Racial/Ethnic Minority Vocational Research Trends: An 11‐Year Update

This study extends Flores et al.'s ( 2006 ) 36‐year analysis of racial/ethnic minority (REM) career research to identify recent trends in choice of topics and leading individual and institutional contributors. The authors identified 166 articles on REM career research published from 2005 to 2015 in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, The Career Development Quarterly, the Journal of Career Assessment, and the Journal of Career Development. Of these studies, 92% were empirical, with more than three quarters of these using quantitative rather than qualitative methodology. Most frequently, the empirical studies (n = 153) were based on samples of high school (30.7%) or undergraduate (34.6%) students. The authors discuss the implications of their findings and suggest ways to expand REM career research in the future.     

A Systems Approach to Social Entrepreneurship

Currently, disabilities organizations are increasingly being challenged by the requirement for individualized service, expectations to show personal outcomes, and the need to base their services on evidence-based practices. Social entrepreneurship (SE) is being put forward as an innovative approach for dealing with these challenges. This article presents a systems approach to SE based on a program logic model. This model identifies the input factors (a strong social vision, exploiting opportunities, maximizing resources), throughput strategies (entrepreneurial orientation, critical thinking skills, networking, capacity building), and outcome components (improving people’s lives, community-building, improving society) of SE at the micro, meso, and macro level. Also, the importance of planning for contextual changes as a social entrepreneur is discussed. The article concludes with presenting three inspiring practices regarding SE in the field of disabilities organizations.     

Seed limitation and lack of downed wood,not invasive species,threaten conifer regeneration in an urban forest

Urban forests provide valuable ecosystem services, but their long-term viability is often threatened by low tree recruitment due to seed and/or microsite limitation. Distinguishing between these two causes of low recruitment has important management implications, but has been little studied in urban environments. We tested for seed and microsite limitation in an urban forested park in Seattle, Washington, USA by adding conifer tree seeds and seedlings to experimental plots in which we manipulated microsite conditions by removing invasive ivy (Hedera spp.) and adding deadwood. We found that natural seed production was low, and adding seeds increased the number of observed seedlings. Furthermore, adding deadwood increased seedling survival, whereas removing Hedera did not have strong effects. Seed limitation is frequently addressed through management actions such as sowing seeds and transplanting seedlings, and our results suggest that such actions address a critical barrier to tree recruitment in urban forests. However, we also observed strong microsite limitation. At our study site, microsite limitation can be addressed primarily by adding deadwood and retaining coarse woody debris on site. Addressing microsite limitation may be a critical component of successful management efforts to improve tree recruitment in urban forests, and should not be overlooked. Furthermore, our study highlights the need for active monitoring and data analysis alongside management, since the most apparent threat (widespread cover of an invasive plant in this case) may not be the primary limit on suitable microsite conditions.     

Mass-mediated surveillance: borders,mobility, and reality television

This article analyzes the social construction of border surveillance and policing in reality-based television. Utilizing content analytic methods to document and decode popular images of borders, mobility, and insecurity, it assesses three programs from Australia, the UK, and the United States. Despite claims of offering accurate and unfiltered depictions, the programs are ideological and provide visions of enforcement that reinforce stereotypes regarding the risks of permeable borders and exonerate intensive regimes of surveillance and securitization. Our findings suggest this occurs in three ways. First, the programs inflate the extent and seriousness of lawlessness associated with cross-border movement. Second, they offer individualistic explanations of crime that cite personal choices and pathologies as determinants. Finally, alongside neglecting their perspectives and interpretations of events, when compared to the reality of official statistics, the programs disproportionately feature suspected offenders as members of marginalized groups. The social and political implications of these findings are discussed.     

