Consumer Financial Literacy And The Efficiency Of Mortgage‐Related Decisions: New Evidence From The Panel Study Of Income Dynamics, Piotr Bialowoski, Andrzej Cwynar, Jing Jian Xiao, Dorota Weziak-Bialowoska

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

This study evaluated the link between financial literacy and household mortgage decisions. To this end, the longitudinal dataset for the US population from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) was used. Evidence for links between financial literacy levels and (1) mortgage uptake, (2) mortgage interest rates, and (3) mortgage refinancing decisions were examined using the two waves (2015 and 2017) of PSID data, combined with the 2016 PSID supplementary questionnaire examining the measured financial literacy of household members. Our results revealed a positive link between financial literacy and mortgage possession and, additionally, between financial literacy and the subsequent decision …

Antecedents And Consequences Of Personal Financial Management Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review And Future Research Agenda, Kirti Goyal, Satish Kumar, Jing Jian Xiao

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current state of research on Personal Financial Management Behavior (PFMB), with a prime focus on its antecedents and the consequences. By analyzing the research trends, methods, determinants and outcomes, the PFMB literature is synthesized, and agenda for future research is suggested. A framework is presented that portrays PFMB's antecedents and consequences and further specification of the mediation and moderation linkages.

Design/methodology/approach: The review is based on 160 articles published during 1970–2020. It follows a systematic approach and presents the definitions and theories of PFMB, publication trends based on time, region, …

Financial Capability And Wellbeing Of Vulnerable Consumers, Jing Jian Xiao, Nilton Porto

Human Development and Family Science Faculty Publications

Consumer financial capability can be defined variously by different researchers. In this study, financial capability is assumed to have three components, financial knowledge, financial behavior, and financial skills. This study examines relative contributions of financial capability components to financial wellbeing among vulnerable consumers. With data from the National Financial Wellbeing Survey commissioned by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), results show that among financial capability components, financial behavior contributes the most to financial wellbeing of the whole sample, followed by financial skill and financial knowledge. In addition, group differences surface when subsamples in terms of age, poverty status, confidence, and …

Development Of Palestinian Social Work In Israel: The Formative Years (1968–1982), Ibrahim Mahajne, Anwar Khatib, Arnon A. Bar-On

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Based on primary and secondary sources and interviews with Arab social workers employed in welfare bureaus during the time under review, the article describes the development of Palestinian social work in Israel in its formative years (1968–1982). The primary finding is that this development took place under a "policy of contempt" towards the Palestinian community's needs. The authorities acknowledged these needs but perpetuated a discriminatory allocation of resources in meeting them compared to Jewish Israelis and disregarded the society's narrative by maintaining a dual welfare system: one for the country's Jewish citizens and a lesser one for their …

Exploited And Empowered Inclusion: Contesting The Flawed Consumer In The United States, Wendy A. Wiedenhoft Murphy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Compared to affluent consumers, the consumption practices of poor and low-income consumers have received less attention in the global North, where they have been marginalized as flawed. This paper hopes to address this neglect by providing an exploratory profile of poor and low-income consumers in the United States. It will challenge that these consumers are flawed by explaining how they participate in consumer society via exploitative inclusion and empowered inclusion. It concludes by suggesting ways that less-affluent consumers can experience expanded empowerment.

Narratives In Sex Offender Management Laws: How Stories About A Label Shape Policymaking, Mauricio P. Yabar

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Serious scholarly inquiry regarding the role of social constructions and narratives in sex offender management laws is relatively a new undertaking. In the last two decades, a myriad of studies exploring the negative effects of Sex Offender Registration and Notification (SORN) policies were added to the literature, a trend that appears to be slowing down today. The purpose of this paper is to recommend the integration of the narrative policy framework (NPF) with Schneider and Ingram’s (1993) theory of social construction of target populations in the analysis of SORN policies. The author provides a critical review of SORN policies while …

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 …

Journal Of Sociology And Social Welfare Vol. 48, No. 2

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Complete issue of Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare Volume 48, Number 2

