Adding the Voices of Jewish Girls to Developmental Theory

Abstract

Feminist psychologists do not often include Jewish representation when they discuss issues of difference and diversity. Jewish female adolescents have not been included in the current research on teen-age girls and voice. The author finds that Jewish female adolescents do experience themselves as different from the majority culture. This difference is associated with respondents emerging from early adolescence while maintaining relational competence.     

Managing diversity in organizations: An integrative model and agenda for future research

The literature on policies, procedures, and practices of diversity management in organizations is currently fragmented and often contradictory in highlighting what is effective diversity management, and which organizational and societal factors facilitate or hinder its implementation. In order to provide a comprehensive and cohesive view of diversity management in organizations, we develop a multilevel model informed by the social identity approach that explains, on the basis of a work motivation logic, the processes by, and the conditions under which employee dissimilarity within diverse work groups is related to innovation, effectiveness, and well-being. Building on this new model, we then identify those work group factors (e.g., climate for inclusion and supervisory leadership), organizational factors (e.g., diversity management policies and procedures, and top management's diversity beliefs), and societal factors (e.g., legislation, socioeconomic situation, and culture) that are likely to contribute to the effective management of diversity in organizations. In our discussion of the theoretical implications of the proposed model, we offer a set of propositions to serve as a guide for future research. We conclude with a discussion of possible limitations of the model and practical implications for managing diversity in organizations.     

Religious and Theological Journals Online

ABSTRACT

Multiculturalism is less about “the pursuit of recognition,” than about “the pursuit of transformation.” After showing how western theological libraries have been impacted by major western cultural movements such as the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Enlightenment, the author challenges theological librarians to recognize how the experience of western colonialism and imperialism marginalized non-western cultures and believers. The major consequence for theological education and libraries has been to view non-western peoples as “the other,” either hiding their histories or shifting their religious experience to the margins. Sawyer reminds readers that contemporary Christianity is growing fastest “at its old ‘margins’ while diminishing in its historic ‘centers’; therefore, theological librarians must shift their collecting and their collections in response to changing needs and new categories. Otherwise, some collections will become “veritably archival, as use-rates plummet.”     

Collective identity and wellbeing of Roma minority adolescents in Bulgaria

In Europe and particularly in Bulgaria, Roma represent the largest low‐status minority group that is subjected to marked public intolerance and discrimination. This study examined links among Roma (N = 207) and Bulgarian (N = 399) adolescents’ ethnic, familial, and religious identities as salient identity aspects for their psychological wellbeing. Results indicated that, as expected, Roma youth reported lower levels of wellbeing than Bulgarian youth. The latter revealed a weaker religious identity than Roma youth, whereas no ethnic group differences emerged regarding Bulgarian or familial identity. Furthermore, we observed that collective identity was higher in older participants of both groups. Finally, a multigroup analysis using structural equation modeling showed that collective identity was a positive predictor of wellbeing for both Roma and Bulgarian adolescents. Findings demonstrated differences in salience as well as structural communalities regarding ways in which collective identity affects wellbeing of youth from two ethnically diverse communities.     

The role of sociocultural context for culture competence and depressive symptoms among ethnic minority youths in junior high school

The aim of the study was to examine whether school sociocultural context affects culture competence and its relationship to depressive symptoms. As part of the Youth, Culture and Competence study conducted in the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, questionnaire data was collected from 373 immigrant students in two junior high schools within Oslo. The school contexts were represented in terms of proportion of ethnic minority students, 90% versus 60% referred to as the concentrated and balanced context, respectively. Results showed a relatively low level of depressive symptoms and high level of ethnic and host culture competence regardless of context. Ethnic culture competence showed an inverse relationship to depression in both contexts. Host culture competence was also negatively correlated with depression, but only in the balanced context. In the concentrated context this correlation was unsubstantial. Thus, the sociocultural context was found to moderate this correlation.     

A Seat at the Table: Using Social Media as a Platform to Resolve Microaggressions Against Transgender Persons

Transgender, gender variant, and/or gender nonconforming persons are marginalized and pathologized in society and communities. The advent and widespread use of social media introduce an entirely new avenue of expression where cyber bullying and verbal assaults are common. Yet, social media also has the capacity to reach more people in more places, thus presenting a potentially powerful platform for advocacy. Grounded in digital critical participatory action research, the authors present a multimedia advocacy project that highlights advocacy strategies in which counselors can utilize social media to raise awareness, promote inclusion, and resolve microaggressions toward transgender persons.     

Orthodoxy Niches: Diversity in Congregational Orthodoxy Among Three Protestant Denominations in the United States

The organizational niche, a fruitful concept from the organizational ecology literature, frames this study on the diverse orthodoxy of congregations within the same denomination. Congregations diversify along a conservative‐to‐liberal continuum, which lessens niche overlap with nearby congregations in their denomination. Pastors and priests in United Methodist and Episcopal congregations in three U.S. regions were able to locate their congregations (and other congregations in their denomination in close proximity) along this conservative‐to‐liberal continuum, an indication that orthodoxy distinctions were important to congregational identity. In comparison, Assemblies of God congregations showed little intradenominational diversity in orthodoxy, since sectarian boundaries narrow their niche. Theoretical and methodological implications of this intradenominational diversity are explored.     

Reconcilable Differences? Human Diversity,Cultural Relativity,and Sense of Community

Sense of community (SOC) is one of the most widely used and studied constructs in community psychology. As proposed by Sarason in (The Psychological sense of community: prospects for a community psychology, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1974), SOC represents the strength of bonding among community members. It is a valuable component of community life, and it has been linked to positive mental health outcomes, citizen participation, and community connectedness. However, promotion of SOC can become problematic in community psychology praxis when it conflicts with other core values proposed to define the field, namely values of human diversity, cultural relativity, and heterogeneity of experience and perspective. Several commentators have noted that promotion of SOC can conflict with multicultural diversity because it tends to emphasize group member similarity and appears to be higher in homogeneous communities. In this paper, we introduce the idea of a community-diversity dialectic as part of praxis and research in community psychology. We argue that systematic consideration of cultural psychology perspectives can guide efforts to address a community-diversity dialectic and revise SOC formulations that ultimately will invigorate community research and action. We provide a working agenda for addressing this dialectic, proposing that systematic consideration of the creative tension between SOC and diversity can be beneficial to community psychology.