The Self-Weighting Model

In this brief article, we present the Self-Weighting Model (SWM), a new weighting model for statistical analysis. SWM allows within/between-set comparisons, producing estimates with a discriminatory power not found through current weighting strategies. The model is applicable to a wide range of statistical problems for which conditional weighted means are required.     

Differences in perceived barriers to volunteering to formal organizations: Lack of time versus lack of interest

This article reports the findings of a study of perceived barriers to volunteering to formal organizations by nonvolunteers. We examine the types of barriers, their frequencies, and their relationships with individual‐level sociodemographic characteristics of nonvolunteers. Data from a 2001–2002 national survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics are analyzed using multiple regression techniques. Contrary to general expectations, only three barriers—lack of time, lack of interest, and ill health—are fairly common. Furthermore, as expected, different social class groups identify different types of barriers. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical implications of the findings (for example, how indicators of social and cultural capital affect access to volunteer opportunities) and practical implications concerning recruitment of volunteers.     

From bonds to bridges and back again: co-ethnic ties and the making of Filipino community in Poland

Utilising indigenous Filipino psychology methods, this study examines the experiences of Filipino migrants in Poland, with a specific focus on the nature and function of their co-ethnic ties. The study is framed against the conceptual notion of bonding and bridging capital and strong and weak ties. Analysis of interview and focus group data suggests that respondents conceptualise co-ethnic ties in ways consistent with scholars’ definitions of bonding capital; however, there is substantial complexity in the nature, function, and strength of such ties. Furthermore, co-ethnic ties are dynamic and their form and function change with time as migrants integrate and adapt to their host countries.     

Extending the Quantitative Assessment of Industrial Risks to Earthquake Effects

In the general framework of quantitative methods for natural‐technological (NaTech) risk analysis, a specific methodology was developed for assessing risks caused by hazardous substances released due to earthquakes. The contribution of accidental scenarios initiated by seismic events to the overall industrial risk was assessed in three case studies derived from the actual plant layout of existing oil refineries. Several specific vulnerability models for different equipment classes were compared and assessed. The effect of differing structural resistances for process equipment on the final risk results was also investigated. The main factors influencing the final risk values resulted from the models for equipment vulnerability and the assumptions for the reference damage states of the process equipment. The analysis of case studies showed that in seismic zones the additional risk deriving from damage caused by earthquakes may be up to more than one order of magnitude higher than that associated to internal failure causes. Critical equipment was determined to be mainly pressurized tanks, even though atmospheric tanks were more vulnerable to containment loss. Failure of minor process equipment having a limited hold‐up of hazardous substances (such as pumps) was shown to have limited influence on the final values of the risk increase caused by earthquakes.     

Nesting ecology of mourning doves in an urban landscape

The expansion of urban areas into native habitat can have profound effects on avian populations and communities, yet little is known regarding the effects of urban features on avian reproductive success. The objective of this study was to examine the reproduction of an urban-enhanced species, the mourning dove, to determine how tree and urban landscape features affect nest-site selection and nest success. Mourning dove nests were located by systematically searching potential nest sites on a weekly basis from late-March through mid-September in 2003 and 2004. A total of 1,288 mourning dove nests were located and monitored on the Texas A&M University Campus. Of these nests, 337 (26.6%) were successful (fledged, ≥1). An equal number of potential nest sites were randomly generated in ArcGIS and assigned to non-nest trees to evaluate habitat variables associated with nest-site selection. Mourning dove nests were located in trees with a larger canopy diameter and diameter at breast height (DBH) than the computer generated potential nests and nest trees were located closer to roads and farther from buildings than non-nest trees. Within the study area, nest success was predominately influenced by the proximity of urban features with successful nests being located closer to roads and farther from buildings than unsuccessful nests.     

Teaching Note—Infusing Social Justice Into Doctoral Programs of Social Welfare: An Incremental Approach

This article describes an effort to further infuse social justice education into doctoral programs in social welfare. It articulates the rationale and tactical approaches for aligning mission statements with the operational realities of university contexts. Within 1 school of social work, doctoral students with diverse orientations to social justice came together to articulate a vision for social justice education that expanded the educational contract between students and the institution by enhancing their respective opportunities and responsibilities in the areas of scholarship, teaching, and service. This article shares 30 learning objectives emergent from an incremental change process for enhancing social justice education at the doctoral level and reflects on the strengths and limitations of this approach to advancing social justice priorities.     

El Miedo y El Hambre: Understanding the Familial,Social, and Educational Realities of Undocumented Latino Families in North Central Indiana

This study explored how different ecological factors, within and outside the family, affected the educational success of the children of undocumented families. The sample consisted of 63 immigrant Latino parents (40 families) who resided in North Central Indiana. This study utilized an ethnographic research design. Findings demonstrated that immigration laws were affecting the educational success of the children of undocumented families. Most parents expressed lack of familiarity of the American educational system and that they had culture and language barriers. Findings also demonstrated that undocumented families were adapting to their realities, as a result of the resiliency in their families and communities. Implications for practice and future research were provided.     

Hybrid Strategies: Allocating Involvement in the Digital Age

An important trait of mobile phones is their capacity to superimpose multiple social interactions in time and space. Little research examines how individuals choose between face‐to‐face and digitally mediated interactions in specific social contexts. Drawing upon focus group interviews with a diverse sample of university students in the United States, we argue that, contrary to a perspective that is popular in theory and journalistic commentary, mobile phone users do not experience the digital and the face‐to‐face as distinct realms. In deciding where to direct their attention, users enmesh the distant and the present, making moves that are expressive and strategic in their own right that reveal the interest, intimacy and urgency that users place in multiple, coinciding social involvements.     

The Role of Knowledge in Resource Allocation to Exploration versus Exploitation in Technologically Oriented Organizations*

Decisions regarding research and development (R&D) activities of an organization greatly affect the fiscal and market outcomes of technologically oriented firms. Yet, the resource allocation choices between these two activities are tied strongly to an organization's technology knowledge. Technological knowledge is itself a resource that the firm can manage to achieve strategic and competitive advantage. In this paper, the authors present a system dynamics view of the decomposition of R&D efforts into explorative and exploitive activities and the resultant knowledge‐specific and performance outcomes from the decision to focus on one type of activity or another. Four factors are shown to affect the relative value of innovative knowledge to the organization: resource availability, exogenous competition, aging of knowledge bases, and adaptive capacity, a firm's ability to adapt to its environment. A variety of long‐ and short‐term strategic issues are discussed in relation to these forces.