The Engaged Academic: Academic Intellectuals and the Psychiatric Survivor Movement

This paper considers some political and ethical issues associated with the ‘academic intellectual’ who researches social movements. It identifies some of the ‘lived contradictions’ such a role encounters and analyses some approaches to addressing these contradictions. In general, it concerns the ‘politico-ethical stance’ of the academic intellectual in relation to social movements and, as such, references the ‘theory of the intellectual’ associated with the work of Antonio Gramsci. More specifically, it considers that role in relation to one political ‘field’ and one type of movement: a field which we refer to, following the work of Peter Sedgwick, as ‘psychopolitics’, and a movement which, since the mid- to late-1980s, has been known as the ‘psychiatric survivor’ movement—psychiatric patients and their allies who campaign for the democratisation of the mental health system. In particular, through a comparison of two texts, Nick Crossley's Contesting Psychiatry and Kathryn Church's Forbidden Narratives, the paper contrasts different depths of engagement between academic intellectuals and the social movements which they research.     

The Case for Prefigurative Feminist Organizing

Contemporary feminist community organizing is not entirely consistent in practice. Drawing from current and historic examples, as well a feminist literature, this article examines tensions and contradictions between feminist ideas and praxis. The author suggests that contemporary feminist organizing ideas and practices adhere to masculinist models, and do not offer a liberatory and inclusive model for social change. Recommendations for a consistency between the public and private spheres, and processes and outcomes, are discussed.     

Neighborhood and Community Organizing in Colonias

ABSTRACT

Promotores are leaders in traditional Mexican communities whose role in agrarian life dates back to the land reform movement following the revolution. Recently, there have been efforts at developing these roles in the colonias in the United States' southwest as a means of providing health education and civic information in these hard-to-reach communities. This paper discusses an example of how community organizers incorporated the promotora concept among a group of women to bring about social and political change in their colonia.     

Disability Services and College Students with Psychiatric Disabilities

Abstract

Weiner (1999) has suggested that the process of accepting a disability and its associated limitations is often protracted for students with psychiatric disabilities, thus leaving many students unable to fully participate in services or in the design of academic accommodations. This research examines the relationship between psychiatric disability identity and use of academic accommodation services for 57 undergraduates with psychiatric impairments who are experiencing problems in their academic functioning. Willingness to utilize services was related to students' identification as having a psychiatric disability. Social work interventions are needed to support students in accepting psychiatric disabilities while concurrently crafting necessary accommodations.     

How Social Movements Move: From First to Second Wave Developments in the UK Field of Psychiatric Contention1

In this paper I seek to unpack the notion of ‘movement’, addressing the question of what it means to say that social movements ‘move’. The concept of ‘movement’ is often used in social science to refer to change, I note, and this is clearly an appropriate usage in relationship to social movements, which often seek to bring about and/or manifest within themselves social changes. At the same time, however, movements move in the respect that the cultural forms and resources they generate are diffused (they move) across both time and space. The cultural components of a movement move in the way that, for example, a virus moves, between individuals in a ‘vulnerable’ population. The paper explores these ideas by way of an examination of the second wave of radical mental health activism in the UK.     

Organizing for Tenants' Rights: Insights and Approaches From Both Sides of the Fence

The initial discussion includes musings about learning community organization as a graduate student in social work during the late 1970s and subsequently practicing as a tenant organizer in the inner cities of New York City. Three major areas are addressed: (1) the tensions between educational models of practice and community organizing; (2) the critical role of the organizer in constructing the problem and shifting perceptions of power and; (3) how confrontations with legitimate channels of power can foster the development of oppositional consciousness and thus promote social justice efforts. This article argues for greater educational emphasis on the claimsmaking role of community organizers because problem construction is inextricably tied to definitions of power and thus to its redistribution to exploited classes.     

