Implications of Ethnic Identity Exploration and Ethnic Identity Affirmation and Belonging for Intergroup Attitudes Among Adolescents

The present paper develops and tests two temporal models of the relationships among adolescents' ethnic identity exploration, ethnic identity affirmation and belonging, and attitudes toward their racial/ethnic ingroup and outgroups. Structural equation models for Euro‐Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos revealed that all hypothesized relationships were positive and significant. The model in which ethnic identity exploration (at Time 1) predicts ethnic identity affirmation and belonging (at Time 2) was superior to the alternative model in which the relationship between them was reversed (i.e., affirmation and belonging at Time 1 predicts exploration at Time 2). Results (1) support the importance of exploration as a basis for establishing a secure attachment to one's ethnic identity, which, in turn, has positive implications for attitudes toward one's own group and other groups and (2) suggest that maintenance of ethnic identity is compatible with positive attitudes toward ethnic outgroups.     

Ecological research can augment restoration practice in urban areas degraded by invasive species—examples from Chicago Wilderness

Urban biodiversity conservation needs a firm scientific foundation, one that draws upon active and regionally calibrated research programs. Until recently this foundation has not existed. In this paper we examine the way in which the emerging discipline of restoration ecology in an urban context can learn from the experiences of ongoing restoration projects and in turn how novel insights from research of urban soils can help these projects define and reach their goals. Limitations on collaboration between academic researchers and practitioners continues be problematic. We discuss a model whereby this impediment may be removed. A case study of Rhamnus cathartica, an invader of Midwestern woodlands which modifies some important soil ecosystem properties will be used to illustrate the potential for engagement between research and practice.     

Data Science: A Powerful Catalyst for Cross-Sector Collaborations to Transform the Future of Global Health—Developing a New Interactive Relational Mapping Tool (Demo)

ABSTRACT

The increasingly complex and rapidly changing global health and socioeconomic landscape requires fundamentally new ways of thinking, acting, and collaborating to solve growing systems challenges. Cross-sectoral collaborations between governments, businesses, international organizations, private investors, academia, and nonprofits are essential for lasting success in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and securing a prosperous future for the health and well-being of all people (United Nations, n.d United Nations. (n.d.). SDGs: Sustainable development knowledge platform. Sustainable Development United Nations. Retrieved from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/ [Google Scholar].). Our aim is to use data science and innovative technologies to map diverse stakeholders and their initiatives around SDGs and specific health targets—with particular focus on SDG 3 (Good Health & Well Being) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)—to accelerate cross-sector and multidisciplinary collaborations. Initially, the mapping tool focuses on Geneva, Switzerland as the world center of global health diplomacy with over 80 key stakeholders and influencers present. As we develop the next level pilot, we aim to build on users’ interests, with a potential focus on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as one of the emerging and most pressing global health issues that requires new collaborative approaches. Building on this pilot, we can later expand beyond only SDG 3 to other SDGs.     

Navigating the technology-media-movements complex

Abstract

In this article we develop the notion of the technology-media-movements complex (TMMC) as a field-definition statement for ongoing inquiry into the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in social and political movements. We consider the definitions and boundaries of the TMMC, arguing particularly for a historically rooted conception of technological development that allows better integration of the different intellectual traditions that are currently focused on the same set of empirical phenomena. We then delineate two recurrent debates in the literature highlighting their contributions to emerging knowledge. The first debate concerns the divide between scholars who privilege media technologies, and see them as driving forces of movement dynamics, and those who privilege media practices over affordances. The second debate broadly opposes theorists who believe in the emancipatory potential of ICTs and those who highlight the ways they are used to repress social movements and grassroots mobilization. By mapping positions in these debates to the TMMC we identify and provide direction to three broad research areas which demand further consideration: (i) questions of power and agency in social movements; (ii) the relationships between, on the one hand, social movements and technology and media as politics (i.e. cyberpolitics and technopolitics), and on the other, the quotidian and ubiquitous use of digital tools in a digital age; and (iii) the significance of digital divides that cut across and beyond social movements, particularly in the way such divisions may overlay existing power relations in movements. In conclusion, we delineate six challenges for profitable further research on the TMMC.     

The role of empathy in training social work students in motivational interviewing

Motivational interviewing (MI), an evidence-based approach with empathy as a key principle, effectively addresses client concerns found in the child welfare population. Training social workers in MI, and to be empathic, would increase the likelihood of better service delivery. Live supervision (LS) is a form of training that provides real-time feedback by clinical supervisors. This randomized comparison trial compared the effectiveness of LS or Teaching as Usual (TAU) on empathy in 54 MSW and BSW social work students. TAU involved students receiving online modules and assigned readings. Data were collected at baseline, after the interventions, and at five months follow-up. Differences in perceived empathy and empathic behaviors were measured by the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity (MITI) and Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ). The study also assessed whether demographic variables or perceived empathy (TEQ) predicted empathic behaviors (MITI). Results indicate that, while both groups improved on empathy as measured by the MITI and TEQ, the LS group demonstrated more improvement. Demographic variables had no impact on empathy. The TEQ and MITI also did not demonstrate predictability suggesting the complexity of measuring empathy. The implications for social work education and future training are discussed.     

Disasters,local organizations,and poverty in the USA, 1998 to 2015

Disaster research has drawn attention to how natural hazards transform local organizational dynamics and social inequalities. It has yet to examine how these processes unfold together over time. We begin to fill this gap with a county-level, longitudinal analysis that examines how property damages from natural hazards correlate not only with local shifts in poverty a year later but also counts of for-profit as well as bonding and bridging social capital organizations. Results show that poverty and all organizational types tend to increase with local hazard damages. They also show that poverty tends to increase most where the number of bonding social capital organizations is also increasing. This pattern suggests a Janus-faced dynamic in which bonding, or more inwardly focused, organizations that arise after disaster may end up inadvertently marginalizing those in more dire need.