Social work direct practice with women prisoners

Abstract

A general awareness of destructive cults is increasing with a number of groups self-destructing in recent years. What is generally less well known is the phenomenon of smaller, but no less destructive groups that are found in society. From the author's experience, few health professionals are knowledgable about cult dynamics and the variegated approach needed to address the therapeutic concerns of those who leave such groups. This paper will highlight some of the difficulties for the individual who leaves an abusive group, and will offer guidelines for the social worker who attempts to understand the needs of the ex-cultist. It will briefly outline some of the thought reforming processes that an individual can undergo in certain groups, and explore various facets of assessment and intervention.     

An Analysis of Specific Life Satisfaction Domains and Disordered Eating among College Students

Research has revealed that overall life satisfaction (LS) is negatively related to disordered eating. This study examined whether specific LS domains (e.g., family, friends, etc.) were more strongly associated with eating behaviors/weight perceptions (e.g., exercising to lose weight, using laxatives to lose weight, etc.) in 723 randomly selected college students analyzed separately by gender. Data were analyzed using logistic and multiple regression procedures. Results supported the hypotheses in the expected directions. College students’ weight perceptions had the strongest relationships with Satisfaction with Self and Satisfaction with Physical Appearance, and these relationships were stronger among females than males. Worrying about weight, self-described weight, and binge eating were significantly correlated with all LS domains (p < .05). Results suggest potential contributions of differentiating among the domains of LS in efforts to understand disordered eating among males and female college students. Implications for practice are discussed briefly.     

Immigration in the 2008 Virginia presidential election: A cultural issue remains puissant despite an economic crisis

In 2006 and 2007, many analysts expected that immigration would be one of the top domestic issues in the 2008 campaign. However, in the 2008 presidential general election, immigration issues were never a major topic between candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. This was partially because McCain has more moderate views toward immigration reform than the passionate anti-immigration faction of the Republican Party. Prior research suggests that an issue in a presidential campaign can remain influential even when the media and campaigns are not discussing or addressing the issue, even when the candidates or parties do not differ greatly on the issue. In a survey of Virginia residents conducted just before the November election, immigration attitudes were a differential factor between McCain and Obama.     

Cycles of shame: Menstrual shame,body shame,and sexual decision‐making

Although numerous factors have been implicated in women's sexual decision‐making, less attention has been focused on how their feelings about their bodies and reproductive functions affect these processes. Recent findings link menstrual shame to lower levels of sexual activity and higher levels of sexual risk; however, the mechanisms behind these relations remain unexplored. Accordingly, this study investigates the contributions of menstrual shame and global body shame to sexual decision‐making among 199 undergraduate women. Using structural equation modeling, we evaluated a mediated model, whereby menstrual shame is indirectly associated with sexual decision‐making via body shame. As expected, women who reported feeling more comfort about menstruation also reported more body comfort and, in turn, more sexual assertiveness, more sexual experience, and less sexual risk.     

繁荣伦理学:信息时代的一种伦理学理论

本文描述一种新的伦理学理论,这个理论融合了国际计算机伦理学界一些学者的著述而开始形成。由于这个新的伦理学理论根植于亚里士多德学派,我称它为"繁荣伦理学",虽然它也包含了一些使人联想起道家和佛教的思想。尽管繁荣伦理学根植于古代伦理学理论,但它的基础是近年来对于有生命的事物、人性和宇宙基本性质的科学洞见——这些来自今天的信息理论、天体物理和遗传学的思想;并且通过这些科学洞见,繁荣伦理学为人们所了解。繁荣伦理学可以很方便地分为两部分。第一部分我称之为"以人类为中心的繁荣伦理学",专门集中关注人类——人类的行动、价值和品质。第二部分,我称之为"普遍的繁荣伦理学",运用于宇宙中的每一个物理实体,包括人类。与其说繁荣伦理学取代了传统的"重大的伦理学理论",不如说它很可能加深和拓宽我们对于传统的"重大的伦理学理论"的理解。