Organisation Workshop. Beyond the Workplace: Large Groups,Activity and the Shared Object

Organisation Workshop stands for a body of practice derived from the pioneering work that Clodomir de Morais did with the Brasilian Peasant Leagues starting in the early 1960s and shown to be relevant today in situations of high unemployment. Two essential ingredients are a large group and a common resource pool. The Organisation Workshop method is illuminated by Leontiev’s “objectivised activity” concept, as well as important insights from 3 generations of activity theory (CHAT). Moraisean thought and practice are shown to open up new avenues to community development and to break new ground in the social psychology of the large group.     

Sensibilisierung gegenüber Fremdenfeindlichkeit und Rassismus — Ergebnisse einer wissenschaftlichen Begleitung des XENOS-Projektes „Konzeptwerkstatt gegen Rechts“

The focal point of this study is to investigate, on the basis of social psychological constructs, whether the Deutsche Angestellten-Akademie Südbayern’s (The German Employee Academy of Southern Bavaria) XENOS project “Konzeptwerkstatt gegen Rechts” (Concept Workshop Against Right Extremism), supported within the framework of the XENOS Program (01/01/2003 — 31/12/2005), achieved its goal to reduce the xenophobic attitudes of trainees. Applying a quasi-experimental “one-group pre-test/post-test plane” and various attitude/prejudice assessment methods, four hypotheses were tested. Although it was not possible to empirically confirm all the formulated hypotheses, the measures of the XENOS project “Konzeptwerkstatt gegen Rechts” (Concept Workshop Against Right Extremism), represent a successful approach to reduce students’ xenophobic attitudes, stereotypes and prejudices towards foreigners.     

Do “Clicker” Educational Sessions Enhance the Effectiveness of a Social Norms Marketing Campaign?

Abstract

Objective: Social norms campaigns are a cost-effective way to reduce high-risk drinking on college campuses. This study compares effectiveness of a “standard” social norms media (SNM) campaign for those with and without exposure to additional educational sessions using audience response technology (“clickers”). Methods: American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment questions are used to evaluate actual and perceived use. Additional survey questions assess individual exposure to the interventions. Results: The authors find “clicker” technology to be more effective than social norms poster media alone in reducing misperceptions of normative alcohol use for those students who attended clicker sessions. Conclusion: Poster SNM campaigns may be most effective when supported by group “clicker” heath-related sessions.     

Seeing the wood for the trees: Social Science 3.0 and the role of visual thinking

Social Science is increasingly called on to address “grand challenges”, “wicked problems”, “societal dilemmas” and similar problematiques. Examples include climate change, the war on drugs and urban poverty. It is now widely agreed that the disciplinary structure of academic science, with its journals, curricula, peer communities, etc., is not well suited to such trans-disciplinary, ill-bounded, controversial issues, but the ways forward are not yet clear or accepted by the mainstream. The concept of a next generation paradigm of “Science 3.0” has emerged through work on sustainability systems analysis, and for this multiple channels for learning, thinking and communications are essential. Visual thinking in its many forms (from technical representation or mapping, to photography or video, to design or illustration, to fine art) can bring to the table tacit and “felt” knowledge, creative experience and links from analysis with synthesis. This paper first sketches the contours of a Social Science 3.0, and then demonstrates with examples how visual thinking can combine with rational argument, or extend beyond it to other forms of experience.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: “ THE FAMILY IN AUSTRALIA : Social, Demographic and Psychological Aspects”, Jerzy Krupinski and Alan Stoller (Eds.); “ PSYCHOSOMATIC FAMILIES — ANOREXIA NERVOSA IN CONTEXT ” by Salvador Minuchin, Bernice L. Rosman, Lester Baker. “ PARADOX AND COUNTERPARADOX : A New Model in the Therapy of the Family in Schizophrenic Transaction” by Mara Selvini Palazzoli, Gianfranco Cecchin, Giuiana Prata, Luigi Boscolo and Jason Aronson “ THE FAMILY CRUCIBLE ” The Intense Experience of Family Therapy by Augustus Napier and Carl Whitaker.     

