Digital Commons Network^™

Are U.S. Congregations Patching The Social Safety Net? Trends From 1998 To 2012, Emily Warren, Melody Waring, Dan Meyer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

As social services become increasingly privatized amid a federal policy environment that provides a means-tested, temporary social safety net, there is potential for a larger contribution by congregations as social service providers. Using data from a nationally representative sample of religious congregations collected in 1998, 2006, and 2012, we examine whether congregations have increased service activity over time, and whether provision varies by the congregation’s community-level context. We find that post-Great Recession, congregations are more likely to engage in broad social services and in “core” services that address basic economic needs. Congregations in high-poverty neighborhoods were less likely to provide …

Journal Of Sociology And Social Welfare Vol. 46 No. 3

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Women's Education And Child Stunting Reduction In India, Vijayan K. Pillai, Arati Maleku

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Aim: In spite of India's healthy economic growth during the last two decades, about 40 percent of all children in India today are stunted. Though the problem has received widespread attention in the public health literature on stunting in India, very few studies have attempted to explicitly account for the progressive stages of stunting among children. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects women’s education on various levels of stunting among Indian children. The study attempted to assess the effects of women’s characteristics such as age at motherhood on four levels of stunting, no stunting, and mild, …

It’S Like I Have An Advantage In All This: Experiences Of Advocacy By Parents Of Children With Disabilities From Professional Backgrounds, Sarah Taylor, Amy Conley Wright, Holly Pothier, Chellsee Hill, Meredith Rosenberg

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Supports and services for children with disabilities are not distributed equitably. There are disparities in access to and quality of services for children with disabilities from low-income and ethnic minority groups. There are likely many contributors to these disparities, but one factor may be barriers to access that require parents to advocate to obtain services for their children. This qualitative study explores advocacy experiences of parents of children with disabilities (n=40) who have a high level of education and/or professional achievement. Parents described relying heavily on their professional and educational backgrounds in advocacy, and some commented upon the “advantage” they …

Review Of A Century Of Wealth In America. Edward N. Wolff, John Tropman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Edward N. Wolff, A Century of Wealth in America. Harvard University Press (2017), 865 pages, $39.95 (hardcover).

Review Of A Very Short Introduction. Philip N. Jefferson, Yan Shen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Philip N. Jefferson, Poverty: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press (2018), 176 pages. $10.73 (paperback).

Financial Literacy Research In China: The Progress And The Role Of Social Work, Minchao Jin, Yiqing Yuan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Growing income disparity, expanding financial markets, and diversifying financial products have pushed economically vulnerable groups in China into greater disadvantage in recent decades, resulting in a call for financial literacy. Compared with the research in developed countries, studying financial literacy is relatively new in China. Based on a literature review of studies on financial literacy in China, this paper presents the current progress and the gaps in both theory and methods. To address the gaps, social work can and should contribute to this area.

Review Of Sanctuary Cities, Communities, And Organizations. Melvin Delgado, Esther A. Ayers

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Melvin Delgado, Sanctuary Cities, Communities, and Organizations. Oxford University Press (2018), 282 pages, $22.41 (hardcover).

Review Of Social Work Practice With Survivors Of Sex Trafficking And Commercial Sexual Exploitation. Amanda J. Nichols, Tonya Edmond, And Erin C. Heil (Eds.), Fei Wang

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Amanda. J. Nichols, Tonya Edmond, & Erin C. Heil (Eds.), Social Work Practice with Survivors of Sex Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation. Columbia University (2018), 448 pages, $50.00 (hardcover).

Introduction To The Special Issue On Structural Competency, Tina Sacks, Leah Jacobs

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Journal Of Sociology And Social Welfare Vol. 46 No. 4

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

Structurally Competent Social Work Research: Considering Research Methods And Approaches That Account For A Recursive Relationship Between Individuals And Structures, Jaime Booth

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Structural competence, recently introduced in the medical literature, has always been present in social work’s approach to addressing social problems. To achieve structural competence, in medicine and in social work, an evidence base for the structural determinants of social problems and interventions is needed. Social work researchers have made some strides in developing an evidence base to inform a structurally competent practice by employing structurally competent research methods in the investigation of social problems. This paper argues that Anthony Giddens’ structuration theory adds to the medical literature’s understanding of structural competence and discusses several research methods and/or approaches that have …

