What Adolescents Can Tell Us: Technology and the Future of Social Work Education

The use and usefulness of Information Technology (IT) is rapidly growing around the world, especially among the youth. IT has been shown to impact learning styles, communication, and social relationships in many ways. Recently, significant discussion has arisen around the importance of IT in higher education and more specifically, social work education. This study qualitatively assesses 128 youth aged 13–14 years to understand their access to and use of IT as well as the way it impacts their psychosocial development to provide clues that will help inform the design of social work education for the future. Youth in four school districts reported unanimous access to computers and television and a majority of students used other technologies. Adolescents reported increased ease of communication and ability to get information as well as enhanced social relationships connected to their use of IT. Discussion and implications suggest that in the future, social work education will have to implement IT into its curriculum in order to attract students and provide the best possible learning environment for the next generation, which has included technology in every aspect of their lives.     

A THEORETICAL INVESTIGATION OF PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD SEX EDUCATION

Rates of teen pregnancy in the United States are significantly higher than those in most other industrialized nations. This is troubling in light of the consequences to teen mothers, their children, and society. Some suggest that teen pregnancies can be decreased by providing sex education in the public school system, while others believe that sex education is inappropriate for public school. Little research exists, however, on predictors of attitudes toward sex education, and most existing research is dated and lacks a theoretical framework. Guided by the seminal work of Ira L. Reiss, we examine the impact of labor shortages, religiosity, militarism, gender egalitarianism, regulation of sexuality, and a naturalistic view of sexuality on attitudes toward sex education. Results suggest that Hispanics, those with high levels of religiosity, and those who supported regulation of sexuality were significantly less likely to support sex education in public schools. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

Walking,sensing, belonging: ethno-mimesis as performative praxis

This article outlines a research project that used participatory action research (PAR) and arts practice (ethno-mimesis) to explore the senses of belonging negotiated by asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented migrants in the English East Midlands. At the core of this project was a walking event in which refugees and new arrivals guided long-term residents through the city, tracing an imaginary and real journey that linked the here and now with the then and there. Reflecting on the ways that walking evokes and invokes, this article suggests that while walking should not be privileged as a way of knowing, it has certain sensate, embodied, relational and collective attributes which rendered it particularly useful as a means of exploring the importance of being-in-place among a group whose lives are often depicted as markedly transnational.     

The Making of Heroes: An Attributional Perspective

Abstract

Through the use of posed vignettes in a telephone survey, we investigate the construction of heroes. We examine the extent to which respondents attribute hero status to three potential 9/11 and “war on terrorism” heroes: Todd Beamer, Army Private Jessica Lynch, and President George W. Bush. Findings suggest the importance of the extraordinary nature and the rarity of action(s) performed by heroes in the attribution of hero status; the role of class, status, and party in the attribution process; and the moral consideration of what should be done in each posed vignette. In addition, the study indicates the utility of attribution theory for the sociological examination of heroism and the viability of normative constructs in examining heroic behavior.     

Play as a Resource for Children Facing Adversity: An Exploration of Indicative Case Studies

In this paper, we suggest that the ability and opportunity to play affords children a natural resource to meet intellectual and emotional challenge. Analysis of case studies focusing on interventions with children caught in the bombing of Beirut, children abandoned to the state system in Romania, and the street children in Rio de Janeiro and Cali is used to support this view. When resources are in deficit, challenge is more likely to become adversity. The impact of adversity is particular to context, but comparison across contexts also shows connections between children’s disparate experiences. Analysis confirms that given the opportunity, children interact with and influence their environment through play and that this process provides a resource to meet the challenge of adversity.     

Women's expectations and experiences with labour pain in medical and midwifery models of birth in the United States

BackgroundThis research focuses on how women understand and experience labour as related to two competing views of childbirth pain. The biomedical view is that labour pain is abnormal and anaesthesia/analgesia use is encouraged to relieve the pain. The midwifery view is that pain is a normal part of labour that should be worked with instead of against.AimsTo determine differences in the preparation for and experiences with labour pain by women choosing midwives versus obstetricians.MethodsPrenatal and postpartum in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 80 women in Florida (United States): 40 who had chosen an obstetrician and 40 who had chosen a licensed midwife as their birth practitioner.FindingsWomen in both groups were concerned with the pain of childbirth before and after their labour experiences. Women choosing midwives discussed preparing for pain through various non-pharmaceutical coping methods, while women choosing physicians discussed pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical pain relief.ConclusionsEqual numbers of women expressed concerns with childbirth pain during the prenatal interviews, while more women choosing doctors spoke about pain after their births. Women had negative experiences when their planned pain relief method, either natural or medical, did not occur. The quandary facing women when it comes to labour pain relief is not choosing what they desire, but rather preparing themselves for the possibility that they may have to accept alternatives to their original preferences.