Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Myth Of Racial Superiority In Sports, Ian B. Kerr

The Hilltop Review

Sports hold a special place in the hearts of many Americans. Indeed, athletic competition has come to define and shape our understanding in many ways of what it means to be American. There is, however, a dark side to sports and that is the racial tension that often consumes our understanding of athletic competition and the equality of athletic prowess and personal ability. Seemingly innocuous, sports bring to the forefront racial sentiments about innate superiority, that certain types of people are better athletes simply by the nature of their being born. In his book Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports …

White Thugs & Black Bodies: A Comparison Of The Portrayal Of African-American Women In Hip-Hop Videos, Ladel Lewis

The Hilltop Review

The continued appearance of African-American women as performers in rap and/or hip-hop videos has called attention to the male gaze1 and the ways in which young African-American women negotiate their sexuality. The most popular music videos of Caucasian and African-American hip-hop artists from 2003-2005 were analyzed and compared to determine the levels of sexism between the two cultures. With these videos, this study replicated a qualitative content analysis from another study that identified three prominent characteristics: (1) the level of sexism; (2) the presence of intimate touch and/the presence of alluring attire; and (3) which race portrayed women in a …

Competition And Interpersonal Conflict In Same-Sex Platonic Friendships, Ewa Urban

The Hilltop Review

This research explores the connection between competition and distributive and integrative conflict messages in same-sex platonic friendships. The study is a partial replication of Messman and Mikesell’s (2000) examination of competition and interpersonal conflict in dating relationships. The competitive behaviors of same-sex friends examined here are compared with those of dating couples as explored by Messman and Mikesell. Findings of the current research indicate that increased competition between same-sex friends is linked to a rise in distributive conflict tactics as well as to a reduction in integrative messages, which is consistent with Messman and Mikesell’s results. The current study also …

Are Institutions The Answer? Mitigating Sectarian Protest In Divided Nations, Matthew P. Arsenault

The Hilltop Review

Ethnic violence has increased exponentially in the decades following World War II. As such, it is imperative that cures for the unique ills found in divided societies be discovered. This article seeks to quantitatively investigate the efficiency of formal political institutions in curbing ethnically-based violent protest in divided societies. As such, the dependent variable is the level of violent protest, while the independent variables include: a parliamentary system of government, a proportional representation electoral system, and a federated system. It is my contention that such institutions will significantly lessen incidents of ethnically-motivated violent protest. In addition, this article concludes with …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 38, No. 3 (September 2011)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• NET WORTH ACCUMULATION BY DIFFERENT INCOME QUINTILES OF OLDER ADULTS APPROACHING RETIREMENT AGE AND 10 YEARS LATER - Martha N. Ozawa and Yeong H. Yeo
• FOSTER CARE WORKERS' EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO THEIR WORK - Alissa Schwartz
• SOCIAL WORK AND CONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFERS IN LATIN AMERICA - Cindy Calvo
• CHILD SUPPORT AS LABOR REGULATION - Yiyoon Chung
• ANYTHING GOES: SCIENCE AND SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS IN COMPETING DISCOURSES - Philip Dybicz
• THE ROLE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD IN MAKING WELFARE REFORM POSSIBLE - David I. Siegel
• SANCTIONING POLICIES-AUSTRALIAN, AMERICAN AND BRITISH CROSS NATIONAL REFLECTIONS AND COMPARISONS - Harry Savelsberg

BOOK REVIEWS …

Sanctioning Policies-Australian, American And British Cross-National Reflections And Comparisons, Harry Savelsberg

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Over the last two decades welfare policies have undergone major reforms in Anglo-Western nations such as the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Central to these reforms have been the revision of welfare recipient entitlements and responsibilities and the emergence of a responsibility and obligations agenda. The essence of this agenda is conditionality and reciprocity, and it includes the threat of punitive sanctions for failing to comply with mandatory participation requirements. This paper highlights the potent influence of the ideas of American conservatives on policy reforms in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia and provides a thematic crossnational comparison of sanctioning policies …

Review Of Organizing For Educational Justice: The Campaign For Public School Reform In The South Bronx. Michael B. Fabricant. Reviewed By Eva Gold., Eva Gold

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Michael B. Fabricant, Organizing for Educational Justice: The Campaign for Public School Reform in the South Bronx. University of Minnesota Press, 2010. $22.95, paperback.

Review Of World Crisis Effects On Social Security In Latin America And The Caribbean: Lessons And Policies. Carmelo Mesa-Lago. Reviewed By Vladimir Rys., Vladimir Rys

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Carmelo Mesa-Lago, World Crisis Effects on Social Security in Latin America and the Caribbean: Lessons and Policies. Institute for the Study of the Americas, 2010. $28.95, paperback.

