AIDS,the individual,family and community: psychosocial issues

Understanding of the psychosocial factors associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) at both the individual and societal levels is essential to the design of programs aimed at treating the virus and containing its spread. In Africa, AIDS has profound implications for economic development, the general quality of life, demographic patterns, male-female relationships, child development, and family structure. Relevant psychosocial issues include fear of the unknown and the tendency to depersonalize AIDS victims, burn-out on the part of caretakers, fear of contagion, fear of being around a dying person, helplessness, and anger. Poverty undermines coping capacities and pushes many families affected by AIDS into disorganization and crisis. Moreover, the shame and guilt associated with AIDS in Africa leads many families to isolate themselves from social support. Through trends such as the loss of skilled manpower to AIDS and a need for aging parents to reassume full care of infected adult children, AIDS has disrupted Africa's social system as well. Community education is essential to reduce fears related to living amidst those who are infected, sick, and dying and minimize the erosion of societal institutions.     

Child effects in socialization research: Some conceptual and data analysis issues

This paper examines issues associated with the conceptualization of child effects in socialization research and outlines possible data analysis strategies that may be used with contemporaneous correlational data from parents and children. The paper begins with an outline of some recognized prohlems in the studv of child effects. The role of cognitive factors, which complicate efforts to disentangle child effects, is emphasized, in an attempt to clarify further the meaning of child effect, three different types of effect are outlined and then a distinction is made between moderator and mediator variables. In general, a moderator variable specifies when certain outcomes will hold (e.g. for one type of child but not another), whereas a mediator variable indicates how or why the outcome occurs. The distinction between moderator-mediator variables provides the main focus of the paper. It assists in the conceptualization of child effects, as well as having direct implications for data analysis strategies. The relevance of the distinction is illustrated via data from a study of family relationships. The use of correlations, multiple regressions with interaction terms, and latent variable path analysis are examined as ways of investigating moderator and then mediator variables. Conclusions are reached about conceptual and data analysis difficulties associated with attempts to determine child effects.     

非人类中心环境伦理学的若干理论问题

非人类中心环境伦理的建立需要在理论上对传统的伦理思想有一些重大的突破。从历史上人类道德意识发展的趋势看 ,人们将道德关怀的范围扩展到人类之外是有可能的 ;但从道德行为的性质看 ,非人类中心的环境伦理得面对一些重要的理论难题。解决这些难题的关键 ,不在于根据既有的伦理原则进行逻辑的推衍 ,而在于人们通过跟非人类生命形式的沟通而建立起与它们的认同。这种认同在程度和范围上受到的限制意味着非人类中心的环境伦理可能也只能在有限的意义上建立。     

The influence of organizational and personal characteristics on community planning activity

The authors identify the influence of organizational and personal characteristics on the tendencies of community organizational workers in Israel to implement planning activities. The research examines these factors in relation to two planning styles, rational and organizational-political, and also distinguishes among factors influencing the tendency for implementation of each style. The principal findings indicate that the tendency of workers to implement rational activities is influenced by mechanical characteristics of the organization. On the other hand, the tendency of the workers to implement organizational-political activities is influenced significantly by organic characteristics--variety and conflict--with the organization. The frequency of use of both styles is influenced by professional education in community organization.     

Techniques for overcoming community resistance to family planning programs

Methods of overcoming resistance to publicly subsidized family planning programs are discussed. The main sources of opposition include groups that oppose family planning for moral reasons, and those who object to the spending of government funds to provide services and information. Such opposition can be weakened by indicating that family planning clinics fulf: 11 important medical needs. Presenting social justification for family planning can help to lower oppostion. In order to secure participation in the programs by low income groups it is essential to have community leaders involved in policy decisions and to use indigenous community paraprofessionals in the clinics. A coalition of representatives of the poor community and the health and welfare system, aided by the community organization, can lead to an effective family planning program.     

Some quantitative concepts of value and utility from a utilitarian point of view

This paper clarifies and interprets some basic quantitative concepts of value, utility and utility function from a utilitarian point of view. First, I discuss the question as to whether value is objective or subjective. I hold that value is subjective and statistical in nature (although from the various subjective values of a certain object a norm can usually be obtained). Second, I emphasize the distinction between use value and exchange value in relation to utility. Third, I propose a law of diminishing incremental interest, which refers to the incremental (marginal) utility of money. Fourth, I identify the utility of money with the von Neumann-Morgenstern utility. Fifth, I question the necessity of the usual normalization of utility functions and the restricted linear transformation (and the consequent concept of strategic equivalence). Sixth, I discuss in detail the terminal values and utilities of a utility function from a philosophical rather than mathematical point of view, particularly the boundedness of a utility function and the magnitudes of V ₀ and U ₀. Finally, I conclude that, in order to be able to have interpersonal comparisons of utility, utility should have the same dimension as value rather than no dimension, and the normalization problem should be reconsidered in the light of terminal values and utilities.     

