Society for the Study of Social Problems Sociology and Social Welfare Division Message from the Division Chair Heather MacIndoe, University of Massachusetts, Boston Greetings members and friends of the Sociology and Social Welfare Division of SSSP! As the academic year draws to a close I'm looking forward to the 2014 SSSP Annual Meeting in San Francisco. I'd like to invite you to join in the division's business on Saturday 8/16/14 at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, 10:30 AM - 12:10 PM Foothill E. Come to the business meeting to plan for the 2015 paper sessions. We'll also need to elect a new division chair this fall. I'll send out an email call for nominations this summer. Please consider running. This newsletter highlights some key happenings in the division including conference sessions for this summer's gathering. This newsletter also includes a call for papers from The Journal of Community Practice. Thanks to those who contributed content for this edition. Please email me with comments or suggestions for the spring/summer newsletter: Heather.MacIndoe@umb.edu Enjoy the newsletter! 2014 Graduate Student Paper Competition Winner Congratulations to our winner of the 2014 SSW Graduate Student Paper, Kasey Henricks, Loyola University, Chicago Bursting Whose Bubble?: The Racial Tax Consequences of Evaporated Home Value Does racial bias exist in the distribution of homeownership tax benefits? Some argue yes, but few have empirically answered the question. Even fewer have considered how the 2006 housing collapse may have altered these distributions. Utilizing national-level data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, I measure the housing crash's before-and-after impact on home equity values by completing a series of ordinary least squares regression models. My aim is to discern not only if the potential eligibility of homeownership tax benefits is distributed along racial lines, but how this distribution changed between 2001 and 2010. The evidence I offer confirms that race is an organizing principle for who can claim homeownership tax benefits and how much. Having implications for 'the sedimentation of racial inequality,' my findings show how structural constraints of taxation, housing wealth, and disaster build upon one another in overlapping and interacting ways to reproduce racial inequality. 2014 Division Conference Sessions San Francisco, August 15 - 17 2014 Sole Sponsored Sociology & Social Welfare Division Sessions 1. Privatization in the Human Services: A War on Poverty or a War on the Poor? Organizer: Heather MacIndoe, University of Massachusetts Boston Saturday 8/16/14, 12.30 - 2.10 PM, Foothill G1 2. Institutional Logics and the Modern Welfare State: Examining Service, Accountability and Advocacy in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors Organizer: Emily Barman, Boston University Friday 8/15/14, 12.30 - 2.10 PM, Pacific I 3. Getting from Social Knowledge to Social Change: A Roundtable Exploration of Social Research Organizer: Vibeke Nielsen, Aalborg University **Student paper competition winner to present in this session** **One roundtable reserved for "Austerity and Stimulus" papers** Friday 8/15/14, 8.30 - 10.10 AM, Club Room Co-Sponsored Division Sessions 1. The Culture and Theory of Neoliberalism: Its Meaning and Effects Organizer: Jennifer Zelnick, TouroCollege Co-sponsors: Labor Studies, Sociology & Social Welfare Sunday 8/17/14, 2.30 - 4.10 PM, Foothill B 2. Shifting Gears in Poverty Programs: From Work 1st to Economic Security Organizer: Linda Houser, Widener University Co-sponsors: Sociology & Social Welfare, Poverty Class and Inequality Saturday 8/16/14, 2.30 - 4.10 PM, Foothill G2 3. Consumer Credit, Debt and Breaking Barriers to Inequality Organizer: Keith Bentele, University of Massachusetts Boston Co-sponsors: Sociology & Social Welfare, Poverty Class and Inequality Friday 8/15/14, 8.30 - 10.10 AM, Foothill A 4. Constructing Theories of Poverty, Inequality, and Policy: Potentials and Limitations Organizer: Nicole D'Anna, SUNY Albany Co-sponsors: Conflict, Social Action, and Change, Social Problems Theory, Sociology and Social Welfare Sunday 8/17/14, 8.30 - 10.10 AM, Foothill H 5. Comparative Approaches to Social Welfare and Well-being Organizer: Matthew Eddy, Minot State Co-sponsors: Global, Sociology & Social Welfare Saturday 8/16/14, 8.30 - 10.10 AM, Pacific E 6. Community Coalitions and Collective Impacts to Address Poverty Organizer: Frank Ridzi, LeMoyne College Co-sponsors: Community Research and Development, Sociology & Social Welfare Sunday 8/17/14, 2.30 - 4.10 PM, Foothill A 7. Are You Being Served?: Institutional Ethnographies of Social Services and Frontline Workers in an Age of Austerity Organizer: Matthew Strang York University Co-sponsors: Institutional Ethnography, Labor Studies, Sociology & Social Welfare Sunday 8/17/14, 10.30 AM - 12.10 PM AND 