Suchergebnisse

Research on drug trafficking has not been able to discern the exact nature of illegal drug markets and the relationship between their individual and group participants. This article delineates the role of Mexican immigrants and Mexican-American participants involved in the stratified drug market of South Texas. This article synthesizes ethnographic materials drawn from two previous National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) studies in order identify the different types of drug distribution behaviors that occur within the groups, the differentiated roles of individuals, the organizational framework, and most significantly, the processes that link market participants to others outside of the drug market. This illegal behavior can be interpreted as an adaptive mechanism that is a direct response to the marginal economic status imposed by macro socio-economical background factors. As well, we conclude that the specific foreground factors of the opportunities offered by the context, culture, and proximity of the U.S./Mexico border and invitational edges explain this behavior. There are both parallels and particular differences between the South Texas case and the structuring and functioning of informal legal and illegal markets that are characteristic of other economically disadvantaged communities.

An introduction to the issue of research on the social impact of the Therapeutic Community for Addiction (TC) is presented. The TC is argued to originate in 1957 in the California utopian community of Synanon, although earlier antecedents are recognised. The direct scientific influence on the development of Synanon is documented and traced to the discipline of sociology and the social research tradition. The breaking with the authoritarian style of Synanon is seen as a key process in the evolution of the TC. Social innovations created by the TC movement include interracial and interethnic living groups as well as the instilling of democracy in the relations of caring in the state institutions and the civil society. The issues of after‐care and the re‐entry phase of the TC client to society are seen as the point where the social impact of the TC can begin to be traced. The integration of the TC into larger treatment systems is discussed, both in its positive and negative consequences to the social movement. Historical research needs to be extended beyond familiar sources into the 'grey literature' of TCs and their umbrella organisations. Also, the need to go beyond research that provides an understanding of the past history of the TC is acknowledged. A call for present‐oriented sociological research on the impact of the TC on the social networks of clients in re‐entry and on socially excluded segments of society that would revitalise the movement is concluded.

In the early 1900s, cannabis was used widely as a medicinal drug. However, through the fi rst half of the twentieth century, marijuana became negatively associated with Mexican-origin populations in the United States. Anglo American views of race and class became central to the creation of legislation prohibiting marijuana. This article provides a sociohistorical analysis of the 1910–1930s period, when the cannabis prohibition movement was at its peak. An intersectional theory of marijuana prohibition is used to deconstruct the dominant theories that have been offered. Marijuana prohibition cannot be explained by any single factor, but stems from the intersection of multiple factors. Background factors include the historical use of marijuana in Mexico, immigration to the United States, racism, and the pharma–medical industrial complex. Foreground factors include cultural stereotyping and mass media, governmental bureaucratic entrepreneurship, and moral crusade movements. The intersection of these factors socially constructed both a stigmatized image of the Mexican and the present reality of marijuana prohibition. Research on the complex origins of marijuana prohibition can inform the present policy debate on medical and recreational use of cannabis in the United States.

The discovery in neurology that the two sides of the brain think in distinct ways that are both opposed to each other and complementary might have consequences in a number of academic disciplines, and in philosophy and political consciousness as well. It is the purpose of this paper to apply concepts from the brain theory to an analysis of the rational foundations of scientific inquiry. To pursue this argument, it is nnecessary to take a position on the side of materialism or idealism, although the theory certainly is related to that issue. And it should be made clear, at the outset, that we see no possibility that the explanation of ideas can be reduced to a physical theory such as physics. ; http://web.ku.edu/~starjrnl

A case‐oriented analytical approach compared the index national case of France with the typical European outcome, other European cases and American results on social epidemiological indicators. Modal distributions were found to be most similar between the French sample and the total European sample on most social network items in a European therapeutic community cohort (n=723). The characteristics of the American and our sample were also found to be strikingly similar. Network size varies mainly with the number of substance‐dependent contacts reported by the client. Southern European clients have been living with their parents while northern clients have been living alone. Spending most of the time with drug‐using friends is not related to developing intimate relationships and a counterbalance to a situation of peer loneliness. The importance of looking at the function of social network relations in risk networks in harmonising European policy is emphasised.

A mini‐symposium series of papers presenting the results of the European Commission‐supported Biomed II project is introduced. The project accomplished a cross‐border scientific networking engaging 31 European residential treatment programmes. The results showed that scientific development is best served by a flexible bureaucratic approach. 'Old' science and the 'new' science ways of working were balanced. 'History' and 'social networks' are the key concepts signalling the project knowledge gains. A treatment sample (N=723) was extracted from a database of 1028 current European cases. Non‐drug‐specific characteristics are as important as drug‐specific characteristics in distinguishing emerging dependence groups. The project networking created a process that increased the level of involvement of science and the service communities. To sustain the gains of the project, a reaching out of existing European treatment services to extended family and friendship networks with a history of dependence‐related problems will be required.

In 2010, the University of Southern California School of Social Work launched its Virtual Academic Center (VAC) to deliver online MSW programming to students located around the country. USC's platform is a significant innovation in offering online education and has transformed the traditional educational model for both students and faculty. This research explores the experiences of faculty teaching via the VAC. Twenty-five in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with USC faculty of different ranks. Inductive data collection using a grounded theory approach with thematic analysis examined experiences teaching in an online program, revealing the strengths and challenges associated with geographic diversity and community-building. Findings warrant the development of innovative practices to build community and to facilitate collaboration among geographically diverse faculty and students in a virtual education program.

An overview of the state of the art of research on the treatment services of the therapeutic community for drug addicts in Europe is presented. This research tradition has largely been fragmented and local in its implementation. There has been a scientific gap concerning evaluation research and the treatment services offered by the therapeutic community. The American research antecedents to the European tradition are reviewed. The essential European groups, research designs and results are presented for each country with something greater than an ad hoc study experience. The strengths and weaknesses of the research designs, results and organizations are critically assessed. Recommendations for future research are presented and referenced to specific recommendations for therapeutic community research coming out of an American National Institute on Drug Abuse Technical Review. Among the conclusions of the overview is the need for more qualitative phenomenological research to complement the existing quantitative approach.

Objective: This study assessed the effectiveness of an adapted Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT) intervention for gang-affiliated Mexican American adolescents and their parents. Methods: A total of 200 adolescents and their family caregivers were randomized to either a treatment or a control condition. Outcomes included adolescent substance use, conflict resolution, gang identification, parent substance use knowledge, gang awareness, family cohesion, child conduct problems and stress. Participants were assessed at baseline, treatment exit at 16 weeks, and 6 months follow-up. General linear mixed-effects and generalized estimating equations models were used to evaluate between-group differences in outcomes. Results: There were significant differences between the BFST and control groups on adolescent alcohol use at 6 months and parents' reported conduct problems. No impact on marijuana use was found. Conclusions: Results provide emerging evidence supporting the adapted BSFT for gang-affiliated Mexican American adolescents and their families for alcohol and behavioral outcomes. Future adaptations may be needed to reduce drug use.

Most of the street-based children are not educated beyond primary school and their living conditions are based on begging and doing odd jobs in the market and streets. Forty-six percent of the on-the-street children live with one parent, and 97 percent of the of-the-street children have lost contact with their parents. The on-the-street children have a higher percentage of family sector networks than the of-the-street children and the shelter or institutionalized children. Generally, school children still have strong family ties.