Editorial

This initial report details the origin, development, and “charter residents” of the new ElderSpirit Community, a resident-managed elder-only cohousing community focusing on mutual support and affordable housing. The 33 resident sample was white, 79% female, averaged 70.4 years of age (range = 63 to 84 years), and was more likely to be childless and/or divorced/never married compared to the general older population. Mutual support was significant in choosing the ElderSpirit Community, and this case demonstrates that elders can proactively choose this new option: living intentionally with neighbors to provide an added layer of support. The ElderSpirit Community is important given the caregiver shortage and desire for nursing home alternatives.     

Schools of Social Work Contribution to Community Partnerships: The Renewal of the Social Compact in Higher Education

ABSTRACT

Embracing the concept that the social compact between university and community can provide a cornerstone for true social change. This article details how partnering with outside organizations in collaborative relationships can help fulfill higher education's obligation to educate for the good of a democratic and learned populace. Often the social conscience of a university, schools of social work can serve as leaders in the development or facilitation of university and community partnerships to address or intervene in areas of social need. One research institution of higher education provides successful examples.     

Children's Psychological Response to Parental Victimization

Abstract

This study found that African American children, 6 through 12 years of age, whose parents had been victims of community violence (i.e., gunshot or stabbing) experienced distress symptoms differently, depending on their gender. In the authors' previous work (Dulmus & Wodarski, 2000), children, age 6-12, whose parents were victims of community violence (e.g., gunshot, stabbing), and whose victimization the children did not witness, were found to be experiencing distress symptoms related to their parents' victimization. The purpose of this current study was to do further analysis to examine children's psychological response to parental victimization by gender. Results indicated that all children in the study were experiencing symptoms in the borderline clinical range as measured by the total score on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), with females having a mean score of 39.5 and males having a mean score of 38. The differences that were found by gender were in children's expression of symptoms; with females experiencing more internalizing symptoms (i.e., withdrawn, somatic complaints, anxiety, depression) and males experiencing more externalizing symptoms (i.e., aggression, delinquent behaviors). Such results support feminist theory, which suggests that girls and boys respond differently to stimuli because of gender differences related to socialization. Such distinctions may be clinically useful when choosing approaches to behavioral interventions.     

Violence Against the Young: The New Urban Challenges

This article examines the recent deaths of Chicago Public School students. It focuses on the school year between September 2006 and June 2007. At least 30 individuals were killed during that interval. In this school year, the homicides continue at about the same pace. Although violence within the schools had declined and violence (including homicides) was at a lower rate for the city of Chicago, some communities remained vulnerable to this threat. Neighborhood characteristics seem to be contributing factors, but family dynamics and an individual's life style comes into play. The person in the environment that we draw upon in social work has limitations, given new urban problems.     

关于处理农村社区建设中若干矛盾的思考

社会转型时期的经济利益调整势必引发一些社会矛盾,尤其在农村社区基层,处理好社会矛盾关系着社会的和谐稳定和经济的健康可持续发展.必须牢固树立稳定压倒一切的大局观念,建立健全快速及时有效的处置机制,注重发挥党员干部队伍的堡垒作用和新闻媒介的导向作用,同时注重综合协调各种利益,完善公共服务,加强民生建设做好法律知识宣传,营造良好氛围,打造和谐农村.     

Subethnic interpersonal dynamic in diasporic community: a study on Chinese immigrants in Vancouver

ABSTRACT

Ethnicity is a social construct that can be conceptualised as a social classification delineating certain boundaries between an ethnic group and the dominant group. Members of an ethnic group are assumed to share similar cultural characteristics and to be homogenous among themselves. Many studies in ethnic organisations have indicated that subethnicity also exists within an ethnic group, but research on subethnicity is scant. Based on the findings of an exploratory study conducted in Vancouver, Canada, we examined how, at an interpersonal level, place of origin, language, mutual bias and discrimination and transnational politics divide the Chinese diasporic community subethnically. Meanwhile, being Chinese in the Canadian context and willingness to break the subethnic boundaries are noted as counterforces to the subethnic divide. We contend that interpersonal interaction is an imperative dimension for the understanding of the shaping of boundary between different subethnic groups.     

Domesticating technology for shared success: collective enactments of World of Warcraft

In this paper, we analyse processes of domestication as collective enactments, using online game playing of World of Warcraft as a case. We study how groups of players – guilds – develop practices and sense-making with respect to the technologies they use in their shared endeavours in raids to battle monsters. Previous studies of domestication have mainly focused on single-actor strategies and relatively little attention have been given to the impact of concerns for particular domestication outcomes, for example in competitive situations or with goals related to efficiency. This paper contributes to domestication theory by analysing what we call collective domestication in a performance-oriented setting, to see how domestication may produce compatible outcomes for individuals that need to act together. The paper is based on a one-year participant observation and qualitative interviews with players. Three types of players were identified – hardcore, casual and moderate – representing three rationales of play: a high level of performance, social benefits, or a combination of the first two. In the analysis, we compare how these three types of player groups’ domesticated the game. A main finding is that collective enactments of technology need extensive managerial efforts unless the group share a coherent and uncontested rationale for playing, thus being a moral community.     

Social epidemiologic comparisons in a European cohort of substance-dependent therapeutic community clients: a case-oriented analysis

A case-oriented analytical approach compared the index national case of France with the typical European outcome, other European cases and American results on social epidemiological indicators. Modal distributions were found to be most similar between the French sample and the total European sample on most social network items in a European therapeutic community cohort ( n =723). The characteristics of the American and our sample were also found to be strikingly similar. Network size varies mainly with the number of substance-dependent contacts reported by the client. Southern European clients have been living with their parents while northern clients have been living alone. Spending most of the time with drug-using friends is not related to developing intimate relationships and a counterbalance to a situation of peer loneliness. The importance of looking at the function of social network relations in risk networks in harmonising European policy is emphasised.     

Implementing Multidisciplinary Wellness Programs in Subsidized Housing: University–Community Partnerships

University–community partnerships (UCPs) are an important avenue for providing wellness services to seniors in subsidized housing, but there is sparse literature on this topic. The goals of this article are to (a) describe our UCP, which was unique in involving ethnically diverse older adults, and (b) discuss findings of an integrative literature review of UCP examples in subsidized housing. Results showed that UCPs typically received funding for program development and implementation; used multidisciplinary approaches to needs assessment and programming; and reported positive outcomes such as improvement in self-rated health or participant endorsements. This article provides insights and guidance for future UCPs that are much needed in subsidized housing.