12.30 - 2.10 PM, Club Room Resources From the Blogosphere a selection of interesting finds The Cranky Sociologists http://thecrankysociologists.com/ "A blog by three sociologists who teach and practice sociology. We believe that if sociology does not make you cranky, you ain't doing it right. You can find our archives and/or cross-posts at:The Global Sociology Blog; The Grumpy Sociologist. ; The Power Elite." Social Science Blog http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/socialscience/social-policy-and-welfare/ "This blog s aimed at anyone with an interest in social sciences from academics and students to policy makers, practitioners and journalists" - Social work Blog http://www.socialworkblog.org/ "A blog dedicated to sharing important updates in the profession and other news of interest to the social work community at large." A Backstage Sociologist http://thesocietypages.org/monte/ "Monte Bute is an associate professor of sociology at Metropolitan State University in Minnesota, where he has taught for 30 years. His opinion essays appear on the editorial pages of daily newspapers in the Twin Cities. Bute also frequently testifies on higher education issues before the Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives. He serves as action coordinator for the Inter Faculty Organization, the union for 4,000 professors at Minnesota state universities. His teaching and research interests include social theory, public sociology, teaching and learning, social power, protest and social movements, and political theory." Sociological Images http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/blog/ "The sociological imagination is a woefully under-utilized tool. We hope this blog encourages all kinds of people to exercise and develop their sociological imagination and that, between all of us, public discourse will increasingly include a sociological lens with which we can all learn about social processes and mechanisms, critique social inadequacies, and design functional and equitable alternatives." Savage Minds http://savageminds.org/ " Savage Minds is a group blog devoted to 'doing anthropology in public' - providing well-written relevant discussion of sociocultural anthropology that everyone will find accessible.The bloggers have been writing about sociocultural anthropology since 2005." SociologySource.org http://www.sociologysource.org/" SociologySource is dedicated to helping instructors teach sociology around the world. Nathan Palmer founded the site in 2010 because he believes that sociology has the power to change the lives of it's students. Because we deeply believe this, we give away teaching resources to help our peers around the globe to aid them in creating change in their classrooms, in their students, and in their communities." Announcements and Member News Awards: Social Explorer has been honored for "Best Education Website" in the 18th Annual Webby Awards. Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by The New York Times, The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet."Honorees like Social Explorer are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet," said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. "It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the 12,000 entries we received this year." Social Explorer (www.SocialExplorer.com) is an online research tool designed to provide quick and easy access to current and historical census data and demographic information. Social Explorer was first conceived of in 1999 to break down the barriers to demographic visualization and large-scale data analysis. With support from the National Science Foundation and The New York Times, the Social Explorer team developed a sophisticated data system and a simple online interface to give users access to comprehensive demographic data and interactive tools. The site first launched to the public in 2003 and became available by subscription in 2007 through our distributor Oxford University Press, as well as through partnerships with Pearson Publishers and the Census Bureau. Important Dates For Annual Meeting: SSSP Main Business Meeting: Saturday 8/16/14 Club Room, 4.15-5.25 PM SSW Division Business Meeting: Saturday 8/16/14 San Francisco Marriott Marquis, 10:30 AM - 12:10 PM Foothill E SSSP Welcoming Reception: Thursday 8/14/14 Club Room, 6.30 PM SSW Division Reception: Friday 8/15/14 Mission Grille-Hotel Restaurant, 6.30 - 7.30 PM Next Annual Meeting: August 21-23, 2015 Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago, IL Call for Nominations: 2014 ASSOCIATION FOR HUMANIST SOCIOLOGY BOOK AWARD The Association for Humanist Sociology (AHS) is pleased to announce their 2014 Book Award. Authors, publishers, and AHS members may nominate books for consideration. The winner will be recognized at our annual meeting October 8-12, 2014 in Cleveland, OH. Nominations should be for