Structural Competency In Child Welfare: Opportunities And Applications For Addressing Disparities And Stigma, Jaclyn Chambers, G. Allen Ratliff

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

The Trans Person Is Not The Problem: Brave Spaces And Structural Competence As Educative Tools For Trans Justice In Social Work, Jama Shelton, Kel Kroehle, Maria Monica Andia

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social work students must be equipped to confront injustice and oppression. Effectively challenging oppression necessitates attention to the ideological origins and subsequent systematic marginalization of oppressed populations. This article critically examines social work education as it relates to trans people and communities. We propose two interconnected pedagogical shifts for consideration: moving from the social work classroom as “safe space” to the social work classroom as “brave space,” and broadening the commonly used educative method of cultural competence to structural competence. We argue that these pedagogical shifts will better prepare social work students to disrupt cisgenderism and dismantle the gender binary, …

Constructing The Structurally Competent Classroom, Leah A. Jacobs, Hanna Mark

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social work seeks to address social problems through interventions that span micro and macro systems. As such, all social workers are obligated to understand the interplay between individual realities and structural forces. Yet prior models of structural social work play a marginal role in social work education, leaving social work educators without the means to meet these obligations. This structural gap in social work classrooms risks deemphasizing macro practice and failing to prepare micro practitioners to account for structural forces that impact client wellbeing and client-social worker interactions. This paper examines the framework of structural competence as a potential solution …

Review Of Just Medicine: A Cure For Racial Inequality In American Health Care By Dayna Bowen Matthew,, Karen Flint Stipp, Trista Smith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of:Dayna Bowen Matthew, Just Medicine: A Cure for Racial Inequality in American Health Care. New York University Press (2018), 288 pages, $18.00 (paperback).

Review Of The Future Of Capitalism: Facing The New Anxieties By Paul Collier, Edward U. Murphy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of: Paul Collier, The Future of Capitalism: Facing the New Anxieties. HarperCollins (2018), 256 pages,

Review Of Social Work And Social Justice: Concepts, Challenges, And Strategies By Michael Reisch And Charles D. Garvin., Jennifer K. Allen

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Michael Reisch and Charles D. Garvin, Social Work and Social Justice: Concepts, Challenges, and Strategies. Oxford University Press (2016). 448 pages,

Review Of Pressure Cooker: Why Home Cooking Won’T Solve Our Problems And What To Do About It By Sarah Bowen, Joslyn Brenton And Sinikka Elliott, John Tropman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Sarah Bowen, Joslyn Brenton and Sinikka Elliott, Pressure Cooker: Why Home Cooking Won’t Solve Our Problems and What to do About It. Oxford University Press (2019), 337 pages,

Review Of The Politics Of Compassion: The Challenge To Care For The Stranger By Edward U. Murphy, Daniel Liechty

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Edward U. Murphy, The Politics of Compassion: The Challenge to Care for the Stranger. Rowan & Littlefield (2019), 224 pages,

Review Of Addictions Counseling: A Competency-Based Approach By Cynthia A. Faulkner & Samuel S. Faulkner, Shena Leverett Brown

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Cynthia A. Faulkner & Samuel S. Faulkner, Addictions Counseling: A Competency-Based Approach. Oxford University Press (2019), 237 pgs.

Experiential Learning In Collegiate Academia: The Silicon Valley Immersion, Kirsten Settle

Honors Theses

A thesis in an examination of experiential collegiate learning, specifically that are found within the vocational field of entrepreneurship and business management. This student-driven project’s objective primarily is to recruit a dedicated team of diverse students from Western Michigan University (WMU) to engage in a systematic, site-based experiential learning in one of the world’s biggest tech-metropolitans, San Francisco, California. The mission is to stimulate an experience-based approach to studying a business centered curriculum through field research with some of the country’s most successful companies. Participants evaluated company culture in diverse business settings to comprehend professional prospects and project management best …

Discovery From Failure: Understanding Developing Countries' Battles With Poverty And Culturally Appropriate Answers To Them, Daniel Tennant

Honors Theses

This paper is an examination of a failed research attempt, followed by examination of successful research literature on the subject of the informal economy and poverty. The research is centered on peripheral regions of the world, namely in Sub-Saharan countries such as Senegal. The informal economy continues to grow without thorough understanding or measurement of it creating greater problems in the future. The examination highlights the need for culturally appropriate questions, methodologies, and answers to issues of poverty in developing countries. Western World bias needs to be considered when creating and executing research in developing countries if the results are …

