Response to “A Theoretical Framework”

Abstract

The outcome of social work intervention is often some rearrangement of valuable resources—money, services, power, status—in a family, neighborhood, or community. However, this redistributional effect of social work intervention and the related ethical implications have been largely unexplicated. This paper discusses the nature of distributional questions, examines three alternative approaches to the ethics of distribution—1) classical utilitarianism, 2) intuitionism, and 3) Rawls' “Theory of Justice”—and reviews the criticisms of each. The paper concludes that elements of each of these approaches can apply to social work education and practice and can help guide practitioners to higher levels of ethical consciousness.     

“A heart with skill to listen”: Consultation to a child-minding project

Abstract

This paper describes a consultation to a child-minding project. It has implications for the development of day care for children, and discusses the importance of support to workers in relationship work, particularly in the management of feelings.     

“It's Really Not Easy to Get Help”: Services to Drought-Affected Families

Abstract

The present paper details the results of research conducted with drought-affected farm families in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The study reveals the significant health and welfare stresses experienced by families and the lack of access to services and support. The research was conducted in three sites in rural and remote areas of NSW in 2003. Farm family members, service providers, and other community key informants were interviewed. The paper outlines ways that the social work profession can respond to significant natural disasters.     

“In-awareness” approach to international public relations

The skill of cultural “in-awareness” developed within the field of intercultural communication is applied to international public relations to understand culture’s influence on the communication function of public relations. The goal of the in-awareness approach is to expose hidden cultural assumptions and expectations that plague international public relations and allow one to explore national and cultural differences between clients and practitioners in a systematic and nonthreatening manner. A three-tiered framework is presented based on a country profile, cultural profile, and communication profile. The country profile provides a broad outline of what may be feasible within a particular country, while the cultural profile speaks to what may be effective in that country. The communication profile further refines cultural generalities by delineating culturally-based communication behaviors that underlie common public relations practices. By examining the communication profiles of both the practitioner and client, one can see how cultural communication differences translate into culturally-defined expectations and assumptions about specific public relations activities.     

From silence to condemnation: Institutional responses to “travel ban” Executive Order 13769

On January 27, 2017, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order that attempted to bar citizens and refugees from seven countries from entering the U.S. for a certain time period. One of the contexts most directly affected by this order was higher education. This study examined college and university communicative responses to the order from a public relations perspective. We qualitatively determined a range of responses from U.S. universities then quantitatively determined variables of particular colleges and universities that had a correlation to the nature of the responses. Responses were then assessed using public relations best practices. The data suggest variables with relationships to type of institutional response were number of international students and political stance of the state where the institution is located. While there was no single “correct” type of response, best practices suggest two options for appropriate responses to the order.     

The turn to the self: From “Big Character Posters” to YouTube videos1

This paper explores the process by which user‐created content in contemporary China has evolved from being appropriated as a weapon of political mobilization and accusation to serving as a vehicle of independent self‐representation. The analysis is set in the context of the social, political and economic metamorphosis that China has undergone in the past five decades and foregrounds the dynamics of political, economic and technological forces transforming Chinese media. The metaphor of “the wall” is used to chart the contours of the struggle for self‐expression and representation. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the political and social implications of the Internet and networked user created media content for China.     

Where to Go,What to Do During Visit to China s Capital

If you are coming to,or are in,Beijing for the first time,you probably know about the things you must do:Visit the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square,enjoy a meal at the famous Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant,and spend a day trekking on the Great Wall.In addition to those must-experience activities, Women of China offers readers its editors' picks,which are a few recommendations on where to eat and places to visit while in the city.     

“Almost invisible scars”: medical tourism to Brazil

Along with a handful of other nations in the developing world, Brazil has emerged as a top destination for medical tourism. Drawing on the author's ethnographic fieldwork in plastic surgery wards, this article examines diverse factors - some explicitly promoted in medical marketing and news sources, others less visible - contributing to Brazil's international reputation for excellence in cosmetic plastic surgery. Brazil's plastic surgery residency programs, some of which are housed within its public health system, attract overseas surgeons, provide ample opportunities for valuable training in cosmetic techniques, and create a clinical environment that favors experimentation with innovative techniques. Many graduates of these programs open private clinics that, in turn, attract overseas patients. High demand for Brazilian plastic surgery also reflects an expansive notion of female health that includes sexual realization, mental health, and cosmetic techniques that manage reproduction. Medical tourism is sometimes represented as being market-driven: patients in wealthier nations travel to obtain quality services at lower prices. This article ends by reflecting on how more complex local and transnational dynamics also contribute to demand for elective medical procedures such as cosmetic surgery.     