Sociology or interdisciplinary social science books that approach their subjects from a humanist perspective. As our Mission states: Humanist sociologists strive as professionals, as scholars and as activists to uncover and address social issues, working with others to lessen the pain of social problems. We view people not merely as products of social forces, but also as shapers of social life, capable of creating social orders in which everyone's potential can unfold. Difficult times give humanist sociologists opportunities to apply their special skills and perspectives for the purpose of creating a more humane world. Eligible books should have been published in the calendar year 2013 or the first half of 2014. If a book was submitted for last year's consideration, it cannot be nominated again. To nominate a book, authors/publishers/nominators should e-mail a letter of nomination with the subject line "AHS 2014 Book Award Nomination" to Bhoomi K. Thakore at bhoomi.thakore@northwestern.edu. Authors/publishers should mail one copy of the book to each of the 4 award committee members listed at http://www.ccsu.edu/page.cfm?p=12486. The deadline for nominations is June 15, 2014. Additional information about AHS is available at www.ahssociology.org. Call For Papers: The Journal of Community Practice, an interdisciplinary journal dedicated to community scholarship, announces a call for papers to appear in a special issue of the journal related to the theme "Moving Beyond the Great Recession: Innovative Programmatic and Policy Responses to Poverty," guest edited by Anna Maria Santiago (Case Western Reserve University), Kelly Patterson, and Robert Mark Silverman (State University of New York at Buffalo). Building from the 2014 SSSP Conference theme, Fifty Years Later: From a War on Poverty to a War on the Poor, this special issue will focus on innovative programmatic and policy responses aimed at reducing poverty locally, nationally, and globally during this post-Great Recession period. We are particularly interested in papers about programs and policies that support activities such as social entrepreneurship, asset building, economic sustainability and well-being, and sustainable development. Manuscripts should be submitted online by July 31, 2014 and labeled FOR SPECIAL ISSUE for consideration by the special issue editors. Submission is via http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/wcom. Manuscripts may be approximately 25 typed pages double-spaced (including the abstract, references, tables and figures). Please contact Anna Maria Santiago (anna.santiago@case.edu) with any questions about this special issue. New Publication: The Causes of Structural Unemployment: Four Factors that Keep People from the Jobs they Deserve, by Thomas Janoski, David Luke, Christopher Oliver. Publisher: Polity Publication Date: May 12 2014 There is a specter haunting advanced industrial countries: structural unemployment. Recent years have seen growing concern over declining jobs, and though corporate profits have picked up after the Great Recession of 2008, jobs have not. It is possible that "jobless recoveries" could become a permanent feature of Western economies. This illuminating book focuses on the employment futures of advanced industrial countries, providing readers with the sociological imagination to appreciate the bigger picture of where workers fit in the new international division of labor. The authors piece together a puzzle that reveals deep structural forces underlying unemployment: skills mismatches caused by a shift from manufacturing to service jobs; increased offshoring in search of lower wages; the rise of advanced communication and automated technologies; and the growing financialization of the global economy that aggravates all of these factors. Weaving together varied literatures and data, the authors also consider what actions and policy initiatives societies might take to alleviate these threats. Addressing a problem that should be front and center for political economists and policymakers, this book will be illuminating reading for students of the sociology of work, labor studies, inequality, and economic sociology. About the Sociology and Social Welfare Division: The SSWD Division's mission is to provide opportunities for scholars, researchers, students, activists, and others to share and discuss their scholarship and experiences in a supportive setting. In order to further the goal of a just world, the Division seeks to integrate theory, empirical findings, and practice of both researchers and grassroots activists. Want to Get Involved with the Division? * Write a book review for our next newsletter * Tell us about your dissertation project, new article or new grant. * Write a brief paragraph publicizing your latest research * Advertise a job opening or upcoming conference Contact Heather MacIndoe at Heather.MacIndoe@umb.edu