Women leadership in Oxford House: examining their strengths and challenges

This study examined the perspectives and definition of leadership by women and mothers with children (n = 40) affiliated with Oxford Houses, a communal mutual-help recovery setting. Participants were asked questions relating to their experiences living in an Oxford House including the strengths and challenges encountered and how leadership impacted the stability in their house. Results illustrated the value of female leadership and highlighted the characteristics deemed important for women leaders in Oxford House, as well as some differences between these women's perception of leadership and the standard definition of leadership. The implications of the findings and how they may be useful to women's and mothers' with children houses are discussed.     

Where Love Flies Free

SUMMARY

Several definitions of “home,” drawn from dozens provided by the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language underscore how a large urban county jail becomes many forms of home for the women detainees there. Drawing on the women's poetry and the mechanics of creative writing workshops facilitated by the author for the last seven years at Cook County Jail, this essay describes some of the realities of the criminal (injustice system and how the women's writing becomes a way of writing against the grain of official discourse, thus altering certain definitions of this “home.”     

Women's Leadership Programs in South Africa

SUMMARY

A central premise of this paper is that the training of women for leadership roles is a critical component of the development of communities as a whole. This was the central point of departure for a study that aimed to review women's leadership training programs in South Africa. This paper reports on this study in which 38 organizations from across the country participated. Three main data sources were used: Organizational materials, interviews and questionnaires. The analysis examined the following key features: Motivation for leadership training, approaches to leadership, understandings of gender difference, training techniques and strategies and outcomes. The findings revealed trends that may have implications for best practice frameworks in interventions targeted at leadership, gender and development.     

A Research Revolution in Women's Health

SUMMARY

Women's health research initiatives are emerging with evidence that there are unique diagnosis and intervention factors that provide a window into the specific health needs of women. The evidence of the need for this gender-specific research is being spurred by the establishment of The Office of Research on Women's Health by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A review of some of the more current and salient research findings that apply to women's health and the health needs of women in different lifestyles, at different stages of the life cycle is discussed. Also considered are women's roles in the health service delivery system and where they fit into the provision of services within the context of women's styles of accessing and using health care. Self-help and other support programs will be described as they apply specifically to women and a case will be made for providing comprehensive, multi-systemic women's health services in one facility at the community level through an overview of some of the more current and successful models.     

Chapter 1

Abstract

In this paper, we review the result of research conducted in the context of a 13-year collaborative partnership between DePaul University and a community-based, self-run, residential substance abuse recovery program called Oxford House. This collaborative effort highlights several examples of the research and action activities fostering a positive alliance that benefited both the research team and the Oxford House community. It also proposed practical guidelines for developing effective action research collaboratives that may be helpful to others who desire to cultivate and maintain similar mutually beneficial partnerships; including such processes as the development of trust, respecting the personal experiences of the community members and group, commitment to serving the community, validating findings with organization members, and accountability.     

Women's Political Participation in China: in whose interests elections?

This article takes up the issue of women's political participation in village committees in China. Of interest is the decline in and continuing low level of women's political participation in village governance structures in the reform period, and particularly following the widespread introduction of competitive village elections since 1988. The dominant explanation given for women's numerical under-representation in village committees, and in politics more generally, focuses on women's lack of self-confidence, which inhibits them from standing as candidates, and on the enduring drag of ‘feudal’ attitudes, which construct women as inferior to men, and therefore not capable of leadership. These two factors combined have in turn a material effect, as son-preference advantages boys in access to basic schooling, who thus, particularly in poorer rural areas, end up with higher levels of education, and greater opportunities in waged employment. The common solution adopted by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), China's largest women's organisation, lies in a two-pronged attack: first in the ideological realm, targeting men and women's sexist attitudes and concomitantly promoting a discourse of equality, and second, in the material realm by raising women's skills. It is argued here that this dominant text on women's under-representation in village committees masks a more complex conjuncture of variables that shape women's position in local politics. Social practices, economic structures, institutional norms and procedures, and political culture all prey on, revitalise and reproduce gendered notions of the appropriate place of women and men in political life.     

