Predictors of Homelessness Among Street Living Youth

While few studies have identified predictors of exiting homelessness among adults, even fewer studies have attempted to identify these predictors among homeless youth. The current study explored predictors of change in homelessness among 180 homeless youth between the ages of 14 and 22, recruited through an urban drop-in center. All youth were assessed at baseline, 3 and 6 months. The sample included 118 males and the reported ethnicity included Latino (n = 54), Anglo (n = 73), Native American (n = 24), African American (n = 6) and mixed ethnicity or “other” (n = 23). Four distinct patterns of change in homelessness were identified among youth which included those who (1) had fairly low rates of homelessness at each follow-up point, (2) started in the mid-range of homelessness, increased at 3 months and sharply declined at 6-months (MHL), (3) reported high rates of homelessness at baseline and low rates at each follow-up point (HLL), and finally, (4) remained consistently homeless across time (HMH). These patterns of change were most strongly predicted by social connections and engagement in HIV risk behaviors. The findings from this study suggest that developing trust and linkages between homeless youth and service providers may be a more powerful immediate target of intervention than targeting child abuse issues, substance use and mental health problems.

Financing the United Nations: Explaining variation in how donors provide funding to the UN

When donors contemplate providing financial support to United Nations institutions they encounter a menu of funding options. Some UN institutions require mandatory dues, but most rely substantially on voluntary contributions, which donors can choose to earmark for specific purposes. How donors provide resources has widespread effects on the authority of UN governing bodies, donor control over UN programs, and the efficiency of UN operations. What explains how donors choose to fund UN programs and agencies? We advance a theory that emphasizes member state preferences over the affordability and policy substance of IO activity. Using data from two novel experiments and a case study of U.S. funding practices toward the United Nations (1945–1980s), we provide mixed-method evidence showing that a state is more likely to provide voluntary contributions when its preferences over the affordability and policy of IO activity differ from those of the governing coalition and more likely to provide mandatory contributions when its preferences are consistent with those of the governing coalition. Further, we demonstrate that preferences over policy substance are particularly important in explaining recent trends in donor earmarking.     

A Person-Centered Analysis of Risk Factors that Compromise Wellbeing in Emerging Adulthood

The transition to adulthood is a major life course transition that can pose risk to wellbeing. Research is needed to identify patterns of risk for compromised wellbeing, in order to best identify supports for individuals during this potentially vulnerable transition. The purpose of this study was to identify profiles of risk in an emerging adulthood sample, and to relate these profiles to mental health and subjective and academic wellbeing. Undergraduate emerging adults (N?=?903, 82?% female), aged 18–25 years (M?=?21.14, SD?=?1.75), completed a series of questionnaires about risk factors, mental health, and academic variables. Results from a latent profile analysis identified four distinct risk profiles: Low Risk (76?%), Low Social Support Risk (4?%), Financial Risk (11?%), and Multiple Risk (8?%). The risk profiles were subsequently related to mental health and subjective and academic wellbeing outcomes, using a pseudo-class draws approach. Analyses indicated that the risk-pattern profiles differed in several ways across outcomes. Implications for targeted interventions are discussed.     

Teaching Citizens: The Role of Open Classroom Climate in Fostering Critical Consciousness Among Youth

Building on previous research on critical consciousness and civic development among youth, the current study examined the extent to which an open climate for discussion—one in which controversial issues are openly discussed with respect for all opinions—relates to youth’s critical consciousness and whether this association differs for youth from racial/ethnic majority versus minority backgrounds. Critical consciousness consisted of three components: the ability to critically read social conditions (critical reflection), feelings of efficacy to effect change (sociopolitical efficacy) and actual participation in these efforts (critical action), in both the educational and political/community domains. Open classroom climate was operationalized at the classroom rather than individual student level to more accurately draw links to educational policy and practice. Multilevel analyses of the 1999 IEA Civic Education Study, a nationally-representative sample of 2,774 US ninth-graders (50 % female; 58 % white), revealed that an open classroom climate predicted some, but not all, components of critical consciousness. Specifically, open classroom climate was positively related to sociopolitical efficacy in both the educational and political domains and to critical action in the community domain, but was not related to critical reflection. Few differences in these associations were found for youth from racial/ethnic majority versus minority backgrounds. The exception was sociopolitical efficacy in the educational domain: open classroom climate was particularly predictive of sociopolitical efficacy for minority youth. The findings are discussed in regard to previous research on open classroom climate and youth critical consciousness; and implications for future research and educational practice are drawn.     

How domestic contexts shape international private governance: The case of the European Accord and American Alliance in Bangladesh

The international nature of supply chains has led to the rise of private authority in regulating the environmental and social impacts of production, which companies frequently address through corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the form of private governance (PG). Despite its claim to establish “global” rules, PG usually has national origins, and multiple efforts to address the same issue from different national perspectives frequently coexist. Numerous studies have explored the impact of national business systems on companies' domestic CSR practices, yet little is known about what factors shape CSR practices like PG internationally. Therefore, this study seeks to understand how differing domestic contexts shape approaches to CSR in the form of PG in host countries. I explore this empirically through the comparative case study of competing PG initiatives in the post-Rana Plaza Bangladesh garment industry, uniquely conceived to govern companies' practices rather than certify products. It combines empirical findings with the comparative CSR literature to hypothesize about ideal types of PG organizing in US and European contexts. It extends the analysis to also account for other influential factors, such as stakeholder pressure, thus demonstrating how institutional and agentic factors amalgamate to shape firms' choices. By explicating linkages between international PG and its domestic context, as well as between the comparative CSR and PG literature studies, this study extends our understanding of how and why international PG practices and preferences vary for firms originating from different environments.     

From Politics to Performance: How Perceived Support Matters for Public Organizations

Research on support for educational institutions has ebbed and flowed with much of the focus directed toward internal mechanisms including teachers, administrators, and staff. This study stresses the importance of support from external environments and tests its influence on student achievement. Using panel data from over 1000 public schools, empirical results suggest that support increases test scores and daily attendance. The findings encourage scholars to consider the politics of educational environments and delve deeper into the consequences of external drivers for the performance of public schools.