Review Of Suicide: Foucault, History And Truth. Ian Marsh. Reviewed By Oona Morrow., Oona Morrow

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Ian Marsh, Suicide: Foucault, History and Truth. Cambridge University Press, 2010. $35.00, paperback.

Child Support As Labor Regulation, Yiyoon Chung

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The development of child support policy over the past three decades provides an emblematic case study of the ways in which a new policy that reflects the rise of moral arguments about individual and family responsibility, once established, produces significant consequences for both the economic sphere and political dialogues. I use social control theory to examine a rarely appreciated consequence of child support policies: labor regulation. Particularly, I demonstrate the ways in which the discourse embedded in child support has exalted the importance of work even under the lowest terms, and has deflected public attention away from labor market issues.

Review Of Democracy Without Decency: Good Citizenship And The War On Poverty. William M. Epstein. Reviewed By Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg., Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of William M. Epstein, Democracy without Decency: Good Citizenship and the War on Poverty. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010. $65.00, hardcover.

Net Worth Accumulation By Different Quintiles Of Older Adults Approaching Retirement Age And 10 Years Later, Martha N. Ozawa, Yeong H. Yeo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The shift in responsibility for income security from the government to individuals makes the accumulation of net worth a vital issue. We investigated the rate of net worth accumulation for people aged 51 to 61 in 1991 (N=7,544) and 61 to 71 in 2001 (N=5,711) using the RAND Health and Retirement Study. We found that the rate of net worth accumulation by the fifth (top) quintile was extremely high in 1991, and the distribution of net worth became more skewed in favor of the wealthy in 2001. Older adults in the first and second quintiles are unable to face the …

Foster Care Workers' Emotional Responses To Their Work, Alissa Schwartz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The field of child welfare struggles with high rates of job turnover. This study describes the contributors to and experiences of foster care workers' emotional responses to their work. Uniquely drawing from the field of Positive Psychology, it describes and conceptualizes the relationships of multi-level contributors to foster care workers' emotional reactions at work. In-depth interviews conducted with 25 foster care workers found that negative emotions were more prominently featured than positive, but that working in an agency with positive workplace characteristics mitigated this relationship. Theoretical implications and limitations of taking a Positive Psychology approach to the study are discussed.

Social Work And Conditional Cash Transfers In Latin America., Cindy Calvo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are a recent anti-poverty strategy in Latin America. CCT programs provide cash benefits to finance basic needs and foster investment in human capital to extremely poor households. These benefits are conditioned on certain behaviors, usually related to investments in nutrition, health, and education. In the literature, there is a recognizable lack of analyses from social science disciplines related to CCT program implications. This paper contributes in this arena by analyzing the particular role of social work in CCT anti-poverty programs. The educational element of these programs and its theoretical foundation based on the human capital …

Anything Goes? Science And Social Constructions In Competing Discourses, Philip Dybicz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper examines, then disproves, the claim that social work practices based upon postmodern thought are either anti-science, or at the very least, weak on their respect for and application of scientific knowledge. Postmodern thought does attack the epistemological theory of positivism as well as the correspondence theory of truth. Hence, postmodern social work practices do seek to displace the role that scientific knowledge plays in guiding the helping situation. Rather than diagnosing causes and effects in a problem-solving endeavor, science is used to circumscribe the boundaries within which a postmodern endeavor at consciousness- raising takes place. Describing this new …

The Role Of The Neighborhood In Making Welfare Reform Possible, David I. Siegel

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article will analyze the role of the neighborhood in making welfare reform possible. It will consider the neighborhood and its environment as a context for welfare reform, the influence of neighborhood conditions and effects, recent neighborhood theory building, the neighborhood as a source of relevant values, and finally neighborhood programs that contribute to welfare reform.

Review Of Invisible Hands: The Businessmen's Crusade Against The New Deal. Kim Phillips-Fein. Reviewed By Robert Leighninger., Robert Leighninger

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Kim Phillips-Fein, Invisible Hands: The Businessmen's Crusade Against the New Deal. W. W. Norton, 2009. $16.95 paperback.

Review Of Remaking Citizenship: Latina Immigrants And New American Politics. Kathleen M. Coll. Reviewed By Lirio K. Negroni., Lirio K. Negroni

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Kathleen M. Coll, Remaking Citizenship: Latina Immigrants and New American Politics. Stanford University Press, 2010. $22.95, paperback.

