The Role of the Government in Addressing Social Issues in India: The Perceptions of Indian Undergraduate and Graduate Social Work Students

Using a convenience sample of 318 undergraduate and graduate social work students (193 women and 125 men) from a public university in India, this study examined the differences between Indian social work students' perceptions toward the role of government in addressing social issues in India. Using Predictive Analytics Software (PASW) 18, several statistical procedures were conducted to analyze the relationship between social work students' demographic variables and their perceptions of the government's role in addressing social issues in India. The results indicated that older social work students were more likely to perceive that the government should ensure equal opportunities for citizens. Female social work students were more likely to perceive that the government should ensure housing for citizens. BSW students were more likely to perceive that the government should ensure employment of citizens. Macro social work students were more likely to perceive that the government should ensure equal opportunities, housing, food, employment, and health insurance for citizens. The findings of this study may help social work educational administrators and faculty in India to develop a curriculum that provides social work students with the opportunity to critically examine the complex relationship between age, gender, marital status, number of children, socioeconomic status, educational status, area of concentration, and the role of the government in addressing social issues. Doing so will prepare social work students and professionals to think and engage in a manner that will allow them to challenge and advocate for a change to the status quo.     

Urban and agricultural soils: conflicts and trade-offs in the optimization of ecosystem services

On-going human population growth and changing patterns of resource consumption are increasing global demand for ecosystem services, many of which are provided by soils. Some of these ecosystem services are linearly related to the surface area of pervious soil, whereas others show non-linear relationships, making ecosystem service optimization a complex task. As limited land availability creates conflicting demands among various types of land use, a central challenge is how to weigh these conflicting interests and how to achieve the best solutions possible from a perspective of sustainable societal development. These conflicting interests become most apparent in soils that are the most heavily used by humans for specific purposes: urban soils used for green spaces, housing, and other infrastructure and agricultural soils for producing food, fibres and biofuels. We argue that, despite their seemingly divergent uses of land, agricultural and urban soils share common features with regards to interactions between ecosystem services, and that the trade-offs associated with decision-making, while scale- and context-dependent, can be surprisingly similar between the two systems. We propose that the trade-offs within land use types and their soil-related ecosystems services are often disproportional, and quantifying these will enable ecologists and soil scientists to help policy makers optimizing management decisions when confronted with demands for multiple services under limited land availability.     

Social-ecological research in urban natural areas: an emergent process for integration

Urban Ecosystems - Understanding the structure and function of urban landscapes requires integrating social and ecological research. Here, we integrate parallel social and ecological assessments of...     

The Role of Public Confessions in Show Trials: An Analysis of the Moscow Show Trials

Authority figures may organize show trials featuring public confessions when they are faced with deep rooted contradictions within the social order and want to increase their legitimacy, delegitimize defendants, and justify increased social control in society. An analysis of the court report of the Moscow Show Trials found that these public confessions frame conflicts rooted in contradictions within the social order as acts of deviance that can be resolved with additional social control. The public confessions accomplished this using four main themes: establishing credibility, labeling the defendants as deviant, endorsing the power holder, and demonstrating closure.     

Hogging the road

This essay examines how aesthetic, corporate and cultural formations have radically altered. motorcycling and its image over the past two decades as a means to highlight more general changes in cultural politics, citizenship and governing through culture. The essay begins with the Guggenheim's The Art of the Motorcycle exhibit, treated. as a means for shaping and governing thought and conduct about and on motorcycles. The essay then addresses numerous articulations between aesthetic criteria and economic practices that have benefited. corporate and professional entities at the expense of long-time motorcyclists. Lastly, the essay formulates genealogical criteria for assessing attempts to represent culture in the hopes of more actively engaging in struggles over not just representation, but the activation of modes of thought, conduct and citizenship.     

Measuring stakeholder identification with nonprofit causes: the development and validation of the identification with social causes scale

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) achieve desired outcomes by fostering organizational identification. However, little research has explored how identification with the cause or the recipients of support relates to identification with the NPO. This study developed the Identification with Social Causes Scale as a mechanism for distinguishing organizational identification from identification with a social group or cause. Data were collected using two groups: the homeless (n = 318) and HIV positive (n = 314) individuals. Exploratory factor analysis and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis yielded a 9-item scale measuring two dimensions: attachment and consubstantiality. Initial construct validity of the scale was established.     

A case study

The relationship between social isolation and mental illness has given rise to several hypotheses, particularly those of the “drift” and “breeder” type. The present study is concerned with the relationship between separation from family and admission to a psychiatric hospital, and explores some aspects (area of admission, type of accommodation, readmission, diagnosis and age) of this relationship. Some implications for preventive planning are drawn from the findings.