Spiritual Need and the Core Business of Social Work

This paper examines the development of social work practicein spiritual care and the attitudes towards spirituality andreligion demonstrated by social workers in the UK, through reflectionon key findings from two empirical studies conducted ten yearsapart. Fieldwork for the first study, conducted by the author,was undertaken from 1990 to 1992 and was the first of its kindto examine the treatment of spirituality in social work practicein the UK. The second study reported in 2004. Comparison ofthe findings from these two studies showed that the increasedsympathy towards ‘spiritual practice’ is not asgreat in social work as is demonstrated amongst other humanservices professions, and that there is continuing inhibitionand resistance in the UK in social work education in particular.The paper argues that much of the problem for practitioners,even where they identify spiritual need as an issue, lies inthe inadequate theorizing and lack of practice guidance developedin the context of UK social work. It concludes by discussingthe particular context of mainstream social work practice inthe UK and examines how assessment of spiritual need and spiritualinterventions might connect with social work’s core business.     

Complementary Relationships Between Traditional Media and Health Apps Among American College Students

Abstract

Objective: This study explored the potential relationships between existing media and health apps for health information among college students. Participants: This study collected and analyzed a total of 408 surveys from students of 7 universities across the United States. Methods: In order to explore the research questions and test the hypotheses, quantitative data from the online survey were analyzed through hierarchical regression analyses. Results: Results from the hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the perceived credibility of health information from traditional mass media was positively and significantly associated with college students' perception of health apps. However, there was no significant effect in regards to online media. Conclusions: This study's consideration of the relationships between existing media and health apps may guide health practitioners in their strategic approaches to improve the well-being of college students.     

Sinking,swimming and sailing: experiences of job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion in child welfare employees

The authors conducted a mixed‐method study after a previous study of child welfare employees revealed a subgroup exhibiting surprisingly high levels of both emotional exhaustion (EE) and job satisfaction (JS). This subgroup included direct service workers, supervisors and managers. As these findings appeared to conflict with previous studies, we re‐reviewed the literature and undertook the current study to account for the co‐existence of EE and JS. We explored and compared this subgroup with two others: workers who found their work satisfying without experiencing high levels of EE and those whose high levels of EE were associated with low JS. Using a survey that included several standardized measures with 226 employees and semi‐structured interviews with a criteria‐based subsample of 25, we explored the role that personality, career expectations, coping styles, stage of life, education, gender and social networks play in outcomes for individual employees. Analyses of quantitative and qualitative data yielded a profile for each subgroup, offering insights into the subjective experiences of workers within individual, social and organizational contexts. These findings have implications for recruitment, training and support of child welfare workers.     

Is deviance “Deadℍ? The decline of a sociological research specialization

Colin Sumner has declared that the sociology of deviance as a research specialty was “dead? by 1975; later influential studies on norm-violating behavior appeared only in the specific area of criminology. We subjected this argument to empirical test through an analysis of the most-cited scholars and works in 263 textbooks, articles, and research notes appearing in the sociology of deviance from 1993 to 1999. We found some support for Sumner's claims: The majority of the most-cited scholars in devi-ance today conduct research in other areas, primarily in criminology. Furthermore, among the 31 most-cited works in our analysis, only two of 15 studies classified in the sociology of deviance appeared after 1975. We conclude with some thoughts about the factors that contribute to the rise and fall of research specializations in sociology.     

CONVERGENCE AND PREDICTION OF PRINCIPAL COMPONENT SCORES IN HIGH-DIMENSIONAL SETTINGS

A number of settings arise in which it is of interest to predict Principal Component (PC) scores for new observations using data from an initial sample. In this paper, we demonstrate that naive approaches to PC score prediction can be substantially biased towards 0 in the analysis of large matrices. This phenomenon is largely related to known inconsistency results for sample eigenvalues and eigenvectors as both dimensions of the matrix increase. For the spiked eigenvalue model for random matrices, we expand the generality of these results, and propose bias-adjusted PC score prediction. In addition, we compute the asymptotic correlation coefficient between PC scores from sample and population eigenvectors. Simulation and real data examples from the genetics literature show the improved bias and numerical properties of our estimators.     

Technology Adoption in Small Family-Owned Businesses: Accessibility,Perceived Advantage,and Information Technology Literacy

The purpose of the study was to examine the antecedents and impacts of information technology (IT) adoption by small family-owned businesses, using data from the National Family Business Survey. This research tested a model based on the Diffusion of Innovations framework and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Family business managers’ prior knowledge and level of IT use, business location, and community size/type were important antecedents to the decision to adopt IT. Ease of use and decision to adopt IT accounted for over 60% of the variance in usefulness of IT and implementation of internet and IT capabilities. The implementation of IT capabilities accounted for nearly 40% of the variance in actual use of IT and perceived impact of the internet.     

Assessing the Moderating Effects of Depressive Symptoms on Antisocial Behavior among Urban Youth in Public Housing

This study assesses whether the influences of attitude towards deviance, exposure to delinquent peers and parental supervision and encouragement on antisocial behavior are moderated by depressive symptoms. Two hundred and thirty eight African American adolescents ages 13–19 from three public housing developments participated in this study. Results indicate that approximately half of the youth did not engage in antisocial behaviors in the last year. Gender, depression, attitudes and peers were significant correlates of antisocial behavior. Parental supervision and encouragement, and age were not related to antisocial behavior. Interaction effects suggest that the relative influences of attitudes towards deviance and delinquent peers on antisocial behaviors depend upon gender and level of depression symptoms. Implications for social work practice and future research are discussed.     

Clinical Sociology in Service Learning

Experiences in teaching internship courses illustrate some of the advantages of teaching sociological practice through community service. For example, a course requirement to spend 9 hours of each week of a semester in an advocacy group provides a richer variety of opportunities for students to learn about themselves, society, sociological theory, and research methodologies than is possible in conventional lecture–discussion classes. Furthermore, becoming participants in sociological interventions heightens students' awareness of related ethical concerns, as well as of the complexity of social problems, and of how to define viable individual and collective solutions.