The components of family policy education

The study of family policy in the United States began relatively recently. The academic community increasingly has shown interest in this new policy arena. Much of the conceptual writing on family policy emerged from disciplines such as family studies, social work, political science, economics, and sociology. These academic units have recently modified their course curricula to include more family policy content. These family policy education efforts are discussed in this article. Specific suggestions are made concerning the development and content of family policy education, broader educational training for those who want to pursue a career in family policy, and future goals and directions for family policy education. She received her Ph. D. in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests are in the family and health policy arenas, with particular focus on ethnically diverse populations. Her most recent research is on homeless children and mothers. She received her Ph.D. in Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota. Her teaching and research interests are workplace and family issues and family policy and impact analysis.     

Patterns of union membership and relative wages

This paper, using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, examines the effects of union membership on the wages of white males. The empirical relationship between current wage and union status is estimated controlling for union status in years before and after the current year. The resulting status profiles are four years long in contrast to one or two years used previously. Results indicate that wage changes experienced when workers join or leave unions vary significantly and systematically across these profiles. For example, a status change that appears to be long-term is associated with larger absolute wage changes than short-term changes in status. The authors thank Jeff Moore for comments and suggestions on an early draft of this paper and express special appreciation to John Raisian for his painstaking and valuable review of a recent draft. We are, of course, responsible for remaining errors.     

RISK SOCIETY,MEDIA, AND POWER: THE CASE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

Risk society theory posits that the transformation of industrial to postindustrial society corresponded with a transformation of societal power structured by capital, to one structured by the ability to define risk. Perceptions of risk are, in part, socially constructed and created through the framing efforts of various institutional actors. The resulting struggle over meaning is particularly acute when the issues contain many unknown elements—as is the case with emerging technologies. Applying insights from media studies, frame analysis, and organizational theory, we analyze coverage of nanotechnology (NT) in popular press, trade, and general science publications. The findings document the extent to which the risks of this emerging technology are presented or ignored across, between, and within organizational subfields. The analysis empirically assesses a key proposition of risk society theory and reveals how institutional processes reflect and reproduce power differentials. We discuss the implications of the empirical findings for sociological theories of risk and society, power, and collective action.     

CAN EARLY FAMILY FORMATION EXPLAIN THE LOWER EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF U.S. CONSERVATIVE PROTESTANTS?

Using nationally representative data, this article assesses whether the timing of life course transitions (i.e., marriage and childbirth) can explain the lower educational attainment of individuals raised in conservative Protestant (CP) households. A key finding is that early family formation affects educational attainment for both white and black women raised in CP households. For white women, the timing of family formation, net of controls, reduces the negative effect of childhood CP to insignificance. For black women, the timing of family formation reduces but does not eliminate the negative effect. For black men and white men, the negative effect of childhood CP on adult educational attainment is explained away by control variables.     

Effectiveness of the Brief Alcohol and Screening Intervention for College Students (BASICS) Program With a Mandated Population

Abstract

Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a large-scale intervention designed to reduce alcohol abuse among adjudicated college students. Participants: Participants were college students mandated to attend a Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) program and a randomly selected comparison group of high-risk drinkers. Methods: Data were collected from January 2006 through December 2008. A total of 1,390 (67%) students in the intervention group and 508 (61%) students in the comparison group completed baseline and 6-month follow-up surveys. Results: Male students in the intervention group significantly decreased their drinking at follow-up, whereas those in the comparison group increased their drinking. Women in both the intervention and comparison groups decreased their drinking at 6 months. Conclusions: When implemented with fidelity, BASICS is a generally effective intervention, especially for male adjudicated college students. The intervention was most effective for moderate- and high-risk drinkers.     

A Teaching Model to Unite Classroom and Field

Abstract

Integration of theory and practice is always an objective of professional education. In reality, social work students frequently experience a discontinuity when they move from the classroom into the practicum. Many concepts learned in the classroom seem difficult to apply in practice and appear irrelevant to learning practice skills. A teaching model that can be presented both in the classroom and field is described in this article. Students can apply this model, which is relevant to both micro and macro settings, in diverse practice situations.     

Teen Mothers: Marriage,Cohabitation, and Educational Achievement

This study examines the proportions of ethnically diverse low-income teen mothers who are cohabitating and/or married to the father of their child(ren) at approximately 14, 24, and 36 months after birth of their child. In addition, the relationship between marital status and education among teen mothers is explored. At 36 months after giving birth, 60% of mothers were not living with or married to the fathers of their children. Hispanic mothers were the most likely, and African-American mothers the least likely, to be married to the father at each of the three time points. For Hispanic teen mothers, being married at 14 months was related to lower educational achievement.     

College Students' Positivity Toward Teen Mothers

Although teen pregnancy and parenthood are more visible in society than in the past, teen mothers are often stereotyped and stigmatized. The study examined positivity toward teen mothers among college students (N = 316) at a midwestern university. Although students responded positively to some items regarding teen mothers, other statements showed endorsements of stereotypes. Positivity toward teen mothers was positively related to empathy and classification (freshman, sophomore, etc.). Those who did not report having a teen mother in their family had higher levels of positivity than those who reported having a teen mother in their family. Research should examine perceptions of teen mothers among social workers and interventionists as a moderator of intervention effectiveness.     

Rape Protests in India and the Birth of a New Repertoire

The gang rape of a young physiotherapy student on a moving bus in December of 2012, in Delhi, India, brought forward a series of countrywide protests. These protests were unique compared with prior protests in India, leading to a need to re-examine the political importance of social movements in the subcontinent. Using data from 748 newspaper reports on the demonstrations that took place from December 2012 to April 2013, this paper examines the unique characteristics of the rape protests and their implications on the birth of a new repertoire in social movements. For the first time in Indian history, women's rights and violence against women occupied the forefront of national politics, and was no longer limited to agendas of feminists and women's groups. The protests were not led by a specific interest group, but were spontaneous and horizontal in nature, with participants from various social and political backgrounds. This paper argues that with the help of technology and new social media that a new repertoire of protests emerged: a horizontal, spontaneous, mass movement across interest groups.