“Let’s talk about the real issue”: Localized perceptions of environment and implications for ecosocial work practice

ABSTRACT

This interpretive study investigated how residents from socioeconomically challenged communities in North St. Louis understand and make meaning of environmental change and its impact on their well-being. Based on these localized data, we argue that racial minorities facing socioeconomic challenges may experience some environmental issues as less of an immediate concern than violence and racism. However, race and racism shape both the realities of environmental threats as well as residents’ perceptions about environmental injustice in their communities. This study informs ecosocial work practices such as educating communities on local environmental issues and mobilizing community members toward environmental decision-making.     

The question of community attachment revisited

In this paper we compare the relative effects of satisfaction with specific community (neighborhood) attributes and social integration into the community on community attachment. Previous research on community attachment has not assessed the importance of satisfaction with specific attributes as a determinant of attachment. Instead, this research has focussed on integration into the social life of a community as the primary source of community attachment. We find that although social integration has the more important effect on attachment, satisfaction with specific community attributes also has a statistically significant effect. People who are satisfied with the general physical appearance, the noise level, and the quality of neighbors in their communities tend to be more attached to them than those who are less satisfied. We address the theoretical and policy implications of this finding. In short, this finding implies, contrary to previous thought, that it is possible for there to be higher levels of attachment to communities that appear to be lacking a well‐developed social life. It also implies that levels of attachment to communities could be enhanced by programs that improve certain features of the physical environment which are seen as indicative of the quality of communities as good places to live.     

Geographic Migration Among Residents in Seniors Housing and Care Communities: Evidence From the Residents Financial Survey

ABSTRACT

Although the elderly as a while show relatively little geographic migration in the U.S., we were interested in the geographic migration patterns among a specific subset of elderly that we know have moved out of the traditional family home—those living in assisted living and independent living communities. We analyze data from the Residents Financial Survey, a survey of 2,617 residents in assisted living and independent living communities that asked about their previous living arrangement, where they lived before moving to their current community, and how their care needs were previously met. We find there is substantial migration among respondents. Using self-reported and community-reported location and zip code information, we calculated whether people moved across state lines and we computed the distance people moved between their previous location and their current community. While the median distance moved is less than 10 miles, 20% moved across state lines and 21% of the sample moved more than 100 miles, with the average distance moved among the sample being 165 to 190 miles. The evolution of living arrangements shows that there are strong correlations among respondents' current living arrangements, previous living arrangements, and their plan to move in the future.     

Neighborhood and Community Organizing in Colonias

ABSTRACT

Promotores are leaders in traditional Mexican communities whose role in agrarian life dates back to the land reform movement following the revolution. Recently, there have been efforts at developing these roles in the colonias in the United States' southwest as a means of providing health education and civic information in these hard-to-reach communities. This paper discusses an example of how community organizers incorporated the promotora concept among a group of women to bring about social and political change in their colonia.     

Academic achievement of Vietnamese American adolescents: A community perspective

This article investigates influences on academic achievement among Vietnamese American high school students. Theorists have offered a variety of explanations for Asian American academic success, and characteristics of individual families have received particular attention in many of these explanations. Here, it is argued that the academic success of Vietnamese American students may be understood as the product of “social capital,” or tightly integrated sets of associations, within Vietnamese American communities. If this is the case, it is further argued, high levels of scholastic performance among Vietnamese American youth should be proportionate to their involvement with an ethnic community. The article uses data from a specific Vietnamese American community to find whether community involvement by adolescents and their families is in fact associated with academic achievement. Participation in an ethnic church, proportion of friends who are Vietnamese, and attendance at after‐school Vietnamese classes are used as indicators of adolescents’ community involvement. Membership in ethnic community organizations is used as an indicator of parental community involvement. Findings support the contention that the involvement of Vietnamese American adolescents and of their parents in the ethnic community are strong predictors of academic achievement and that the structure of individual families promotes scholastic performance primarily by promoting community involvement.     

Building resilient communities: Social work practice and rural Queensland

Abstract

This paper applies the notion of community resiliency to rural and regional Queensland and explores the role of human services and practitioners in developing this resiliency. Communities can be considered as being ‘resilient’ when they respond to crises in ways that strengthen communal bonds, resources and the community's capacity to cope. Increasingly, community resiliency has become the focus of international research (Kulig and Brown 1996; 1997), In our work, we have been exploring alliance-building between practitioners and their communities in several research projects in rural and regional Queensland. We argue that these alliances contribute significantly to the building of resiliency and are a potential site for further work in strengthening and sustaining rural communities. The implications of community resiliency for social work practice are discussed.     

