Browsing by Author "Gentle-Genitty, Carolyn S."

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    Developing the organizational competencies to promote American elders' civic engagement
    (2017-07-28) Chen, Haiping; Adamek, Margaret E.; Gentle-Genitty, Carolyn S.; Huber, Lesa L.; Vernon, Robert, 1947-
    The U.S. is now experiencing an unprecedented growth in its older population. In order to reduce the adverse effects of population aging, older adults’ civic engagement has been a recent focus in the field of aging. A considerable body of literature has documented the significance, current status, positive outcomes, and influencing factors of American elders’ civic engagement. However, there are very few studies, if any, that adopt an organizational competency perspective to explore the promotion of older adults’ participation in civic activities. To fill the current research gap, the dissertation aims to help formal organizations identify and develop necessary competencies to better engage American elders through two inquiries. The first inquiry is a mixed methods systematic literature review which included 19 quantitative studies, two qualitative studies, and one mixed methods study. Through meta-summary, six themes and 28 factors related to American elders’ civic engagement were generated. These themes encompassed socio-demographic factors (eight factors), health status (four factors), program characteristics (four factors), engagement opportunities (three factors), engagement outcomes (five factors), and social capital (four factors). Formal organizations are advised to develop relevant competencies to capture the beneficial influences of facilitating factors and minimize the adverse impact of obstructive factors. The second inquiry aims to develop and validate an Organizational Competency Scale (OCS) for elder civic engagement programs. 32 formal organizations and pertinent programs in the State of Texas participated in the pilot study. Factor analyses of the data collected from these organizations revealed a seven-factor solution for the OCS. These factors included client discovery with support, client-centered planning and management, client assessment and training, integration of diverse groups, promotion of adaptation between groups, integration of resources to address the structural constraints, and promotion of social recognition and social justice. As a reliable and valid scale, the OCS can serve as both an assessment tool and practice guidelines for formal organizations to evaluate and develop their competencies to increase American elders’ civic engagement.
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    Established multicultural families' work and life : the impact of employment and perceived Korean husbands' practical support on migrant wives' life satisfaction
    (2018-05-07) Son, Hyemin; Adamek, Margaret E.; Kim, Hea-won; Gentle-Genitty, Carolyn S.; Pike, Lynn M.
    As multicultural families become more established in Korea, researchers have paid increasing attention to enhancing the families’ quality of life. The number of multicultural families was only 619 in 1990 but jumped to 750,000 as of 2013. It is projected that the multicultural families will be accounted for 5 % of the total population, which is the enormously conspicuous number given that Korean society had been a homogeneous society for a long time. While several Korean studies have examined acculturation process of immigrants, there is little understanding of multicultural families’ work and family life. The purpose of this study is to investigate migrant women’s later stage of adaptation by measuring their subjective perception of life satisfaction focusing on two key factors: migrant wives’ employment and perceived practical support from Korean husbands. Using data from the 2012 National Survey on Multicultural Families, a nationwide survey implemented in Korea, the hierarchical regression model of migrant wives’ life satisfaction was conducted with the following set of predictors: demographics, social-relationship factors, and employment and perceived practical support from Korean husbands in household labor and child-caring. Study results found that the higher levels of life satisfaction were observed among migrant wives who had higher levels of relationship satisfaction with Korean husbands (β = .414, p < .001), had more participation in community events and activities (β = .059, p < .001), and had more networks with people (β = .017, p < .001). Two main predictors also contributed to determine levels of life satisfaction. Employed migrant wives showed lower levels of life satisfaction than non-employed wives (β = -.083, p < .001). Migrant wives who had higher levels of perceived practical support from Korean husbands in child care showed higher levels of life satisfaction (β = .018, p < .001), but no impact was found in housework. For established multicultural families, findings highlight the importance of perceived practical support from Korean husbands particularly in childcare as a critical resource of support. Social work implications were discussed in order to improve established migrant wives’ life satisfaction and enhance their later stage of integration in Korean society.