Paths to Success

The female scientists have made remarkable academicachievements on a par with their male counterparts.Opening their lift scroll, each of them is a thick andrich book, tempting one to read, leading one to think.     

Traveling to Sanya

The seaside tourist city of Sanya, located on Hainan Island, attracts tourists from all around the world with its unique tropical scenery and local ethnic customs.     

Journey to Sanmenxia

Sanmenxia Gorge on the Yellow River is one of the cradles of the Chinese nation. With its vast number of natural and human landscapes, cultural relics and sites, it is a fitting place to learn about China's ancient civilization and modern miracles.     

“Consent is Good,Joyous, Sexy”: A banner campaign to market consent to college students

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study assessed the recall of, reaction to, and understanding of a brief campus banner campaign promoting consent in sexual relationships, and determined whether campaign exposure was associated with subsequent engagement in activities related to sexual assault education, awareness, and prevention. Participants: A stratified random sample of 1,200 undergraduates was recruited during fall of 2010; 628 (52.3%) participated. Methods: To account for history and maturation, an experimental research design was employed with an online survey. Results: Direct and indirect campaign exposure was associated with increased action. Students expressed primarily positive reactions to and appeared to understand the consent message. The campaign appealed to and was associated with increased activity among a wide range of students with one exception: a negative effect was observed for business students. Conclusions: Colorful banners with pithy, upbeat messages hold promise for engaging undergraduates in conversations and proactive activities related to sexual assault prevention.     

Action to Help

DOCTOR Lu was distributing medicine to patients in the gynecology and obstetrics department of the Anshansi Township Hospiral in Huairou County, a suburb north of Beijing. First, she noted down the patient's name and condition, then handed her a bottle of Fujie Lotion and a douche bottle. The medicine and douche bottle were provided free.     

Love to Pipa

AN entirely new pipa solo was held at the International Artistic World inside the Beijing Crown Holiday Inn Hotel on the night of August 17, 1996. Though the young pipa player Wang     

Visit to Japan

BETWEEN November 8 to 17, 1995, the Chinese women's delegation, led by Ms. Kang Ling, member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), visited Gunma Prefecture, Japan, with short stays in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. The visit was at the invitation of the Gunma Prefectural Government and was the twelfth women's delegation to make the journey since the friendly contacts were established between the ACWF and Gunma Prefecture.     

From Play to Art—From Experience to Insight

This article investigates the role of play and playlike activities (imagination, art) in developing and using symbolic tools. We understand processes of development of symbolic tools as coordination between two types of relationships: the subject–object relationships and the subject–subject relationships. This coordination begins when a new, playlike frame of activity is introduced in the interaction. The imaginary frame of activity changes relationships between the participants. Furthermore, the imaginary activity frame may enter into interaction with the out-of-play activity frames (“reality” frames). Structures and relationships built within the imaginary frames are then used to shape the actual understanding of the world (subject–object relationship) as well as the interpersonal relationships and identities of the participants.

Introduction and further development of imaginary frames is a recursive process that takes place on different but related time scales: from microdevelopment through ontogenetic development to cultural development. Our project was designed to demonstrate some of the key moments that occur in the symbolic construction, in an “untangled” manner. To that effect, we designed a drama workshop to outline and illustrate processes that take place at the point of introduction of a new, imaginary frame and at the point when this imaginary frame begins to interact with the out-of-play frames. The aim of the workshop was to magnify each stage in construction of semiotic tools by “walking” professional researchers through a series of playlike activities.     

Prelude to Gold

FEMALE Chinese athletes Fu Mingxia and Wang Junxia recorded outstanding performances at 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Fu Mingxia won gold medals in both platform and springboard diving, and in so doing became the first double medal winner in Olympic diving since 1960. Wang Junxia, the holder of several world records in women's long distance events, struggled against the odds and captured gold in the 5,000-meter event,     

Close to Wurina

AT the Central University for Nationalities campus, I met a Mongolian teacher. Knowing I am a journalist in charge of the column "Ethnic Women," he opened-up. He told me that Mongolian women are traditionally good at singing and dancing, warm-hearted, outspoken and industrious. Pride can be read from his words, "At the Central University for Nationalities, there are a lot of female Mongolian teachers. Prof. Wurina, who teaches the history of foreign literature in the Chinese Department, is one of the most prominent. She is deputy to Haidian District People's Congress of Beijing.