Research
The scholarly and scientific activities of the faculty in the
school of social and family dynamics rest on the core value of
engaging in research that ultimately leads to improvements in the
lives
of
children,
youth,
adults,
families,
and social institutions. Such efforts may be driven by scholarship
that changes or advances people’s lives or in scholarship
that attempts to understand and formulate the principles and
dynamics
that may lead to successful outcomes and interventions.
Faculty
in the school accomplish this through innovative and cutting-edge
interdisciplinary
research, instruction, and outreach programs. Activities in the
school transcend traditional divisions among academic disciplines
and between
basic and applied research. They are guided by an overarching
emphasis on understanding the dynamic interactions between individuals
and
their social groups within the larger societal environment, and
how these interactions play out across time and space. The
central
foci of inquiry and academic training reflect the developmental,
social, cultural, health, and demographic aspects underlying
human
behavior, families, institutions, and societies.
Who we are Intellectually: Core Scholarly Themes
School of Social and Family Dynamics faculty are at the cutting
edge of their fields and are devoted to finding solutions to today's
most
difficult
and
important
problems.
The work of the school, however, is not focused entirely on problems.
Much of the work addresses the positive outcomes associated with
development, families, and social institutions. Understanding individual,
family, and social strengths and resilience is critical to promoting
and improving well-being and health. Through their dedication to
high-quality research and analysis, the school's faculty are engaged
in the tasks of creating new knowledge, insight, information, options,
and solutions that are effective and enduring and will promote
new
research and training in areas related to the creation of a better
tomorrow for children, youth, families, and populations.
To harness this potential, the intellectual lives of the faculty
in the school of social and family dynamics can be captured by
six core scholarly themes. Each theme
reflects expertise and knowledge in a general area. The themes
are not based on disciplinary divisions but are based on common
scholarly
interests. Many faculty are involved in multiple themes. Significantly,
these themes also help define who we are to those outside the
school
- to students who wish to pursue training, to other researchers
and scholars who wish to establish collaborations, to community
members who are looking for guidance and partners, and to potential
donors who want to better understand the capacities of the school.
The core scholarly themes include the following (in alphabetical
order):
- Child, Adolescent, and
Life Course Development: the study of the evolving
dynamics of the causes and consequences of child, adolescent,
and adult development.
.
- Dynamical Assessment:
the development and application of research and
statistical techniques to assess the dynamics of social interactions
and change over time in individuals, groups, networks, and populations.
.
- Family Dynamics: the
study of patterns and change in interactions of family members
including romantic and marital partners, parents and siblings,
and socialization of children.
.
- Health and Society:
the study of the determinants of physical and mental health and
health related behaviors, policy issues, health care professions,
and prevention of health-related problems; expansion of "health"
beyond biological outcomes (disease and death) to include effective
cognitive, affective, and social functioning, and quality of life.
.
- Race, Ethnicity, and Migration:
the study of racial and ethnic identity, migration,
and acculturation processes and the effects of migration on individuals
and society.
.
- Social Demography:
the study of human populations, encompassing the
causes and consequences of population change and the relation
of such change to social and economic processes.
Not only do these themes reflect the general foci of the work
that go on in the school, but they also represent a mechanism
for organizing
its intellectual and scholarly capital. Identifying faculty around
core scholarly themes rather than traditional disciplinary boundaries
maximizes the adaptive strength of the school of social and family
dynamics. This organization also provides a basis from which faculty
in the school
can
respond to
research
initiatives developed by faculty in other ASU units, community
partners, and/or funding agencies and develop focused areas of
strength and
capacity.
|