Review Of American Uprising: The Untold Story Of America's Largest Slave Revolt. Daniel Rasmussen. Reviewed By Phillip Seitz., Phillip Seitz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Daniel Rasmussen, American Uprising: The Untold Story of America's Largest Slave Revolt. Harper Collins, 2011. $26.99, hardcover.

Review Of The Warmth Of Other Suns: The Epic Story Of America's Great Migration. Isabel Wilkerson. Reviewed By Richard Sherman., Richard Sherman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration. Random House, 2010. $30.00, hardcover.

Review Of Living The Drama: Community, Conflict, And Culture Among Inner-City Boys. David J. Harding. Reviewed By Wilma Peebles-Wilkins., Wilma Peebles-Wilkins

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of David J. Harding. Living the Drama: Community, Conflict, and Culture among Inner-City Boys. The University of Chicago Press, 2010. $25.00, paperback.

Moving To Opportunity: The Story Of An American Experiment To Fight Ghetto Poverty. Xavier De Souza Briggs, Susan J. Popkin & John Goering. Reviewed By Margeurite Rosenthal., Marguerite Rosenthal

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Xavier de Souza Briggs, Susan J. Popkin & John Goering, Moving to Opportunity: The Story of an American Experiment to Fight Ghetto Poverty. Oxford University Press, 2010. $19.95, paperback.

Review Of Democratic Insecurities: Violence, Trauma, And Intervention In Haiti. Erica Caple James. Reviewed By Amy Wilentz., Amy Wilentz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Erica Caple James, Democratic Insecurities: Violence, Trauma, and Intervention in Haiti. University of California Press, 2010. $60 hardcover, $24.95 paperback.

Review Of From Madness To Mental Health: Psychiatric Disorder And Its Treatment In Western Civilization. Greg Eghigian (Ed.). Reviewed By Christopher Hudson., Christopher Hudson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Greg Eghigian (Ed.), From Madness to Mental Health: Psychiatric Disorder and its Treatment in Western Civilization. Rutgers University Press, 2010. $32.95, paperback.

Blair Balden, Margaret Von Steinen

International Faculty Researchers

A visiting professorship at the University of Passau in Passau, Germany for Dr. Blair Balden, a WMU associate professor of aviation, provided an excellent opportunity to share ideas and information about teaching aviation law with professors from Germany and Austria.

Communicator Vol. 9, No. 1, School Of Communication

Communicator: School of Communication Newsletter

Distinguished Lecture Series inaugurated; Faculty trot the globe; Student engagement: Internships and more; Alumni awards and achievements

Striking A Balance: Effective Use Of Facebook In An Academic Library, Dianna Sachs, Edward J. Eckel, Kathleen Langan

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

As one of the fastest growing social networking sites, Facebook presents librarians with a prime opportunity to engage academic library patrons. A survey of 136 users at Western Michigan University measured the effectiveness of Facebook as a marketing, reference, and instruction tool. It also measured user comfort and satisfaction with a library’s presence on Facebook. The majority of respondents found Facebook to be a useful and engaging medium to learn about library resources and services. The study shows that an effective library Facebook page must maintain a balance between providing pertinent and useful information, and preserving patron privacy.

The 6th International Conference On The State Of Africa: Challenges And Opportunities For Sustainable Development And Peace In Africa In The 21st Century, Sisay Asefa

International Conference on African Development Archives

No abstract provided.

Humanitarian Aid And The Struggle For Peace And Justice: Organizational Innovation After A Blind Date, Joseph G. Bock

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Humanitarian organizations working in developing countries have gone through a transformation since the thaw of the Cold War. Their increased programming to promote justice and peace has resulted in disparate partnership configurations. Illustrative examples of these configurations show how organizational deficiencies and challenges have spawned innovation. These innovations provide insight about how similar organizations might usefully be engaged in the struggle to promote greater justice and peace in areas of the world suffering from violent conflict.

Contesting Buddhisms On Conflicted Land: Sarvodaya Shramadana And Buddhist Peacemaking, Masumi Hayashi-Smith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Buddhism in its various incarnations has both aided and hindered the peace processes in Sri Lanka. Sarvodaya Shramadana, a Buddhist development organization, stands out in the way it uses religion to promote peace through a more humanist interpretation of Buddhist teachings. While Sarvodaya's alternative approach toward the religion provides an optimistic space for promoting peace, its connections to and dependence on populism can also complicate its politics. This article argues that the most effective means of peace work can be found through the same channel of collective mobilization that hindered it, Buddhism.