Activism and Willingness to Help in Union Organizing: Who Are the Activists?

Research on union renewal often cites a critical role for lay activism. This study examines determinants of activism and activism intentions among a broadly representative sample of U.S. union members. Hypotheses are developed from theory and previous research on union commitment and participation. Results for current activism are generally consistent with prior work. Extending the model to future intentions to help with organizing, an interesting contrast is that pro-union attitude influences appear much more important than do union instrumentality perceptions. This suggests that “covenant” rather than “exchange” concerns are more salient for this form of activism. Findings for ideological orientation support this interpretation.     

An optimal property of the “(r,k ) class estimators”

The purpose of this work is to display optimal conditions, in terms of the Mean Square Error criterion of the (r,k) class estimators. This will be done with respect to the ordinary ridge repression, principal components and ordinary least squares estimate.     

Promoting Career and College Readiness,Aspirations, and Self‐Efficacy: Curriculum Field Test

To address the need for enhanced career and college readiness, a classroom guidance curriculum was studied using a pretest–posttest nonequivalent groups quasi‐experimental design. Data from 163 ninth‐grade students enrolled in a low‐performing high school were analyzed via hierarchical linear modeling. The analyses indicated a treatment effect on postsecondary education‐going knowledge and career and college readiness self‐efficacy, accounting for 100% of the variance explained by classroom‐level factors and indicating potential for the classroom guidance curriculum. The findings encourage career and professional school counselors to proactively employ similar classroom guidance programs aimed at encouraging high school students to consider postsecondary education opportunities. Future research could focus on component analyses of the curriculum, broadening the target populations, using mixed‐method designs, and additional validity studies of the dependent measures.     

Using technology to engage and educate youth

Given that information age technologies are as natural to the Net generation as breathing, it is time to provide learning experiences that maximize their use in schools. The authors argue that integrating technology into learning is central to creating the meaningful learning opportunities needed to engage and motivate youth today. To achieve this potential, however, technology must support a new paradigm of teaching and learning. This chapter discusses common elements and challenges to implementing pioneering high school reform models that promote one-to-one student-computer ratios, collaborative learning environments, problem- and project-based instruction, and interdisciplinary teaching.     

Segmented Assimilation,Local Context and Determinants of Drug Violence in Miami and San Diego: Does Ethnicity and Immigration Matter?1

Does the ethnic and immigrant composition of a community and existence of immigrant enclaves or barrios influence community level drug violence? This study explores the relationship between these and other factors in Miami and San Diego census tracts. We employ data about the distribution of Cubans, Central Americans, Haitians, Mexicans and Southeast Asians, controlling for social and economic influences of drug versus non‐drug violence. We also analyze the impact of various waves of immigration and immigrant communities to understand the circumstances under which drug violence occurs or is limited at the census tract level. The findings lend some support to the positive and negative aspects of Portes and Rumbaut's (2001) segmented assimilation hypothesis in Miami and San Diego neighborhoods. The strength of this conclusion varies and is contingent upon ethnic composition, new versus old immigration, and the all‐encompassing effects of economic deprivation     

Rethinking the construction of welfare in Mexico: Going beyond the economic measures

This study utilized a multidimensional measure of social welfare composed of 26 social indicators integrated in nine categories: education, employment and social protection, income, health, housing conditions, subjective wellbeing, social capital, use of technology, and culture and leisure to help understand social welfare in Mexico. We also compared the integrated measure with the Human Development Index. Estimation was performed using the method. Our analysis indicated that the health and housing conditions categories contributed the most to social welfare across the 32 Mexican States. In relation to the indicators, income and trust in other people were associated with welfare. Further, results on the welfare ranking of Mexican states revealed variations between the two indices and the HDI). Specifically, only four states occupied the same position on both indices, ten recorded different positions on moving up or down from their levels of social welfare. Implications of observed correlations are presented.     

Assessing physical, sexual, and psychological violence perpetrated by intimate male partners toward women: a Spanish cross-sectional study

There have been many studies on the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on women's health, there being agreement on its detrimental effect. Research has focused mainly on the impact of physical violence on health, with few studies assessing the effect of sexual and psychological violence. Furthermore, there are many differences in the way violence experienced by women is assessed. While some researchers use available instruments, others develop their own questionnaires. This article gives detailed information about physical, sexual, and psychological violence, lifetime history of women's victimization, and aspects of women's behavior and feelings obtained with the questionnaire used in a Spanish cross-sectional study. Our results corroborate that IPV is not homogeneous, it being necessary to ask women about each type of violence they have experienced. Furthermore, to accurately assess the impact of IPV on women's health, it is necessary to control for other variables that also have detrimental effects on health.     

Assessing the Needs of Older Gay,Lesbian, Bisexual,and Transgender People: A Service-Learning and Agency Partnership Approach

A county agency and a social work research class partnered to conduct a state-mandated needs assessment of older gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people (GLBT). A survey design with purposive sampling of GLBT people over 60 yielded 38 participants. Findings included that the Internet was a viable means to reach this population and student awareness increased. Areas of greatest unmet need were GLBT-oriented/friendly legal advice, social events, grief and loss counseling, social workers, and assisted living. Some participants perceived existing senior services as unfriendly or hostile to GLBT persons. Recommendations include continued use of service-learning research and expanded needs assessment efforts.