An expert on extremism, far-right movements, and youth radicalization, Cynthia Miller-Idriss is the director of research at American University's Center for University Excellence, where she runs the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL). PERIL addresses issues of youth polarization and extremist radicalization through…

This review essay talks about two books on disability. One message above all others jumps out of from these two books: namely, the failure of human society to adequately respond to the needs of their fellow citizens who are disabled. The combined authorship of over 40 scholars across the two books and their 24 chapters conclude that disability,…

This article analyzes Henry Giroux's recent book Youth in a Suspect Society: democracy or disposability? (Palgrave, 2009) and situates it within his post-9/11 critical interventions. Giroux has focused his recent work on theorizing, critiquing and challenging the confluence of militarization, corporatization and right-wing ideology that has…

Over the past half century the mass media, including video games, have become important socializers of children. Observational learning theory has evolved into social-cognitive information processing models that explain that what a child observes in any venue has both short-term and long-term influences on the child's behaviors and cognitions. C.…

Comments on the article by Robert Bornstein, "The complex relationship between dependency and domestic violence: Converging psychological factors and social forces." Although a more focused examination of the psychological factors involved in domestic violence is welcome, there are some factual errors in Bornstein's article that need attention and…

In the UK, the discourse of innocence currently prevails as a major way of understanding children. This article argues that the strength of this discourse lies in its prevalence, its resistance to challenges and the ways in which it connects ideas of innocence and vulnerability. The moral quality of the discourse of innocence works in conjunction…

Comments on the article by Robert Bornstein, "The Complex Relationship Between Dependency and Domestic Violence,". Bornstein's attention to both types of dependency and women's experiences of domestic violence. I believe that his discussion of these complex relationships and social policy recommendations may be enhanced with a more integrated and…

This essay critically engages challenges made against the federally mandated deferral policies which prohibit "men who have sex with other men" from donating blood. I argue that "passing" and "protest" are dialogically dependent on one another as two separate but related tactics of resistance. Drawing on interview materials from men who have both…

This article reviews the changing structures and characteristics of the American family and discusses the increased influence of several societal concerns, including poverty, substance abuse, and exposure to violence. These issues are considered in light of their potentially deleterious effects on child and family development and functioning,…

Describes social, economic, and family structure variables that place specific Latino subgroups at risk, synthesizes available data on Latino children in the child welfare system, and discusses a direction for ethnic-specific child welfare policy for vulnerable Latino groups. Concludes that family services must promote economic and social…

This paper names and describes a common, growing, and dangerous psychological syndrome: Youth Violence Syndrome (YVS). YVS is characterized by at least nine behaviors: (1) hopelessness; (2) a complete or great disregard for the laws followed by most Americans; (3) a short temper combined with a lack of empathy; (4) a desire for respect from others…

Social and economic influences significantly affect the development of competence, health, and well-being in modern society. During periods of profound social and economic change, such as the present, some sectors of society are often at very high risk of encountering a decline of social support and hence inadequate nurturance of developmental…

Based on the view that individual variability is best understood as the result of influences from multiple domains operating over time, this book describes how different domains of influence operate, describes the operating processes in common to the different influences, and shows how these processes meet the criteria for a full-fledged system.…

Natural disasters (droughts, earthquakes, epidemics, floods, wind storms) damage wellbeing, both in their immediate and long-term aftermath, and because the insecurity of exposure to disasters is in itself harmful to risk-averse people. As such, mitigating and coping with the risk of natural disasters is a pressing issue for economic development.…