Social Work Commons^™

Reducing The College Progress Gap Between Low- To Moderate-Income (Lmi) And High-Income (Hi) Young Adults: Assets As An Understudied Form Of Economic Capital, William Elliott Iii, Monique Constance-Huggins, Hyun-A Song

Center for Social Development Research

Reducing the College Progress Gap Between Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) and High-Income (HI) Young Adults: Assets as an Understudied Form of Economic Capital

The Age Old Question, Which Comes First? A Simultaneous Test Of Children's Savings And Children's College-Bound Identity, William Elliott Iii, Eun Hee Choi, Mesmin Destin, Kevin Kim

Center for Social Development Research

The Age Old Question, Which Comes First? a Simultaneous Test of Children's Savings and Children's College-Bound Identity

Race, Substance Abuse, And Mental Health Disorders As Predictors Of Juvenile Court Outcomes: Do They Vary By Gender?, Chiquitia Welch-Brewer, Patricia A. Stoddard Dare, Christopher A. Mallett

Social Work Faculty Publications

Predicting juvenile court outcomes based on youthful offenders’ delinquency risk factors is important for the adolescent social work field as well as the juvenile justice system. Using a random sample of 341 delinquent youth from one Midwestern urban county, this study extends previous research by examining if race, substance abuse, and mental health disorders influence important delinquency outcomes (number of court offenses, felony conviction(s), probation supervision length, detention length, and number of probation services) differently for male and female juvenile offenders. Multivariate analysis findings revealed that race was significant only for males, and having a substance use disorder was a …

Misbehaviors Of Front-Line Research Personnel And The Integrity Of Community-Based Research, Gala True, Leslie B. Alexander, Kenneth A. Richman

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Faculty Research and Scholarship

There has been little empirical research into misconduct and misbehavior among community research workers who recruit and collect data in vulnerable and marginalized health populations and are also members of those same communities. We conducted qualitative interviews with community research workers and traditional research assistants to understand the context and consequences of misbehaviors that pose a threat to research ethics and data integrity. In our sample, more community research workers acknowledged engaging in research wrongdoing than did traditional research assistants. These behaviors were most prevalent among community research workers who were not well-integrated into the research team. We suggest best …

Civil Resistance And The Corruption-Violence Nexus, Shaazka Beyerle

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

There are multiple ways in which corruption is linked to violent conflict, some direct and some indirect. For ordinary citizens, the experience of this nexus is the denial of basic freedoms and rights. In spite of such bleak circumstances, people can move from being victims and bystanders to becoming a force for transforming their societies. Citizens are engaging in civil resistance to curb corruption and win accountability and justice. This article: explores the linkages between corruption and violence; identifies the conceptual and practical limitations of top-down, technical approaches to combating corruption; articulates a bottom-up approach in which the civic realm …

Peace And War In The Qur'an And Juridical Literature: A Comparative Perspective, Liyakat Takim

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The Qur'anic period of Islamic history took place in a social context of significant diversity. A number of important verses in the Qur'an reflect this diversity and encourage Islamic believers to seek peaceful coexistence with those of other faiths, especially those designated as "people of the Book," specifically Christians, Jews and Sabeans. In the later classical period of Islamic history, the exegesis of Islamic jurists markedly de-emphasized peaceful coexistence in favor of interpretations encouraging conquest and religious uniformity. Although the classical jurists have exercised enormous interpretive authority in subsequent Islamic history, their authority was never understood to be absolute or …

Secondary Traumatic Stress: Social Workers In A Veterans Affairs Healthcare Setting, Nikola R. Alenkin

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study is to examine secondary traumatic stress (STS) and the coping of social workers in inpatient and outpatient settings in a Veterans Affairs healthcare system. A convenience sample of 126 master's level and above social workers completed a survey measuring Secondary Traumatic Stress. Rates of reported secondary traumatic stress symptoms and utilization of coping strategies by social work staff were investigated. Setting was not a significant factor in reported secondary traumatic stress scores. Although female social workers in inpatient settings reported higher rates of stress symptomatology than other social workers across settings, the rates were not …

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.

Thinking About Peace, Conflict, And War: An Introduction To The Special Issue, Sondra J. Fogel, Daniel Liechty

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This special issue had humble beginnings. As a matter of fact, odds were stacked against it, especially given that the original plan for this topic was for a panel discussion based on submitted work to the 2009 Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) Conference. However, not one abstract was received for this topic. I found this quite curious and alarming since at that time this country was engaged in two wars, there was continuous media coverage around "terrorist" activities, and we were experiencing frequent changes to our daily routines based on new security measures. Anti-war protestors were growing …

Thinking About Peace Today, Michael Allen Fox

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Discussing peace-and how to get to and maintain situations, practices, and socio-political structures that build peace-is of the greatest urgency. But the first step, both psychologically and epistemologically, is overcoming preoccupation with war and resistance to thinking about peace. This article takes on these problems and lays essential groundwork for substantive discussion of peace. Attractions of war and myths of war are deconstructed, and negative views of humans' capacity for peaceful behavior are examined and rejected. Wide-ranging costs of war and war-preparedness are also exposed. The value of peace is then discussed. A concluding section offers a list of "home …

"Just Say No": Organizing Against Militarism In Public Schools, Scott Harding, Seth Kershner

