Historical and cultural perspectives on socialization

The article examines how infants are first permeated by culture. Building on Thibault (2000), semiogenesis is traced to the joint activity of primary intersubjectivity. Using an African example, analysis shows how--at 14 weeks--an infant already uses culturally specific indicators of "what a caregiver wants." Human predispositions and the mother's enactment of cultural processes enable the child to give joint activity a specific "sense." Developmentally, the child prods the caregiver to shaping his or her actions around social norms that transform the infant's world. This nascent lopsided relation is probably necessary for learning to talk. Acting with its mother, the baby's full-bodied activity uses adult "understanding" in ways that are cultural, contingent, and indexical. Infant activity is already semiotic.     

The last drag: an evaluation of an LGBT-specific smoking intervention

Many studies in the past 20 years have documented that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals smoke at rates that exceed the general population, yet, there have been few reports of smoking cessation interventions targeting this population. This study reports on data from 233 participants in The Last Drag, a seven-session, six-week group education and support intervention tailored for LGBT smokers. Data on smoking rates were collected during the first and last sessions, and at one, three, and six months post-intervention. As with many interventions over time, missing data is a challenge in determining success rates, but even using the most conservative estimates, nearly 60% were smoke-free at the end of the intervention, and 36% remained smoke-free by six months post-intervention. This success rate is comparable to, or better, than many mainstream smoking cessation interventions reported in the literature. The Last Drag is an effective, low-cost, LGBT-specific community intervention that can be replicated in other communities.     

Towards a critical discourse analysis of New Zealand security policy in Afghanistan

ABSTRACT

Rather than ask why New Zealand supported the intervention, this paper focuses on how representations of New Zealand and the international terrorist threat resulted in public acquiescence to a pre-emptive strike by the world's sole superpower against one of the poorest, most war-torn countries in the world. The paper concludes that legitimacy was achieved through the blending of themes of terrorism and war, national interest and democracy, rule of law and human rights, to produce an ambiguous ‘international campaign against terrorism’ that allowed for picking and choosing of the most convenient position on different matters. The alternative—to refuse moral and material support for the United States-led ‘war on terror’—was to risk New Zealand's membership of the United States-led international community and a ‘seat at the table’ in future international trade and security negotiations. As such, any campaign benefits appear to have accrued to New Zealand rather than Afghanistan or the Afghan people, especially given the parlous state of that country in 2018. A wide-ranging debate within New Zealand on the purpose of such interventions is needed before similar commitments are made in the future.     

Social Workers’ Perceptions of Job Satisfaction,Interdisciplinary Collaboration,and Organizational Leadership

ABSTRACT

To address job satisfaction, and therefore employment retention, of hospice social workers, this study examined how relationships with other members of the interdisciplinary hospice team and perceptions of hospice leadership may be associated with job satisfaction of hospice social workers. The sample of 203 hospice social workers was recruited by e-mailing invitations to hospice social workers identified by hospice directors in three states, use of online social media sites accessed by hospice social workers, and snowball sampling. Study measures included professional experience, hospice characteristics, interdisciplinary collaboration, perception of servant leadership, and intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. Variables significant in the model for intrinsic satisfaction were perception of servant leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration, and feeling valued by the hospice physician. Variables significant in the model for extrinsic satisfaction were perception of servant leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration, feeling valued by the hospice physician, and number of social workers at the hospice. Interdisciplinary collaboration was more important for intrinsic job satisfaction and leadership style was more important for extrinsic job satisfaction. Profit status of the hospice, experience of the social worker, caseload size, and other variables were not significant in either model. These results support previous findings that leadership style of the hospice director and relationships with hospice colleagues are important for hospice social workers’ job satisfaction. Such low-cost modifications to the hospice work environment, albeit not simple, may improve job satisfaction of hospice social workers.     

Evaluation of the Alumni Program. A shared-care model for psychosis

This article describes the results of a prospective, naturalistic evaluation of the Alumni Program, conducted by the Psychotic Disorders Clinic at the McMaster Site of Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The Alumni Program is a form of continuing psychiatric support offered to individuals with psychosis. The program involves providing shared care by both the specialist psychiatric team and the family practitioner. This model has been in operation for more than 8 years. The clinical data have been reviewed to determine whether the program is beneficial in supporting clients with their health maintenance goals, thus reducing occurrences of relapse, hospital readmission, and crisis or emergency room visits. The results appear favorable and affirm the Alumni Program is one viable method of follow up within a comprehensive range of psychiatric services.     

Innovative approach for the treatment of cumulative trauma disorders

Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs) is the latest four-letter word for employees and employers. The purpose of this pilot study was to test the efficacy and cost effectiveness of ASTM, previously executed with Division I college athletes, in a work-related population. ASTM uses specially designed instruments to assist clinicians in rapid localization and effective treatment of soft tissue fibrosis/scar tissue. The protocol includes a flexibility and functional program that helps the worker adapt to the demands of the job. Physical and occupational therapists in both an outpatient clinic, and an industrial on-site setting, utilized ASTM. ASTM was considered successful, with symptoms resolved in over 70 percent of the patients. ASTM demonstrated impressive results in both settings and decreased medical and non-medical expenditures.     

Violence Against Prostitute Women: Social and Legal Dilemmas

Violence against prostitute women is both prevalent and hidden. It may take the form of assault by a client or stranger, or psychological coercion to provide sex on the part of law enforcement personnel. The social organisation of prostitution into dominant modes such as streetwalking, brothel or massage parlour prostitution increases the likelihood that female prostitutes will be physically and sexually abused. Further, current police practices in regulating prostitution within some Australian states create optimum conditions for the abuse of prostitutes. However, this victimisation should be interpreted within the context of social structural factors. For example, the legal response to prostitution favoured within each state is important. This paper examines the various legal approaches to prostitution and assesses the impact of these approaches upon prostitutes' lives. It is argued that the law plays a critical role in determining the physical vulnerability of prostitute women. Within Victoria, for example, the politicisation of prostitution and the resulting legislative reform have effectively reduced the visibility of prostitution and altered the social control of the industry. Women working outside the new legal structures are particularly at risk of abuse and are accorded harsher penalties under the law.     

Meeting immigrant health challenges: An integrated model in New York City

New York City has traditionally been the portal to America for millions of foreign‐born immigrants. Current immigration echoes this past. Each year, tens of thousands of immigrants and migrants enter New York City. These individuals and families come from diverse cultures and health care systems which continue to impact on their health care needs. How can New York's health care system provide culturally sensitive and epidemiologically informed health services to these immigrants? In 1990, with a grant from the Aaron Diamond Foundation, an interdisciplinary group of professionals established the New York Task Force on Immigrant Health. This paper will describe the work of this unique multi‐disciplinary organisation as it seeks to address issues of health status and service delivery to immigrant populations. The paper will discuss specific issues and strategies with respect to a) the development of data bases, b) ethnographic investigations, c) cross‐cultural and structural barriers to care, d) the creation and analysis of models to integrate traditional and Western bio‐technical health care, and e) the informing and transforming of public policy and programs to result in more linguistically appropriate, culturally sensitive and effective health and social services. The successes of the New York Task Force on Immigrant Health, in a relatively brief period of time, provide both a model and a stimulus for other localities and nation‐states interested in preventing illness and improving the health status of their diverse populations.