Browsing by Author "Graham, John R."
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- ItemOpen AccessExamining Factors that Influence Organizational Commitment in Volunteer Leaders of Non-profit Islamic Organizations Across Urban Alberta(2019-11-13) Qasqas, Mahdi J.; Chowdhury, Tanvir Turin; Graham, John R.; Kazemipur, AbdolmohammadOngoing resource challenges in the Canadian nonprofit sector and a national decline in volunteer rates and hours necessitates a deeper understanding of factors influencing organizational commitment in volunteer leaders. However, research on volunteer leaders in organizations mostly powered by volunteers and nonprofit Islamic organizations are scarce. The purpose of this mixed-methods cross-sectional study is to provide evidence on factors that influence organizational commitment amongst volunteer leaders in nonprofit Islamic organizations across urban Alberta. Survey data collected from 216 active adult volunteer leaders was used to examine the relationship between intrinsic motivation, position satisfaction, role clarity (explanatory variables), and organizational commitment. Then, data from 36 semi-structured interviews was subjected to applied thematic analysis to provide deeper explanations of the findings plus highlight unique cases and cultural nuances. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis indicate that the explanatory variables account for 40% of the change in organizational commitment. Interview data reveals the paramount importance of feeling a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (the components of intrinsic motivation). Whereas factors that decreased intrinsic motivation included perceived feelings of control (i.e. micromanagement), a sense of failure due to destructive criticism, and feelings of rejection resulting from condescending behaviours of others. Despite periods of dissatisfaction, participants repeatedly identified the salient role religious beliefs had on their reasons to volunteer and/or willingness to keep serving amidst added stressors. Themes included the importance of, serving for the sake of God (sincerity or ikhlas), fulfilling one’s obligations as a leader (amanah), perseverance in the face of stressors (sabr), demonstrating gratitude (shukr), and mutual consultation (shura). Practice and policy-making recommendations involve integrating Islamic values and practices into existing evidence-based volunteer human resource management strategies to increase the likelihood for uptake. Research recommendations include construct development of Islamic values to be developed into scales and/or interventions (e.g. psycho-spiritual first aid). Given the intersection between the dearth of research, inter/intrapersonal dynamics, and diversity amongst volunteer leaders across Canada, utilizing a localized and culturally adapted strategic planning framework for knowledge mobilization can be promising; especially for organizations heavily reliant on volunteers.
- ItemOpen AccessIndigineous knowledge, community participation and traditional land-use mapping(Lakehead University, 1999) Kassam Karim-Aly, 1964-; Graham, John R.
- ItemOpen AccessMigrant Social Workers' Experiences of Professional Adaptation in Alberta Canada: A Comparative Gender Analysis(2016) Fulton, Amy Elizabeth; Walsh, Christine; Graham, John R.; Brown, Marion; Pullen Sansfacon, Annie; Bhuyan, Rupaleem; Guo, ShibaoThere is limited global research addressing the professional adaptation of migrant social workers in general, and a dearth of scholarship specific to the unique context in Alberta, Canada. While academic attention on the broad topic of professional migration of social workers has gained some traction over the past decade, the emerging literature has so far lacked a comparative gender analysis of the experiences of professional migration among social workers. The purpose of the present study was to develop enhanced understanding of the experiences of professional adaptation of migrant social workers in the Albertan context through a comparative gender analysis. This dissertation emerged from my involvement as a research assistant on a national study on the professional adaptation of migrant social workers in Canada. While coordinating data collection for the Alberta site of the national study, I conducted in-depth interviews with 17 male and female migrant social workers that had migrated to Alberta, Canada within the past decade. From these 17 interviews, 10 transcripts of interviews were selected as cases for secondary analysis in order to answer the question: How do female and male migrant social workers in Alberta experience their professional adaptation to practice in their new context? The research method employed in the secondary study was interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), a form of qualitative inquiry that examines how people make sense of significant lived experiences. Intersectionality theory and postcolonial feminisms provided the theoretical framework for the study, facilitating attention to both the macro-level factors that structure lived experiences and interactions, and the micro-level processes and interpretations that shape social identities. Engaging with the detailed personal accounts of the participants provided new understandings of how male and female migrant social workers both similarly and differentially interpret and make meaning out of their experiences of professional adaptation. The study makes an important contribution to existing knowledge about professional adaptation in the context of transnational labour mobility. Notably, it is among the first studies to explore the professional adaptation processes of migrant social workers in Alberta, as well as among the earliest works to engage in a qualitative comparative gender analysis that explores these experiences.
