How do International Volunteering Characteristics Influence Outcomes? Perspectives from Partner Organizations

This study examines how different types of international volunteering influence common program outcomes such as building organizational capacity, developing international relationships, and performing manual labor. Survey responses were collected from 288 development-oriented volunteer partner organizations operating in 68 countries. Data on the duration of volunteer service, the volunteers’ skill levels, and other variables were used to develop a rough typology of international volunteering. Binary logistic regression models then assessed differences in outcomes across five volunteering types. Findings suggest that future research needs to be more precise about how the nuances and complexity of diverse forms of international volunteering influence outcomes.     

Learning to negotiate network relations: social support among working mothers living in poverty

This study promotes our understanding of the complex and dynamic role that social support networks play in the everyday life of working mothers living in poverty, by focusing on the processes of negotiation involved in the creation, maintenance and mobilization of social ties. It is based on semi-structured interviews with 12 Israeli-Jewish working mothers who participated in an economic empowerment workshop. Findings indicate that the participants received much social support from relatives, friends and community activists. However, they further reveal the hard hidden work of negotiation and the process of learning involved in obtaining support. Particularly important in this context of poverty was the need to learn how to ask for support by overcoming feelings of shame and concerns about respectability, and to reduce social burdens by, among other things, refusing to participate in the ‘gift economy’ and limiting constraining social relationships. Finally, this study shows how the seemingly divergent interpretations of negotiation in social-exchange theory and symbolic interactionism (reaching an agreement that maximizes benefits versus preserving the relationship) often converge in everyday life situations.     

Household time activities,food waste,and diet quality: the impact of non-marginal changes due to COVID-19

Review of Economics of the Household - In early 2020, a novel coronavirus quickly spread across the globe. In response to the rapidly increasing number of confirmed U.S. cases, state and local...     

Predicting Maternal Resolution of Preterm Birth at One Month Corrected Age

Early maternal resolution with preterm birth was assessed at one month corrected age (CA), and potential maternal and infant characteristics that may be associated with early resolution were examined. Fifty‐five mothers of preterm infants (≤34 weeks) participated. Data regarding pregnancy, prenatal risk, delivery, infant's medical risk, maternal well‐being status, and infant's early developmental status were collected. Resolution was examined using the Reaction to Diagnosis Interview (RDI). A total of 38.2% of the mothers were classified as resolved. Only completion of antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) treatment and high prenatal risk significantly predicted maternal resolution. Early maternal resolution of preterm birth is associated with early knowledge regarding the preterm birth.     

An Australian Paperbound-Books Library Shelf for Social Work Students

This article explores the links between two areas of practice—working with families involved in divorce or with children in care. There are many parallels between such apparently different kinds of work. Children and parents in both situations experience a sense of grief and loss. The children become part of two families: how well they manage this reflects how the adults involved cope. Some strategies can help in both areas such as encouraging shared decision-making, using written agreements and having a neutral person to negotiate with.     

Mastery,Homeownership, and Adult Roles During the Transition to Adulthood

We investigate the relationship between homeownership and personal sense of mastery in the transition to adulthood and examine whether three important adult transitions (employment, marriage/cohabitation, and parenthood) moderate the impact of homeownership on mastery. Utilizing the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth—Young Adult Sample (N = 1,609), we estimate change models to assess the direct effects of homeownership on mastery as well as whether this impact is modified by the transition to adult roles. Homeownership increases the sense of mastery among young adults. Homeowners who are unemployed paradoxically receive a boost to mastery not experienced by those who are employed, and homeowners who are parents experience increased mastery, compared to those who do not have children. Owning a home has a positive influence on young adults' sense of mastery during a period when their mastery is in flux and they are accumulating new roles.