Factors Related to the Delivery of Trauma Services in Outpatient Treatment Programs

In recent years there has been growing recognition of the role of trauma in substance abuse treatment; however, only 20% of outpatient treatment programs report offering trauma services. We conducted a secondary analysis of the 2012 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) and explore how demographic, population served, and organization variables distinguish those programs that offer trauma services from those that do not. In this article, we present the findings, which revealed that organizational structure, process, and population served variables were the most important predictors of trauma services. Implications for social work practice in the addictions are discussed.     

Earning Their Keep and Keeping What They Earn: A Critique of Organizing Strategies for South Asian Women in the Informal Sector

It is now widely understood that the needs of women workers in the informal sector are not met by the conservative practices of labour organizations and trade unions. While the contribution of women to the economies of developing countries is critical, women rarely find employment in the regulated unionized sectors of these countries, and are found instead in overwhelming numbers in the sector that is variously termed ‘unorganized’, ‘unprotected’, ‘unregistered’ or ‘informal.’ This article addresses the situation of women in the informal economy in South Asia. The author explores the major challenges and opportunities facing women in their efforts to organize and mobilize for change. She also provides a critical analysis of the different types of interventions adopted by the state and civil society organizations in South Asia to empower women in the informal sector. The author concludes with an attempt to identify the mix of interventions and strategies most needed for different social, political and economic circumstances.     

Organizing for Structural Reform:

Over the course of the past two decades, the New Jersey Tenants Organization (NJTO) has won significant structural reform for tenants. This article examines the history of NJTO's campaigns, organizing strategies, leadership structure, and organizational dynamics. This article also assesses the prospects for the future in today's economic and political climate.     

Intensive Family Preservation Services: The Perceptions of Client Families

This qualitative study seeks to understand the correlation between intensive family preservation services and family functioning in those families who have participated in services. The focus is on the perceptions of client families with respect to the impact of services on family functioning including communication, family dynamics, and parenting skills. The discussion centers on the responses of client families to a narrowly constructed survey instrument designed to capture their perceptions with respect to the services provided by case workers.     

Interorganizational Groups in Human Services: Environmental and Interpersonal Relationships

Despite the frequent use of interorganizational groups in human services, their performance tends to be uneven. A dual focus on both environmental and interpersonal dimensions is required to understand variations in the development and outcomes of these groups. The author proposes a conceputal framework, grounded in open systems theory, exchange theory, and small group theory, to integrate both external and internal perspectives. Four types of interorganizational groups are identified based on their origin (mandated vs. voluntary) and the source of task structure (externally directed vs. internally developed). The four group types are illustrated with scenarios that highlight potential benefits and concerns. Characteristics of each group type are discussed. Further, administrative and policy guidelines are suggested for improving the performance of each type of group.     

Community Organizing with Women of Color:

The problems of women of color are related to gender, ethnic, and class inequality, yet little attention has been paid to methods for changing these structural conditions; most social work literature on gender and ethnicity has focused on individual models for change. Recent research on feminist organizing has identified ways in which community organization methods can be made more effective for use with groups of women. The implementation of these methods with women of color, however, will require addressing deficiencies of feminist theory in analyzing women's experience. This article presents one approach to organizing with women of color that suggests how race and gender issues can be worked on simultaneously. The issues and practice principles are relevant for both women of color and European American women organizing in communities of color.     

A conversation on madness: Foucault and Ripa

Written as a fictitious dialogue between two of this generation’s most prolific social theorists, this unique analysis explores the similarities and divergences of Michel Foucault’s and Yannick Ripa’s scholarship on madness. During an imagined meeting at a local café, a spirited dialogue emerges addressing mutual agreement and unwavering criticism of each author’s perspective of how madness was constructed and managed throughout the classical and Victorian eras. Ripa’s primary motive is to challenge Foucault for ignoring the feminine critique within his over-arching theories of social and patriarchal systems of control. On the other hand, Foucault’s vested interest is to explore Ripa’s narrowed historical scope that he feels was essentially built upon his own scholarship without acknowledgement. Drawing upon a comparative study of Foucault’s History of Madness and Ripa’s Women and Madness, the two theorists engage in a revealing conversation about aspects of political economy, shifting roles of religious ideology, gender effects, the social construction of insanity, and the historical methods of incarceration.     

