Social Work Commons^™

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 …

Realist Evaluation: A Systems Approach For Understanding And Assessing Complex Social Programs, Dora Raymaker

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

Realist evaluation, a theory-driven approach to program evaluation grounded in realist philosophy, is designed to address the question: What works for whom, to what extent, in what circumstances, and why? It is emerging as a powerful alternative to traditional approaches to intervention evaluation, such as randomized control trials, particularly in settings of high complexity and/or high stakeholder heterogeneity. Realist evaluation takes a holistic, non-linear, systems approach, and can support any research methodologies. This seminar provides an overview of realist evaluation and discussion of potential applications with programs targeting social change.

An Assessment Of Mental Wellbeing And Health-Related Quality Of Life Among Youth Living In Central Mexico, Steven Hoffman, Heidi Adams Rueda, Stefan Chase

Social Work Faculty Publications

The current state of adolescent mental health and wellbeing in Mexico constitutes a serious public health concern. In an effort to better understand the potential impact this crisis is having on youth in Central Mexico, we designed a study to assess the connection between Mental Wellbeing and Health-related Quality of Life among a sample of children in junior high school. Descriptive statistics suggest that 22.5% of our sample was “at-risk” of poor health-related quality of life, with 19.8% at risk within the physical subscale and 24.3% at risk within the psychosocial subscale. Regression analyses showed that mental wellbeing scores significantly …

Truth And Transformation In The Us: A Path Towards Peace, Justice And Strong Institutions, Susan R. Wysor Nguema

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

No abstract provided.

Impoverished Neighbourhoods & After-School Programs, Syed Bukhari

Social Justice and Community Engagement Major Research Papers

This paper examines the quality of Ontario’s after-school program as implemented by Rapport by using Tuason et al.’s (2009) criteria. The goal of this study is to answer the following questions: How the three core areas of the program are implemented and what activities are offered in the three core areas? How staff members and participant perceive the program and how the program impacts the lives of the participants? After-school programs have become an essential part of impoverished communities over the past three decades. The need of quality after-school programs in disadvantaged neighbourhoods has never been higher. Children residing in …

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 …

Child Helpers: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

This essay was greatly inspired by a 15" film titled Tiny Katerina, which shows glimpses of Katerina from two- to four-and-a-half years of age. She lives with her parents and older brother in Northwestern Siberia in the taiga. The Khanty-speaking people live by foraging (berries, for example), fishing and herding reindeer; they are semi-nomadic. In their camp and the vicinity, there is no evidence of electricity or any other public service. These people are very much “off the grid.” From the first, as a wobbly toddler, Katerina is shown being helpful. She carries (and drops and picks up) firewood …

Parents As Pimps: Survivor Accounts Of Trafficking Of Children In The United States, Jody Raphael

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article discusses four survivor accounts of survivors of being sold for sexual exploitation by their parents for monetary gain. These narratives, supplemented by other accounts from 100 newspaper stories between 2012 and 2018, reveal the fact that many survivors were sold as very young children, and the abuse continued through their teen years, blurring distinctions between pedophilia and the sex trade industry. In their accounts, survivors described the motivations of their parents as well as the buyers, who used excessive force and violence. Some researchers are beginning to document the existence of parental pimping and its prevalence, which ranges …

Loss Of Self In Dissociation In Prostitution; Recovery Of Self In Connection To Horses: A Survivor's Journey, Sandra Norak

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This narrative is about dissociation in the lives of women who have been exploited through prostitution. When we speak about prostitution, we do not speak often enough about the dissociation needed for women and girls to survive sexual exploitation. The author challenges the wisdom of governments such as Germany that legalize prostitution, treating it as a “job” and ignoring the violence and subsequent dissociation in women. The author describes her personal journey, explaining how women are traumatized even after the first commercial sex act, which is a sexual assault. They dissociate which makes their lives bearable, but they fail to …

Depressive Symptoms In Three Chinese Older Workforce Groups: The Interplay Of Work Stress With Family And Community Factors, Fei Sun, Wanlian Li, Lin Jiang, Jaewon Lee

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Background: More people remain in the workforce into their late life as people's life expectancy increases. This study examined the relationship between work stress and depressive symptoms of older workers in mainland China, focusing on the interplay between work stress with family and community factors in three (i.e., urban, rural, and migrant) settings.

Methods: National representative survey data on the Chinese labor force collected by the Social Science Research Center of Sun-Yetsen University in 2014 were used. The sample consisted of 5,751 workers aged 50 and above recruited from 29 out of 31 provinces in mainland China.

