Effects of receipt of Social Security retirement benefits on older women’s employment

Labor force participation of women has declined since 1999; however, labor force participation of women 62+ has increased. The 2000–2006 waves of Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data, the initial years of the continuing upward trajectory, were used to test the effects of receipt of Social Security retirement benefits on older women’s employment. The models tested: (a) the effect of receipt of Social Security retirement benefits on whether employed; and (b) for women receiving Social Security retirement benefits, the effect of age elected receipt of benefits on whether employed. Both models included the effects of human capital characteristics and income sources. Receipt of Social Security benefits, pension income, and current age reduced the likelihood of employment; while educational level, good to excellent health, and nonmarried marital status increased the likelihood of employment. The older the woman was when she elected Social Security benefits, the more likely she was to be employed.     

State Responses to Alcohol Use and Pregnancy: Findings From the Alcohol Policy Information System

This article describes U.S. state policies related to alcohol use during pregnancy, using data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Alcohol Policy Information System. Specifically, this study examines trends in policies enacted by states over time and types of policies enacted across states in the United States, with a focus on whether laws were supportive or punitive toward women. Findings revealed substantial variability in characteristics of policies (19 primarily supportive, 12 primarily punitive, 12 with a mixed approach, and 8 with no policies). Findings underscore the need to examine possible consequences of policies, especially of punitive policies and “mixed” approaches.     

贫困地区有偶育龄妇女生殖健康状况调查分析——以甘肃定西地区为例

本文利用调查资料概括分析了定西地区育龄妇女生殖健康状况,并根据存在的问题,提出了改善妇女生殖健康状况的几点建议。     

What's Your Story? Listening to the Stories of Mothers from Multi-Problem Families

The use of a narrative approach in research and treatment enables a close-up view of the world of the client from his/her point of view. This approach opens a door to a differential understanding of states of distress and is particularly relevant with regard to distressed populations for whom verbal communication is the natural means of expression and much richer than any more formal means. The following article offers narrative analyses of stories of three women, mothers of multi-problem families, whose children's development is at risk. The stories were recorded during a research project which studied the responses of the participating women in an intervention program called Yachdav. The narrative analysis reveals the women's subjective perception of their situation of stress and of the methods of assistance available to them. The article examines the contribution of the narrative approach to the understanding of the point of view of the distressed segments of the population as a means of creating an alliance in assistance reception relations.     

Stalking Victimization Among College Women and Subsequent Help-Seeking Behaviors

Objective: The authors examined the incidence of stalking victimization and subsequent help-seeking behaviors among college women. Participants and Methods: A stratified random sample of college women (N = 391) completed an anonymous Internet-based questionnaire in spring 2006. Results: One-fifth of women reported stalking victimization while enrolled at their current institution. Individuals known by victims, such as the following, were most commonly reported as stalkers: acquaintances (48.7%), classmates (37.2%), and boyfriends or ex-boyfriends (34.6%). Approximately half of the women reporting stalking victimization acknowledged not seeking help from anyone in relation to these incidents. Of those seeking some sort of help, most sought assistance from friends (90.2%), parents (29.3%), residence hall advisors (12.2%), or police (7.3%). Conclusion: Comparing their findings to a national study of college women, the authors report that being watched, followed or spied on, and sent unsolicited emails are stalking behaviors on the rise. They present implications for college health and future directions for research.     

Abortion Policy and Vulnerable Women in the United States: A Call for Social Work Policy Practice

Repressive abortion policy in the United States creates undue burdens for groups of vulnerable women, including adolescents, women of color, women living in rural areas, and women with economic disadvantages. Repressive abortion policy creates a two-tiered system of access to reproductive health care that is a particular disadvantage to vulnerable women. In this study, current policy is discussed with examples of such policies outlined in three areas: insurance coverage and Medicaid restrictions, mandatory waiting periods, and mandated state counseling. Social workers' role in policy practice is emphasized in regard to advocacy and abortion policy.     

同时而异质的“桑女”形象——《列女传》鲁秋洁妇故事与乐府诗《陌上桑》比较谈

几乎处于同一时代,而又同源于桑女受辱的母题,《列女传》和《陌上桑》选择了截然不同的情节架构,塑造了风采殊异的桑女形象。《列女传》道德层面的诉求使其在塑造桑女形象时,突出了桑女受辱的悲剧性因素。《陌上桑》则是由于传统的影响、时代的变迁、民间的立场使其塑造出一个民间虚构想象中的桑女形象和民间所乐于接受的喜剧式的故事结尾。与此同时,在汉代移风易俗的时代大背景下,在汉代普遍重视和强调新的伦理道德规范的主流话语的影响下,二者又表现出共同的道德伦理诉求。因此,同时而异质的桑女形象又有着共同的道德文化内涵。     

回归与寻找：论中国知识女性的现代性成长路径

中国知识女性的现代觉醒使她们在承受着历史和现实的双重痛苦中积极寻求挣脱的良方。首先,女人是和男人同等的人,要回归于＂人＂的本质,也就是回归人的主体性、目的性、创造性和个性。其次,女性所要回归的不是抽象的人,而是具体的性别化的人,需要寻找基于自己生命本体存在的性别特质。回归与寻找共同勾勒出中国知识女性的现代性成长路径。     

Multi-Systems Life Course: A New Practice Perspective and Its Application in Advanced Practice With Racial and Ethnic Populations

To better respond to social work's directive of increased sensitivity to cultural and ethnic diversity, it is imperative that theory development includes explicit consideration of the complex experiences of racial and ethnic minorities. For a more advanced and culturally relative practice, the authors posit the development of an encompassing perspective referred to as multi-systems life course (MSLC). Using a case example, this article applies a MSLC perspective to practice with women of color experiencing intimate partner violence. Implications for social work practice and an overview on incorporating a MSLC perspective into a graduate social work curriculum are included.     

Public Bodies

This paper seeks to critically examine the capacity for the internet, as a revitalized public sphere, to adequately represent women. I present the argument that the public space of the internet limits the capacity for female vocality by overcoding—in the Deleuzo–Guattarian sense of despotic, unifying, and totalizing processes of representation (Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari. 1987. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia, 41. London: Athlone Press)—the female body images it solicits as aesthetic objects to be judged and consumed. I focus on forms of online polling to suggest that public judgments are powerful discursive mechanisms for the regulation and containment of the female body in public space.