Re-evaluating the Community Question from a German perspective

The far-reaching effects of the social systemic division of labor on the organization and contents of primary ties make the Community Question an important issue for many sociologists. This paper looks at the personal embeddedness of families in three German cities (Berlin, Hamburg, and Stuttgart) and examines the Community Question with data collected at the end of 2003. It is based on the theoretical views of Wellman [Wellman, B., 1979. The community question. The intimate networks of East Yorkers. American Journal of Sociology 84, 1201–1231], who used a network analysis perspective to conceptualize “the Community Question”. The results of this German study generally support the results of Wellman's second East York Study. However, the network structures analyzed in my study vary from the three ideal-type models. Cluster analysis shows that Wellman's typology can be replicated relatively well in Germany. In contrast to traditional discourse related to the Community Question, particular network types are not associated with low levels of social relations. Moreover, structural factors do not explain the existence of different network types. Thus, the networks are not a product of only one community model. They suggest that it is less helpful to talk about “Saved”, “Lost”, or “Liberated” communities than it is to regard communities as a mixture of strongly-knit nuclear clusters and of broader, sparsely-knit relations that provide access to different groups and their resources.     

In search of rigor, relevance, and legitimacy: what drives the impact of publications?

In this study, we introduce the concept of legitimacy to the rigor-relevance debate and investigate empirically how rigor, relevance, and legitimacy are related to the process of knowledge dissemination within a research field. We argue that this analysis has been a missing piece in the debate on rigor and relevance when institutional logics about what constitutes both elements lead researchers to act according to what they perceive to be appropriate behavior in the research field. We draw on insights from the micro and macro levels of institutional theory to show how researchers aiming to bestow legitimacy on their own work conform to these “rules of the game”. Using meta-analytical techniques, we focus on the field of strategic entrepreneurship and analyze how rigor- and relevance-related characteristics of studies in this field are linked to their legitimacy and therefore to the impact they have in the research community.     

Socioeconomic Resource Environments in Biological and Alternative Family Care and Children's Cognitive Performance*

We examined social and economic resources in the environments of children involved with child protective services and their associations with children's cognitive performance. We used a national dataset of child protection investigations (children aged 6–16 at Wave 1). Using latent class analysis, we constructed profiles of the financial resources, parental education and employment, and family structure and size. We then examined within‐ and across‐time associations between resource environment profiles and children's math and reading scores and tested whether associations differed by family care type. Our latent class analysis identified four distinct family resource environments: educated middle class, single earner, large working class, and severely disadvantaged. Family resource environment profiles predicted current cognitive performance and changes in performance over time, but associations were more consistent for children in biological family care. Children who remain in home following maltreatment allegations may benefit from services that target social as well as economic resources.     

Contested Ground: Network Governance in Australia's Migration Industry

This article challenges current understandings of the Australian migration industry's position in a network governance framework by shedding light on Registered Migration Agents’ (RMA) lived experiences of their profession. Using qualitative interview data collected from ten migration intermediaries across Australia, this article examines their experiences of their role in relation to the state and industry bodies. Placing migration intermediaries at the meso‐level of analysis, between macro‐level forces of the state and micro‐level agency of their clients, I argue primarily that the migration industry of Australia is a “contested ground” where intermediaries are embedded within complex negotiations with the state and legal frameworks, whilst also negotiating their legitimacy in a stigmatised profession. The findings of this study reveal migration intermediaries’ experiences of network governance as pivotal stakeholders, operating within a space characterized by complex configurations of autonomy and bureaucratic control.     

Homeless Youths’ Interests in Social Action via Photovoice

Engaging homeless youth in services is challenging. Novel methods are needed to better retain and empower this population. Photovoice, an innovative form of community-based participatory research, facilitates participants’ use of photography to document their everyday lives and struggles, while advocating for social change. This study examines, among 22 homeless youth, whether and why youth would be interested in participating in Photovoice activities, the types of social issues youth would be motivated to explore, and homeless youths’ opinions about committing to a longer-term, group-oriented project. Photovoice may represent promise in engaging marginalized and difficult-to-retain populations.     