“协同治理”视角下的社会组织公共服务供给

城市社区建设中的公共服务与产品供给是城市发展中的核心问题。城市社会组织作为一个新的社会化服务网络,开始承载公众生活内容、满足公众社会需求、提高社区居民生活质量,成为城市治理中的一个功能载体,凸显出其在城市社区建设的重要意义。在我国的城市社区建设中,应将社会组织作为社区公共服务供给中的重要主体,建立政府、市场和社会组织共同参与社会管理的模式,以协同治理来应对市场的失灵、弥补政府的不足,有效地整合和配置社会资源,提升社会组织自身潜能,最大化地满足社区民众多样化的社会需求。     

Front Line or All Fronts? Women's Trade Union Activism in Retail Services

This article draws on data from a case study of a trade union campaign to organize part‐time women workers in a large supermarket chain. The data indicate that combining paid work, work in the home and increased trade union participation means that the work of women activists and the resistance they encounter in its execution is broader than the customer/employee interface, or ‘front line’, that is the current focus in literature on service‐sector work and trade unionism. The findings are used to argue that established feminist literature, in which the location and recipients of women's work are conceptualized as multiple and shifting but inter‐related, still provide a useful analytical framework for service‐sector work. Therefore an ‘all fronts’ approach may better describe the lives of part‐time women workers and trade unionists in the sector. However it is argued that, far from simply being considered as an added burden, trade union activism was a powerful catalyst for change in the home and work lives of the working‐class women in the study.     

Organizing community: Activist public relations as place-making

This conceptual essay develops a renewed concept of community in public relations scholarship and practice—one re-centering activism and physical place. To do so, it delves into the writing and advocacy of two trailblazing women who dedicated their lives and work to empowering and protecting their communities: Grace Lee Boggs and Jane Jacobs. By connecting their approaches with existing public relations scholarship around community, activism, and place, the authors present a set of place-making communicative approaches for community activist practice in addition to theoretical development around what Boggs (2000) refers to as “place-based civic activism” (p. 19)—the work of finding and harnessing a shared neighborhood identity to connect and empower local residents as citizens. Seeing community and activism through this lens points toward the complex, living, and evolving ecology of communities (Jacobs, 1961, 2000), and positions public relations and activist communication as crucial tools for place-making.     

A quick reference guide to mental health on university campus: a brief rhetorical analysis of fear

I was teaching rhetoric at the University of Victoria when I received the ‘Quick Reference Guide: Assisting Students in Distress’, part of the university’s initiative to address the increasing problem of mental illness on university campuses. I immediately read a rhetoric that presented mental health as Madness, as something to be feared, a threat to the university, class and the individual. This short article is a brief rhetorical analysis of this Guide, and suggests that we must move beyond fear if we are to begin to address the mental health crisis on university campuses.     

Intersectionality in Gender Mainstreaming:Equity Organizing in Turkey

ABSTRACT

Historically, Turkey is home to multiple identities and cultures. In following with the critiques of Diversity Mainstreaming approach toward Gender Mainstreaming, this article argues that recognition of identities can be possible if an intersectional approach is adopted. To overcome the particular challenges of Gender Mainstreaming’s implementation in Turkey’s multicultural society, this article introduces a concept that supplements Gender Mainstreaming, called Equity Organizing, which further develops the views on intersectionality and equity that Diversity Mainstreaming proposes. It is different from Diversity Mainstreaming because it seeks to address the challenges to democracy in strong central and authoritarian leaning states. Equity Organizing is committed to the construction of progressive state policies for social justice through the realization of diverse identities.