Each month, we select up to ten publications from those that have recently been entered into the Literature Database.

A year ago, there were approximately 6,800 citations in the Literature Database. As of November 2006, we now have over 8,050 citations.

Direct link to the Sloan Literature Update articles in the Literature Database.

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Jackson-Elmoore, C. (2005). Informing state policymakers: Opportunities for social workers. Social Work, 50(3), 251-261.
The author surveys 507 state legislators in twelve states to determine the sources used to inform the legislation progress. Ninety-seven percent of the respondents rank grassroots organizations as “somewhat or very important” sources of information. Grassroots organizations were ranked especially high by policymakers that believe their districts to contain a large proportion of poor or working-class people as well as those who believed they represented communities of color. Suggestions are given for social workers who want to inform policy, which may be useful to anyone interested in disseminating information to their state representatives.

Global Perspectives - Narushima, M. (2005). ‘Payback time’: Community volunteering among older adults as a transformative mechanism. Ageism & Society, 25, 567-584.
This paper explores the rate and experiences of older Canadian adults’ volunteer work through non-profit organizations. In phase one, the author selected twelve Toronto non-profit organizations (NPOs) and interviewed the organizations’ volunteer coordinators. In phase two, nine female and six male volunteers aged 55-93 were recruited for “life story” interviews. Findings indicate that NPOs that target older volunteers provide “people oriented” roles, make the volunteers highly visible and provide intensive pre-training and ongoing educational and social opportunities. The fifteen interviews demonstrate that volunteering helps older volunteers become active and committed community members, improving both their lives and the quality of life in their communities.

Petrzelka, P. & Mannon, S.E. (2006). Keepin’ this little town going: Gender and volunteerism in rural America. Gender & Society, 20(2), 236-258.
Greenfield, Iowa, is a rural Midwestern town that lost its economic base during the U.S. farm crisis of the 1980’s. The town has turned to rural tourism to cope with the crisis’s effects. The main tourism organization, the Greenfield Hospitality Association, is run primarily by female volunteers. The authors interviewed fifteen of the volunteers about why the majority of GHA volunteers were women, why they were involved with the Association, and why they continued to volunteer. Unlike past research on women who volunteer, findings indicate that the women of the GHA consider volunteer work to be women’s work, and rather than downplay their contributions, they express awareness of the importance of their volunteer work to the social and economic health of their community.

Rhomberg, C. & Simmons, L. (2005). Beyond strike support: Labor-community alliances and democratic power in New Haven. Labor Studies Journal, 30(3), 21-47.
This paper focuses on the case of the Connecticut Center for a New Economy, which is a labor-community partnership that includes the unions representing Yale University employees. The authors discuss the history of labor and community cooperation in New Haven and explain how CCNE was able to bring together low-income workers and residents to remake their community by linking them around issues such as jobs, housing and health care, providing an organizational focal point for the community, and enhancing the opportunities for public discourse.

Roos, P.A., Trigg, M.K. & Hartman, M.S. (2006). Changing families/changing communities: Work, family and community in transition. Community, Work and Family, 9(2), 197-224.
This report examines the changing definitions of “community” and “family” and the decisions regarding community service for managerial women in dual-earner marriages. The authors interviewed thirty-one women aged 30-52 working in information technology, financial services or pharmaceuticals with at least ten years of managerial experience, married to a working husband. Findings indicate that respondents have developed individual methods to address the issue of balancing work and family demands with their desire for community service. The article explores how the idea of “community service” has changed over the years and changes throughout women’s lives and suggests that workplaces implement policies that allow their workers to do “society’s work,” or volunteer work.

Global Perspectives - Siddiquee, A. & Kagan, C. (2006). The internet, empowerment, and identity: An exploration of participation by refugee women in a community internet project (CIP) in the United Kingdom (UK). Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 16, 189-206.
This research paper explores the relationship between the Internet, empowerment, identity, and participation among a group of refugee women in the UK partaking in a Community Internet Project (CIP) hosted by the Manchester Women’s Electronic Village Hall, a local community centre run by women for women. From a community psychology perspective, the study aims to understand the refugee women’s engagement with the Internet and its impact on their empowerment and identity. The authors draw on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with the course tutor and six refugee women from Eritrea, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia, and an observation session. The findings demonstrate how the women are able to reduce their isolation and anxieties, maintain links with their countries of origin, and increase their employment prospects through their participation in the CIP. The authors discuss the findings in relation to the theory of the social psychology of participation and call for further utility of digital technologies in community participatory processes within the contemporary technological climate. Annotated by Uracha Chatrakul Na Ayudhya, Doctoral Researcher, Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom.

Global Perspectives - Dey, I. (2006). Wearing out the work ethic: Population ageing, fertility and work-life balance. Journal of Social Policy, 35(4), 671-688.
The United Kingdom has a ten-year strategy in place to increase the female labor supply by implementing family-friendly policies such as extended parental leave, child care provision, and greater flexibility within the workplace. Some studies suggest that better work-family balance leads to stabilized or improved fertility rates, offsetting the aging population. However, the author explores other factors that may influence women’s desire to work outside of the home, such as domestic division of labor and the lack of consideration for unpaid work in the home, concluding that these factors must be considered in tandem with formal policies in order to successfully facilitate a family-friendly culture.

Iversen, R.R. & Armstrong, A.L. (2006). Jobs aren’t enough: Toward an economic mobility for low-income families. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Table of Contents: Are jobs enough for economic mobility? -- From the old to the new economic mobility -- The parents: their backgrounds, lives, and locations -- The children: their lives and worlds -- Workforce development: systems and networks -- Yesterday's firms and today's families: connects and disconnects with Michele Belliveau -- Children's schools, parents' work and policy: alignment and misalignment -- Jobs aren't enough: toward an agenda for family economic mobility.

Global Perspectives - Mihail, D.M. (2006). Women in management: Gender stereotypes and students’ attitudes in Greece. Women in Management Review,21(8), 681-689.

The author conducted a survey of 323 undergraduate business majors at the University of Macedonia in Greece on their attitudes towards women in management in an effort to explore negative stereotypes of female managers as a factor in the under-representation of women in corporate Greece. Findings indicate that male students hold negative stereotypes about women managers compared to their female counterparts, and that characteristics such as age, work experience, and working under a female supervisor had no significant difference on students’ attitudes.

Voydanoff, P. (2007). Work, family and community: Exploring interconnections. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Table of Contents: A conceptual model of work, family, and community -- Problems with the worker-earner role -- Within-domain work, family, and community demands -- Within-domain work, family, and community resources -- Boundary-spanning work, family, and community demands -- Boundary-spanning work, family, and community resources -- Work-family fit and balance as linking mechanisms -- A conceptualization of work-family fit and balance -- Directions for future research.