Social Anxiety in Obese Youth in Treatment Setting

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of social anxiety in obese children treated in a weight management clinic. We hypothesized that social anxiety would positively correlate with obesity, and that “extremely obese” patients would have significantly higher rates of social anxiety when compared to “obese” patients. Information was collected at a multidisciplinary treatment clinic for obese youth during the first clinic visit. The social anxiety scale was administered (including parent-report and self-report scales for both elementary and adolescent versions) and demographic data was obtained. Social anxiety was found to be significantly positively correlated with BMI percentile. In addition, “extremely obese” patients had significantly higher social anxiety scores than “obese” youth at least for elementary-age youth. Trends in gender differences and racial differences in this obese pediatric clinical sample were consistent with results found in community samples. Social anxiety and obesity were found to be positively correlated in this pediatric clinic-based population. For elementary-age patients, “extremely obese” patients were at greater risk than “obese patients” for social anxiety and its various symptoms—fear of negative evaluation, social avoidance/distress in new situations, and social avoidance/distress in general. Results for adolescents were less clear. Clinical implications of these results were discussed. Limitations of this study, and directions for future research were also discussed.     

Adelaide Conversations: echoes that resound

Family therapy and Social Justice are vast words that condense (and obscure) many ideas, theories and practices. Family therapy in this country has been shaped by larger Australian conversations and movements around Social Justice, but the relations between Family Therapy and Social Justice are not simple. Looking back over ten years since our last Conference in Adelaide, I recall some personal and political experiences connecting Family Therapy and Social Justice, and go on to argue how newer post-modernist and feminist currents might enrich the links, and “keep the conversation going”.     

Social Stigma and Homelessness: The Limits of Social Change

We examine the issues around the stigmatization of homelessness and how it links to capitalism. Society focuses on the individual as the cause of his or her own state of homelessness, blaming the victim rather than focusing on the larger antecedent social and economic forces, such as unemployment, limited affordable housing, and breakdowns in kinship networks. Social stigma occurs in situations where there is unequal social, economic, and political power and there is an opportunity to label, stereotype, separate (us versus them), lose status, and discriminate. Stigmatization is due, in part, when people feel threatened by another group. Society categorizes people who are homeless as no longer “useful” and/or “functional” members of capitalism, since they do not actively work and support the system. The paper ends on a discussion of the limits of social change in a capitalist society.     

The Professional Schools. By William J. McGlothlin. New York: The Center for Applied Research in Education, 1964. 111 pp. $3.95

This paper presents a conceptual framework for viewing social planning and social administration as one “seamless web” of activity concerned with the identification of goals and the development of appropriate administrative structures for their implementation. The major educational implication of this analysis is that curriculum planning should maximize the integration of social policy, social planning, and administration. Alternative approaches to achieving this integration are discussed using data from a recent Council on Social Work Education survey.     

Examining the Psychometric Properties of the Identify as a Professional Social Worker Subscale

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Identify as a Professional Social Worker Subscale, which assessed the Council on Social Work Education–prescribed competency identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly. The results of confirmatory factory analysis indicated that the items on the measure assessed the underlying latent construct of identification as a professional social worker. The item response theory analysis indicated that the measure could be shortened to a four-item measure, and the item “demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior, appearance, and communication” was the highest discriminating item, whereas “advocate for client access to the services of social work” was the lowest discriminating item. Implications for research, measurement development, and the 2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards are discussed.     

“No Tyson in Tongie!”: The Battle to Protect a Rural Way of Life in Kansas*

Political mobilizations in small towns have come to play a disproportionate role in today’s national politics. This article examines the conditions giving rise to small‐town mobilizations through an in‐depth case study of Tonganoxie, Kansas. Residents of this town mounted a massive campaign to block the opening of a Tyson chicken processing plant in 2017. The article draws on interviews, observations, a newspaper claims database, and extractions from the “No Tyson in Tongie” Facebook group page. The article maintains that a racialized cultural framework (“rural idyll”) among White middle‐class residents helped them perceive the plant as an existential threat. Social networks, sustained through social media, enabled the same residents to mobilize in a fast and forceful manner. We suggest that in “hybrid” towns (partially rural and suburban), the “rural idyll” is politically decisive. It unites recently settled and established residents in battles to defend a particularly racialized and classed way of life.     