- ItemOpen AccessThe Experience of Female Academics Teaching Social Work in the Global South(2013-01-23) Dean, Yasmin; Graham, John R.This study made use of postcolonial theory and the in depth interview to explore the teaching experience of Global North and Global South female social work instructors. Through active interviews from 2008 – 2010, 13 female academics; eight from the Global North and five from the Global South responded to the research question; What is the experience of teaching social work in the Global South? Participants report on the ways they teach and engage in community and cultural learning within their host/home country, providing information on their teaching practice, and use of educational resources. For many, this was their first opportunity for reflecting and sharing professional teaching experience and insights in a structured manner. This research offers three contributions. First, major findings reinforce that colonization continues to influence the delivery of social work education in the Global South. Second, despite this reality, there is also a movement toward collaboration and engagement among academics from the South and North that facilitates adaption and creation of culturally relevant curricula to suit the local context. Third, as one of few studies exploring the teaching experience of Global South and North academics, this scholarship provides some practical recommendations to dismantle the influence of postcolonialism on social work education. These recommendations include preparation training for internationally mobile social work academics, a community of practice for South and North academics, and a call for academic activism by individuals and institutions from both the Global North and South to foster mutual respect and develop inclusive educational partnerships.
- ItemOpen AccessUnderstanding Workplace Experiences of First-Year Canadian Social Workers: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study(2014-09-30) Newberry-Koroluk, Andrea Margaret; Graham, John R.; Nicholas, David B.There is limited global research addressing the experiences of first-year social workers in general, and a dearth of scholarship specific to the Canadian context. In 2012–2013, I conducted in-depth interviews with nine early-career (0.6–3.7 years post-Bachelor of Social Work/BSW), young adult (aged 23.9¬–32.9) social workers in Alberta, Canada to answer the question: how do young adult, early-career Alberta social workers understand subjective feelings towards their work experiences in their first year of practice following completion of the BSW? My research method was hermeneutic phenomenology, an interpretive approach to understanding the meaning of lived experiences. Symbolic interactionism provided the theoretical foundation for my research, facilitating dual attention to structural factors and the dynamics of individual interpretation and agency. My findings relate to the intersection of age and gender in the structure and meaning of the experiences of first-year social workers; institutional hierarchy and internalized marginalization of the social work role; first-year social workers’ fears of committing a cataclysmic error in practice; the meaning of encountering one’s own privilege and marginalization; and disappointments in early practice and individual narratives of transformation and idealism renegotiated. The literature review and findings suggest that three interconnected areas influence the subjective experiences of new social workers: institutional structures, social positionality, and lived experience. Through the interplay of these three areas, subjective workplace experiences are made understandable and meaningful to early-career social workers. From a broad inter-disciplinary perspective, this work is a substantial contribution to scholarship on gender relations and the workplace. Implications for social work education include challenging internalized oppression that reflects gendered norms in caregiving work; teaching multiple ways of evaluating practice rather than relying exclusively on post-positivist epistemologies and methodologies; encouraging reflexivity about practitioner social location; and disrupting narratives that presuppose a single “social work perspective” operating in agencies. In the realm of social work practice, applications include actively challenging the devaluation of young women workers and advocating for better working conditions. Future research in social work could explore gender in the early-career period across the life course and gender identity continuum.