Searching for a Capacity Building Model in Social Work Education in China

This paper contains our reflections about our experiences in employing a capacity building model for training social workers to conduct community development work in rural China. Unlike the conventional approach to social work practicum, our approach advocates an educational practice of capacity building; not only for local people and learners, but for educators as well. It stresses that the educator should assume a non‐expert role in relating to his/her students so that the students will do the same with local people. We challenge the concept of the social work educator as an expert because it gives a teacher the power and authority to dominate students, which disempowers students during the learning process. In the same vein, we challenge the desire of social work students to become experts in rural development, which in turn disempowers local people from taking charge of the future direction of their lives in rural China. The capacity building approach subscribes to a critical pedagogy that calls for a re‐invention of self by challenging tradition and culture, and by developing academic knowledge, the habit of inquiry and critical curiosity about society, power, inequality, and social change.     

Sex differences in psychological and psychophysiological arousal patterns: a study of 'working couples'

A pilot study of six couples, in which both partners had jobs outside the home, was carried out to examine the impact of 'dual task-dual role' status on the female relative to the male partner. Psychological well-being and adrenomedullary functioning were monitored in 'at home' and 'outside the home' work situations. Results showed that females' adrenomedullary activity remained high across both situations, while males' 'at home' levels for the 'Late' Saturday and 'Early' and 'Late' Sunday periods were significantly lower than their 'outside the home' midweek levels. Males' and females' 'outside the home' levels and 'Late' Sunday 'at home' levels did not differ significantly, but females had significantly higher levels of adrenomedullary activity than males on the 'Late' Saturday and 'Early' Sunday periods. Differences in self-rated positive and negative mood were not significant either within or between groups. The implication of these trends for research on sex differences in stress is discussed.     

Westerns,Weddings and Web‐Weavers: Reading Gender as Genre in Organizational Theory

This article focuses on the process of reading and its role in the construction of knowledge. Reading is an activity which is personal yet never singular: we bring to our reading of one text a range of knowledges, experiences and strategies derived from other texts. This ‘intertextuality’ means that ‘meaning‐making’ is a complex negotiation process between reader and text, whereby linkages are made between divergent genres. This is explored through the author's own personal experiences of reading gender/organizational theory. These readings demonstrate the way in which ‘narratives’ of other genres, such as film and fiction, spill over, infect and manipulate the construction of narratives within organizational texts. Further, the ready intertextual connections which are made help to expose some of the embedded assumptions about gender. Whilst these are, in the main, quite traditional, the consideration of the processes involved in reading helps to challenge these as ‘truths’ as well as signpost possibilities for new forms of writing gender/organizational theory.     

Adult youth workers’ conceptions of their work in an under-resourced community in the United States

This study examined adult workers’ conceptions of their work with youth in a large, underserved, urban region in the northeastern United States. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 18 youth workers from various organizations, affiliated with a community coalition focused on substance abuse prevention, we explored how adults viewed their role of working with youth. We were particularly interested in whether these workers saw youth empowerment and collaboration with youth for community change as part of their role. Our data suggested that while workers in this study were very supportive of youth, the support and actions they provided were on behalf of rather than with them and that, in general, partnering with youth for community change was not a part of what they envisioned their work to be. While a few of the adults attempted to work more collaboratively with youth, they were clearly in the minority.     

Nonverbal behavior correlated with the shaped verbal behavior of children

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior - Children under 6 years old pressed on response windows behind which stimuli appeared (star or tree). Presses occasionally lit lamps arranged in a column; a present...     

Examining links between cocaine use and street-based sex work in New South Wales, Australia

We examined potential links between cocaine use and street-based sex work in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, following reports of increased cocaine use among injection drug users (IDU). Police data on prostitution and possession/use of cocaine was analysed using time series analysis. Interviews with key informants and IDU were also conducted, and data on cocaine use from ongoing monitoring systems targeted at IDU were analysed. There was a clear increase in cocaine use among IDU which occurred in 2001. This occurred at the same time as an increase in prostitution offenses. Qualitative data suggested that a greater number of primary heroin users were engaging in street-based sex work, which was driven in part by the increases in cocaine use among this group. Subsequent reductions in cocaine availability led to decreased cocaine use and possession offenses, along with reductions in prostitution offenses.     

The Influence of Relationship Power Dynamics on HIV Testing in Rural Malawi

Using the theory of gender and power (TGP) and data from the Tsogolo la Thanzi (TLT) study, we examined how relationship power shapes young people's decisions to test for HIV in rural Malawi (N=932), a high-HIV prevalence setting undergoing rapid expansions in testing services. We used generalized estimating equations (GEE) to examine associations among five constructs of relationship power (socioeconomic inequalities, relationship dominance, relationship violence, relationship unity, and mistrust), perceived risk, and receiving an HIV test over a 16-month period. The results indicate that young Malawians are testing for HIV at relatively high rates, repeatedly, and not just during pregnancy. Over the study period, 47.3% of respondents received at least one HIV test outside of TLT (range: 0–4). The GEE analysis revealed that men and women with higher levels of relationship unity were less likely to test for HIV. For men, being a victim of sexual coercion was an additional barrier to testing. Women's testing decisions were more strongly influenced by perceptions of a partner's risk for HIV than their own, whereas men relied more on self-assessments. The results highlight that testing decisions are deeply embedded within the relationship context, which should be considered in future HIV testing interventions.     

Devolution and Patient Choice: Policy Rhetoric versus Experience in Practice

Background: market reforms in England have been identified as making a clear distinction between English health policy and health policy in the devolved systems in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Patient choice is a high profile policy in the English National Health Service that constitutes significant changes to the demand side of health care. It is not clear what national differences this has led to regarding implementation of policy. This article presents the findings from a large UK‐wide study on the development and implementation of policies related to patient choice of provider. The findings reported here relate specifically to the policy development and organizational implementation of choice in order to examine the impact of devolution on health care policy. Aim: this study examines patient choice of provider across all four countries of the UK to understand the effect of differences in national policies on the organization and service how choice of provider presented to patients. Methods: at the macro‐level, we interviewed policymakers and examined policy and guidance documents to analyze the provenance and determinants of national policy in each UK nation. At the Primary Care Trust or Health Board level, we interviewed a range of public and private health service providers to identify the range of referral pathways and where and when choices might be made. Finally, we interviewed ear, nose and throat, and orthopaedics patients to understand how such choices were experienced. Findings: while we found that distinct rhetorical differences were identifiable at a national policy level, these were less visible at the level of service organization and the way choices were provided to patients. Conclusion: historical similarities in both the structure and operation of health care, coupled with common operational objectives around efficient resource use and waiting times, mediate how strategic policy is implemented and experienced in the devolved nations of the UK.     

No safety net for disabled children in residential institutions in Ireland

The voices of adults and children with disabilities who have experienced violence and abuse are slowly beginning to surface in the public domain. Segregated residential institutions run by religious congregations appear to be dangerous places for children with disabilities and perceived differences – according to the former residents, speaking and communicating to us today as adults in Ireland. A statutory Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse in Ireland attracted important numbers of former residents – witnesses – who recounted appalling experiences of violence as children. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities contains articles concerning the prevention of cruelty, sexual assault, violence and acts of humiliation that may be useful for countries like Ireland which have been unable to ratify the Convention. The protection of children with disabilities requires legal reform in Ireland, statutory licensing, monitoring and inspection of the segregated centres where children with disabilities are living.