Practice standards in Australia: implications for social work education

In 2003, the Australian Association of Social Work launched Practice Standards that define minimal expectations for all social workers. The Practice Standards are outcome focused and specify what social workers are expected to achieve in the areas of Direct Practice, Service Management, Organizational Development and System Change, Policy, Research, and Education and Professional Development. This paper outlines the rationale for developing the Practice Standards, the process undertaken and the need for social work educators to build a curriculum that prepares students to be competent and effective in a complex working environment.     

The “Sassy Woman” and the “Performing Man”: Heterosexual casual sex advice and the (re)constitution of gendered subjectivities

Media forums that provide “sex advice” are a rich source of (sexual) information for heterosexual individuals and have been critically examined for the ways in which they construct heterosexuality (and sexual subjectivities). The representations of (heterosexual) casual sex are also prevalent across the mass media. This paper uses a Foucauldian/poststructuralist mode of discourse analysis to explore how casual sex “advice” in three self-help books (two aimed at women, one aimed at men), and online advice articles, constituted casual sex and masculine and feminine heterosexual subjectivities. Four main (profoundly gendered) subject positions were identified in the texts: the “strategic man”; the “performing man”; the “sassy woman”; and the “vulnerable woman.” It is argued that although some alternative ways of constituting heterosexual identities were provided (particularly for women), gender difference was not only implicated in such advice but also, at times, crudely exaggerated. The implications of these representations are discussed in relation to contemporary heterosexualities, heterosexual sexual identities, and heterosexual power relations.     

A Multilevel Perspective on Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Poverty Status and Depression Among Older Adults in the United States

Despite a large body of literature on depression, previous studies have focused on either intra- or interpersonal factors but not multilevel influences, which potentially could buffer depression in late life. The intent of this study was to identify whether the impact of poverty might be moderated by multilevel factors such as sense of control, social support, and neighborhood environment. The results showed that the elderly poor, especially older women, were more likely to be depressed. Support from friends significantly moderated the association between depression and poverty among older women. Implications for critical feminist gerontology and for practice are discussed.     

The Ethics of Social Research with Children: An Overview1

This paper attempts to provide an overview of ethical issues related to social research with children. It sets the discussion in the context of current debates about researching children in the UK, and explores the extent to which children should be regarded as similar to, or different from, adults in social research, focusing on how children are positioned as vulnerable, incompetent and relatively powerless in society in general, and how this conceptualisation of children needs to be taken into account in social research. The paper concludes with some practical and methodological suggestions.     

The Purchaser/Provider Split in Social Care: Is It Working?

This paper reviews the ideas of public choice theory that provided the rationale for introducing the purchaser/provider split and suggests that the notion of provider self-interest is as undifferentiated a concept as its rival: public ethos or duty. Using data from eighteen months' observation and interviewing in five local authorities, it then goes on to address the huge amount of work involved in separating purchasing from providing. We trace the changing understanding of the purpose of the split, problems of defining who is a purchaser and who a providers, problems of working the new relationship between purchasers and providers, and difficulties in developing the purchasing function.
We then seek to examine what are believed to be the main benefits of the purchaser/provider split, asking whether there is evidence that purchasers are doing a better job of identifying needs than providers, and whether there is evidence of competition involving multiple providers and multiple suppliers. Finally, we investigate whether there has been an increase in responsiveness, taking home care as an example. The paper concludes that while increased competition among suppliers has been one important factor in two authorities in securing a more responsive service, the evidence is equivocal as to whether the purchaser/provider split has been the key to securing competition.     

Editorial: Moishe's Friend

Population and Environment -     

Participatory action research: Easier said than done

This article describes participatory action research as an alternative methodology for conducting community needs assessment. The research model empowers individuals by recognizing they have the ability to identify their own needs, and to generate practical long lasting solutions (Rappaport, 1981). A case study is presented in which two community members attempted a participatory community needs assessment. The article concludes with a discussion of how this attempt deviated from the ideal participatory action research model, and the consequences of the compromises made during the research process.     

Cassandra jiving

Population and Environment -