News and Views: Current Events and Commentary

No abstract available for this article.     

Rural Perspectives on Same-Sex Marriage

This study explored rural perspectives on same-sex marriage with a nonprobability sample (N = 156) of adult respondents recruited in a largely rural state in the upper Midwest. A new 6-item instrument with strong internal consistency (α =.943) found that support for same-sex marriage was widespread without significant differences based on relationship status, education level, rural residence, or biological sex. Sexual orientation predicted support for traditional family values and same-sex marriage which were inversely associated. Findings suggest that the presumption of rural bias and hostility toward alternative sexualities has mitigated in the upper Midwest. Social work practitioners should infer from this study that there is more to rural culture than remoteness, isolation, poverty, stigma, and conservative religious values. The malleability of rural culture may be an unrecognized strength that may provide encouragement to rural social workers advocating for and serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals.     

Changing Directions in HIV Prevention: The Move Toward a Psychosocial Model

ABSTRACT

Although some HIV prevention programs have been successful in helping gay and bisexual men change their sexual behaviors, rates of HIV infection continue to increase. In an attempt to address this problem, social workers need to move beyond traditional HIV prevention approaches to a psychosocial model of HIV prevention. Based on the work of previous researchers, this approach assumes that a combination of individual, psychological, and social factors contribute to risky sex in gay and bisexual men. Because social workers are trained to view problems from a psychosocial framework, they are already in a position to develop programs incorporating the psychosocial model. This article examines the psychosocial model of HIV prevention and the various psychosocial factors that may contribute to high-risk sexual behavior and concludes with examples of prevention research that have already incorporated the model.     

Social Workers and Social Justice During a Period of Intensive Neoliberalization: A Preliminary Investigation From the Republic of Ireland

Despite the championing of social justice within the discourse of social work, some express concern that there has been a dilution in the profession’s practical commitment to seeking a more just society. The article begins by defining social justice and then refers to a number of studies that have endeavored to identify whether or not social justice is being pursued by practitioners. It is argued that renewing efforts to achieve social justice is particularly relevant in times of intensive neoliberalization. In this context, we discuss the comments of a small number of Irish practitioners. This preliminary study indicates that social workers are struggling to achieve limited social justice gains in organizationally difficult and fraught situations. The findings suggest that some practitioners, located in stultifying working environments, are blunted in their capacities to pursue social justice demands for their clients and for themselves. However, a more wide-ranging research project, composed of a more substantial and diverse sample of respondents, would need to be formulated to further explore this theme.     

Helpers “Here on the Front Lines”: Welfare‐to‐Work Managers' Moral Identity Work

Using data drawn from telephone interviews with Ohio Works First program managers (N = 69), we examine managers' moral identity work. This work included using militarized rhetoric to evoke moral identities as honorable workers. It also involved signifying helper/helpful moral identities by defining what it means to be helpful, legitimating their helper identity through connections to caseworkers, and affirming their identity through telling success stories. Additionally, managers implicitly othered clients they viewed as needy and politicians they considered to be out‐of‐touch. Our research contributes to the literature on welfare‐to‐work, but also more broadly to our understanding of moral identity work and implicit othering.     

Supportive Group Interventions with Caregivers of Frail Older Adults

The use of supportive group interventions with caregivers of frail older adults is discussed in this article. Four categories of group interventions are described: (1) mutual support groups, (2) psychoeducational groups, (3) social, recreational and educational groups, and (4) service and advocacy groups. Research evidence on the efficacy of group interventions with this population is also considered. Recommendations are made on when to refer caregivers to support groups and on what type of support group is most appropriate. Consideration by practitioners and program planners of a broader range of types of supportive groups is also encouraged.     

Workfare Oz-Style

Summary

Traditional approaches to the promotion of welfare have disappeared in Australia, replaced by a new institutional order represented by welfare-cum-workfare. This has impacted on social work—both as a collective entity and as a set of practices. This paper maps the shift to workfare in Australia and examines its impacts on and implications for social work. We briefly discuss the Australian model of social protection, illustrating our own brand of “exceptionalism,” and lay out what we have termed “Workfare Oz-style.” Drawing upon neo-institutional theory, we review and analyze two key contexts where “Workfare Oz-style” is operationalized—the Job Network and Centrelink. Some tentative conclusions are given and the dimensions of a research agenda, which will put any emerging propositions to empirical test, are proposed.     

Unfair to Me or Unfair to My Spouse: Men's and Women's Perceptions of Domestic Equity and How They Relate to Mental and Physical Health

Research examining the relationship between household labor and health has not sufficiently considered perceptions of domestic equity, physical health, or potential gender differences in these relationships. Using survey data from 1,234 lawyers, we examine how perceptions of domestic equity are related to mental and physical health and whether these relationships differ by gender. The results indicate that perceiving the division of household labor as unfair to oneself is related to poorer mental health, whereas perceiving the division as unfair to one's spouse is related to poorer physical health, regardless of gender. This article demonstrates the importance of treating perceptions of unfairness to oneself and one's spouse as distinct experiences, while also considering the wider context wherein these relationships exist.     

聚合物/表面活性剂二元复合驱研究进展

从聚合物/表面活性剂二元体系的特点出发，综述了聚/表聚/表二元复合体系的实验室研究现状以及在胜利油田孤东七区54-61进行的矿场试验情况。聚/表二元复合驱是在聚/表/碱三元复合驱的基础上去掉碱所形成的低浓度的驱油体系，可以最大限度地发挥聚合物的粘度和弹性，减少乳化液处理带来的负面影响，减弱由于碱的存在引起的地层以及井筒结垢的现象。通过国内外研究结果分析表明，聚/表二元复合体系提高原油采收率幅度在20%左右；矿场试验取得了较好的效果。聚/表二元复合体系可以克服三元体系的缺点，作为一项新的驱油方法具有宽阔的发展空间。