Face-to-face: Social work and evil

The concept of evil continues to feature in public discourses and has been reinvigorated in some academic disciplines and caring professions. This article navigates social workers through the controversy surrounding evil so that they are better equipped to acknowledge, reframe or repudiate attributions of evil in respect of themselves, their service users or the societal contexts impinging upon both. A tour of the landscape of evil brings us face-to-face with moral, administrative, societal and metaphysical evils, although it terminates in an exhortation to cultivate a more metaphorical language. The implications for social work ethics, practice and education are also discussed

United Kingdom newsprint media reporting on sexual health and blood-borne viruses in 2010

Background: Improving sexual health and blood-borne virus (BBV) outcomes continue to be of high priority within the United Kingdom (UK) and it is evident that the media can and do impact the public health agenda. This paper presents the first large-scale exploration of UK national newsprint media representations of sexual health and BBVs. Methods: Using keyword searches in electronic databases, 677 articles published during 2010 were identified from 12 national (UK-wide and Scottish) newspapers. Content analysis was used to identify manifest content and to examine the tone of articles. Results: Although there was a mixed picture overall in terms of tone, negatively toned articles, which focussed on failures or blame, were common, particularly within HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, and other sexually transmissible infection coverage (41% were assessed as containing negative content; 46% had negative headlines). Differences were found by newspaper genre, with ‘serious’ newspaper articles appearing more positive and informative than ‘midmarket’ newspapers or ‘tabloids’. Across the sample, particular individuals, behaviours and risk groups were focussed on, not always accurately, and there was little mention of deprivation and inequalities (9%). A gender imbalance was evident, particularly within reproductive health articles (71% focussed on women; 23% on men), raising questions concerning gender stereotyping. Conclusions: There is a need to challenge the role that media messages have in the reinforcement of a negative culture around sexual health in the UK and for a strong collective advocacy voice to ensure that future media coverage is positively portrayed

The Operation of Autonomous Mobile Robot Assistants in the Environment of Care Facilities Adopting a User-Centered Development Design

The successful development of autonomous mobile robot assistants depends significantly on the well-balanced reconcilements of the technically possible and the socially desirable. Based on empirical research 2 substantiated conclusions can be established for the suitability of "scenario-based design" (Rosson/Carroll 2003) for the successful development of mobile robot assistants and automated guided vehicles to be applied for service functions in stationary care facilities for seniors.User-Centered Technology Development, Knowledge-Transfer, Participative Assessment Methods, Robotics

“I Put a Mask on” the human side of deportation effects on Latino youth

Recent research on immigration has looked at forced deportation issues and specifically on the mental health issues of immigrant parents separated from their children rather than from the child’s experience. Hispanic adolescents residing in the United States who live with the fear of being separated from their parents either through forced parental deportation or as a result of being detained themselves may face serious health and mental health problems during the crucial developmental stage of adolescence and pre-adolescence. This study looks at twenty children ages 11-18 (males and females). Qualitative methods were used including focus groups and individual in-depth interviews to examine issues among youth who were at risk of being deported and/or whose parents had been deported or were at risk of deportation. Evidence from the study demonstrated that the youth have complex understandings of the stress of living in undocumented families that can be categorized in individual, social, and structural levels.http://jswhr.com/journals/jswhr/Vol_2_No_2_December_2014/3.pdfPublished versio

Patriarchal Culture\u27s Influence on Women’s Leadership Ascendancy

Biblical interpretations (hermeneutic) have influenced women’s ascension to leadership positions. A patriarchal societal framework that most Judeo-Christians have accepted as a norm often includes biased biblical interpretations regarding women. These interpretations are taken out of context, which reinforces old patterns that are incompatible with true leadership. This paper provides a literature review on women and leadership, with the literature indicating that a prevalent patriarchal perspective has influenced the portrayal of leadership roles in society. The literature on women leadership shows that many women might not be becoming CEOs or ascending to other high positions because of gender inequality in the workplace, a lack of sponsors, a lack of leadership-career aspirations, and companies’ preference for leadership styles based on masculine characteristics. The literature also reveals that women feel forced to assume masculine leadership styles, even though their preferences differ—an injustice to their leadership aptitude. In other words, the literature suggests there are more suitable leadership styles for women. Moreover, leadership styles based on context are more effective, and changing these biases and misapplications are critical to ensuring women ascend to leadership positions. This paper concludes with an analysis of the cognitive bias on women, which contributes to the lack of empathy for women ascending to leadership positions. In addition, future research suggestions and methods aimed at decreasing the inequalities women experience are provided

Shadows along the spiritual pathway

Contemporary spirituality discourses tend to assume that a canopy of light and love overarches all spiritual pathways. Unfortunately, the dark side of humanity cannot be spirited away so easily, and aberrations of personal spiritual development, interpersonal spiritual relationships and new spiritual movements can often be traced to the denial, repression and return of our dark side. Transpersonal psychology offers a way of approaching, reframing and redeeming the unconscious depths of our psyche, with its metaphors of shadows and daimons on the one hand, and its therapeutic practices for symbolically containing and transcending polarities on the other. In its absence, any spirituality which eulogises holistic growth is likely to engender the reverse effect

Gender perspective on older people’s exercise preferences and motivators in the context of falls prevention: a qualitative study

Background: Several factors have previously been identified to positively influence the uptake and adherence for fall prevention exercise programmes. There is, however, a lack of studies investigating if men and women differ in their views and preferences for fall prevention exercises. Aim: To explore exercise preferences and motivators of older community-dwelling women and men in the context of falls prevention from a gender perspective. Methods: Workshops including multistage focus group discussions were conducted with 18 older community-dwelling people with and without history of falls. Participants were purposively selected and divided into two groups. Each group met on six occasions over a period of five months. Participatory and Appreciative Action and Reflection methodology was used to guide the discussions. A qualitative content analysis approach was used in the analysis. Results: Older participants had many diverse preferences and confirmed that individually tailored exercise, in terms of mode, intensity, challenge, and social context, is important. Moreover, important factors for exercise adherence and maintenance included the experience of individual confirmation; different spirit lifters to increase enjoyment; and personal tricks to maintain exercise routines. The individual differences within genders were more diverse than the differences between women and men. Conclusion: Exercise interventions to prevent falls should be individually tailored, based on the specific needs and preferences of the older participant, and do not appear to require gender specific approaches. To increase adherence, intrinsic motivation for exercise may be encouraged by competence enhancing confirmations, energizing spirit lifters, and practical tips for exercise maintenance. The study provides an awareness about women's and men's preferences for fall prevention exercises, and this information could be used as guidance in designing inclusive exercise interventions