Hoffman (2012) waxes about as nostalgic as I did when I left the sociology department at the University of West GA for the humanistic psychology department that eventually guided my light to Saybrook.  Finding humanist psychology and intersectional feminist inclusiveness felt like home.  Multiculturalism is a powerful manifestation of that and a subject that may… Read More


Having studied qualitative methods in a previous course, grounded theory as Locke, et al (2010) describe it is familiar territory for me.  Before discovering asset-based community development (ABCD) and participatory action research (PAR), grounded theory was particularly intriguing because the research determined the theory, rather than the theory determining the research.  My familiarity with it… Read More


Roe et al (2006) offer an intriguing commentary on community in this country and a unique counterpoint on how it should function.  The United States is seen as stereotypically individualistic, which is, unfortunately, a reality in a majority of this country, while AIDS is seen as an area where “effective prevention must be community-based, ecologically… Read More


While humanism is admirable and multiculturalism is admirable and ideal, Comas-Dias (2012) does not operationalize either term, relying instead on a commonly accepted definition without defining it.  Additionally, examples of what the author believes other cultures view as humanistic and multicultural are cited, but all without an operationalized definition.  This is obviously dangerous because anyone… Read More


Intelligence, defined strictly, is qualified as educational intelligence, but this is a definition I don’t necessarily accept.  From my father and a shelterless man named Uriel, whom I met decades ago, I learned clearly that education is not a sign of intelligence.  My father is an immigrant whose original language is not English and Uriel… Read More


For reasons of in depth analysis and to allow study participants their full voice, qualitative research and inquiry is where my heart, mind, and soul are, because, to me, people are more than mere numbers and statistics, though, in a very limited capacity, I can see where quantitative research may be useful when a certain… Read More