A Culture-Centered Approach to Listening: Voices of Social Change

Drawing on an understanding of marginalization as intrinsic to mainstream communication theorizing and research, this essay argues that exploitation is rooted in the denial of the communicative capacity of the margins and in the co-optation of the margins as the subjects of top-down communication directed at the margins by experts. The distributions of communicative infrastructures map out the inequities in distributions of economic resources, reifying the unequal distribution of resources by perpetuating values embedded in the interests of the power elite. Listening offers an opening for interrogating the inequities in the global landscape of distribution of power, by attending to the unvoiced assumptions and principles underlying the logics of concentration of power in the hands of the transnational elite. Drawing from postcolonial and Subaltern Studies theories, I engage with the culture-centered approach to outline key tenets of listening as entry points to addressing the global inequities that are produced by neoliberal globalization. Listening through inversion, incompleteness and imagination works in solidarity with the margins to co-construct theory rooted in the ontologies, epistemologies, and values of the margins.     

Inclusion and Control in Resort Family Businesses: A Developmental Approach to Conflict

This study investigated the relationship between inclusion tension and business and family conflict intensity for 183 couples in resort family businesses. Using path analysis, age, education, role, and decision involvement discrepancy predicted husbands' inclusion tension, and inclusion tension predicted their business and family conflict intensity. Age, locus of control, and gross sales predicted inclusion tension for wives; inclusion tension predicted wives' business and family conflict intensity. Age had an indirect effect for husbands on their inclusion tension and their business conflict intensity, whereas the role involvement discrepancy had an indirect effect on husbands' business conflict intensity. For wives, age had an indirect effect on their business conflict intensity, and locus of control had an indirect effect on wives' business as well as family conflict intensity.     

An Integrated Approach to Managing Change

Complex systems often involve a huge number of variables whose interdependence must be taken into account. This makes the adoption of an integrated approach essential for the proper management of a wide range of aspects related to human life, from social matters to the environment. In particular, this paper takes into consideration three different experiences in which the use of an integrated approach represented the most effective response for managing the evolving realities we took into consideration. We focused on the issue of land management, with particular attention to the problem of monoculture in Brazil. Then we analyzed the attempted cooperation between the States of the Aral Sea area for efficient water management of the basin and, finally, we dealt with the matter of energy efficiency and how the production of home integrated systems could lead to a better rationalization of energy consumption in the near future.      

The Intergenerational Transmission of Social Capital: A Developmental Approach to Adolescent Social Capital Formation*

Previous scholarship has demonstrated the importance of individual characteristics and structural context for understanding social capital formation. However, a developmental approach to social capital formation has, so far, been absent. In this study, I argue that social capital formation must be understood intergenerationally as well as structurally. Using hierarchical linear modeling, I investigate the hypothesized intergenerational transmission of social capital using Waves 1 and 2 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The results show that, in addition to individual characteristics, neighborhood‐level factors, and school‐level variables, parental social capital is an important predictor of adolescent social capital. This study also suggests that the intergenerational transmission of social capital functions, in part, through family structure and that structural differences account for only a relatively small share of the variation in adolescent social capital. Potential explanations for these findings are discussed.     

A Developmental Approach to Recognition of Prior Learning in Social Work Field Education

This paper comments on the policy issue of recognition of prior learning (RPL) in social work education. Contrasting approaches to RPL are explored through a case study of Charles Sturt University’s experiences with RPL in its professional entry social work programs. RPL for field education in Australian social work education has been a contested issue within the profession and for social work education providers since its introduction in 2008. Notwithstanding the Australian Association of Social Workers’ credentialist approach to RPL, Charles Sturt University’s experience is that a developmental approach is preferable and can be a transformative professional education strategy.     

The Unmotivated,Unhappy and Unemployed. A Developmental Approach to the Individual Adult

Adult clients who present with depression, lack of motivation and inability to work can challenge therapists' ability to be influential. Demands by the wider system can lead the worker, into behaving in ways that perpetuate, rather than interrupt, these patterns and push the client further into poverty and despair. An approach to dealing with such difficulties is described and various theoretical explanations offered to explain its success. A case study elaborates its application.     

