Social Work and Social Justice: What Are We Fighting For?

Abstract

A cardinal value of social work practice is social justice. Social justice ranks as the second of five values that underpin the Code of Ethics of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW. However, although social work's commitment to promoting social justice is laudable and, indeed, may even be a distinguishing feature of the profession, precisely what kind of social justice does social work espouse? The answer to this question remains unclear. Views about the nature and scope of social justice stem from broader conceptions of justice that not only differ from, but may also conflict with, each other. Therefore, it is important not only for social work to be clear about the type of social justice that it currently advocates, but also to ensure that it is one that the profession seeks to defend and maximise. It is argued that the choice must be as egalitarian as possible. Indeed, it must be radically so. Otherwise, what is social work fighting for?     

Barriers to Birth Control Knowledge

This title may appear incongruous in a country such as Australia which is reputed to have the highest incidence of oral contraception intake in the world. The writer has found, however, in the course of participating in the establishing of three different family-planning clinics, that barriers do exist to both the spread of knowledge and the provision of family planning. These barriers can be either easily identified or largely hidden and will be discussed below.     

Community Service Work,Civic Engagement,and “Giving Back” to Society: Key Factors in Improving Interethnic Relationships and Achieving “Connectedness” in Ethnically Diverse Communities

Abstract

Recently, the topics of community service activity and civic engagement relative to psychosocial benefits have received considerable attention. The current study addresses the relationship between community service activities, interethnic attitudes and individual perceptions of the value, relevance and importance of community service activities. We hypothesized that as subjects (n=40) participated in a variety of community service related activities, their perception of the overall importance of community engagement and interethnic attitudes (i.e., reductions in ethnocentrism) would significantly increase. A paired-samples t test showed significant increases among topics addressing perceptions of the importance of community service work and improvements among interethnic attitudes (p<.007). Results of the study and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Breastfeeding Patterns and Determinants in the Near East: An Analysis for Four Countries

Few detailed studies of the determinants of breastfeeding behaviour have been carried out, especially in the Middle East. We provide a comparative investigation of patterns and determinants of breastfeeding in four Middle East countries (Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia and Yemen) based on WFS data. Differences in factors influencing ever-breastfeeding, continuing breastfeeding from very short to moderate durations, and extending breastfeeding into the second year are observed, indicating ‘structural shifts’ in the determinants of breastfeeding. Differences between countries are also found which can only roughly be associated with differences in modernization and urbanization. Lack of consistently negative effects of women's education and work status variables is attributed to the extremely low levels of both in the region. Interesting results are observed regarding effects of pill use and sex of child (boys being breastfed longer), suggesting the need for thorough studies to explain these findings further.     

The Effects of Breastfeeding and Nutrition on Fecundability in Rural Bangladesh: A Hazards-Model Analysis

Data taken from the ‘Determinants of Natural Fertility’ study, Bangladesh, are used with multivariate hazard models to study variations in fecundability between women, especially the relationship between nutritional status, breastfeeding practices, and the monthly probability of conceiving. It is found that fecundability varies both between women of a given age and, for a particular woman, by age. The variation is related to four variables: separation, which affects coital frequency; age, which represents biological changes; lactation practices; and the duration of amenorrhoea. Nutrition above famine or starvation levels is not a significant determinant of fecundability. The most surprising finding is the effect of the pattern of breastfeeding on fecundability: as a menstruating woman begins to wean her child, her probability of conceiving increases as her serum prolactin, which inhibits ovulation, decreases. Thus, those menstruating women who are most likely to conceive are those who have completely weaned their infants in the very recent past.     

Population policy in Mainland China

Population policy in Communist China has little demographic significance. It is of interest mainly for what it reveals about the nature of the administrative and decision making process in Peking. Although the evidence is often ambiguous, six fairly distinct phases of population policy can be distinguished, during which policy shifted from categoric denial of population problems to an endorsement of birth control and back to the denial of population problems. There are indications that the birth control campaign was first activated in response to fears of overpopulation, that it was abandoned during the “ leap forward ” in 1958 because the Chinese Communist leaders actually believed their economic expedients had achieved miraculous success, and that the recent absence of explicit policy reflects both a disillusionment with the “ leap forward ” and reluctance to resume openly the birth control campaign. Apparently, Peking is at present waiting hopefully for good news from the agricultural front before undertaking another major policy revision; if this hope is disappointed, the consequences may have great international significance.     

Contraception and the medical profession

Birth control practice is to-day regarded by a substantial and influential majority of doctors as an important element in preventive medicine and the provision of contraceptive advice an appropriate activity for the medical practitioner. This viewpoint is, however, a product of the last forty years and its adoption represents one of the major achievements of the English birth control movement whose past activities have been as much impeded by the hostility of the medical profession as by the opposition of religious groups and the indifference of public opinion.     

A political profile of Protestant minorities in Europe

This article uses a large volume of data – in particular, surveys – to explore the character of Protestant identity in contemporary European states. It distinguishes three contexts. First, in the Nordic and certain adjacent states, the dominance of Protestantism was complete, but more recent secularisation has provoked a reaction from Christian parties, which enjoy strong support from active Protestants. Second, in certain states that in the past were predominantly Protestant, and where the ethos of the state was aggressively so, a significant Catholic minority was counter-mobilised politically, but as the dominant state-building parties became increasingly secular, committed Protestants reacted in different ways, including the formation of splinter parties (as in the Netherlands and Switzerland) or working within the traditional parties (as in Great Britain and Germany). Third, in a few states there has traditionally been a small Protestant minority, which has played a significant role in national development, but in these cases (mainly successor states to the Habsburg monarchy) decades of communist rule have largely obliterated what might have been distinctive patterns of political behaviour. The article explores variation in group identity patterns and in attitudes towards the state in those cases for which appropriate survey data are available, and devotes particular attention to the position within the United Kingdom, where religion has played a prominent role in the state- and nation-building process.     

A Pilot Study of the Application of the Transtheoretical Model During Strength Training in Older Women

A Transtheoretical Model (TTM) goal-setting tool was used during strength training in women. Volunteers (mean age = 69, N = 27) were assigned to a strength training only or strength training/behavior change 12-week intervention. A pre/posttest, quasiexperimental design assessed TTM constructs, Health-Related Quality of Life, and functional fitness measurements. Multiple ANCOVAs revealed significant differences between groups on lower body strength (p = .001), upper body flexibility (p = .002), Decisional Balance (p = .024,) and Stage of Change for Exercise (p = .010). Stage of change progression may be enhanced using a goal-setting tool during strength training in older women.