Digital Commons Network^™

"We Are Forgotten." Framing Disaster Via Twitter In The Aftermath Of Hurricane Maria: Implications For Social Work Policy Practice, Barbe A. Fogarty

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

This work presents a comprehensive study of the disaster discourses generated by key social media user groups in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria, the third most destructive hurricane in American history, resulted in billions of dollars in damage and the loss of nearly 3,000 lives. Disasters result in widespread geophysical impacts as well as social, political, and economic upheavals for individuals, families, communities, and nation-states in the storm’s wake. The discourses that emerge on social media are significant in how they frame public narratives in the aftermath of disaster. The social construction of disaster points …

Environmental Social Work In The Disciplinary Literature, 1991–2015, Amy Krings, Bryan G. Victor, John Mathias, Brian E. Perron

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Despite increasing acknowledgment that the social work profession must address environmental concerns, relatively little is known about the state of scholarship on environmental social work. This study provides a scientometric summary of peer-reviewed articles (N=497) pertaining to environmental topics in social work journals between 1991 and 2015. We find that theoretical and empirical scholarship on environmental social work is growing, though this growth remains limited to specific geographical regions and topics. We note the need to clarify the relationship between environmental social work as a theoretical paradigm and as a research topic.

Sustainable Development And Environmental Justice: Connecting Students To Global Issues, Sierra T. Davis

Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

This pilot study will contribute to the literature surrounding study abroad using a new framework to gauge the effect travel has on knowledge of global issues. The United Nations created a list of sustainable development goals meant to rectify pressing issues in the United States and abroad. The goals have been separated into the categories of ending poverty, ensuring prosperity for all, and protection of the planet. Using them as the framework for a quantitative study, data were collected from college-level students around South Carolina on perceptions of global issues through a sustainable lens. The project has had two phases; …

The Necessity Of Holistic Values, Approaches, And Practices In Social Work, Abigail Robinson

Senior Honors Theses

Despite growing evidence of the effectiveness of holistic perspectives in social work, there is not one all-encompassing definition or view of wholeness or holistic wellbeing in the field of social work. A holistic perspective is inherent in social work values, approaches, and practices, but there are often limits to a holistic perspective that are difficult to change. Based on a review of current holistic values, approaches, and practices in social work, it is necessary to determine a consistent definition of wholeness, educate clients and other professionals about holistic approaches, and conduct more research on the effect and ways to measure …

Scwk 410 Field Placement And Seminar I (Individuals And Families), Shirell Roeback

Open Educational Resources

Social Work 410 is the second of the three-course field practice sequence (SCWK 293, 410 & 492). Supervised field experience. On-site visits by Social Work faculty. Integration of field, classroom learning in a weekly on-campus seminar and professional preparation. Placements are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on two weekdays for a minimum of 200 hours for the semester. Permission required for repeating the course.

Using Simulated Instruction To Prepare Students To Engage In Culturally Competent Practice, Alex D. Colvin, Mahasin Saleh, Nila Ricks, Emarely Rosa-Davila

Journal of Social Work in the Global Community

Developing and training students to understand issues of diversity, including the development of a culturally competent social work identity, has long been a challenge for schools of social work. Nevertheless, preparing students to engage with diverse populations is paramount. Simulated learning is an effective pedagogy to enhance and broaden students’ understanding in regard to engaging with diverse populations. This article examines the use of human simulation instruction activities to prepare students to engage in culturally competent practice. More specifically, in this article, the constructs of the cultural competence practice model of Campinha–Bacote (2002) will be examined for practical application in …

Power, Proximity, And Physiology: Does Income Inequality And Racial Composition Amplify The Impacts Of Air Pollution On Life Expectancy In The United States?, Andrew K. Jorgenson, Terrence D. Hill, Brett Clark, Ryan P. Thombs, Peter Ore, Kelly S. Balistreri, Jennifer E. Givens

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

This study advances research at the intersection of environmental degradation, social stratification, and population health in the United States. Expanding the theoretical principles of power, proximity, and physiology, we hypothesize that the harmful effect of fine particulate matter on life expectancy is greater in states with higher levels of income inequality and larger black populations. To test our hypothesis, we use two-way fixed effects regression analysis to estimate the effect of a three-way interaction between fine particulate matter, income share of the top ten percent, and the percent of the population that is black on state-level average life expectancy for …

