significantly to a specific problem or need.

A) initiator system
B) social indicators
C) problem
D) etiology
E) change agent

Question 16

A "critical incidents" list refers to:

A) a lack of something that contributes to the discomfort or suffering of a particular group of people
B) proposed relationships between different causes of a problem
C) behavioral patterns and dynamics existing within a specific community
D) a chronology of specific events that have shaped perceptions of a problem and reactions to it
E) none of the above

Question 17

Reluctance by police to arrest suspected spouse abusers received much criticism in the 1970s. One reason given for the "hands-off" police response was that police were socialized into a "crime?fighting" rather than "social work" culture. This example best illustrates which type of cause?

A) individual
B) organizational
C) community
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 18

The ______________________ refers to the specific individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that are expected to benefit from the change

A) change agent system
B) target system
C) client system
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 19

In a force field analysis, ________________________ refers to an assessment of how much impact changing a particular source of resistance would have.

A) amenability
B) feasibility
C) potency
D) consistency
E) none of the above

Question 20

A change agent is examining how much and what kind of discretion each agency possesses in the processing of accused and convicted suspects. He or she is most likely conducting:

A) a force field analysis
B) a community forum
C) a community survey
D) a systems analysis
E) none of the above