The Rwandan Diaspora: Residual Politics And The Culture Of Silence, Jennifer Marson-Reed, Olivia Mclaughlin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The present article examines the political environment in Rwanda following the 1994 genocide from the perspective of diaspora members. Research was conducted via in-person and telephone interviews from May 2015 to March 2016 with eight members of the Rwandan diaspora in the United States and Canada. The primary research objective questioned how members of this particular diaspora attempt to achieve justice and reconciliation among one another. However, current Rwandan politics became a central discussion point during interviews, particularly the residual effect among the diaspora. Interviews suggest that the current political climate in Rwanda may have created a culture of silence …

The Interlinkage Between Blood Plasma Donation And Poverty In The United States, Analidis Ochoa, H. Luke Shaefer, Andrew Grogan-Kaylor

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In 2019, plasma centers in the United States received a record 53.5 million blood donations, roughly triple that collected during the Great Recession. Recent ethnographic research and journalistic accounts connect plasma sales and poverty, an association that would carry important public health implications given the vulnerability of disadvantaged populations. This study is the first to examine a range of socioeconomic characteristics of communities where commercial plasma centers situate. We geocode locations of all U.S. commercial plasma centers and merge with census tract demographic data from the American Community Survey. Findings indicate greater odds that plasma centers will locate in urban …

Understanding How Recipients Of Means-Tested Government Assistance Make The Decision To Vote Or Not To Vote And How Social Workers Can Make A Difference?, Adelaide Sandler

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

When voter turnout of any one particular demographic or social group is significantly less than that of other groups, members of that group lose their power to protect their basic economic and social rights. Low voter turnout among recipients of means-tested government assistance is especially problematic because election outcomes impact the benefits on which they depend. This article presents results from a qualitative study to understand how recipients of means-tested government assistance decide to vote or not to vote. Four themes emerged related to the patterns of voting behaviors and described as: dedicated voter, voter, nonvoter, and dedicated nonvoter. Each …

Are Non-Religious College Students The New Anti-Racists On The Block?: An Exploration Of The Effects Of Non-Religiosity On College Students’ White Racial Identities, Paula K. Miller

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of non-religiosity on white college students’ racial identities. Previous research on this topic is minimal and has focused on the impact of non-religiosity on attitudinal components of white racial identity. We expand this work using the White Racial Identity Scale, which measures white racial identity through a variety of attitudes, behaviors, and cultural preferences. We found that non-religious white students were more likely than religious white students to report racially progressive attitudes, behaviors, and cultural preferences, including less investment in American and ethnic practices, less trust in mainstream American institutions, …

Importance Of Education As A Coping Strategy To Sudanese Refugee Women: A Qualitative Study From Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, Jessica Gladden, Allyson Dykstra

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Research shows the level of importance that education plays in refugee youths’ lives. However, most research is completed with refugees who have resettled to a developed nation and rarely examines the needs and desires of refugee women living in refugee camps. This sub-section of a study examines the importance of education, as well as a hope of education, in a population of young Sudanese women living in Kakuma Refugee Camp. This study shows that the younger refugee women’s primary goal was education, although most were not able to participate in formal education at the time of the study. A hope …

Review Of Reversals Of Fortune: Poverty And Shared Prosperity By World Bank, James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Review of Reversals of Fortune: Poverty and Shared Prosperity

Bridging The Gaps: Literacy, Media Literacy Education, And Critical Digital Social Work, Gianna Cappello

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Drawing from literacy studies and research in media literacy education, this article contends that a series of conceptual gaps need to be bridged in order to have a better understanding of how these traditions can contribute to redefining the field of digital social work. The field of digital social work should move towards a more critical-oriented dimension so that digital media and the internet should not simply be considered (as it is often the case), as mere tools to improve the professionality of social workers, but rather as life environments and systems of representation shaping individuals’ identities and social relationships.

Social Work And Participation In The Digital Environment, Rafael Acebes Valentín

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this article, I present a set of communication strategies aimed at creating both online and offline communities based on an analysis of communication and participation in digital environments. These strategies seek to enhance convergence and congregation with the aim of achieving the best possible outcome from a thesis-antithesis-synthesis approach, a priority of digital social work.

