Microsoft Word - EDITORIAL Vol 11_2 _________________ William H. Barton, Ph.D., is a professor in the Indiana University School of Social Work on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus. Contact information: (317) 274-6711; Email: wbarton@iupui.edu Copyright © 2010 Advances in Social Work Vol. 11 No. 2 (Fall 2010), i-iii EDITORIAL William H. Barton Welcome to the Fall 2010 (Volume 11, No. 2) issue of Advances in Social Work. This issue ranks with one of the most extensive we’ve ever published. We have had the good fortune to receive many high-quality manuscripts, and reviewers and authors alike have responded quickly and capably to their respective reviewing and revising tasks. As a result, this issue contains 13 articles on a range of topics. There should certainly be something to satisfy the interests or curiosity of all Advances readers. Before previewing the current issue, let me remind you that the next issue of Advances (Vol. 12, No. 1: Spring, 2011) will be a special issue on “Social Work and Service Learning in the Age of Competency-Based Education,” co-edited by Virginia Majewski and Lisa McGuire. This special issue grew out of the conference “Assessing Professional Competencies through Service Learning” held in Indianapolis this past June. The deadline for manuscript submission for that issue has passed; the co-editors are hard at work shepherding the many manuscripts received through the peer review process. Advances will also publish an additional special issue this Spring or early Summer focused on “Military Social Work,” co-edited by James G. Daley and Anthony Hassan (this one will be Vol. 12, No. 1.5 so that issue #2 can remain consistently in the Fall of each year). The call for papers for that issue remains open until March 15, 2011. Those interested in submitting manuscripts will find more details in the announcement on the journal’s home page. One of the many advantages of the online, open-access format of the journal is that we have the capability of producing multiple issues, with the main cost being the dedicated time of the editors. But, as they shout in those late night television commercials, “WAIT! There’s more!” We will be publishing yet another special issue, this one scheduled for Spring, 2012. Its focus will be “Global Problems: Local Solutions,” highlighting the latest work on cross-border, cross-disciplinary, and cross-boundary practices that seek solutions at the local level to problems caused by global conditions. Khadija Khaja and Joe Varga will serve as co-editors. Look for more details in an announcement on the Advances home page soon. The current issue opens with an historical and epistemological treatise, “The Role of Science in Postmodern Practice,” by Phillip Dybicz. This article offers an original perspective that may intrigue and/or provoke those who have followed debates pitting science against practice wisdom. Next up, Stephanie K. Boys (who holds the relatively rare degree combination of a Ph.D. in social work and a J.D.) proposes that, to be effective in communicating with an audience of judges, social workers should consider using legal discourse to frame findings from social science regarding the issue of gay marriage. Her article, “Let’s Talk About Same Sex: How Social Workers Can Make Judges Listen,” is especially timely, as the recent case in California (Perry v. Schwarzenegger) is unlikely to be the final forum for resolution of this issue. ADVANCES IN SOCIAL WORK, Fall 2010, 11(2) ii The next two articles present findings from original research. From a survey of NASW members in New York, Vicki Ashton examines differences in the attitudes of professional social workers regarding corporal punishment and the perception and reporting of child maltreatment, according to the worker’s ethnic group membership. In “Does Ethnicity Matter? Social Workers’ Personal Attitudes and Professional Behaviors in Responding to Child Maltreatment,” Ashton concludes that while approval of corporal punishment and perception of maltreatment differed according to ethnic group membership, ethnicity had no effect on the likelihood of reporting maltreatment. In “‘We Have a Lot of Sleeping Parents’: Comparing Inner-City and Suburban High School Teachers’ Experiences with Parent Involvement,” David Wilkerson and Hea-Won Kim use a mixed methods approach to compare inner-city and suburban high school teachers’ reported experiences with parent involvement. Wilkerson and Kim suggest that parent involvement may be relatively devalued among inner-city teachers, who hold beliefs that parent competence is reduced by socioeconomic challenges. Next are two articles examining the properties of measurement tools. In “Evidence- Based Practice Questionnaire: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis in a Social Work Sample,” Karen Rice, Jeongha Hwang, Tina Abrefa-Gyan, and Kathleen Powell examine the psychometric properties of the EBPQ (Upton & Upton, 2006), a tool developed to measure health professionals’ attitudes toward, knowledge of, and use of evidence-based practice (EBP). Rice et al.’s results suggest that a slightly modified EBPQ may be a useful tool to extend its reach to social workers. This is followed by Sung Hyun Yun and Robert D. Weaver’s “Development and Validation of a Short Form of the Attitude Toward Poverty Scale.” They conclude that the short form is a feasible alternative to the original ATP scale (Atherton et al., 1993) for researchers and academics seeking to assess the poverty-related attitudes of university students. In the next article, “Evaluating Qualitative Research for Social Work Practitioners,” Cynthia A. Lietz and Luis E. Zayas argue that many social workers receive minimal training regarding qualitative methodology and how to evaluate qualitative research. Building on the seminal work of Lincoln and Guba (1985; 1986), the Lietz and Zayas provide a concise framework practitioners and students may use to evaluate the trustworthiness and merits of qualitative research. The issue turns next to three articles concerning social work education. Kala Chakradhar and Llena Chavis describe the experiences of a group of faculty adapting to the context of distance education in “Developing a Pedagogy of ITV Teaching Experience.” Then, in “Enhancing Self-Awareness: A Practical Strategy to Train Culturally Responsive Social Work Students,” Nelini Negi, Kimberly A. Bender, Rich Furman, Dawnovise N. Fowler, and Julia Clark Prickett introduce the “Ethnic Roots Assignment,” a teaching exercise to aid students in developing self-awareness. Finally, Sabrina Williamson, Carol Hostetter, Katherine Byers, and Pamela Huggins present a qualitative analysis of practicum students’ reflections in “I Found Myself at this Practicum: Student Reflections on Field Education.” They suggest that agency experiences help students see social work values and ethics in action, develop an awareness of themselves as social workers, and enhance their self-confidence. Barton/EDITORIAL iii Cynthia A. Lietz returns, this time with Kathleen L. Andereck and Richard C. Knopf, to present a study of a strengths-based initiative in Arizona intended to increase the quality and integration of human services. In “The Breakthrough Series Collaborative on Service Integration: A Mixed Methods Study of a Strengths-Based Initiative,” the authors conclude that while the teams faced many challenges, they were able to be productive in initiating positive changes in their communities as a result of their commitment to the process, perseverance, effective communication, and creativity. In “Strategies for Engaging Men as Anti-Violence Allies: Implications for Ally Movements,” Erin Casey presents the results of a qualitative analysis of interviews with 27 men who recently initiated involvement in an organization or event dedicated to ending sexual or domestic violence. She discusses themes that emerged regarding gaining access to such groups and delivering their message to potential allies. In the final article in this issue, “Does Police Intervention in Intimate Partner Violence Work? Estimating the Impact of Batterer Arrest in Reducing Revictimization,” Hyunkag Cho and Dina J. Wilke present new evidence regarding this controversial strategy for responding to intimate partner violence. Cho and Wilke use data from the National Crime Survey (NCS) from 1987 to 1992 combined with the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) from 1993 to 2003 to examine the relationship between partner arrest and revictimization. Results suggest that arrest of perpetrators is effective in reducing revictimization, controlling for victims’ characteristics and the nature of the violent incidents. So, something to do over the long holiday break! Cheers! References Atherton, C. R., Gemmel, R. J., Haagenstad, S., Holt, D. J., Jensen, L. A., O’Hara, D. F., et al. (1993). Measuring attitudes toward poverty: A new scale. Social Work Research and Abstracts, 29(4), 28-30. Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (1986). But is it rigorous? Trustworthiness and authenticity in naturalistic evaluation. New Directions for Program Evaluation, 20, 15-25. Perry v. Schwarzenegger, 591 F.3d 1147 (2010) Upton, D., & Upton, P. (2006). Development of an evidence-based practice questionnaire for nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 54, 454-458. doi: 10.1111/j.1365- 2648.2006.03739.x