A Group Approach to Fostering Self-Cohesion and Developmental Progression in Female Adolescent Group Home Residents

In this project, the applicability of David Wexler's (1991a,b) multi-model Program for Innovative Self Management (PRISM) to adolescent girls in group home placement was explored. The model is based on self-psychological and developmental theory. Originally developed for use in adolescent inpatient settings, PRISM utilizes cognitive-behavioral and relaxation techniques to equip the acting out adolescents with skills to better manage a wide array of emotions and behaviors. A modified version of PRISM was conducted in a group psychotherapeutic format with eighteen residents of two group homes, ages 14 to 18. The study reflected that the participants embraced the model and applied the skills with encouraging results. Recommendations for future research in this area are presented.     

Health Behavior Change and the College Personal Health Class: A Multifaceted Approach

Abstract

Both the literature review and the results of a behavioral change project conducted at the University of Oregon indicate that health courses can bring about positive lifestyle changes when behavior is made a focus of the class. A multi-faceted behavioral intervention strategy was developed and used with 433 students enrolled in personal health classes during the fall term, 1983. At the end of the term, 23% of the students reported they were 100% successful in obtaining their desired behavioral changes. Another 40% reported they had just missed their goal. Overall, it appears the intervention was highly successful. More research is needed to validate the approach.     

Merging Family and Firm: An Integrated Systems Approach to Process and Change

The blurring of family and business in family businesses can create tremendous stress for all family members. Scholars have been unsuccessful in applying task-oriented, business-based models to a business in which the boundaries between task and family blur and overlap. This article integrates current research and theory related to family interaction, organizational dynamics, and family businesses to present a conceptual framework that details the complex inner workings of family businesses and helps guide those who study and work with them.     

Stability and Change in the Ecological Structure of Winnipeg: A Multi-Method Approach*

Après avoir recueilli dans la littérature de l'écologie sociale un ensemble de propositions obtenues par Panalyse factorielle, on procéda à les verifier en utilisant une stratégie polyvalente de recherche sur des données longitudinales provenant de Winnipeg. II semble que la structure écologique de cette ville peut être décrite en utilisant trois variables générales et cela correspond aux attentes. Ces variables sont: le statut économique, le statut familial, et le statut d'immigration; ajoutons, toutefois que certaines de ces variables acquièrent une importance qui se distingue de celle que l'on retrouve dans les études américaines sur le même sujet. Contrairement aux previsions, toutefois, l'importance relative du statut économique diminue avec le temps bien que son importance absolue ait gardé une valeur constante. L'importance relative et absolue du statut familial s'est accrue tandis que celle du statut d'immigrant s'est abaissée. Au surplus, les données suggèrent qu'avec le temps la différenciation écologique s'atténue plutôt que de s'accroître. A certains égards ces résultats contredisent les prévisions générées par les études antérieures et les théories de l'écologie urbaine et soulèvent plusieurs problèmes d'interprétation. A set of propositions is gleaned from the literature in the social area analysis-factorial ecology tradition, and tested using a new multi-method research strategy applied to longitudinal data gathered for Winnipeg. Generally consistent with what was expected, it would appear as if the ecological structure of this city can be described in terms of three general constructs: economic status, family status, and immigrant status, although certain of these constructs differed in important ways from their counterparts in studies of us cities. Contrary to what was expected, however, the relative importance of economic status seems to have declined over time, although its absolute importance has remained quite constant. The relative (and absolute) importance of family status has increased, while the converse has happened with regard to immigrant status. In addition, the evidence suggests that the over-all level of ecological differentiation may be decreasing over time, rather than increasing. These results run counter in several respects to predictions generated from current research and theory in urban ecology, and pose a number of interesting and difficult problems of interpretation.