Thesis+Based+Research+Assignment

I. Rationale for Research/ Introduction a. I went down this research path because I am very interested in learning more about poverty in America, particularly in the inner cities. I have mainly been researching through databases, the Internet, and non-fiction books. b. The driving question that guided my research was, why is poverty more commonly found in the inner cities of America? c. The more specific questions that needed to be answered before answering this question was, is lack of education and poverty interrelated? Along with, why is the cycle of poverty so difficult to break? II. Research a. Lynn, Laurence E. and McGeary, Michael G.H. __Inner-City Poverty in the United States.__ Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1990. i. The social conditions in such areas-including crime, dilapidated housing, drug use and related violence, problems related to out-of-wedlock births, and chronic unemployment-may simply reflect the large numbers of poor minorities who end up living there…(2). ii. The problems highlighted in these accounts include involvement with illegal drugs, violent crime, dropping out of school, unemployment, welfare dependence, pregnancy among the teenage children of welfare recipients, and a disproportionate number of families headed by single women (11). iii. The authors are not biased in this subject matter. They researched and did many studies about poverty in the inner cities of America and simply stated what they found. iv. “[Wilson] cites as examples isolation from informal job networks, lack of exposure to norms and behavior patterns of the steadily employed, lack of access to effective schools, and lack of opportunities for women to marry men with stable jobs” (12) b. "National High School Debate Topic: Poverty and Social Services." __Issues & Controversies On File__//:// n. pag. //Issues & Controversies//. Facts On File News Services, 12 June 2009. Web. 21 Sept. 2009. . i. Increasing funding for social services would aid millions of struggling Americans, perhaps even helping them out of poverty by providing for their basic needs (1). ii. Children of poverty risk long-lasting damage to their brains, which ultimately limits their ability to transcend their impoverished backgrounds, thereby creating a permanent underclass in the U.S. (12). iii. The author is unbiased in this article. The author states each side of the debate regarding poverty and social services in America. iv. The study, presented by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, stated “many young children growing up in very poor families with low social status experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones, which impair their neutral development” (12). c. Shah, Anup. "Causes of Poverty." __Global Issues.__ 22 March 2009. 21 Sept. 2009. . i. The poorest are also typically marginalized from society and have little representation or voice in public and political debates, making it even harder to escape poverty (2). ii. However, urbanization is not synonymous with human progress. Urban slum growth is outpacing urban growth by a wide margin (3). iii. The author of this article believes poverty in America and around the world is disgraceful. The author provides many charts, tables, and statistics displaying poverty demographics. d. "Poverty and the African-American Community." __DISCovering Multicultural America.__ Detroit: Gale, 2003. //Student Resource Center - Gold//. Gale. Springfield Township High School. 21 Sep. 2009 . i. Black families overall had a poverty  rate that was nearly four times the rate for whites (1). ii. Employment, unemployment and income all have an impact on the level of poverty  that exists in the  African  **-**  American community  (1). iii. The author states the statistics and facts of the relationship between the African-American community and poverty in America. iv. “Government statistics on poverty  show that, in total numbers, there are nearly as many blacks in  poverty  in 1990 as there were thirty years ago” (2). e. "African American Employment and Income: Poverty." __UXL Multicultural__. Detroit: UXL, 2003. //Student Resource Center - Gold//. Gale. Springfield Township High School. 21 Sep. 2009 . i.  Generally speaking, teenage mothers are more likely to be poor and are less likely to finish high school. In more cases than not, the fathers are either nonsupportive or absent (1). ii. The study showed that there was no single cause for joblessness in young black men. Instead, factors such as crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and performance on the job played major roles (1). iii. The author, once again, states the relationship between the African-American community and poverty in America. The author discusses why African-Americans are more prone to poverty and the specific causes. iv. The problem, Freeman and Holzer wrote, was that "the current welfare system, lacking programs or incentives to promote employment , is doing nothing to correct joblessness” (1). f. "Welfare and Poverty: Black Children Face Record Deep Poverty." __Facts On File World News Digest:__//World News Digest//. Facts On File News Services, 5 June 2003. Web. 21 Sept. 2009. .   i. According to a study, which was based on statistics from the Census Bureau, just 686,000 black children  were living under those conditions in early 2000, before the weakening in the U.S. economy was wholly felt (2). ii. There was considerable evidence that some of the country's poorest families had been driven deep er into poverty  with the gradual elimination of public benefits (2). iii. The author looks down upon poverty in America. The author emphasizes on black children and poverty. Black children are more prone to be in the cycle of poverty than any other race. iv. Deborah Weinstein, a division director for the fund, had said, "The study shows that in the first recession since the [1996 Welfare Reform Act] took effect, black children  who have the fewest protections are falling into extreme poverty  in record  numbers," it was reported April 30 (1). g. Jargowsky, Paul A. __Poverty and Place: Ghettos, Barrios, and the American City.__ New York: Russel Sage Foundation, 1997. i. Such neighborhoods are the result of complex interactions between the economy, racial segregation, and economic segregation (116). ii. Racial segregation and economic status are interrelated within inner cities (117). iii. The author displays factual evidence concerning poverty in the ghettos of America. iv. “These hypotheses may be divided into those which principally concern metropolitan-scale economic changes; those which emphasize the spatial patterning of persons of different races and incomes; and those which focus on how neighborhoods affect values, behavior, or outcomes” (116). // h. // Teitz, Michael B.and Chapple, Karen. “The Causes of Inner-City Poverty: Eight Hypotheses in Search of Reality”. __HUD USER.__ 9 October 2009. . i. There are eight major explanations or hypotheses: structural shifts in the economy, inadequate human capital, racial and gender discrimination, adverse cultural and behavioral factors, racial and income segregation, impacts of migration, lack of endogenous growth, and adverse consequences of public policy (1). ii. Their inhabitants find it much harder to move out of poverty, their incomes are lower, and they are much more often detached from the labor market than other populations (35). iii. The authors believe there are eight possible explanations for poverty in the inner cities of America. They used extensive research to support these hypotheses (2). iv. The inner-city poor do lack human capital to a profound degree in comparison with other groups. They are segregated and detached from the labor market. Demand for their skills at manual labor has declined. They face discrimination in employment and housing (58). III. Thesis a. Poverty is more commonly found in the inner cities of America due to the continuous cycle of limited availability and quality of education leading to low-paying incomes. IV. Findings & Support for Findings a. One of the main causes of poverty commonly found in the inner cities are the social conditions. i. Ai, A2, E1, E2 b. Racial and gender discrimination is another main cause of inner city poverty. i. D1, D2, D4, E1, F4, H4 c. Racial and income segregation is another main cause of inner city poverty. i. C1, F2 d. Shifts in the economy affect the poor more harshly than the middle/upper class. i. B1, H1 e. Minorities are substantially more affected with poverty in the inner cities than the majority. i. B2, B4, F2 V. Process Reflection a. I learned the different causes and effects of poverty in America, but especially in the inner cities. I learned that there are numerous explanations, which are interconnected with one another. b. While researching I was able to think “outside the box” and not just find obvious causes of poverty. By opening up my mind to new ideas I was able to discover new concepts about poverty. c. With my research skills, I still need to improve upon finding more extensive sources providing more details. d. The information I thought I knew about poverty in the inner cities was limited. I was able to discover much more information about inner city poverty that I never knew before. VI. Connections to the Overall Project a. The findings of my research greatly improved my understanding of the topic I chose. Initially, I knew the background of poverty in America. However, I did not know the specific causes and informative detail of poverty in the inner cities. b. This research will help me add depth to my project and add detail about why poverty is more commonly found in the inner cities.