Breaking Singles Up: Sexual Satisfaction among Men and Women

ABSTRACT

Using the National Health and Social Life Survey, we investigate sexual satisfaction by marital status and gender. We disaggregate the “single” category into “never-married” and “ever-married” individuals, rather than lumping never-married, divorced, separated, and widowed individuals into the “single” category. We argue that the use of a combined category neglects variation between never-married and ever-married single individuals due to differences in age and life-course transitions. We find that self-reports of physical and emotional sexual satisfaction vary between ever-married and never-married single individuals, and also between men and women. Further, we find that intimacy and commitment beliefs are associated with only emotional sexual satisfaction for women but with both physical and emotional sexual satisfaction for men.     

A Comparative Study of Two Different Teaching and Curricular Arrangements in Human Behavior and Social Environment

In this paper we examine using social work faculty to teach Human Behavior and Social Environment content to undergraduate social work students versus using faculty from other departments. We formulated three hypotheses: social work students from a program with “IN” (taught by social work faculty) HBSE courses learn a wider range of theoretical orientations, are more capable of utilizing HBSE knowledge in practice, and are more sensitive to. human relations than are those from a program with “OUT” (taught by other faculty) HBSE courses. The data suggested that there were no significant differences between students.     

Not Just Play: an outline of the “Art for Social Change” programme

Not Just Play will introduce the reader to the European Cultural Foundation programme “Art for Social Change”. This programme is being carried out in partnership with the network of Soros Foundations, mainly in Central and Eastern Europe. The article offers some insights into the rationale behind the programme, its framework and the activities carried out within “Art for Social Change”. It will close with some information regarding the evaluation of the programme.     

Telling Others How You Live—Refining Goffman's Stigma Theory Through an Analysis of Housing Strugglers in a Homeowner Nation

This article revisits Goffman's stigma theory from the perspective of housing studies. We elaborate on Goffman's approach by exploring how housing tenure can work as a proxy for moral character. We interviewed twenty‐seven people who are excluded from access to homeownership in two cities in Norway, which is a “homeowner nation.” These individuals are unable to enter the dominant “homeowner class” for different reasons, including drug‐dependency, mental illness, refugee background, low socioeconomic status; thus, they must access housing through other tenures; private renting or social housing. To many of them, housing becomes a stigma, in Goffman terms, an “undesired differentness.” Social housing is known to carry stigma in Norway. It was thus a paradox, that those with the softest differentness—private rental—were most likely to practice (Goffman:) “information control” over their housing situation. Goffman's theoretical apparatus, and his distinction between the discreditable and the discredited in particular, helped us make this paradox comprehensible. Through this analysis, refinements to Goffman's theory were discovered. We suggest that “multiple stigmas,” which was not seen clearly by Goffman himself, should be a key notion in stigma studies. We use this notion to distinguish between possible sub‐types to the discredited‐discreditable distinction.     

Abstracts

Fiumara, N. J. Transmission of gonorrhea by artificial insemination. Foley, V. D., & Dyer, W. W. “Timing” in family therapy: the “when,”“how,” and “why” of intervention. Gass, G. Z. Equitable marriage. Gillis, J. S. Social influence therapy: the therapist as manipulator. Mozdzierz, G. J.,& Lottman, T. J. Games married couples play: Adlerian view. Reiner, B. S., & Edwards, R. L. Adolescent marriage—social or therapeutic problem? Reppuci, N. D., & Saunders, J. T. Social psychology of behavior modification: problems of implementation in natural settings. Roberto, E. L. Marital and family planning expectancies of men regarding vasectomy. Goldsmith, A., & Goldberg, R. J. Psychological aspects of vasectomy in Latin America. Rogers, C. R. In retrospect forty six years. Story, N. L. Sexual dysfunction resulting from drug side effects. Whiteley, J. M. (Editor) Gestalt therapy.     

