Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social Work Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Social Work

Why You Should Care About The Threatened Middle Class, Jill Littrell, Fred Brooks, Jan Ivery, Mary Ohmer Jan 2010

Why You Should Care About The Threatened Middle Class, Jill Littrell, Fred Brooks, Jan Ivery, Mary Ohmer

SW Publications

In the last two decades, the income and security of the individual middle class worker has declined and the gap between the middle class and the wealthy has widened. We explain how this is bad for democracy, the economy, and the aggregate health of the nation. We examine the governmental policies and interventions that increased the middle class following the depression and maintained its vigor through the post-World War II period. The impetus for these changes in governmental policies in the 1930s was to end the Great Depression. We pose the question of whether a nation can recover from a …


Perspectives Emerging From Neuroscience On Why People Become Addicted And What To Do About It, Jill Littrell Jan 2010

Perspectives Emerging From Neuroscience On Why People Become Addicted And What To Do About It, Jill Littrell

SW Publications

This paper reviews the new ideas emerging from neuroscience regarding the question of why some people are compelled to use drugs. During the process of drug exposure, the brain’s motivational system is changed in ways that co-opts the individual’s motivational system. Changes in the brain’s motivational structures along with changes in the brain’s self-regulatory structures compel an individual to drug use. Ways to reverse those changes in an addicted brain have been identified, as have ways to enhance self-regulatory control. The information from neuroscience offers a new perspective on “loss of control” as well as offering implications for treatment.


In Defense Of The Community Reinvestment Act, Jill Littrell, Fred Brooks Jan 2010

In Defense Of The Community Reinvestment Act, Jill Littrell, Fred Brooks

SW Publications

In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977 has probably received more media attention in the past two years than it garnered cumulatively over the previous 30 years. Numerous conservative pundits and commentators have blamed the CRA for the subprime crisis and the subsequent world-wide financial meltdown. Most social workers are probably unaware that the CRA is probably responsible for more investment, loans, and wealth creation in low and moderate income neighborhoods than any other single piece of federal legislation over the past 40 years. This paper highlights the following features about …


Liminal Living At An Extended Stay Hotel: Feeling "Stuck" In A Housing Solution, Terri Lewinson, June Gary Hopps, Patricia Reeves Jan 2010

Liminal Living At An Extended Stay Hotel: Feeling "Stuck" In A Housing Solution, Terri Lewinson, June Gary Hopps, Patricia Reeves

SW Publications

As a result of unaffordable housing, many of America's working poor are forced to seek shelter in hotels to avoid homelessness. The concept of liminality has been used in discussions of place to describe the subjective experience of feeling in-between two states of being. Research is scant on the liminal experiences of low-income hotel residents, who are culturally invisible in society. This paper draws from data qualitatively collected via semi-structured interviews from ten low-income residents living in an extended-stay hotel. Descriptions of these residential experiences are presented along with recommendations for social workers practicing with families in this liminal situation.