Community, Natural Resources, And Sustainability: Overview Of An Interdisciplinary And International Literature, Hua Qin, Martha Bass, Jessica Ulrich-Schad, David Matarrita-Casante, Christine Sanders, Barituka Bekee

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

The Special Issue Community, Natural Resources, and Sustainability seeks to engage in an interdisciplinary and international dialogue on the interrelationships of society, natural resources, and sustainability at the community level. In addition to introducing the twelve research articles published in this collection, we provide an overview of the existing literature on community and natural resource management, mainly through a review of previous reviews and a bibliometric analysis. While this literature is dominated by studies on various aspects of community-based natural resource management, the present Special Issue showcases multiple thematic areas of research that collectively contribute to a more complete understanding …

Human Behavior And The Social Environment: Fall 2020 Syllabus, Rigaud Joseph

Social Work Faculty Publications

Syllabus for graduate course on Human Behavior and the Social Environment. (Critical examination and application of biological, psychological, and social aspects of human development from infancy through old age. Major theories, risk and protective factors.)

Social Work Practice (Sw4001) Syllabus, Michael Edwards

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This syllabus is the prototype for SW 4001 a revitalized generalist micro social work course that will first be taught in the semester system. The format is a departure from the quarter system format and the process of development involved faculty within the BASW program.

Sw 6042 Human Behavior And The Social Environment - Critical Topics (Prototype Semester Syllabus), Herb Shon

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This syllabus is the prototype for SW 6042, "Human Behavior and the Social Environment - Critical Topics" social work graduate course that will be taught in the semester system. The format is a departure from the quarter system format and the process of development involved all faculty who teach Human Behavior and the Social Environment graduate courses.

Q2s Macro Social Work (Sw 6062) Syllabus, Nicole Arkadie

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This syllabus is the prototype for SW 6062 a revitalized generalist macro social work course that will first be taught in the semester system. The format is a departure from the quarter system format and the process of development involved all faculty.

Advanced Generalist Micro Practice I Syllabus, Msw Program, Carolyn Mcallister

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This syllabus updates the first in the Advanced Generalist Micro (Individuals, Families, and Groups) Practice Course for the MSW Program. The course structure was changed, the course assignments adjusted, and the readings for the class updated.

Sw 4011 Generalist Field (Basw Syllabus), Herb Shon

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This syllabus is the prototype for SW 4011 & SW 4012, revitalized generalist field social work courses that will first be taught in the semester system. The format is a departure from the quarter system format and the process of development involved all faculty.

Social Work, Social Justice, And The Causes To Which We Are Called: Attitudes, Ally Behavior, And Activism, Brittanie Atteberry Ash

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a profession, social work has codified within its ethical guidance and educational policies a commitment to social justice. While social justice is enumerated in several guiding documents, social work continues to lack consensus on both the meaning and merit of social justice (Abramovitz, 1993; Funge, 2011; Hong & Hodge, 2009; Specht & Courtney, 1995; Van Soest & Garcia, 2003). Due to the lack of agreement within the profession about the centrality and meaning of social justice, many educational practices, attitudes, and actions of those working within the profession may not align with socially just ideals that are codified in …

Stinky Water And Other Ills: Environmental Justice For Rural Services, Michael R. Daley

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Environmental justice concerns affect rural communities and the people who are members of them. Social workers’ long-standing involvement in improving living conditions of the people and communities with whom they work make environmental justice an important responsibility. Yet there is a rural-urban divide on topics related to the environment, and rural and urban communities tend to establish different environmental priorities. Rural communities tend to prioritize local conditions and solutions over global and societal ones. Rural people distrust national policies especially those established by governmental as not being responsive to their interest. Some common environmental rural problems are identified. Environmental justice …

A Social Work Education Grounded In Human Rights, Lanelle E. Quzack, Grace Picard, Stacie M. Metz, Christina M. Chiarelli-Helminiak