Reconceptionalizing The Knowledge Base Of Social Work: The Imperative For Critical Theories And Perspectives In Social Work Education, Kristie L. Seelman, Elizabeth L. Beck, Shane R. Brady, Karimah Dillard, William Lane

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

As the U.S. continues to grapple with the need for a racial reckoning, and with a growth of progressive voices and movements—especially those lead by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color—now is an important time to re-examine social work’s knowledge base. Students, researchers, and practitioners need the tools to challenge hegemony, inequity, injustice, and White supremacy from a structural position. Critical theory is an important tool for such work, yet it is not well integrated into social work textbooks, and many students still have limited exposure to it. In this paper, we explore critical theory’s roots and evolution and discuss …

Addressing The Needs Of African American Grandparents: An Intersectionality Perspective, Dorothy Smith-Ruiz, Kendra Jason

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study seeks to demonstrate the intersecting structural and compounding challenges African American custodial grandparents experience collectively, rather than as separate non-competing factors, which has been modeled in prior studies. Using a mixed-method research design, the study explored the challenges faced by African American and white custodial grandparents. These challenges included difficulties attaining different types of support, respite care, and programs for teens and special needs grandchildren. Results showed that caregiving challenges among African Americans were more pervasive than their White counterparts. These findings have significant implications for the development of intervention programs for custodial African American grandmothers and their …

Journal Of Sociology And Social Welfare Vol. 48, No. 4

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

No abstract provided.

“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 …

Parental Financial Assistance To Young Adult Children And The Black-White Wealth Gap, Yunju Nam, Darrick Hamilton, Christopher Famighetti

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

We examine the roles of parental financial assistance to young adult children for college, homeownership, and “other reasons” in explaining the Black-White wealth gap. Using Panel Study of Income Dynamics data, we run Blinder-Oaxaca decompositions. Results show that the socioeconomic position of Black parents, not their proclivity to give, explains lower receipt of parental assistance for Black adult children—especially in the form of assistance for college and homeownership, which in turn, translates into the intergenerational reproduction of the racial wealth gap. Accordingly, policies should focus on equalizing resource endowments for adult children across racial lines. The findings support a structural/stratification …

Anti-Unionism And The Chicago Teachers Union, Paul Stromberg

Master's Theses

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is one of the most influential political organizations in Illinois. Like other political organizations, the CTU influences policy through activism, advocacy, and endorsements. Unlike most political organizations, however, the CTU's 20,000 members are responsible for carrying out policy decisions through their roles as teachers, paraprofessionals, and clinicians in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). In response to this influence, anti-unionists have become increasingly adept at criticizing the CTU, using anti-union rhetoric to malign unionized teachers. Simultaneously, anti-unionists have utilized anti-union litigation to disable teacher unions, stripping them of guaranteed protections. Assisted by conflict theory, this study examines …

Toward A Race-Conscious Critique Of Mental Health-Related Exclusionary Immigration Laws, Monika Batra Kashyap

Faculty Articles

This Article employs the emergent analytical framework of Dis/ability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) to offer a race-conscious critique of a set of immigration laws that have been left out of the story of race-based immigrant exclusion in the United States—namely, the laws that exclude immigrants based on mental health-related grounds. By centering the influence of the white supremacist, racist, and ableist ideologies of the eugenics movement in shaping mental health-related exclusionary immigration laws, this Article locates the roots of these restrictive laws in the desire to protect the purity and homogeneity of the white AngloSaxon race against the threat of …

Emotions And Intellectual Property Law, Margaret Chon

Faculty Articles

Emotions constitute an integral part of the diverse approaches that we bring to bear upon our most pressing law and policy issues. This article explores the role of emotions in intellectual property, information, and technology law (IP). Like other areas of law, IP commits to, prioritizes, and even honors, reason, logic, and facts—which can result in the sidelining of the affective components of law. Yet our affective responses to legal and other phenomena influence both cognition and reason. Part I of the article provides a general overview of the field of law and emotions, pointing out how this approach to …