“It’s a generosity loop”: Religious and spiritual motivations of volunteers who glean produce to reduce food insecurity

Food insecurity is a common social issue and households look to assistance from food pantries, which often have difficulty supplying fresh or nutritious food. A substantial amount of produce is left in the fields, which can be collected through gleaning. In a focus group with volunteer gleaners at a faith-based nonprofit organization that attempts to fill the gaps of food insecurity, the motivations, challenges, and benefits of volunteering were examined. Volunteering in gleaning generated a sense of collective purpose and community; it addressed deeply held religious and spiritual impulses; and it puts volunteers directly in contact with nature.     

A meta-analysis of the pique technique of compliance

A random-effects meta-analysis was undertaken to examine the effectiveness of the pique technique of compliance-gaining. Results indicated an overall significant effect of the pique technique on increased compliance rate across 17 comparisons (r = .27). Moderator analyses showed the technique worked significantly better than controls in gaining compliance when a smaller amount was requested, when the reason for the request was included, and when the technique was used in France. In addition, the pique technique was more successful than control requests in terms of the total amount of money or time given by participants and the percentage of participants inquiring about the requests. Theoretical and practical implications for the success of pique technique are discussed for future research.     

A direct procedure for monitoring the coefficient of variation using a variable sample size scheme

A variable sample size (VSS) scheme directly monitoring the coefficient of variation (CV), instead of monitoring the transformed statistics, is proposed. Optimal chart parameters are computed based on two criteria: (i) minimizing the out-of-control ARL (ARL₁) and (ii) minimizing the out-of-control ASS (ASS₁). Then the performances are compared between these two criteria. The advantages of the proposed chart over the VSS chart based on the transformed statistics in the existing literature are: the former (i) provides an easier alternative as no transformation is involved and (ii) requires less number of observations to detect a shift when ASS₁ is minimized.     

Objective Bayesian inference for the ratio of the scale parameters of two Weibull distributions

The Weibull distribution is widely used due to its versatility and relative simplicity. In our paper, the non informative priors for the ratio of the scale parameters of two Weibull models are provided. The asymptotic matching of coverage probabilities of Bayesian credible intervals is considered, with the corresponding frequentist coverage probabilities. We developed the various priors for the ratio of two scale parameters using the following matching criteria: quantile matching, matching of distribution function, highest posterior density matching, and inversion of test statistics. One particular prior, which meets all the matching criteria, is found. Next, we derive the reference priors for groups of ordering. We see that all the reference priors satisfy a first-order matching criterion and that the one-at-a-time reference prior is a second-order matching prior. A simulation study is performed and an example given.     

Personal reflection and experience of a Fulbright Scholar: teaching a mental health course in Vietnam’s changing culture

This paper documents the experience of developing and teaching a course on mental health for undergraduate social worker students during a semester in Vietnam. Social work is a profession at the early stages of development in Vietnam, requiring much curriculum development. There are over 40 universities with undergraduate social work education programs, but few of the faculty have had training or experience in practicing social work. The paper will summarize the main reasons for developing such a course given the current state of mental health need and services in a changing culture, as well as the current state of professional social work education and the newly established profession of social work. The author describes the contexts underlying the course—the status of social work and social work education in Vietnam, the context of mental health and mental illness in Vietnam, and curriculum adaptation to the cultural context. From this experience, the lessons learned about the role of cross-cultural critical thinking, cultural knowledge, and other strategies will be discussed about teaching a subject like mental health internationally.     

The Role of Family Behaviors in Determining Income Distribution: The Case of South Korea

In this article, we examined what has contributed to the worsening income inequality and poverty between 1996 and 2011 in South Korea. We used a rank-preserving exchange method and a conditional reweighting method to assess the roles of family behaviors—including female labor force participation and family structure—characteristics of household heads, and men’s earnings. The results showed that the change in men’s earnings was a dominant factor in accounting for the increasing income inequality and poverty. The change in age and education among household heads also contributed significantly to the worsening income distribution. The change in family structure mainly affected the income disparity among lower-income families and increased poverty. The rise in women’s labor force participation improved the income distribution but not considerably. The distributional roles of family have not worked to prevent or reverse the worsening income distribution in the past few decades in South Korea.