Representations of the Chinese in Anglophone Caribbean fiction

In West Indian societies, the Chinese, as relative latecomers, provide an example of a minority group coping with a foreign culture and subject to assessment by earlier arrivants. They often appear only briefly in novels, but their presence contributes to pictures of ‘authentic’ village communities and to impressions of culturally and economically diverse urban centres. Despite their economic links with the communities in which they live, novelists depict them as existing outside the power relations of Creole societies which are determined largely by class and colour oppositions stemming from the experiences of slavery and colonialism.     

Empowering teen peers to prevent bullying: The Bully Busters Program for high school (Peer leader guide and CD) by Horne,A. M., Nitza,A., Dobias,B. F., Jolliff,D. L., Raczynski,K. A., & Voors,W.

This article describes low-cost and tested procedures which may be used by the social work pracritioner-researcher for collection of data about what takes place in groups in natural setting. Some technical issues in uses of tapes of group sessions obtained by portable cassette recorders are explored. Content analysis as a research technique is explained and illustrations provided. Process analysis through measurement of such dimensions as frequency and initiator of speech is described.     

Domestic Violence Politics in Post-Soviet States

This article, drawing upon three approaches from comparativepolitical science, compares domestic violence politics in Russiawith Ukraine, Moldova, and Armenia. It suggests that foreignassistance, not without unintended consequences, holds the bestpromise for initiating reform. It also shows that there is nothingparticular about Russian culture that limits reform, especially,as activists can manipulate gender neo-traditionalism. Finally,the study suggests that institutionalized political channelsfor considering women's issues can facilitate feminist policy-makingwhen pushed by an autonomous women's movement. In conclusion,the article suggests that studying gender politics in non-Westerncontexts requires integrating comparative with internationaltheories.     

Counselor Turnover in Substance Abuse Treatment Centers: An Organizational-Level Analysis

This article draws on institutional and ecological perspectives on work and organizations to develop a workplace level model of variation in voluntary counselor turnover rates across privately funded substance abuse treatment centers in the United States. Results show that participatory management structures reduce turnover rates principally by promoting organizational commitment. The analysis also tests hypotheses regarding the effects on turnover rates of other relevant theoretic domains of treatment center structure and organization. We discuss theoretical implications of the findings and suggest directions for future research.     

Romanian Adoptees and Pre-adoptive Care: A Strengths Perspective

Ninety-one parents of 120 adopted Romanian children who were part of a longitudinal study were surveyed to determine perceptions of their relationships with their children, their adoption experiences, and the children’s strengths. The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS) was used and parents were easily able to rate their children’s emotional and behavioral strengths. Levels of parent–child relationship satisfaction were the most consistent predictors of child emotional and behavioral strength. The child’s age at the time of the survey was a significant predictor of strengths, indicating overall that younger children had more perceived strengths. Parents identified fewer strengths among children with longer histories of institutional care. The importance of a strong parent–child relationship and resilience after a history of early institutional care are discussed.     

Planning and implementation of a participatory evaluation strategy: A viable approach in the evaluation of community-based participatory programs addressing cancer disparities

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has been posited as a promising methodology to address health concerns at the community level, including cancer disparities. However, the major criticism to this approach is the lack of scientific grounded evaluation methods to assess development and implementation of this type of research. This paper describes the process of development and implementation of a participatory evaluation framework within a CBPR program to reduce breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer disparities between African Americans and whites in Alabama and Mississippi as well as lessons learned. The participatory process involved community partners and academicians in a fluid process to identify common ground activities and outcomes. The logic model, a lay friendly approach, was used as the template and clearly outlined the steps to be taken in the evaluation process without sacrificing the rigorousness of the evaluation process. We have learned three major lessons in this process: (1) the importance of constant and open dialogue among partners; (2) flexibility to make changes in the evaluation plan and implementation; and (3) importance of evaluators playing the role of facilitators between the community and academicians. Despite the challenges, we offer a viable approach to evaluation of CBPR programs focusing on cancer disparities.     

From Youth to Adult Homelessness

Governments have shown an interest in early intervention strategies to reduce youth homelessness, but critics say that early intervention programs lack clear outcomes. This paper investigates what happens when early intervention programs are not in place and young people progress to adult homelessness. The paper assesses the ‘social adaptation’ hypothesis that the longer young people are homeless the more they adapt to homelessness as a way of life. The paper uses information on 1,677 individuals who first became homeless when they were 18 or younger. Three‐quarters of the sample had progressed to adult homelessness (defined as 25 or older) and one‐quarter were now young adults aged 19 to 24. The findings confirm that the longer people are homeless, the more difficult it becomes to get out of homelessness. However, the social adaptation account overstates the extent to which people accept homelessness as a ‘way of life‘. People can return to conventional accommodation if they are given long‐term support. The paper concludes with three policy recommendations.     

Social Activists: Lessons for Community Psychology

In a graduate class in community psychology, each student studied the lives and achievements of social activists. This article integrates the work and accomplishments of 5 social activists into a conceptual and methodological framework for social change within community psychology. These activists worked on issues including national liberation, women's suffrage, the rights of migrant workers, and community development. The methods used by these activists are particularly relevant to the field of community psychology. The article discusses the implications of the work and accomplishments of these social change agents.     

STIGMATIZED INDIVIDUALS AND THE PROCESS OF IDENTITY

We conducted intensive interviews with ten gays and ten lesbians drawing on research and theorizing on gay and lesbian identity, symbolic interactionism, and stigma. Key concepts from symbolic interactionism, reflected appraisals and situational identity negotiation, provide a more coherent theoretical way to examine identity development and the situated complexity of identity negotiation and disclosure among gays and lesbians. Romantic relationships are significant because they aid in identity development but also complicate social interactions by confronting many heterosexuals' "phantom acceptance" of gays and lesbians. These findings inform the literature on gay and lesbian identity by critiquing the stage models of identity and connecting this literature back to the symbolic interactionist literature on self and identity.