Chapter 7

Abstract

This study investigated ethnic and gender differences in reported resource losses and gains for recovering substance abusers living in Oxford Houses (OH). Participants (n= 829) completed a version of Hobfoll's (1998) Conservation of Resources (COR) Evaluation. Results indicated significant individual differences in resources, based on gender, ethnicity, and the length of OH residential stay. Men reported fewer resource gains and losses than women. With respect to ethnicity, African-Americans reported greater gains and losses in resources than European-Americans. Individuals with less time in an OH also reported having experienced more losses in the past three months.     

Child and Parent Perspectives on Routes to and from School in High Crime Neighborhoods

Abstract

This study examined children's understanding of the danger and potential harm they face while traveling to and from school in two urban neighborhoods with high crime and violence rates. A qualitative methodology was used to explore how students negotiate danger or potential harm within the context of their routes to and from school.Structured interviews with three hundred seventy-seven second, fourth, sixth, and eighth graders (and 106 of their parents) were analyzed utilizing an inductive coding process (emergent themes). When students were asked to discuss the safety of their school routes, emergent themes included student's fear/awareness of death, fear of violence/victimization, and fear of gangs. Students also mentioned getting driven to school and better monitoring as ways that their school routes could be made safer. Parents discussed similar fears and concerns as their children. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Married Women's Rights to Land in China's Traditional Farming Areas

Women's land rights are one of the major issues of the rural land contract in contemporary China. Married women in relatively developed rural areas and under marriage misfortune have elicited much academic and public attention. However, less attention has been devoted to studying married women in traditional farming areas where they are still relatively poor. This paper focuses on women's land rights in their maiden village in traditional farming areas, and shows, based on an analysis of a case study combined with a questionnaire survey, that married women's land rights tend to be retained in their parent village with the implementation of new policy and land contract laws, but that they have almost no rights in their maiden families after marriage, due to the influence of traditional marriage notions and customs. Given the situation of the political and legal framework, it is necessary to further probe, by reviewing past practice and experience, how to ensure women's rights through restricted and specific land readjustment, which may be a realistic and valid approach.     

The role of Title IV-E education and training in child protection workforce diversification

ABSTRACT

Educating, training, and diversifying the workforce are strategies that may help reduce racial/ethnic disparities that plague child protection system (CPS). Title IV-E education and training programs support the development of a specially trained, highly skilled workforce; yet, little research examining their impact on workforce diversification exists. The current study assessed the relationship between Title IV-E education and training and workforce diversity and leadership in a state system that is plagued with racial disparities using data from a statewide child welfare survey (n = 679) and existing population-level sources. Findings revealed that while children of color were disproportionately overrepresented in the CPS, professionals of color were disproportionately underrepresented (as compared to the state’s overall population and the population of children served within CPS). Title IV-E education and training programs were associated with both child protection workforce diversity and CPS leadership roles. Implications for recruitment, retention, education, and partnership are discussed.     

The methodological and conceptual basis of environmental policies for children

Abstract

The literature on environmental effects on children is pervaded by value‐laden statements. This article stresses careful examination of the factual basis of such statements. Selected research findings on children's health, play behavior, social interactions, and school behavior indicate a need for environmental policies for children. This need is further augmented by children's characteristics regarding their level of development, their decision‐making authority, and their economic position. Four approaches to child‐environment congruence are distinguished. A fable then underscores the importance of basing environmental policies for children on a certain and integral conception of how children's development over time relates to the environment. Space‐time methodology is discussed as one such framework, elucidating contexual considerations that surround research and policies regarding children's environments.     

Chapter 5

Abstract

The present study used archival data to examine the differential growth among self-governed substance abuse recovery homes for men (N = 443) and women (N = 125). The number of these homes increased dramatically across the U.S. from 1988-1999 when state loan funds were made available to states and technical assistance was utilized by organizations developing the houses. State loan programs and the utilization of technical assistance, however, had the strongest impact on the expansion of women's houses compared to men's houses. The implications of these findings in relation to the scarcity of recovery options for women are discussed.     

Welfare Reform and Women's Health

SUMMARY

The WCHPC studied the extent of collaboration between state women's health officials and TANF officials with respect to programs that affect the health and well-being of poor women. The kinds and extent of monitoring activities designed to gather information on the health status of this population were also examined. Great unevenness across states was revealed for both collaboration and monitoring. State-level interest in improving both was assessed, barriers to improvement were identified, and recommendations for steps forward were solicited.     

