Selling Dreams and Buying Hope

Abstract

This paper discusses the deceptive practices of unqualified immigration counselors and the prospects for community-based organizing and peer education as a means of steering potential victims away from such practices. Although legislators have recently begun to pay attention to the potential for unqualified counselors to exploit the vulnerability of immigrants, non-citizens continue to fall prey to the inviting and perceived cultural legitimacy of their solicitation practices. Action research in the Chicago metropolitan area reveals the challenges faced by community-based organizations in providing a viable alternative to such practices.     

Toward a Critical Social Theory of Youth Empowerment

SUMMARY

This article contributes to the development of a critical social theory of youth empowerment which emphasizes collective efforts to create sociopolitical change. It draws upon analysis of four youth empowerment models, and upon findings from a participatory research study which identified key dimensions of critical youth empowerment: (1) a welcoming, safe environment, (2) meaningful participation and engagement, (3) equitable power-sharing between youth and adults, (4) engagement in critical reflection on interpersonal and sociopolitical processes, (5) participation in sociopolitical processes to affect change, and (6) integrated individual- and community-level empowerment. It concludes with discussion of the measurement of outcomes, and the challenges and opportunities for empowerment in youth organization.     

Youth-Adult Partnership in Community Organizing

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of a campaign developed around sexuality education policy by a national youth-focused organization, Advocates for Youth, and its network of youth activists. The paper provides an overview of the national sexuality education debate and the specific strategies youth and adults use in partnership to advocate for a comprehensive approach to the education. The case study of the My Voice Counts!Campaign provides insight into the creation and evolution of a youth-adult partnership approach to community organizing, beginning with an online activism campaign and resulting in local youth-led projects to improve sex education policies and curricula. Following an analysis of the Campaign's accomplishments, the paper lays out recommendations for action and research to demonstrate the positive effects of this form of community practice.     

Teaching Successful Community Practice in Social Work

ABSTRACT

This article identifies and addresses a severe problem in the management of community practice projects of students in their second and third year in the Undergraduate Social Work program at the University of Haifa School of Social Work; namely, the current binary evaluation method based on total success or failure of the project.

Using a systems approach, this study creates a framework by which to ensure effective and positive outcomes for community practice projects carried out by undergraduate social work students (Freund, Arkin & Saltman, 1999). This framework is unique in that it draws on knowledge gained from organizational and community theories, as well as instructional theories for teaching social work practice.

The proposed framework includes three components that describe the factors necessary to help transform the student's learning experience: the organization's characteristics, the student's resources, and the evaluative measures.

This inter-conceptual approach enhances the ability of the instructor, the student, and the organization to build an appropriate organizational foundation for students operating communal programs. The underlying assumption is that an integrative approach promotes a better understanding of the components essential for building and evaluating social plans conducted by social work students.     

The Organizational Context of Faith-Based Community Organizing: Effects on Member Civic Engagement

This article explores the congregation as a conduit for civic engagement. Specifically examined are the effects of participation in congregations engaged in faith-based community organizing (FBCO). Civic engagement is examined by comparing FBCO-affiliated congregation members to non-FBCO-affiliated congregation members, local school participants, neighborhood association members, and those without such affiliations. Findings reveal that those engaged in FBCO evidence higher rates of civic engagement than members of the other groups. Implications for the field and future study are discussed.     

Autonomous Youth? Independence and Precariousness in the Indonesian Underground Music Scene

Indonesia boasts a thriving underground music scene that has become an important element in the identity practices of many urban youth. For dedicated ‘scenesters’, the underground is more than a personal expression of style; it is a way of life, and often a way to make a living. I draw on the concept of ‘precarity’ to examine the underground value of independence (kemandirian) in the context of the precarious position of urban youth in neoliberal Indonesia. The identities and practices of the underground scene are both a reaction against and a reflection of this experience. Scenesters draw on their underground identities, and the autonomous community networks they have established, in order to assert their independence from the demands of capital. However, they also mobilise this independence as the basis for their own entrepreneurial activities, resulting in a nascent tendency towards capital accumulation and class polarisation within the scene.     

Habitus,Practice and Agency of Young East Timorese Asylum Seekers in Australia

This article explores the process of agency and empowerment through a case study of a group of young East Timorese asylum seekers who arrived in Australia during the 1990s. Using Bourdieu's concept of habitus and his theory of practice, the article considers how the asylum seekers dealt with the challenges of exile and adjusted to Australian society. In addition to the difficulties asylum seekers normally face in exile, such as limited financial and social support and coping with trauma and loss, the East Timorese who arrived during the 1990s faced particular challenges due to the Australian Government's treatment of their cases. The article argues that, despite their vulnerable and liminal position, the asylum seekers were not just passive victims. On the contrary, they were active agents who through practice, consciously or unconsciously, dealt with their liminal situation. Their power to act was positively affected by their young age upon arrival.     

论《新青年》杂志促成“文学革命”之功

五四“文学革命”在《新青年》杂志酝酿、萌发、壮大,并最终取得胜利,得益于其强大的传媒鼓动和社会召集作用。它具体表现在：巧妙的编辑策略引发了“文学革命”的话题;文艺栏与编读互动栏目的成功设置推进了文学创作实践;独特的运作机制与营销模式有效地扩大了“文学革命”的社会影响。     

论“五·四”时期的翻译

晚清以来的翻译至《新青年》得以转变。《新青年》的翻译,经过了陈独秀、胡适、周氏兄弟三个阶段,奠定了中国现代翻译的格局。《新青年》之后,《新潮》《小说月报》继续了《新青年》的翻译事业,也体现了《新青年》内部的不同走向,大体来说,《新潮》较多承续胡适的思路,茅盾的《小说月报》较多发展周氏兄弟的路径。     

“新国家主义”与九一八事变后陈启天的抗日救国主张

1923年底陈启天揭櫫"新国家主义"的要旨在于建构国民对国家的政治认同,把中国建设成为现代民族国家。围绕这一主旨,陈启天一直倾力于建构国家主义理论与从事国家主义运动,成为中国青年党的要角。九一八事变爆发后,陈启天对日主张作战;对内要求停止党争、取消"党治"以共赴国难;主张"抗日不忘铲共",批判国民性以指导"国民救亡运动"。其抗日救国主张是延续和发展"新国家主义"的逻辑结果,不免意识形态之囿限。