Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of government as the conduct of conduct, this paper explores how the work ethic operates as a “technique” of government in contemporary American cultural and political life. Specifically, I examine the role of the work ethic (which includes an ethos of self-work and responsibility) in the resurgent “self-help” movement. This movement, I argue, relies on the work ethic in a number of ways: It assumes the work ethic as an essential part of the actualized self; it offers the workplace as a privileged site where such self-actualizing work can be done; and-- as a component of “reformed” social welfare policy--it offers a set of techniques whereby the habitually “non-working self” can be transformed into a productive citizen. The political implications of this are twofold: First, it has the effect of further normalizing the work ethic as a necessary component of the American citizenship. Those perceived not to posses such an ethic are often marginalized and disqualified from the privileges of “full citizenship.” Second, it places the responsibility for cultivating such an ethos squarely on the individual citizen, which further individualizes the causes of poverty and unemployment and allows the structural defects of the late capitalism to become depoliticized. In effect, poverty and unemployment are now considered the product of individual failure rather than market failure

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: What beneficial change processes catalyzed by participation in a peer-led, class for family members of people with serious mental illnesses (mostly women)? We conducted semi-structured interviews with 31 participants to explore this question. We combined several strategies of qualitative data analysis to discern steps, processes, and influences on change, which will be reported in detail in the paper/poster.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The self-help industry is rife with books offering advice in relational communication. Interpersonal communication experts should be concerned with the credibility of these self-help authors and what advice is dispensed. Study one of this paper involved an examination of the qualifications of 31 popular self-help authors in relational communication. The results revealed that although many authors had earned Ph.D.s, none had degrees in communication and most had not published any empirical research. Study two analyzed fourteen books for their content and the type of evidence used. Five common themes were revealed including using a banking analogy, dividing couples into types, elaborating on a series of steps for the strategies offered, referring to childhood as a cause for current relational problems, and offering exercises to implement the strategies offered. Most authors relied solely on anecdotal evidence for their claims. Implications for future research in the area of interpersonal communication are discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: One mainstay program which is offered in virtually all penal institutions is that of the faith based self-help programs, A.A. & N.A., aimed at prisoners afflicted with alcohol and/or drug dependency. For many ex-convicts the fellowship or social networks established within these programs, both inside and outside of prison, can help to establish social capitol, a crucial element for reintegration into free society. Most qualitative research in this area has made use of accounts of individuals with established long term sobriety who have successfully desisted from criminal activity (see Terry, 2003). This paper investigates how several ex-cons, who were interviewed while residing at a transitional housing facility for former prisoners with histories of alcoholism and/or drug addiction to determine how these type of faith based self help programs reinforce social norms while aiding in the rehabilitation process for those with short term, 2 weeks to 1 year, sobriety. The findings indicate that for several of the participants the social networks established within the fellowship of AA or NA is an imperative instrument in the rehabilitation and desistence process of ex-convicts in transition and new to these programs.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: I would like to have the opportunity to share the story of the community development section of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law’s Legal Aid Clinic. We have been focusing on advocacy and the formation of policy to prevent gentrification since August of 2002.

I based the section on the advocacy model developed by professors Lucie White and Gerald López; advocacy that centers around process instead of results. López has referred to this model as one where the focus in on “process oriented client empowerment”. Traditionally poverty lawyers have concentrated on developing legal strategies in order to obtain results, “result oriented legal strategies”. López argues for a model more focused on the process, one that will allow the poor or low income client to take control of his or her situation and that will promote self-help and empowerment.

In the story that I will share neither the law nor the lawyers have provided a final solution to the problem of the displacement of poor people (gentrification) in Puerto Rico. But we have used law as a tool for our clients to become more empowered, to gain more power for themselves and for their communities. We have made it clear to the communities that the true power to prevent their displacement lies in them.