Social Work (Graduate) Faculty Publications

In response to a mandate to advance human rights through social work education, this article focuses on the curricular redesign and program evaluation of one MSW Program. The program’s specialization focused on advanced social work practice with individuals, families, and communities grounded in social justice and human rights. A pre-experimental one-group posttest-only program evaluation design was implemented. Multiple assessment instruments were used to measure human rights exposure in social work education, as well as a human rights lens and engagement in social work practice among 93 graduating MSW students from a public university with suburban and urban campus locations. How …

Lessons And Policy Implications From The Flint Water Crisis, Amy Krings, Dana Kornberg, Shawna Lee

Center for Social Development Research

The results of the Flint water crisis were disastrous. Permanent damage has been done to Flint’s most vulnerable residents, the city’s water system, and residents’ trust in government institutions.

This policy brief describes the shortcomings of Michigan’s emergency management (EM) system and informs policymakers on potential improvements for its eventual replacement. It frames the EM system within the logic and practice of urban austerity politics and demonstrates how emergency manager policies are not race-neutral approaches to solving urban financial crises. It considers what the Flint water crisis suggests about policy mechanisms that might prevent future environmental health crises, outlining the …

Integrating Youth Participation And Ecosocial Work: New Possibilities To Advance Environmental And Social Justice, Tania Schusler, Amy Krings, Melissa Hernández

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article reveals possibilities to expand the role of youth within ecosocial work practice. The Where I Stand Youth Summit held in Chicago, Illinois, provided a safe space for young people to reflect upon their understanding of, and roles within, social and environmental justice movements. Drawing upon critical youth empowerment theory and participant observation, we note that youth shared experiences of oppression across unique social identities, while displaying authentic communication, acceptance, and desire for solidarity. Re-defining what knowledge matters, along with intention and self-restoration, also emerged as critical to building young people’s agency and power to effect social change.

Collective Survival Strategies And Anti-Colonial Practice In Ecosocial Work, Finn Mclafferty Bell, Mary Kate Dennis, Amy Krings

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Oppressed communities have long used strategies of caring for and protecting each other to ensure their collective survival. We argue for ecosocial workers to critically interrogate how agency, history, and culture structure environmental problems and our responses to them, by developing a resilience-based framework, collective survival strategies (CSS). CSS consider power, culture and history and build upon the strengths of oppressed communities facing global environmental changes. We challenge the dominant narrative of climate change as a “new” problem and connect it to colonization. We discuss implications by examining a social work program explicitly built on Indigenous knowledges and anti-colonial practice.

The Future Of Environmental Social Work: Looking To Community Initiatives For Models Of Prevention, Samantha Teixeira, John Mathias, Amy Krings

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Social work responses to environmental degradation have sought to mitigate harm that has already occurred and create strategies to respond or adapt to environmental hazards. Despite a good deal of literature suggesting the promise of prevention-focused models, social workers have less frequently considered prevention models to address environmental issues. In this manuscript, we consider how communities engaged in environmentally-based prevention work might inform the development of ecosocial work practice. We describe how a prevention-focused agenda, in partnership with communities, can be a promising avenue for ecosocial work practice to address the root causes of environmental degradation and its social impacts.

Resisting Gentrification: The Theoretical And Practice Contributions Of Social Work, Amie Thurber, Amy Krings, Linda S. Martinez, Mary Ohmer

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Summary

Gentrification is changing the landscape of many cities worldwide, exacerbating economic and racial inequality. Despite its relevance to social work, the field has been conspicuously absent from scholarship related to gentrification. This paper introduces the dominant view of gentrification (a political economic lens), highlighting its contributions and vulnerabilities, then introduces four case studies that illuminate the distinct contributions of social work to broaden the ways in which gentrification is theorized and responded to within communities.