Environmental issues affecting elder abuse victims in their reception of community based services

This study examined the dominant factors that predict the utilization of services by 129 identified elder abuse victims who reside in the community. Utilizing the Andersen Model, services accepted or rejected were analyzed from individual, family and environmental perspectives. Results indicated that service utilization is related to three "need" factors: (1) Victim has cognitive and ADL impairments, (2) Victim has poor health status (self rated), and (3) The abuser is financially dependent on the victim and is also the primary caregiver of the victim. "Enabling" factor (1) Victim lives alone. "Predisposing" factors (1) Abuser is substance abuser and (2) Abuser is female. A great proportion of the elder abuse victims in this study accepted services from an agency that provided a single entry point into the service system and had highly trained personnel utilizing a case management approach.     

Some issues arising in the analysis of the development level of cultural and welfare service

ABSTRACT

A crucial factor in the shaping of state policy for social work and development is to satisfy various needs in people’s living. The work of satisfying people’s demand for enhanced well-being and the elimination of inequalities in their living is realised through the activity called cultural and welfare service. On the basis of theoretical research on other kinds of services, in this paper, we conceptualised cultural and welfare service that seeks to satisfy various demands in people’s living, set main indicators characterising its development level and suggest a methodology for analysing it.     

Trade and environment issues in APEC

The central argument of this article is that regional economic integration must be complemented by the creation of regional frameworks for environmental management. Beyond working to expand market access, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Mechanism (APEC) countries must cooperate to create conditions which provide incentives for sustainable resource and ecosystem use. In this way, trade and environmental policies can mutually reinforce each other. In one way or another, it is likely that environmental issues will be on the agenda. The crucial issue is how deep and broad will be the integration of trade and environmental concerns. This article suggests some guiding principles and innovative strategies.     

Disclosure issues in neuroscience research

Issues of disclosure arise in neuroscientific research during the informed consent process, whenever incidental findings are identified, and when study results are generated. The possibility of disclosure of incidental findings and/or research results may raise informational expectations on the part of subjects and may alter a study's risk:benefit ratio. We recommend that the informed consent process address this potential consequence of research participation, and specify the conditions under which particular types of information will be offered, the conditions under which information may not be disclosed, and any provisions for helping subjects make sense of the information to be disclosed.     

哲学观与哲学研究的重大问题(英文)

近年来,中国哲学界开展了当前马克思主义哲学研究的重大问题的讨论。人们对重大问题的不同看法,表现了对哲学性质和功能的理解等哲学观的差异,特别是对马克思哲学革命实质的理解的差异。本文认为,马克思的哲学革命终结了理论形而上学,但保留了传统哲学关于人的自由和全面发展的理想,保留了传统哲学超越的形而上学维度。只有进入和保持在哲学思维方式的水平上,才能有哲学意义和性质的重大问题研究,哲学思维方式仍是哲学研究的根本问题。     

中国社区建设：问题与方向

社区的真正本质是社区精神。人们通过参与社区生活,形成对自己生活和工作社区的认同。中国社会有着自己独特的历史和人文生态环境,它的社区发展和社会结构与西方有着明显区别,中国的社会组织没有得到充分发育,政府在社区发展中起主导作用,社区建设应该培育居民的共同体意识,并针对特定的社会问题（诸如无家可归、失业下岗、家庭照顾、贫困等）。     

Child involvement in treatment planning and assessment in Israel

What can facilitate at‐risk children's involvement in treatment planning and assessment? We examine this question by investigating the perceptions, attitudes, and characteristics of Israeli social workers. We examine whether their seniority, views on the importance of children's participation, and their attitudes toward parents are related to their report of at‐risk children's involvement in treatment planning and placement decisions. At‐risk children's involvement includes preparing them to appear before the committees that handle placement decisions for youth and the social workers' willingness to consider children's opinions. Eighty coordinators of these committees in social services departments in Israel participated. Our findings indicate that, based on the coordinators' answers, at‐risk children are more likely to be involved in treatment planning and assessment committees when the child protection officers prepare parents prior to participating in the committee meetings, and when the coordinators assigned the case are more senior. The influence of children's opinions on the decisions of the committees was predicted by the weight their parents' opinions carried and whether their parents received any relevant materials prior to the committee meetings. Our findings highlight the importance of involving parents in treatment planning and assessment committees' decision making.     

Social security reforms in China: issues and prospects

The phenomenal success of China's market-oriented economic reforms since the 1980s has rendered the traditional employment-based social security system increasingly inadequate and inefficient. For decades, the Chinese government has been trying to develop a more pluralistic, effective and affordable social security system which will be compatible with both a thriving market economy and a flagging socialist political structure. While the emerging system is still struggling with a variety of operational problems, the entry of China into the WTO is looming as a formidable challenge to this social security system. This presentation outlines the recent reforms of the social security system undertaken by the Chinese government, and assesses the effectiveness of the results in meeting the challenge. Here, social security reforms focus on the retirement and unemployment insurance schemes and the social assistance program.