Advertising unreasonable expectations: Nanny ads on Craigslist

ABSTRACT

Research has shown that while some domestic workers in the United States work in situations that are fair and decent, many others face conditions of abuse, degradation, and/or exploitation. These conditions are commonly seen as a “hidden” aspect of domestic work. This article asks if these conditions are really as hidden as is commonly assumed. Through a content analysis of nanny ads on Craigslist, we explore whether employers are willing to advertise their expectation that nannies will work under one of three unreasonable conditions: i.e., for low pay, long daily hours, and/or long weekly hours. Overall, we find that of the ads that specify how much pay a nanny is expected to work for as well as how long she is expected to work, many contain unreasonable expectations. By looking at how these expectations are expressed in these ads, we can see that these unreasonable expectations are generally presented in a matter-of-fact manner. This suggests that these employers do not find these expectations to be that remarkable, notwithstanding how unreasonable they are.     

Doing it differently: emancipatory autism studies within a neurodiverse academic space

Abstract

In the current research climate, in which many autistic and autism communities are increasingly calling for a move towards collaborative forms of research, we consider how a loosely formed epistemological community may serve to challenge ‘business as usual’ in the academy. Mindful of the need to move beyond theory, we use this experience to concretely consider how knowledge about autism and neurotypicality can be meaningfully (co)-produced, and made available both to the research community and also to autistic and autism communities. Here, we use our own co-production of this article to explore how autistic experience may trouble normative meanings of academic knowledge production. We also consider the limits and possibilities of a neurodiverse research collaboration to reflect on ways in which a loose epistemological space may serve to contribute to knowledge about both autism and neurotypicality, adding to debate around collaborative research.     

Elder Abuse: The Canadian Experience

ABSTRACT

Abuse and neglect of older adults occurs in all Canadian communities and solutions require the coordinated efforts of society at large. Amelioration entails more than a legislative approach. Prevention of this growing problem is a social responsibility that requires networking and collaboration between different disciplines in all sectors of the community. This article will discuss elder abuse in Canada from a historical perspective, as well as current legislation, model programs, and research initiatives. It is intended to allow for comparison from the various countries presented in this volume. Hopefully, readers will find some models, or ideas, they may wish to explore or even replicate within their own jurisdictions.     

Adult Literacy Education and Community Development

SUMMARY

This article responds to the concern that low-literate community residents often are marginalized in community development processes. They are unable to give voice to their concerns, interests and their vision for their community. Perspectives and approaches in the fields of adult literacy education and community development are explored to determine how adult literacy education might be used to further the goals of community development. While there are parallels between these two disciplines, there are also barriers to overcome if an integrated approach to dealing with community issues is realized. This article reflects an interest in advancing a comprehensive approach to community development in communities with limited economic resources, low-level literacy and limited access. It seeks to address the issue of whether adult literacy education programs have a meaningful role to play in community development. The strengths of participatory approaches such as community-based literacy, and community development principles such as collective action, shared values, participation, social justice, political awareness and action, comprehensiveness, empowerment, and learning and reflection, facilitate an interdisciplinary approach.     

Early Medieval Irish Monastic Communities: A Premodern Model with Post-Modern Resonances

This paper is a contribution to the emerging focus on premodern concerns in organisational studies. It provides an historical account of early medieval Irish monastic communities highlighting the unusual fusion of structure, community and spirituality as a way of explaining the considerable success and longevity of this unusual organisation form. Key insights arising from this study are then applied to contemporary debates on post-modern organisational forms.     

Caregiver Engagement in Religious Urban Elementary Schools

ABSTRACT

This article examines how school leaders in a religious school serving traditionally marginalized students improve their school communities through constructing space for caregiver engagement. This study suggests how counter-narratives of critical care can inform social justice leadership in schools. The results, from a case study of a Catholic urban elementary school that uses innovative and effective strategies to engage caregivers, show that educational leaders create spaces for engaging caregivers by developing relationships with them and systematically reducing barriers to their participation in the school community. Analyzing these results through the critical care theory lens illuminates how these spaces value diverse forms of social and cultural capital are strengthened by alliances with nontraditional support structures. This research contributes to our evolving understanding of caregiver engagement by presenting a textured analysis of a case study as viewed through a critical care conceptual framework.     

Measuring Wellness Through Interdisciplinary Community Development

SUMMARY

The aim of this study is to answer the question: Is there evidence that the quality of life of residents in a community that has had community development intervention is different as compared to the quality of life of residents in a nearby community that did not have community development initiatives? This was done by administering community development initiatives in a local area and comparing it to a similar community that did not receive this intervention. The residents of these communities rated the quality of their lives and communities in two purposively selected suburbs in Perth, Western Australia using the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index to measure individual and neighbourhood well-being. The quality of life of residents in both communities is then compared to national averages for quality of life or well-being. Answering this question provides empirical evidence of variation between ratings of quality of life of residents in different communities and highlights the utility of the Wellbeing Index for the evaluation of interdisciplinary community development.     