Sexual Harassment Of Biology And Biomedical Sciences Undergraduates: A Study On The Effects Of Larry Nassar And William Strampel, Kathleen Ryan

Honors Theses

Sexual harassment amongst undergraduate women of science is a prominent issue, gaining much media attention. The goal of this study is to determine if, and how, major sexual harassment cases impact women pursuing science-related careers, and what the sexual harassment climate is like for these individuals. The study will examine prevalence of harassment, common types of sexual misconduct, perpetrators, and severity through an anonymous survey. Additionally, this study will look into the effects of the Nassar and Strampel cases regarding desire to report harassment, and students’ fear of experiencing harassment in their future educations and careers. It is hypothesized that …

Nostalgia And Music-Evoked Autobiographical Memories: Salience And Content In Musicians Vs. Non-Musicians, Taylorlyn Mehnert

Honors Theses

This paper examines a subsection of data from a larger study conducted by Alycia Sterenberg titled, “The determinants of affect, emotional arousal, and autobiographical memories on music-evoked nostalgia”. The question being examined was: when examining musicians and non-musicians, what difference is there in the intensity of nostalgic memories between the two groups; what elements of a memory are either group more likely to be nostalgic about when listening to music they have labeled as nostalgic for themselves? The data was acquired from questionnaires participants filled out after listening to music generated to be similar to that which they had labeled …

Administrative Barriers To Compliance With The 2010 Ncaa Policy On Concussion Management, Tyler Norman

Dissertations

Concussions and concussion management in sport have become a polarizing public health issue. The best concussion assessment practices and “return-to-play” guidelines have been debated in both the scientific arena and in the media. At risk is the health of the athletes when proper diagnosis and treatment are not accurate for this potentially devastating injury.

Recent research estimates that approximately 1.6 – 3.8 million sport-related concussions occur each year in the United States (Brady, 2011), which can lead to chronic disease, swelling of the brain, cognitive impairment, chronic headaches, mood disorders, depression, blurred vision, double vision, cranial hemorrhaging and death if …

The Place Of Art In Black Panther Party Revolutionary Thought And Practice: From Revolution To Reform, A Content Analysis, Michael James Macaluso

Dissertations

The Black Panther Intercommunal News Services (BPINS) was one of the most powerful black presses and a mechanism to build an imagined political community. Unfortunately, the scholarly and sociological literature examining the artwork of the Black Panther Party published in BPINS has been inadequate. Most work to date focuses solely on one artist, Emory Douglas, the Party’s Minister of Culture and primary editor of their press. Many other artists contributed to the collective endeavor of art and organization at large. The artwork of the Black Panther Party was a communal enterprise geared toward the promotion of political consciousness through visual …

A Recipe For Success In The ‘English World’: An Investigation Of The Ex-Amish In Mainstream Society, Jessica R. Sullivan

Dissertations

As a largely understudied and misunderstood religious group, the Amish appear to be a relic of more traditional times. Because they are a secluded group with little influence from the outside world, they remain relatively untouched by technology and social media. This results in a strict, fundamentalist church community with extremely high rates of retention. Distancing themselves from outsiders and temptations in the English world aids in retaining strong church boundaries, and results in a population that doubles every 20 years (Kaufmann 2010). Acknowledging these aspects, this research delves into the lives of those who have defected from the church …

Limited By Design: Expanding The Boundaries Of Schooling Policies From Demanded Passivity To Transformative Practice, Natalia T. Carvalho-Pinto

Masters Theses

Schooling is often imagined as the great equalizer and the primary venue towards personal and collective liberation. However, hegemonic ideals and practices have limited the ability for educators to craft and utilize policy in a way that best benefits their students. In this thesis, I utilize the state of Michigan’s Common Core curriculum to examine the limits beyond policy and practice. Specifically, I argue that the demands for student passivity and institutional measurable as signs of success, prohibit student growth. Throughout the document, I describe hope in the ability to instill a variety of transformative educational theories and practices that …

25 Year Club: 37th Year Annual Gala, Western Michigan University

25 Year Club

25 Year Club: 37th Year Annual Gala

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

• Reception
• Welcome
• Dinner Buffet
• Recognition of Employee with 50 Years of WMU Service
• 1993 in Review
• Remarks
• Induction of New Club Members