Results: Work stress …

Exploring Vicarious Resilience Among Practitioners Working With Clients Who Have Experienced Traumatic Events, Adam Reynolds

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Vicarious Resilience is the positive impact that practitioners may experience when working with individuals who have lived through traumatic events. The effects of this phenomenon may be noticed as changes in life goals and perspective, client-inspired hope, increased recognition of clients’ spirituality as a therapeutic resource, increased capacity for resourcefulness, increased self-awareness and self-care practices, increased consciousness about power and privilege relative to clients’ social location, and increased capacity for remaining present while listening to trauma narratives.

While prior research into vicarious resilience has focused primarily on practitioners in trauma-specific settings, this quantitative dissertation studied the experiences of a convenience …

Should Failure To Protect Laws Include Physical And Emotional Sibling Violence?, Nathan Perkins, Johanna E. Barry

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

Physical and emotional sibling violence is a problematic occurrence for many children, adults, and families, yet this form of violence rarely falls within the purview of state laws and policies. Failure to protect laws offer one avenue through which sibling violence can be addressed by holding parents and caregivers accountable for harm that occurs to a child in their custody. This article provides background information on physical and emotional sibling violence as well as a general overview of failure to protect laws in the context of intimate partner violence with particular consideration of these laws in addressing sibling violence. In …

Brain Health Innovation Diplomacy: A Model Binding Diverse Disciplines To Manage The Promise And Perils Of Technological Innovation, Kylie Ternes, Vijeth Iyengar, Helen Lavretsky, Walter D. Dawson, Laura Booi, Agustin Ibanez, Ipsit Vahia, Charles Reynolds, Steven Dekosky, Jeffrey Cummings, Bruce Miller, Carla Perissinotto, Jeffrey Kaye, Harris A. Eyre

Institute on Aging Publications

Background: Brain health diplomacy aims to influence the global policy environment for brain health (i.e. dementia, depression, and other mind/brain disorders) and bridges the disciplines of global brain health, international affairs, management, law, and economics. Determinants of brain health include educational attainment, diet, access to health care, physical activity, social support, and environmental exposures, as well as chronic brain disorders and treatment. Global challenges associated with these determinants include large-scale conflicts and consequent mass migration, chemical contaminants, air quality, socioeconomic status, climate change, and global population aging. Given the rapidly advancing technological innovations impacting brain health, it is paramount to …

A Phenomenological Study Of Felt Sense Among Beginning Counselors, Perry Peace, Sondra Smith-Adcock

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of felt sense among six graduate counseling students. Each participant engaged in two semi-structured interviews and completed a journal of felt sense experiences. A Hermeneutic phenomenological method was used to analyze interview transcripts and journals. Findings, as well as implications for counselor education, supervision, and counseling practice, are discussed.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Of Transforming Impossible Into Possible (Tip) Program In South Korea, Sangmi Choi, Philip Young P. Hong, Rana Hong

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

Purpose:

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) study examined the efficacy of the Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) program for low-income, low-skilled jobseekers in the Self-Sufficiency Program (SSP) in South Korea.

Method:

A total of 169 participants in SSP regional centers were randomly assigned to the intervention group (104 participants) and the wait-list control group (65 participants). Employment hope, perceived employment barriers, economic self-sufficiency (ESS), self-esteem and self-efficacy were measured at two time points, and data were analyzed using a paired sample t-test and an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

Results:

The TIP intervention group showed statistically significant increase in employment …

Organizational Change: The Experiences Of Practitioners Transitioning To A Fee-For-Service Model, Anthony Zazzarino, Zakia Clay, Ann Reilly

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

Many human service agencies are in the midst of a transition for a fee-for-service model. Through the midst of the transition, organizations must shift the culture of their agency and adapt to the new service delivery approach. Some organizational changes can create feelings of insecurity among staff, fewer resources, and greater potential for employee burnout. Though there is some research that provides valuable information, it often fails to highlight the individual experiences of the worker. This phenomenological study begins to explore the experiences and perceptions of practitioners working in supported housing agencies during the transition to a fee-for-service approach. The …

Texas Decreased Caseworker Turnover. The Qic-Wd Is Implementing And Testing Some Of Their Strategies And Building Evidence, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The QIC-WD is dedicated to building evidence. Foundational work in the early years of the Center included combing the literature from multiple fields (e.g., business, education, industrial-organizational psychology) to inform strategies to strengthen the child welfare workforce. In 2018, Casey Family Programs reported on how the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) reduced caseworker turnover by implementing multiple changes to system operations (How did Texas decrease caseworker turnover and stabilize its workforce?). This post discusses how the QICWD is working with eight other jurisdictions and building on what was learned in Texas. According to the report, Texas initiated …

