Nature and social work pedagogy: How U.S. social work educators are integrating issues of the natural environment into their teaching

ABSTRACT

The article presents a study of how U.S. social work educators are including discussion, exercises, readings, and other pedagogical approaches to the natural environment into their classrooms. The findings are part of a larger, naturalistic study that gathered data using a semi-structured interview format. The three major themes that emerged were human behavior theory, ecological and environmental justice, and environmental sustainability. The participants are introducing issues of the natural environment using varied pedagogical techniques including readings, in-class discussions and exercises, service learning, assignments, including written and practical work, research, self-awareness exercises, and class facilitation. Questions for further investigation of social work and the natural environment are included.     

Probabilistic linear solvers: a unifying view

Statistics and Computing - Several recent works have developed a new, probabilistic interpretation for numerical algorithms solving linear systems in which the solution is inferred in a Bayesian...     

Interplay Between Sensation Seeking and Parental Rules in the Emergence of Heavy Episodic Drinking

This study examined the parallel mediational processes between sensation seeking and parental rules on alcohol, in the emergence of heavy episodic drinking (HED) in adolescents. Data were drawn from a U.K. clustered randomized control trial (control arm only, N ≈ 6,300, M_age at baseline = 12.5). Using parallel process latent growth curve analysis, stricter parental rules at baseline were found to be associated with greater declines in sensation seeking over time and a lower risk of HED at follow‐up (+33 months). Higher initial levels of sensation seeking predicted a faster relaxation of parental rules and a greater risk of HED. By maintaining strict rules about alcohol, parents may promote a positive reduction in sensation seeking and a lower risk of HED.     

Making fathers relevant: How practitioners include both parents in talk about parenting programmes

Parenting programmes are recommended as an effective means to support parents in promoting positive relationships with, and managing the behaviour of, their children. One barrier that impedes their successful implementation is that partners, especially fathers, are less frequently recruited by child welfare services. This article reports on a study that investigated how both parents were engaged with parenting services. Direct recordings were made of initial telephone conversations between six practitioners and 28 parents referred to those services and investigated for evidence of how the other parent was recruited. Conversation analysis was used to identify how participants introduced the possibility of both parents being included in the service, how these possibilities were negotiated, and what eventual agreements were made for both parents to be included in future arrangements. Implications for practice, training, and future research are considered.     

Family violence laws: Traditional narratives and the (in)visibility of lesbian relationships and lesbian-parented families

Abstract

Feminist advocacy and activism over the last 40 years broke historic ground in shining a light on “domestic” or “family” violence, traditionally conceptualized as male violence against female intimate partners and their children. This has resulted in a large body of research, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and similar jurisdictions, around the gendered nature of family violence and violence within heterosexual relationships and heterosexual-parented families. As a consequence, the predominant narrative—in political, policy, and advocacy settings—is largely heteronormative. Less research has focused on family violence in non-heterosexual relationships. The data that do exist have employed different methodological approaches and there are limitations on the extent to which they can be compared to the data on violence within heterosexual relationships. However, the existing research does demonstrate that family violence within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) communities is a significant issue. Even so, the current narrative does not acknowledge this, and predominantly reflects heterosexual norms of intimate relationships and family structures in society. LGBTI relationships are described as “invisible” in policy and practice responses to family violence, due to the failure to acknowledge violence in such communities. This article explores these claims in relation to lesbian relationships in the context of Australian legislative responses to family violence. It considers the extent to which family violence laws in two Australian jurisdictions recognize and frame lesbian identity in intimate relationships and lesbian-parented families. This is considered in light of the emerging conceptualization of family violence in lesbian relationships and lesbian-parented families, as evidenced by the wider scholarly literature on the nature and dynamics of such violence.     

Power and Attraction to the Counternormative Aspects of Infidelity

Previous research shows that powerful people are more likely than those lacking power to engage in infidelity. One possible explanation holds (a) that power psychologically releases people from the inhibiting effects of social norms and thus increases their appetite for counternormative forms of sexuality. Two alternative explanations are (b) that power increases appetite for any form of sexuality, normative or counternormative, and (c) that power makes men (but not women) seem more attractive to others and thus increases their access to potential mating opportunities. The current research tested these explanations using correlational data from 610 Dutch men and women. Supporting the first explanation, power's relationship with infidelity was statistically mediated by increased attraction to the secrecy associated with infidelity. Inconsistent with the second explanation, power was linked with infidelity but not with casual sex among singles (a more normative form of sexuality). Inconsistent with the third explanation, the link between power and infidelity was observed just as strongly in women as in men. Findings suggest that power may be associated with infidelity because power draws people to the counternormative aspects of infidelity. Implications for theories of power, sexuality, and gender are discussed.     

Teaching Note—Third Space Caucusing: Borderland Praxis in the Social Work Classroom

This teaching note examines the use of intentional, identity-centered spaces in the social work classroom. We discuss the use of identity-based caucusing as a means of centering the embodied and lived experiences of students in the social work classroom, drawing from previous classroom experiences in an MSW foundation course on social justice at a large public university. Specifically, we consider borderland perspectives and postcolonial constructions of third spaces and their usefulness in social work pedagogy. In particular, we pose questions regarding the use of third space caucusing as a means of embracing and affirming both/and, neither/nor identity positionalities. We also consider possibilities of student-centered, critical pedagogical approaches while paying attention to the unique challenges and contexts of social work education.