Helping oneself by helping others: evaluation of a service credit banking demonstration

Between 1987 and 1990, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded six service credit banking demonstration programs among the elderly in which participants delivered services in return for credits, entitling them to later service. This evaluation of the demonstrations found that these six sites successfully attracted elders for the delivery of household support services to a relatively old, frail population with potentially limited social networks. Evidence on the significance of the "credit" in attracting volunteers was mixed, but the programs have attracted new volunteers, and have not substituted for other volunteer activities. Program development has entailed considerable staff investment in volunteer support; programs are better understood as community membership organizations than as mechanical exchanges.     

Breast implants, Hippocrates, and burden of proof

The author argues that the burden of proof for the safety and efficacy of some medical devices properly lies with the manufacturers of the devices and with the providers who use them. The controversy over breast implants is used as a case for this shift in the burden of proof of safety and effectiveness.     

"The responsibility to inform, the power to act": a conference for New England college newspaper editors on the role of the campus press in addressing substance use issues.

College newspapers are a powerful but underutilized medium for educating students on health issues, including those related to drug and alcohol use on campus. Editors of these publications are in a position to wield significant influence among their readers. In addition to communicating factual information about the prevalence and impact of substance use among college students, editors can use the press to advocate changes in students' attitudes and behaviors and in college or community policies that affect substance use. A pilot conference was held to help New England college newspaper editors perceive the importance of their role in educating their peers about substance use and other health-related issues, and to offer concrete suggestions as to how they can incorporate these topics into an "activist" campus press.     

Conference on international manpower flows and foreign investment in the Asian region

This is a report from a conference held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1991 on the economic aspects of labor mobility in Asia. The authors briefly describe selected papers given at the conference and outline conference topics. A list of participants is included. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

The future of refugee flows and policies

"The number of forced migrants...is estimated today to exceed 40 million [worldwide]. The changed international climate of the 1990s...has shifted the focus from the asylum and resettlement countries to the countries of origin: there is today a greater willingness to intervene in other countries' affairs either to avert the creation of new flows of focused migrants or to assist internally displaced populations, and there is the expectation of large-scale voluntary returns of refugees in asylum. This article discusses these and other policy issues concerning forced migration in this new international environment."     

Woman cadres are women's friends

The All-China Women's Federation (WF) is a non-governmental organization of women and the highest leading body of the Women's Federations at all levels of the country. The WFS spare no efforts to do women good turns, work for their well-being and serve them wholeheartedly. The WFs are actively organizing women to learn to read and write and to acquire skills. The WFs play a role in protecting and education women, and in struggling for the safeguard of the legitimate rights of women and children. The WFs at all levels have been showing great concern for family planning. Finally, the WFs devote much attention to the training of women cadres, and to the improvement of their cultural level and working ability.     

Treatment of the emotionally disturbed,mildly retarded youngster in the foster care system

This paper demonstrates the need for a broad array of clinical services in treating the emotionally disturbed, mildly retarded youngster in the foster care system. A hypothesis suggests that cognitive deficits and borderline pathology are interrelated, and that treatment involves modifications of traditional therapeutic techniques. The definition of clinical is expanded to include seemingly concrete and environmental services, in addition to the office therapy session. Finally, some systemic impediments to effective treatment of the population are explored.This paper was completed as a requirement of the Post-Master's Program in Advanced Clinical Social Work of Hunter College School of Social Work.     

The therapeutic utilization of canines in a child welfare setting

This article describes the therapeutic use of canines in child welfare work. The chronically rejected child, or those who virtually spend their entire youth in care, tend to develop a withdrawn, depressed, and suspicious posture toward their relations with other people. This ultimately results in their failure to respond to conventional treatment modalities. Under these circumstances, the canine intervention may prove to be a valuable adjunct, helping to develop and to expedite the process of the therapeutic alliance.This article is a revised version of one presented to meet the requirements for the Masters in Social Work Degree from Hunter College School of Social Work.     

The Canadian temporary visa programme as an alternative to the European guest worker scheme

This article analyzes Canada's employment visa program, through which foreigners enter the Canadian labor market for relatively short time periods. It further demonstrates some major differences between this policy and the European guest worker scheme. Governments in Western Europe viewed guest workers' benefits as preventing wages and inflation from rising, allowing profits and investments to increase, and sustaining economic growth. A question to consider is whether guest workers' demands on social services, in relation to their tax and other contributions, exceed those of the indigenous population and thus reduce their profitability. Canada, in contrast, has avoided the need to provide services for the children of foreign workers or jobs for their spouses by limiting visa length to a maximum of 1 year. The majority of employment visa holders to Canada enter without dependents. Another difference is the far smaller scope of the Canadian program. Canada's employment visa program provides only about 0.5% of total employment, whereas guest workers in European countries may comprise up to 23% (Switzerland). The occupations of service and teaching account for the majority of workers included in the Canadian visa program, while manufacturing subsumes a large share of European guest workers. It is important to stress that, with relatively low levels for permanent immigration to Canada, the employment visa program rivals that flow as a yearly contributor to labor supply, indicating a need for closer attention to the evaluation of this policy.