Briefly Noted

Compared to light drinkers, heavy drinkers have brains that have less energy due to decreases in glucose metabolism, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found. In a study published online last week in Nature Communications, the researchers combined measures of the left brain (activity) and the right brain (glucose consumption) to better understand the effects of alcohol on people. “The brain uses a lot of energy compared to other body organs, and the association between brain activity and energy utilization is an important marker of brain health,” said George F. Koob, Ph.D., director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), in a statement accompanying the release of the results. “This study introduces a new way of characterizing how brain activity is related to its consumption of glucose, which could be very useful in understanding how the brain uses energy in health and disease.” The research was led by Ehsan Shokri‐Kojori, Ph.D., and Nora D. Volkow, M.D., both of the NIAAA Laboratory of Neuroimaging. Volkow is also the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “The findings from this study highlight the relevance of energetics for ensuring normal brain function and reveal how it is disrupted by excessive alcohol consumption,” said Volkow. “We measured power by observing to what extent brain regions are active and use energy,” explained Shokri‐Kojori. “We measured cost of brain regions by observing to what extent their energy use exceeds their underlying activity.” Using a group of healthy volunteers, researchers showed that different brain regions have different power and cost. They then looked at the effects of alcohol on these measures by assessing a group that included light and heavy drinkers, and found that both acute and chronic use affected brain power and cost. “In heavy drinkers, we saw less regional power, for example, in the thalamus, the sensory gateway and frontal cortex of the brain, which is important for decision‐making,” said Shokri‐Kojori. “These decreases in power were interpreted to reflect toxic effects of long‐term exposure to alcohol on the brain cells.” There was also a disruption of visual processing during acute alcohol exposure, and significant decreases in cost of activity during alcohol intoxication.     

An experiment in helping social work practitioners to design and conduct research

A twelve-week short course, “Understanding Social Work Practice through Research” was conducted for experienced social work practitioners during the Spring of 1982. The course, experimental in character, began with the practice interests of individual course members and used the resources of the class members and the course tutors to help each person to devise a research design suitable to his or her personally declared practice interests. The work was supported by handouts (e.g., “Turning an interest in a practice issue into one or more researchable questions”; “Decisions required when constructing a research design”; etc.) and by worksheets.

Eight persons attended all or most sessions (one dropped out early in the sequence) and all of these completed a research design and indicated an interest in implementing it. Optional follow-up sessions were provided in the form of group support meetings held at four-month intervals and individual consultation as required. In addition to producing a viable research design, members gained increased confidence in themselves as researchers as well as practitioners, clarified their understanding of the relationship between research and practice, and in some cases emerged with a renewed enthusiasm for social work practice.     

The public and private purposes of case records

Social welfare agencies have official reasons and requirements for the construction of case records. Sociologists have detected a set of unofficial reasons that shape case records in practice. This paper suggests that case records that record the lives of children in child welfare systems are written, inter alia, to deny the failure of interventions, to justify the refusal to serve “bad clients,” and to justify the decision to extend hegemony over “good” clients.     

SOURCES OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: THE EFFECTS OF INTERNAL LABOR MARKETS AND WORKER VALUES

Data from the 1991 General Social Survey and National Organizations Survey are used to assess how organizational commitment is structured by one “demand side,” organizational-based factor, firm internal labor markets, and one “supply side,” individual-based factor, the values/preferences of workers. Findings indicate that organizational commitment is best explained by the joint influence of these two factors rather than by their independent effects. Specifically, firms with internal labor markets are conducive to the development of high levels of organizational commitment to the extent that what they offer, namely, opportunities for career-status and long-term employment “fit” what workers desire: job security and possibilities for promotion with their current employer. We offer directions for future research that may shed additional light on the manner in which internal labor markets and the values/preferences of workers may structure organizational commitment.