Welfare-to-Work Programs and the Dynamics of TANF Use

This study examines the effects of participation in Welfare-to-Work programs on the dynamics of TANF recipients’ welfare use. Using the Survey of Program Dynamics and the Welfare Rules Database, the study analyzes how participation in Human Capital Development and Labor Force Attachment programs affects the probabilities of TANF exit and re-entry, while holding the effects of the state economy and various TANF rules constant. The analyses reveal that LFA programs are not associated with a higher probability of TANF exit than HCD programs. Instead, TANF recipients’ employment status and the local labor market conditions are more important predictors of TANF exit. It also reveals that, for TANF leavers, severe poverty and economic insecurity are significantly related to their welfare recidivism.     

Understanding sadomasochism: an empirical examination of four perspectives

Three studies assessed current understandings of sadomasochism (SM). In Study 1 questionnaires testing four academic views of SM were administered to individuals who self-defined as involved in SM. The psychoanalytic, psychopathology/medical model, radical feminist and escape-from-self perspectives were not supported. Study 2 examined "virtual" sadomasochism as a source of information about sadomasochists in the real life world. Cluster analyses indicated that real-life and virtual sadomasochists share unique sexual proclivities. Study 3 examined an alternative view that identifies power as the commodity of importance in SM play. Content analysis of online SM encounters indicated that both "top" and "bottom" role-players used several specific techniques to create a power differential. These studies suggest that, contrary to many academic theories, power, and not the giving and receiving of pain, is at the core of SM.     

An exploration of mental health literacy among African American clergy

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore African American clergy's mental health literacy with older congregants 60 years of age and older. Using a grounded theory approach, we recruited a purposive sample of 9 African American clergy representing diverse ages, denominations, locales, and educational levels. Data was coded and classified according to Kevin's (1976) typology of pastoral counseling and Jorm et al.'s (1997) conceptual model of mental health literacy. Findings from data analysis revealed study respondents were adherents of Kevin's Religious-Community (R-C) model. Additionally, the following themes emerged: loss of cognitive functioning, psychosocial stressors, religiosity, and appreciation for professional assistance, cultural barriers, and key informants/familiarity with formal mental health providers which partially maps onto Jorm et al.'s conceptual model of mental health literacy.     

Examining the role of sense of community: Linking local government public relationships and community-building

This study examines the relationship between factors central to community building, including local government-public relationships, sense of community, positive Word-of-Mouth (WOM) toward community, and community participation. A national survey of U.S. respondents (n?=?447) was conducted through MTurk. The results indicate that the effects of local government-public relationships on positive WOM and community participation are mediated by individuals’ sense of community. This study advances the relationship-management scholarship by demonstrating that managing government-public relationships is ineffective in community-building when a sense of community is absent. In addition, the results of this study may benefit government public relations practitioners who are interested in public engagement.     

Differences in university students’ motivation between a required and an elective physical activity education policy

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine differences in students’ physical activity motivation, competence, and weekly exercise metabolic equivalent units (METs) between universities with different physical activity education (PAE) policy arrangements (ie, a required PAE vs. an elective PAE). Participants: Participants (N?=?953) were purposefully recruited from two universities with different PAE policies 1 week before the start of fall term 2015. Methods: Participants completed questionnaires assessing their physical activity motivation, competence, and weekly exercise METs. Results: The results of this study suggest that having a required PAE policy allows for more students with lower self-determined forms of motivation (ie, amotivation) to be reached in comparison to the elective PAE policy. Conclusions: This finding highlights that a primary value of having a required PAE policy is its ability to reach less motivated students.     

Global and Local Intersection of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics

The Olympics is not a space where the global and local are shown in two separate layers. It is where various sociopolitical conflicts of the hosting country bubble and surface from both levels. When the Olympic events were launched in East Asia they developed further in interaction with different cultural, political, and social backgrounds. This study pays attention to the diverse ways in which Olympic values are accepted and practiced. At the same time, it analyzes the perversion and limitations of Olympism ideals as displayed in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. This article focuses on specific changes that occurred in and around Korea along and after the PyeongChang Olympics and how the values of the global and local met without clashing with each other.     

An analysis pipeline for estimating true intake from repeated measurements with random errors

The accurate estimation of an individual's usual dietary intake is an important topic in nutritional epidemiology. This paper considers the best linear unbiased predictor (BLUP) computed from repeatedly measured dietary data and derives several nonparametric prediction intervals for true intake. However, the performance of the BLUP and the validity of prediction intervals depends on whether required model assumptions for the true intake estimation problem hold. To address this issue, the paper examines how the BLUP and prediction intervals behave in the case of a violation of model assumptions, and then proposes an analysis pipeline for checking them with data.     

Mental Health Conditions Among North Korean Female Refugee Victims of Sexual Violence

The study aims to examine the negative effects of sexual violence on North Korean (NK) female refugees in South Korea. Although the prevalence of sexual violence victimization is extremely high and mental health problems are serious among these refugees, little to no research has been done on the relationship between sexual violence and mental health among these women. The mental health conditions of two groups of women (sexual violence victims and those who have not experienced sexual violence) were compared using ANCOVA analyses. The results show that suicidal ideation and alcohol use are significantly more prevalent in the sexual violence group than in the non‐sexual violence group. The women who had experienced sexual violence in particular should be provided with more professional and sustained treatment and management services. The government must improve the effectiveness of existing policies related to suicide and the drinking culture in South Korea.