Findings

When gentrification is analyzed exclusively through a political economy lens, researchers, policy makers, and practitioners are likely to focus on changes in land …

Confronting Gentrification: Can Creative Interventions Help People Keep More Than Just Their Homes?, Amie Thurber, Janine Christiano

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Gentrification is changing the landscape of many American cities. As land values rise, people may lose their homes, neighbors, and sites of significance, along with their sense of place, community, and history. There is a critical need to build and preserve affordable housing, yet housing alone will not address the more than material losses. What role can the arts play in sustaining place attachments, restoring relationships, and building place knowledge in gentrifying neighborhoods? This paper explores this question through a systematic review of current research. We identify four prominent alternative interventions in gentrifying neighborhoods—creative placemaking, public pedagogy, community organizing, and …

Doing Place : A Framework For Interpreting Young Adults' Commitments To Appalachian Kentucky., Jeanelle Susanne Sears

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Confronted with negative consequences of rural youth outmigration, many rural communities are interested in how to recruit and retain young adults. Yet, attention has largely been focused on those who leave. This study thus explores the experiences of young adults who make conscious commitments to improving the communities of Appalachian Kentucky despite many obstacles and pressures to leave. Two aims were established in this pursuit: 1) Understand and provide deep description of young adults’ experience of committing to stay and work in Appalachian Kentucky and the meaning they make of these decisions and 2) Develop a context specific framework for …

State Of Domestic Violence Content In Msw Curriculum In The U.S. Perspectives On Social Work, Abha Rai, Yoon Joon Choi, Lalit Khandare

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Domestic violence remains a serious concern in the U.S. and stopping family violence is one of the 12 grand challenges for social work. Further, the core values of our profession are deeply rooted in social justice, dignity and worth of the person and importance of human relationships. This makes the preparedness of social work students to address domestic violence crucial. Social work students need to be provided with support to work with survivors, perpetrators and their families, while engaging in prevention of domestic violence. The present study explores the extent to which domestic violence content is covered within MSW curriculum …

Information And Civic Literacy In Bsw Curricula: Prerequisites For Effective Advocacy, Gayle Mallinger, Molly Kerby

Social Work Faculty Publications

Overview:

• Overview of Information & Civic Literacy
• Strategies for increasing student competence in information and civic literacy
• Efficacy of various strategies.

Rural Social Work And Environmental Justice, Pamela C. Twiss

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

While social work education and literature includes a growing body of work focused on environmental justice and the role of social work in addressing environmental injustices, limited attention has been paid to the disproportionate impact of these issues in rural areas. Many rural places can be more accurately described as rural-industrial in character. They produce the world’s food through highly mechanized agro-businesses, its timber, and much of its fossil fuels through large mining and drilling operations, each presenting threats to the surrounding environment and local peoples. This work describes environmental issues and injustices common to select large-scale rural industries, discusses …

Voices From The ‘Holler’: Implementation And Analysis Of An Advanced Advocacy Practice Course In Rural Appalachia, Leah Hamilton, Rachel L. Wright, Kellie Reed-Ashcraft

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

The availability of quality macro education is a critical determinant to policy engagement among social workers, especially for those in geographically isolated areas. This mixed methods, pilot study compares self-assessed CSWE policy competencies of graduating MSW students who completed an Advanced Advocacy Practice course with a comparison group. Student course reflections were also analyzed for common themes. Results indicate that students who completed the course rated themselves higher across policy competencies than graduating MSW students who had not completed the course. They were also more likely to see policy advocacy as a “primary skill” for social workers. Qualitative analysis suggests …

Promoting Environmental Justice Research And Practice For Social Workers In A Rural State: Methodology And Findings Of A Pilot Qualitative Study, Monika Leininger, Kirsten Havig

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Environmental justice work is an emerging field of practice that recognizes the interrelationship between social, economic, racial, gender, and environmental injustice and the impact social workers can have for policy and practice. Despite inclusion of environmental justice knowledge and practice as critical elements of ethical social work, little research exists on the topic in the professional knowledge base. Additionally, little research exists to date that specifically examines environmental justice knowledge and practice in a rural area. This pilot study examines awareness and knowledge of environmental justice issues and practice amongst licensed social workers in a rural western state using focus …

Contemporary Mental Health Care In Rural Areas: Challenges And Strategies, Whitney Cassity-Caywood

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Mental health care and illness prevention present distinct challenges in rural areas with limited resources. This paper examines rural-specific mental health care concerns and uses a public health prevention model to discuss the most current and prolific strategies to address these issues. The unique role of the social work profession in implementing these strategies is highlighted.