BPD and the Need for Community

SUMMARY

This chapter emphasizes the importance of a community/systems approach in managing the treatment of individuals with borderline personality disorder. The natural systems existing around patient, clinician and family are recognized, and we examine how working teams are built from these systems. The Borderline Center at McLean Hospital is used as an illustration of an organizational model that utilizes the concept of the “holding environment” (Winnicott, 1965) to provide comprehensive services to borderline patients and their families. As patients move through various levels of care and exhibit typical borderline symptomatology, the importance of communication and coordination on the part of the treatment team is highlighted. This chapter also will illustrate the essential ways in which patients, clinicians and families are able to join together in the treatment of this disorder, with special emphasis on the necessity of family involvement. We also will examine how the treatment teams provide the foundation for larger communities, which are critical to sustaining the ongoing work of its members.     

Women's Status and Social Capital in the United States

SUMMARY

Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone found that social capital is closely associated with a variety of important indicators of community health, and women benefit from many of these resources as members of their communities. But is there anything distinct about how women experience social capital? Is there a relationship between social capital and women's status overall? Using data on social capital from Bowling Alone and data collected by the Institute for Women's Policy Research for its Status of Women in the States project, we assess trends across the states on both dimensions. Overall, the findings suggest that there is a strong relationship between the two.     

The Family‐Friendly Community and Its Life Course Fit for Dual‐Earner Couples

Much is known about family‐friendly workplaces. This article examines the less understood family‐friendliness of the communities in which dual‐earner couples reside. Using data from a representative sample of dual‐earner couples (N = 727) in upstate New York, we examine how individual, couple, and neighborhood characteristics are associated with perceptions of community family‐friendliness. Using a life course perspective, we find that couples with young children rate their communities more favorably than do other couples. Findings also indicate that for couples with children of their own, living in a neighborhood with many other families with children is associated with higher ratings of family‐friendliness. We term this match, between a couple's life stage and their neighborhood's demographic structure, life stage‐neighborhood fit.     

Social capital and disasters: How does social capital shape post-disaster conditions in the Philippines?

ABSTRACT

Social capital is a common feature among disaster-resilient communities. This research aims to define how social capital shapes the post-disaster conditions in the 2011 Typhoon Washi-affected communities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City in Region 10 Philippines. Qualitative analysis was used in analyzing the data gathered through purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews. Thirty typhoon survivors and 14 focal persons of the government and non-government agencies were chosen based on their active involvement in the community. The findings revealed that the solidarity among typhoon-affected communities contributed to the recovery of the survivors. The findings also highlighted that the solidarity in the typhoon-affected communities is part of the normative structure of the society where bonding and linking social capital are nurtured. Further, the community remains to believe that their respective local officials can be trusted and are capable of helping them in times of need despite the shortcomings during the 2011 Typhoon Washi. We argue that social capital in the community is not easily diminished over a crisis and therefore must be nurtured towards effective community-based disaster resilience mechanisms.     

Social Work,Spirituality, and Diasporic Communities

Abstract

The discourse surrounding the role of spirituality in social work practice has been expanding exponentially in recent years. Similarly, the discourse surrounding the role of spirituality among diasporic communities has expanded in recent times as well. In this paper, we will consider the linkages between social work, spirituality, and diaspora. We will focus our discussion on a particular diasporic spiritual community, the Sathya Sai Baba movement and its social service activities. We will then consider the implications of such spiritual movements for the social work profession. Among the key issues explored in this paper are the change in the social construction of populations that have moved between two countries as 'immigrant communities' to 'diasporic communities' and the implications of these changes for social work. Another critical issue we discuss is how working with spiritual movements may help address the 'spiritual deficit' concern that some social work academics have referred to, and indirectly at least, we begin to address 'the social work crisis' issue that has negatively affected the social work profession over the last few years.     

Life Course Analysis—The Courage to Search for Something More

Abstract

In this paper we discuss middle-to-late life issues of the transgender and intersex communities. We demonstrate that these mid-to-late life issues are richly complex, full of courage, coping, risk, and resilience, and are grounded in a socio-ecological landscape of systemic actual and perceived violence and abuse. We examine how this socio-ecological environment affects the “normative” mid-life cycle processes. Practical examples are drawn from the author's field interviews and survey research over the past decade. We close by examining the effects of such a landscape on the middle-age life stage and examine its potential ramifications for old age as well.     

“If Rainbows Were Everywhere”: Nonmetropolitan SGM Youth Identify Factors That Make Communities Supportive

ABSTRACT

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth in nonmetropolitan communities face marginalization due to their SGM identities. Community support may mitigate the negative outcomes associated with marginalization. Using the strengths perspective, this study investigated the factors SGM youth identify as making their communities supportive. Interviews were conducted with SGM youth to explore their perceptions of their community, community climate, and the factors that contribute to making communities supportive to SGM youth. Findings revealed four supportive community factors: supportive people, SGM visibility, SGM resources and education, and SGM-inclusive policies. Implications include creating SGM resources and providing professional training on SGM issues.