Book reviews and books received

Abstract

Occupational medicine: Principles and Practical Applications, Edited by Carl Zenz, Chicago, Year Book Medical Publishers Inc., 2nd edn, (1988). [Pp. xxiii + 1273.] £ 94. ISBN 0-8151-9865-5.

Working Lives in Catering, By Yiannis Gabriel, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul (1988). [Pp. viii + 190.] £ 19.95. ISBN 0-7102-0923-1.

Stress and Breast Cancer, Edited by Cary L. Cooper, Chichester, Wiley (1988). [Pp. x + 219.] £ 22.50. ISBN 0-471-91744-3.

Managing organisational change: human factors and automation, By Fred Fallik, London, Taylor & Francis (1988). [Pp. xiv + 157.] £ 28.00, ISBN 0-85066-363-6 (hardback); £ 14.00, ISBN 0-850366-363-8 (paperback).

Managing organisational change: human factors and automation, By Fred Fallik, London, Taylor & Francis (1988). [Pp. xiv + 157.] £ 28.00, ISBN 0-85066-363-6 (hardback); £ 14.00, ISBN 0-850366-363-8 (paperback).

The Indebted Society. Credit and default in the 1980s, By Janet Ford, London, Routledge 81 Kegan Paul, (1988). [Pp. xi + 208.] £ 12.95. ISBN 0-415-00757-7.     

The systems' approach and social work methods

Many social work courses are now using ‘system theory’, or as I prefer to call it, ‘a systems' approach’, in teaching social work method on a unitary basis. Most social work techers recognise that the systems' approach is not enough on its own and that traditional methods have a place in practice. What is not clear is how these methods relate to the systems' approach.

In this article the relationship between the systems' approach and various methods and theories of intervention is explored in a number of different ways. Firstly, there is an examination of the relationship of various client, target and action systems. Secondly. Lippitt's analysis of the ‘diagnostic orientations’ of change agents is discussed and related to strategies aimed at changing the goals and the power structures of target systems. Then certain counselling and casework methods are considered in relation to Lippitt's analysis, leading on to a brief comment on methods of intervention based on systems' theory. Finally, an educational strategy for presenting this approach is discussed.     

ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYMPTOMS OF ALLERGIC RHINOCONJUNCTIVITIS AND POLLEN COUNTS

The relationship between daily pollen counts during the peak pollen season and hay fever symptoms in known sufferers of pollen allergy was investigated in a Sydney hospital‐based study. This paper develops statistical models for both the short term (day to day) associations and the longer term relationships between these time series. Possible effects of asthma status are investigated. The analyses illustrate how different relationships between time series may be explored in a simple way by working on different time scales with suitably transformed variables.     

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Healthcare Costs in Adult Life

ABSTRACT

The current study aims to present the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and examine the healthcare costs associated with primary, allied, and specialist healthcare services. The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health is a general health survey of four nationally representative age cohorts. The current study uses 20 years of survey and administrative data (1996–2015) from the cohort born 1973–1978. Overall, 41% of women indicated at least one category of childhood adversity. The most commonly reported type of childhood adversity was having a household member with a mental illness (16%), with the most commonly reported ACES category being psychological abuse (17%). Women who had experienced adversity in childhood had higher healthcare costs than women who had not experienced adversity. The healthcare costs associated with experiences of adversity in childhood fully justify a comprehensive policy and practice review.     

The myth of the “data‐driven” society: Exploring the interactions of data interfaces,circulations, and abstractions

The prominence of data and data technologies in society, such as algorithms, social media, mobile technology, and artificial intelligence, have heralded numerous claims of the revolutionary potential of these systems. From public policy, to business management, to scientific research, a “data‐driven” society is apparently imminent—or currently happening—where “objective” and asocial data systems are believed to be comprehensively improving human life. Through a review of existing sociological literature, in this article, we critically examine the relationship between data and society and propose a new model for understanding these dynamics. “Using the concept of the informatic,” we argue the relationship between data and society can be understood as representing the interaction of several different social trends around data; that of data interfaces (that connect individuals to digital contexts), data circulation (trends in the movement and storage of data), and data abstraction (data manipulation practices). Data and data technologies are founded to be entwined and embedded in numerous social relationships, and while not all are fair and equitable relationships, there is ample evidence of the deeply social nature of data across many streams of social life. Our three‐part informatic framework allows these complex relationships to be understood in the social dynamic through which they are witnessed and experienced.     

The Personal and the Political An Interview with Deborah Luepnitz

Deborah Luepnitz has gained recognition for her clearly articulated exposition of a feminist family therapy informed by object relations theory. From these vantage points, she has also provided the field with a scholarly critique of some of the major schools and traditions in family therapy. During her visit to Brisbane, where she was one of the plenary speakers at the 1991 Australian Family Therapy Conference, Deborah discussed matters ranging from the personal to the political.     

Does the Brain’s Reward Response Occur Even Without Actual Reward? A Response to Fielding et al. (2017)

A recent paper by Fielding et al. (J Gamb Stud, 2017) argued that the brain’s reward response could occur without the presentation of actual reward. We suggest that since (a) the event-related potentials reported in this paper are atypical of the previous literature, and, (b) a simpler account of the data in terms of sensitivity to outcome frequency cannot be ruled out, the extent to which the brain’s reward response can occur without the presentation of actual reward should remain an open question.