What COVID‐19 could mean for the future of “work from home”: The provocations of three women in the academy

The COVID‐19 pandemic saw academic labor rapidly shift into domestic spaces at the same time as households were “locked down.” In this article, we offer an exploration of our own experiences of working from home as women and mothers in the academy. Inspired by feminist approaches to knowledge production and self‐reflection, we each developed a personal reflective narrative guided by three key questions centered on our experiences of working from home pre‐ and during the COVID‐19 pandemic, and what this may mean for the future of our work. We then collectively analyzed how our personal stories reflected different dimensions of the experience of working from home, and our fears and hopes for the future. We present three distilled themes from our collective experiences here with the aim of entering a dialog with others seeking to live feminist lives during this time, and beyond.     

Exposure to violent conflict and environmental conservation behaviors in the northern Democratic Republic of Congo

Population and Environment - The vast majority of conflicts in Africa occur in biodiversity hotspots, threatening efforts to conserve protected natural environments and endangered species. This...     

From solidarity to division: An analysis of Lech Wałęsa's transition to constituted leadership

This essay analyzes the capacity and constraints of authority in the contexts of constituted vs. non-constituted leadership. Using the experience of Lech Wa??sa's transition from the leader of the Solidarity social movement to the president of Poland as a case study, this article evaluates the portability of leadership skills and informal authority to the changing operational context of constituted leadership. It argues that the constraints of formal authority are significantly higher than those imposed on non-constituted leaders. As a result, while constituted leaders may have greater resources available to broadcast power, the allocation of these resources entails higher expectation for their custodians. This analysis concludes that a successful transition from non-constituted to constituted leadership is possible only when the leader manages to build new bases of informal authority. Wa??sa failed to expand his informal authority and was unsuccessful at transferring his leadership skills to the presidency.     

Changes in Objective and Self-Reported Measures of Physical Capacity After an Intervention in Obese Older Women

The aim of this study was to determine if objective and self-reported measures of physical capacity are two equivalent methods to detect changes following an intervention in obese older women. 36 obese women aged between 55 and 75 years participated in a 3-month study with the aim of improving physical capacity by caloric restriction and/or resistance training. Physical capacity was measured objectively with 10 different tests and self-reported with the SF-36 physical functioning score (SF-36 PF score). Then the performance-to-objective tests were computed using quartiles to provide a baseline global physical capacity score. The mean percentage of change of the 10 tests as well as the SF-36 PF score were also calculated after the study. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray (DXA) absorptiometry. The baseline global physical capacity score and the SF-36 PF score were significantly correlated at baseline (r = 0.43; P < 0.01). Eight out of the 10 objective tests of physical capacity improved after the intervention, while no improvement was observed for the SF-36 PF score. On average, percentage of change in physical capacity was 4.1 ± 5.9% for the SF-36 PF score and 11.1 ± 2.9% for the objective measures. However, no significant correlation was observed between percentage of changes between the two approaches after the intervention (r = 0.32; P = 0.07). Based on these results, the method used to quantify physical capacity after an intervention may have major implications on the outcomes. The methods used should be carefully analyzed in regard to the objective of the study.     

Family engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic: Opportunities and challenges for school social work

The COVID-19 pandemic brought dramatic changes in schooling in the United States and across the world, including abrupt shifts to remote learning, immediate cessation of social contact, intensive family engagement in education and diminished school capacity for social–emotional supports. While the initial national lockdown was temporary, the long-lasting effects of the pandemic on society are still being revealed. This study contributes to a growing body of research exploring and documenting shifts in school social work practice in the United States during the COVID era. We used qualitative methods to explore how school social workers (SSWers) practised family engagement during the pandemic and their perceptions of the benefits and challenges of increased family engagement. Analysis of interviews with 20 SSWers from three US states (Colorado, Minnesota and Nevada) revealed five primary themes: reasons for family engagement, ways of engaging with families, frequency of family contact, challenges in engaging families and SSWers' attitudes and perceptions about family engagement. Results indicated a need for a comprehensive, organized and strategic family engagement plan in schools as we move into the post-acute phases of the pandemic. Future research should explore how SSWers may serve as leaders in the development of such plans and how interprofessional practice might advance this agenda further.     

Race and Interactions on Public Transportation: Social Cohesion and the Production of Common Norms and a Collective Black Identity

In this article, I examine interactions on public transportation in order to assess social cohesion among members of the same race. Contrary to the prevailing view of social cohesion in urban places, I find that individuals in poor, black areas demonstrate more social cohesion than individuals in more affluent, white areas. This cohesion is meaningful as it plays a role in the production of common notions of a particular black reality and collective black identity, and that it serves a normative function in defining appropriate behaviors. I use Goffman's idea of civil inattention as a heuristic for studying social cohesion.     

Transportation between Globalization and Localization

This paper positions transport at the edge of localization and globalization forces. Drastic changes in industrial organization, transportation systems, trade patterns and environmental quality conditions make the transport and communication sector an internally contrasting and disputed activity with many pros and cons, which are reflected in serious dilemmas and policy uncertainties, at different levels of governance. In order to cope with long-range uncertainties the use of scenarios analysis is advocated. The paper then develops three scenarios and analyses them by using the recently developed spider model. The paper is concluded with some policy lessons.     

Change for the BEST: Family Changes for Parents Coping with Youth Substance Abuse

This paper reports family changes for participants in a program for parents coping with youth substance abuse. The Behavioural Exchange Systems Training (BEST) program is a professionally‐led, parent training intervention. During 1996 and 1997, six groups of parents participated in the program. High levels of depression were observed at intake, and symptoms demonstrated a stable reduction in association with exposure to the program. Parents tended to achieve success in developing common strategies for assertively managing family problems, though couples from more complex blended families found this more difficult. Adolescent improvements were noted during the weeks observed. A two‐year follow‐up conducted with a subset of families revealed that parents continued to report that the intervention had helped them cope with youth drug abuse.     

Psychological Flexibility as a Framework for Understanding and Improving Family Reintegration Following Military Deployment

Postdeployment reintegration may present an exceptional challenge to service members and their families; yet, overcoming this challenge seems to strengthen family relationships through a shared sense of purpose. Navigating family reintegration may be an important determinant of long‐term psychological well‐being. If the needs of military families are to be answered effectively, it is of critical importance to identify the skills that facilitate positive reintegration following deployment. This article proposes psychological flexibility as a group of interrelated skills that could be directly intervened on to facilitate not only resilience but also positive growth and development. This paper focuses on the conceptualization of family reintegration in terms of psychological flexibility, including common deficits observed in this population and potential goals of treatment. Video Abstract