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In an effort to counteract the growing militarization of schools, military counter-recruitment (CR) has emerged as an effective grassroots movement across the United States. Led by a small number of local activists, CR utilizes community organizing methods to confront the structures supporting military enlistment as a viable career option. Despite operating with limited resources, counter-recruitment has secured key legal and policy victories that challenge the dominant social narrative about military service. Three examples of counterrecruitment are profiled to illustrate the different tactics and strategies used for successful organizing within a culture of militarism.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 38, No. 2 (June 2011)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

SPECIAL ISSUE ON PEACE, CONFLICT AND WAR

• THINKING ABOUT PEACE, CONFLICT, AND WAR: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE - Sondra J. Fogel and Daniel Liechty, Special Editors
• THINKING ABOUT PEACE TODAY - Michael Allen Fox
• HUMANITARIAN AID AND THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE: ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION AFTER A BLIND DATE - Joseph G. Bock
• CIVIL RESISTANCE AND THE CORRUPTIONVIOLENCE NEXUS - Shaazka Beyerle
• "JUST SAY NO": ORGANIZING AGAINST MILITARISM IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS - Scott Harding and Seth Kershner
• STUDENTS FOR PEACE: CONTEXTUAL AND FRAMING MOTIVATIONS OF ANTIWAR ACTIVISM - Eric Swank and Breanne Fahs
• PEACE AND WAR IN THE …

Students For Peace: Contextual And Framing Motivations Of Antiwar Activism, Eric Swank, Breanne Fahs

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article traces the development of peace activism among undergraduate social work students. In doing so, it explores how social statuses, political contexts, and collective action frames affect the likelihood of joining the movement against the Afghanistan war (2001 to current). After analyzing data from a multicampus sample of Bachelors in Social Work (BSW) students (n = 159), results show that peace activism was predicted by level of education as well as perceptions of proper foreign policy, the relative efficacy of social movement tactics, and identification with specific activist ideals. Finally, being situated in activist networks fostered greater peace activism …

Possibilities For Peace: Germany's Transformation Of A Culture Of War, S. Elizabeth Snyder

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In reaction to its militarist past, Germany has created a strong culture of peace, including solid educational and institutional supports for maintaining popular attitudes critical of war and military operations. Germany has been recognized for these efforts by a number of international organizations, including the United Nations. At the same time, Germany has sought to maintain a policy of active membership in NATO and active cooperation and participation in NATO operations. As the United States applies increased pressure on its NATO allies in the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, many of the inherent social and political tensions in German policy …

World Peace: A First Step Commentary For The Special Issue On Peace, Conflict And War, Michael D. Knox

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The first step in achieving peace on earth must be the elimination of war and threats of war. Citizens of the United States are in a better position than others to make this happen. We spend significant portions of our tax dollars, and borrow money from foreign countries, to wage wars. We sell weapons and destabilize governments. We prioritize funding for war over spending on education, medical research, alternative energy sources, healthcare, housing and food for the needy, a balanced budget and almost everything else that can have a positive impact on this planet's quality of life.

Spirituality's Role In The Interaction Between Child Welfare And Black Families, Laurel Brown

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This qualitative study explored how a sample of key stakeholders, including African American parents and child welfare staff in the Moreno Valley area of Riverside County, California, jointly construct the role that spirituality/religion plays in engaging, assessing and intervening with African American families. Utilizing a constructivist paradigm, the goals were to, through the development of "hermeneutic dialectic" circles, (1) arrive at shared constructions about the role of spirituality/religion in child welfare work with African American families, and (2) to identify a participatory group of stakeholders to design and implement action utilizing the results. Nationally, African American children are disproportionately overrepresented …

Enhancing Family Functioning To Buffer Risk During Middle School Transition: Development Of The Multiple Family Group Weekend Retreat., Robert Broce

Theses and Dissertations

Children experience changes in multiple levels of their social ecologies when they transition into middle school (Eccles, 1999; Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2008). These biological, psychological, social, and environmental changes create increased risk for dropout and other factors related to academic adjustment (Cataldi, Laird & KewalRamani, 2009). For low- income minority children these risks can be magnified by environmental and social factors (Ge et al., 2002). Healthy family functioning, including balanced levels of cohesion and flexibility, has been shown to buffer these risks (Burchinal, Roberts, Zeisel & Rowley, 2008; Olson, 2010; Wampler, Munsch, & Adams, 2002) and was targeted by a Multiple Family …

Keys To Unlocking Creative Potential: The Expressive Path To Personal Growth, Marta D. Ockuly

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

An experiential journey into personal growth and creative expression is, by nature, transformational.  Undertaken in a public platform using social media (Twitter and blogging) it reveals powerful potential as a teaching and mentoring tool for inspiring creative action around the world.  This project was designed to blend my joys and passions for tweeting positive inspiration and encouragement, sharing my readings and research related to creativity, exploring expressive art, activating creative potential with joy, collecting and sharing quotes, coaching positive change and creative action, and raising awareness of everyday creativity into a learning pathway which could be accessed by anyone using …

What They Wish They Would Have Known: Support For Comprehensive Sexual Education From Mexican American And White Adolescents' Dating And Sexual Desires, Heidi Adams Rueda, Lela Rankin Williams

Social Work Faculty Publications

Focus groups were conducted to assess what Mexican American and White male and female adolescents wished they had known about romantic and sexual relationships. Relevant gender and ethnic differences emerged in adolescents' desires and findings across all groups supported a need for comprehensive sexual education that contextualizes sexual activity within a framework that emphasizes socio-emotional skills and well-being. Adolescents' desires were emotional, relational, physical and interpersonal in nature. Youth preferred parents and school educators as key sources of information and support. Recommendations for prevention programming and policy are discussed.