Exploring The Relationship Between Nature Connectedness And Belonging With Pro-Environmental Behavior In Brazilian National Parks, Sonia Maria Sfair Kinker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Park managers in Brazil have recently understood the power of recreational experiences to stimulate a relationship with nature and commitment to its conservation. In their discourse, the central supposition is that those connected to nature and feeling a sense of belonging to nature tend to be more mindful of the environment and more supportive of nature conservation. However, providing visitation opportunities that effectively facilitate visitor experiences in nature has been a managers' lonely endeavor dependent on their skills and beliefs about visitation and no clear visitation policy. Therefore, this study aimed at providing a theoretical base and empirically tested frameworks …

The Intersection Of Race And Criminal History In Perceptions Of Native Americans And Hiring, Sierra B. Streuli

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Studies show that race-based discrimination exists in the hiring process. Many minority job candidates experience this phenomenon, especially when a criminal record is present. The intersection of possessing a Native American identity and having a criminal history has yet to be examined. This research compares the experience of Native American job candidates (some with a criminal history and some without) to white job candidates (some with a criminal history and some without) to see how these varying points of identity influence hiring process decisions in a fictitious hiring scenario. Using an online questionnaire based on Foschi and Valenzuela’s (2015) study …

Appealingly Unpeeled: The Layered Lemons In Dutch Golden Age And Contemporary Art, Amanda Barr

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In seventeenth-century Dutch painting, the lemon holds a prominent visual, economical, socio-cultural, and moral position. This trend would then be repeated in contemporary art, beginning in roughly the 1970s. This thesis, in two parts, will explore the significance of the prevalence of the lemon and their recurrent presence in both Dutch Golden Age art and modern and contemporary artwork. This multivalent approach will look at lemons as not only a visual representation of fruit, but a symbol of larger concepts such as globalization, commercialism, colonialism, sexuality, religion, linguistics, mythology, and pop culture.

"It Kind Of Polishes All Your Flaws Away": Long-Term Experiences With Psilocybin Mushrooms And The Influence Of Set And Setting, Danielle Nicole Daniel

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study explores the experiences and motivations of people who take psilocybin mushrooms long-term. Little scholarly attention has been given to the psilocybin experience outside of a clinical setting. Likewise, there is a dearth of research examining the factors that lead to first-time and ongoing experiences with mushrooms. I conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 18 informants who have taken psilocybin mushrooms at least 10 times and for over three years. I encouraged open dialog and storytelling to gain a deeper understanding of their mushroom experiences and motivations to take long-term. Using a grounded theory approach, I identified the following patterns …

Structural Racism And Immigrant Health: Exploring The Association Between Wage Theft, Mental Health, And Injury Among Latino Day Laborers, Maria Eugenia Fernández-Esquer, Lynn N Ibekwe, Rosalia Guerrero-Luera, Yesmel A King, Casey P Durand, John S Atkinson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Although wage theft has been discussed primarily as a labor and human rights issue, it can be conceptualized as an issue of structural racism with important consequences for immigrant health.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to: 1) identify sociodemographic, employment, and stress-related characteristics that increase Latino day laborers' odds of experiencing wage theft; 2) assess the association between wage theft and serious work-related injury; 3) assess the association between wage theft and three indicators of mental health-depression, social isolation, and alcohol use-as a function of wage theft; and 4) assess serious work-related injury as a function of …

Financial Illiteracy And Minority Small Business Failure, Julia Lee Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Minority small businesses are important contributors to the U.S. economy. As such, financial illiteracy resulting in the failure of minority small businesses is a significant problem. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a quantitative correlation exists between financial illiteracy and minority small business failure in the United States. The theoretical foundation consisted of administrative, systems, human capital theories and system thinking, financial, and management concepts. The research questions exhaustively reviewed secondary financial literacy and various business management research data that relate to the ability of the U.S. minority population to create wealth through sustained entrepreneurial success using …