Sibling Violence: The Missing Piece In Family Violence Policy, Nathan H. Perkins, Susan F. Grossman

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

Social work has played an integral role in the conceptualization and implementation of policy aimed at prevention and intervention of various forms of family violence. Seminal federal policies to address child abuse and neglect (Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act), elder abuse (Elder Justice and Older Americans Acts), and intimate partner violence (Violence Against Women and Family Violence Prevention and Services Acts) all focus on specific types of violence in the family. To date, however, there are no federal policies specifically addressing physical and/or emotional sibling violence (Perkins, Coles, & O’Connor, 2017; Perkins & O’Connor, 2016). This article examines the …

Christine "Chris" Kyker Papers, 1946-2017, Chris Kyker

Center for Restoration Studies Archives, Manuscripts and Personal Papers Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

We Need A Loud And Fractious Poor, Jeff Maskovsky, Frances Fox Piven

Publications and Research

This article explores the political consequences of four decades of consistent humiliation of the poor by the most authoritative voices in the land, and offers insights into ways that new movements are creating spaces for poor people’s political voices to surface and become relevant again. Our specific concern is the challenge that the current humiliation regime poses to those who seek to revive radical, disruptive and fractious anti-poverty activism and politics. By humiliation regime, we mean a form of political violence that maltreats those classified popularly and politically as “the poor” by treating them as undeserving of citizenship, rights, public …

Meta‐Analysis Of Public Perception Toward Xenotransplantation, Chace Mitchell, Alan Lipps, Luz Padilla, Zoie Werkheiser, David Kc Cooper, Wayne Paris

School of Social Work

The shortage of donor organs for transplantation is an international problem. One promising option to meet the need is xenotransplantation (XTx; eg, pig‐to‐human). However, there are still questions surrounding XTx that must be answered before proceeding to clinical trials. The current work is a meta‐analysis of articles published between 1985 and 2019 to analyze the factors most strongly associated with agreement and opposition toward the procedure. Although 80% (41/51) of the published studies were related to the opinions of patients, only three provided sufficient data for analysis. Thus, the bulk of what we really know about attitudes toward XTx comes …

How To Be Unfaithful To Eurocentrism: A Spanglish Decolonial Critique To Knowledge Gentrification, Captivity And Storycide In Qualitative Research, Marcela Polanco, Nathan D. Hanson, Camila Hernandez, Tirzah Le Feber, Sonia Medina, Stephanie Old Bucher, Eva I. Rivera, Ione Rodriguez, Elizabeth Vela, Brandi Velasco, Jackolyn Le Feber

The Qualitative Report

From a position of academic activism, we critique the longstanding dominance del production of knowledge that solely implicates fidelity to Eurocentric methodological technologies en qualitative research. Influenced by an Andean decolonial perspective, en Spanglish we problematize métodos of analysis as the dominant research practice, whereby las stories o relatos result en su appropriation, captivity and gentrification, first by researchers’ authorship and later by the publishing industry copyrights. We highlight the racializing and capitalist colonial/modern Eurocentric agenda del current market of knowledge production that displaces to la periphery all knowledge o relatos that do not subscribe to Euro-US American methodological parameters …

Veteran Suicide Risk Factors: A National Sample Of Nonveteran And Veteran Men Who Died By Suicide, David S. Wood, Bethany M. Wood, Aislinn Watson, Devan Sheffield, Helena Hauter

Faculty Publications

Veteran suicide is a serious public health problem. Some data suggest that veteran suicide risk profiles differ from those of nonveterans. Records for veteran (n = 21,692) and nonveteran (n = 83,430) men who died by suicide were examined from 17 U.S. states using the National Violent Death Reporting System data. Seventeen precipitating factors were examined and combined through meta-analysis of proportions. Many precipitating factors were found to be less frequent for veterans. A smaller number of factors were found to be higher in the veteran population, including physical health problems. A sizable cumulative effect size (1.02) was observed, suggesting …

The Effect Of Language Barriers On Variation And Receipt Of Early Stage Breast Cancer Treatment, Abigail R. Madans Do, Richard T. Zera Md, Phd, Rachel M. Nygaard Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: Arriving at and implementing an appropriate patient centered treatment plan for early stage breast cancer requires significant dialogue between healthcare providers and patients. How language barriers affect this process has not been thoroughly explored in the literature. The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of language barrier on variation and receipt of early stage breast cancer treatment.

