Sociology Commons^™

The Social Construction Of Happiness: A Mixed-Methods Research Study In Mexico, Oscar A. Martínez-Martínez, Margaret Lombe, Ana María Vázquez-Rodríguez, Javier Reyes-Martínez, Araceli Ramírez-López

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study analyzes how happiness is built in Mexico in a context of concentrated poverty. The study uses a mixed-methods approach and incorporates two techniques of data analysis. The first analysis employs an ordinal logistic model with data from the Self-Report Well-being Survey (N=44,518), while the second draws upon semi-structured interviews in four Mexican states (N=247). The results show that six important categories influence the level of happiness in Mexico: (1) emotional life; (2) self-perception of health (the health status of family members and close friends); (3) religiosity and religious affiliation, or both; (4) having the freedom to decide and …

“Growing Up Guerreándola”: On Adolescent Formations Of Conscientização In Colombia, Amy E. Ritterbusch, Melissa Arena Lucía Simbaqueba Gómez, Jhon Restrepo, Nancy Montes, Claudia Rentería, Yirley Velazco, Sandra García Jaramillo, Darío Maldonado

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this article, we argue that we have much to learn from the adolescent developmental experiences of social justice activists on the frontlines. Our team of authors includes the four youth social leaders at the center of the empirical work emerging from our qualitative research. We ground the Freirean concept of conscientização, roughly interpreted in English as critical consciousness building, in the lived experiences of these four youth social leaders in Colombia who have fought tirelessly for justice in their communities. The social justice stories of these young activists emerge from semi-structured interviews including visual methods designed by our …

Myth Or Reality? Exploring Intergenerational Social Assistance Participation In Ontario, Canada, Tracy A. Smith-Carrier, Amber Gazso, Stephanie Baker Collins, Carrie Smith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Is there an intergenerational causal link in social assistance (SA) participation? There is a dearth of research addressing this question, yet the discourse of ‘welfare dependency’ is hegemonic. The limited research that does attempt to tease out a causal link in intergenerational SA participation remains equivocal. Qualitative research is largely absent in welfare scholarship; research that might provide a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics underlying SA receipt. We employ an inductive qualitative analysis, using procedures from grounded theory, to understand SA participants’ experiences and perspectives on intergenerational SA usage. We find that the two causal mechanisms underlying intergenerational SA …

Social Construction, Knowledge Utilization, And The Politics Of Poverty: A Case Study Of Washington State’S General Assistance Reform, Yu-Ling Chang

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper addresses a gap in welfare reform literature by investigating the social constructions of poor people in state policymaking within the context of diminishing General Assistance (GA) after the Great Recession. Using Social Construction and Policy Design Theoryand thematic content analysis of Washington State’s legislative archives, I found that the negative constructions of GA recipients as deviants with undesired psychological and behavioral problems were associated with the reform direction toward a regulated, punitive model. These constructions, intersecting with the ideologies of personal responsibility and work ethic, contribute to the dismantling of the social safety net for the Washington’s poorest …

Experiences And Responses To Microaggressions On Historically White Campuses: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis, Y. Kafi Moragne-Patterson, Tracey M. Barnett

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

According to the U.S. Department of Education (2011), only 59% of students who sought bachelors’ degrees from four-year postsecondary institutions in 2006 completed the degree within six years, and among African American/Black students, only 40% finished college within six years. Despite efforts to quantify factors that contribute to low retention rates among African American students, less is known about the qualitative experiences of students who remain on campuses across the United States. This qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis examines the microaggressive encounters experienced by African American undergraduate college students (ages 17-22) at historically White, fouryear colleges and universities to better understand how …

A Qualitative Study Of Letters To President Kennedy From Persons With Mental Illness And Their Families: Using The Research Poem In Policy Oriented Research, Rich Furman, Allison Shukraft

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using the research poem as a tool of data representation, this paper presentsfindingsfrom an analysis of letters sent to President John F. Kennedy regarding the formulation of mental health policy during the early 1960s. The article presents the experiences of consumers of mental health services and their families-shapers and receivers of mentalhealthprovisionsth atareinfrequentlygivenv oice. Traditional thematic analysis was conducted, and data subsequently were represented in three poetic forms:free verse, the pantoum, and the tanka.

The Research Practices And Needs Of Non-Profit Organizations In An Urban Center, Randy Stoecker

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

How do nonprofit organizations use data and research? What challenges do they face in conducting research and managing data? In spring of 2004, 80 nonprofit organizations in Toledo, Ohio returned a survey on their research and data needs and practices. The survey found that nonprofits collect data on a wide variety of topics, but do not use much of the data that they collect, and do not collect much data that could be useful for other groups, particularly neighborhood organizations. The average nonprofit in the survey has five employees and four volunteers who, together, spend 56 hours per week collecting, …

Evaluation Research And Evaluation: Scientific Social Reform Movement And Ideology, Michael Baizerman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The idea that human services programs should be evaluated is accepted by most practitioners and researchers. Discussion is about the technical aspects of this research and about how practitioners can be encouraged to utilize evaluative findings in their everyday practice. Emphasis is placed also on the organizational barriers to this utilization. These ideas and issues are found in a growing literature in the social sciences and, increasingly, in the even faster growing literatures in the professions and in the human services, including the social services, medical and health services, criminal justice and the like.

Here, evaluation research is discussed from …