Women with disabilities and their lived experiences of physical,psychological and sexual abuse in Croatia

This research aims to generate a better understanding of the abuse of women with disabilities through a qualitative study with 28 women with disabilities in five towns in Croatia. The results show that more than half of the research participants had experienced physical, psychological and sexual abuse, and financial exploitation. Participants stressed the need for education and empowerment of women with disabilities as well as better training for professionals and ensuring that a formal support system is available in every local community. The role of social workers in emerging countries like Croatia needs to include developing individual, group and community support for women with disabilities and raising public awareness of the abuse and violence shown towards women with disabilities through political and community networks and events.     

Mothers' perception of their relationship with their children during displacement: A six month follow-up

The data presented in this work were gathered within the framework of the psychosocial assistance programme for families with children in one of the oldest displacement shelters in Croatia. Over a period of 6 months, the mothers (N = 58) assessed the psychosocial adjustment difficulties of their children and how displacement affected their relationship with their children (N = 109). The study revealed that as time passed in displacement, mothers talked significantly less with their children and were generally more nervous. The most common difficulties manifested by children were appetite disorders, night fears, sleeping disturbances in general, increased sweating, fear of separation from their mother, despondency and general fearfulness. Over time the reported incidence of stress-related reactions in children significantly decreased. However, after a year spent in displacement, 12% of the children still manifested five or more stress symptoms. Children with a higher incidence of disorders had mothers whose adaptation to displacement was poorer and whose relationship with their children was less favourable. Their families were more often separated. Particularly apparent was the importance of providing psychological assistance for mothers and children who are unable to cope with the stress of displacement.     

Parent Psychological Distress: A Moderator of Behavioral Health Intervention Outcomes among Justice‐Involved Adolescents

We examined whether pre‐existing parent psychological distress moderated juvenile offenders’ substance use, sexual risk, and mental health outcomes in a randomized trial. Forty‐seven parent–adolescent dyads received either Family‐based Affect Management Intervention (FAMI) for adolescent substance use and HIV prevention or adolescent‐only Health Promotion Intervention (HPI). Parents’ self‐reported distress at baseline significantly moderated adolescents’ self‐reported marijuana use and alcohol use but not other outcomes at 3 months postintervention, producing crossover interactions. FAMI outperformed HPI when parents reported high‐level distress, whereas HPI outperformed FAMI when parents reported low‐level distress. This finding that the relative efficacy of interventions depends on the severity of parent psychological distress could inform efforts to match substance‐using, justice‐involved adolescents with the intervention most likely to benefit them.     

The ‘digital glimpse’ as imagining home

This paper proposes the concept of the ‘digital glimpse’, which develops the existing framing of imaginative travel. Here it articulates the experiences of mobile workers digitally connecting into family life and everyday rituals when physically absent with work. The recent embedding of digital communication technologies into personal relationships and family life is reconfiguring how absence is experienced and practiced by workers on the move, and through this, new digital paradigms for life on-the-move are emerging. This paper explores how such social relationships are maintained at-a-distance through digital technology – using evidence from qualitative interviews with mobile workers and their families. Digital technology now enables expressive forms of ‘virtual travel’, including video calling, picture sharing, and instant messaging. This has implications for the ways in which families can manage the social and relational pressures of being apart. Experiences of imaginative travel created through novel media can enrich the experience and give a greater sense of connection for both those who are at home and those who are away. While technology is limited in its ability to replicate a sense of co-presence, ‘digital glimpses’ are an emergent set of sociotechnical practices that can reduce the negative impact of absence on family relationships.     

Musculoskeletal symptoms and workers' perception about job factors in a pulp and paper industry

The study aimed to conduct a literature review as a step of the development of a new questionnaire about the nursing workers' perception of job factors that may lead to musculoskeletal symptoms. An information synthesis was achieved by collecting data from studies that fitted the search criteria. The results showed that despite the existence of several job factors related to musculoskeletal symptoms, no specific questionnaire that evaluates this relationship was found. Therefore, this literature review presents important topics for developing the first questionnaire to analyze work activities that may contribute to pain and discomfort among nursing personnel.