Methods: Rates of lumpectomy, mastectomy, and contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) with or without reconstruction were compared between English speaking and Low English Proficiency (LEP) cohorts. Patients with recurrent or bilateral breast cancer, male patients, and/or known genetic mutations …

Chıld Development Accounts: A Policy Design And Opportunity For Azerbaijan, Aytakin Huseynli, Michael Sherraden, Daniel Gottlieb

Center for Social Development Research

In Azerbaijan, recent economic growth and sizable oil revenues offer a path for improving the well-being of the nation’s children. This brief makes the case for a national CDA policy in Azerbaijan and suggests viable paths to implementation of such a policy.

Son zamanlar Azərbaycanda baş verən iqtisadi inkişaf və neft gəlirlərinin artamsı, uşaqların rifahının yaxşılaşdırılamsı sahəsində dayanıqlı proqramlar tətbiq etməyə imkan yaradır. Sənəd, Azərbaycanda hər bir uşağa qənaet hesabları olan- Uşaq İnkişaf Hesablarının-açılması üçün yazılan siyasi sənədin qısa xülasəsidir.

Show Me, Don’T Tell Me: A Picturesque View Of Perceptions Of Police, Nancy Marion, Jason Twede

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

A positive relationship between law enforcement and the public is critical for the effective operation of the agency and continued safety of the community. The public’s perception of law enforcement officers is one indication of the nature of that relationship. Past research on perception of the police has used questionnaires to untangle how the public views officers. This research uses an alternative method to measure the public’s perceptions of the police by asking respondents to draw a picture of a police officer. By analyzing the drawings, it can be seen what characteristics people identify with law enforcement. This study analyzed …

An Organizational Analysis Of Foreign National Prisoners’ Participation Possibilities In Flanders (Belgium), Dorien Brosens, Flore Croux, Bart Claes, Stijn Vandevelde, Liesbeth De Donder

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This mixed-method study first provides insight into the Belgian prison population — particularly foreign national prisoners — based on an analysis of the penal database SIDIS Suite (N = 10,356). Second, qualitative telephone interviews have been conducted with the activity coordinators of all Flemish and Brussels prisons (N = 17) to investigate which prison activities (e.g., cultural, educational, and health-related activities, sports, vocational training, and forensic welfare services) are available to, and accessible by foreign national prisoners. This article demonstrates several initiatives that have been taken to enhance foreign nationals’ participation in prison activities and highlights the struggles that activity …

The Role Of Occupational Therapy For Homeless Women And Women At-Risk Of Homelessness, Kelcey Storkersen

Student Capstone Papers

This paper seeks to identify the occupational barriers and needs of homeless women and women at risk of homelessness. A qualitative research study was performed to learn more about the lived experience of two women at-risk of homelessness. Themes uncovered in this study are described in order to provide more understanding and advocacy for this population. A program proposal was delivered for future fieldwork students to provide occupational therapy students at this resource center.

The Financial Capability And Financial Well-Being Of Low-Income Entrepreneurs, Jin Huang, Baorong Guo

Center for Social Development Research

Entrepreneurship can offer a path out of poverty, but do low-income entrepreneurs have the knowledge and resources they need to succeed?

Reporting on analyses of data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2016 National Financial Well-Being Survey, this brief suggests that many would-be entrepreneurs turn to alternative financial products in lieu of mainstream options and could benefit from comprehensive financial guidance designed to bolster financial capability.

“Once A Lawyer, Now A Security Guard… And Anybody Can Realize How Much It Is Hurting, Right?” The Experiences Of Deskilling Among Skilled, Minoritized Immigrants In Waterloo Region, Southwestern Ontario, Karun Karki

Lyle S. Hallman Social Work Theses and Dissertations

Canadian immigration policy by and large is dominated by attracting the Economic Class immigrants, with a commitment to long-term labour market goals. The employment integration of immigrants, however, shows that many highly educated and skilled immigrants are barred from practicing in their own professions. This study investigated the deskilling experiences of skilled, minoritized immigrants of the Federal Skilled Worker program, residing in Waterloo region, a mid-sized urban centre in Southwestern Ontario. Given that employment is one of the key indicators of immigrant integration, and considering the gaps in the literature, I conducted a mixed-method study that examined the factors contributing …