How HIV-Positive Aboriginal Women (PAW) Talk About Their Mothering Experiences With Child and Family Services in Ontario

Aboriginal families are disproportionately involved with Children's Aid Societies (or CAS), which is of concern given the history of colonization, assimilation, and child welfare policies that fail to recognize Indigenous practices within Canada. There is no historical data regarding HIV-positive Aboriginal women's (PAW) experiences and interactions with the child welfare system, despite a high degree of HIV-related stigma and discrimination by CAS staff coupled with lack of HIV knowledge and sensitivity to provide culturally appropriate care to PAW and their children. This article is relevant to local and international child welfare practices, and specifically to CAS agencies across Ontario.     

Moral Dilemmas of Community Leaders and Sense of Community

Abstract

This paper draws on Kohlberg's tiieory of moral development, and on an empirical research conducted with leaders (two women, two men) in Venezuelan urban working-class communities. The leaders were repeatedly interviewed during a two-year period, about their experiences leading their communities. Those narratives were analyzed and discussed with them. Based on these grounds, two interrelated products were constructed: (1) Three moral dilemmas to be used in educational discussions with community leaders such as members of organized community groups; civic volunteers, officers from non-governmental organizations working with communities, and (2) A developmental approach to the sense of community in urban working-class communities. Finally, it argues about the need of balancing the current approaches of moral development, through a stronger emphasis on the community dimensions of that sense and its consequences on leadership.     

How Fathers Respond When Their Youth Leave and Return Home

Abstract

Few social scientists have examined the impact that adult children's leaving and returning home have upon fathers and their family relationships. In a sample of 325 fathers in Indiana and Michigan, 41% reported some stress as negative/disturbed reactions about a child's leaving home. These reactions were much greater than some earlier studies have shown. Overall, (as explained by the A-B-C-X Model of Stress) the fathers' definition of their situation was the factor most related to the fathers' negative feelings about their child's leaving home, to their related psychosomatic complaints and their lower sense of well-being. It was not related, however, to fathers' satisfaction with their family life. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Why Develop and Support Women's Organizations in Providing Legal Aid in China? Women's rights,women's organizations and legal aid in China

This article argues that women's organizations are central to legal aid for women in China. Chinese women would benefit if more women's legal aid organizations were developed and supported. There are currently too few such organizations, especially in rural areas. Their work challenges the public legal aid programme to develop a rights-based legal aid agenda to achieve greater gender equality through the protection of women's rights. They bring diverse women's perspectives which counter prevailing traditional patriarchal attitudes and male dominance in Chinese society. The emergence of autonomous women's organizations is also important because it helped to break the monopoly of the All China Women's Federation over women's perspectives, identities and interests in China. The article concludes that the competitive yet collaborative relationship between autonomous women's legal aid organizations and the All China Women's Federation is producing a definite and positive impact on gender equality through legal reform.     

A Case Study on the Settlement of Rural Women affected by Land Requisitioning in China

Urbanization is an apparent and important dimension of modernization in China. One of the main problems in China's urbanization process is the migration of farmers from the agricultural sector to the non-agricultural sector and the concurrent conversion of agricultural lands to non-agricultural usage. According to current practice, the conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural use is carried out by the state through land requisitioning. In the past ten years, China's urbanization in the name of ‘economic development zones’ has resulted in extensive requisitioning of agricultural land. Millions of villagers have lost their land and left farming, seeking new employment in non-agricultural activities to sustain them. This study investigates the impact of land requisitioning on rural women's living, focusing on women's employment, training and settlement.

The study did not find evidence of discrimination against women in land requisitioning and settlement arrangements with regard to both the policy design and implementation. However, rural women are disadvantaged in attending education and training as compared with men even before land requisitioning. After their land is requisitioned, women also participate less in education and training, have a lower rate of success in finding jobs and are less likely to be self-employed than men. This has some negative impacts on their livelihoods. One policy implication of this study is: on the basis of relatively full compensation, the government should set up or entrust a special agency to promote skills training of the affected rural women, assist them with employment guidance and relevant information, and enhance their competitiveness in the job market.