John W. Murphy - Böcker

Democratization involves far more than instituting a few democratic practices, such as universal sufferage. Instead, people must be able to debate issues, have access to diverse sources of information, be able to tolerate viewpoints that are disliked, and have access to every aspect of government. But before today's society can be considered truly democratic, the entire culture must be democratized. Thus persons will demand autonomy and the freedom required to be self-governed.Yet, as Murphy and Peck and the analysts brought together for this collection point out, self-government or democracy does not occur in a vacuum. Democracy will occur only when personal autonomy, critical thought, and the desire for self-government are encouraged by social institutions. In this collection, these and other considerations related to real, participatory democracy are the focus of attention. As such the volume will be of concern to political sociologists and those interested in social change.

PC or Political Correctness has received bad press, according to Choi and Murphy. Indeed, the body of ideas and concepts embodied in PC have been trivialized by conservatives seeking to defend their own positions and by a press catering to a public put off by philosophical discussions. Choi and Murphy seek to analyze the key facets of the debate over PC.Starting with an examination of the key concepts of PC, Choi and Murphy review the essentials of neo-conservative social philosophy and the Postmodern Alternative as well as neo-conservative critiques of postmodernism. By providing a comprehensive examination of PC from its historical and philosophical underpinnings, Choi and Murphy show what is at stake in the controversy. This book is an important synthesis for researchers and students of contemporary philosophy and social policy.

Postmodern philosophy is shown to be a valuable tool for exposing the bankruptcy of laissez-faire economics and culture and in developing a democratic policy. Despite the claims made by conservatives, Choi, Callaghan, and Murphy argue that an unencumbered market does not encourage pluralism. Sources of power are left intact that work in various ways to truncate democracy. Postmodernism offers an alternative to the conservative ideology and provides a new approach to promoting social equity.The protests in Los Angeles during the spring of 1992 signaled that the United States is a troubled society. Specifically, many people are not close to experiencing democracy. This is the case even though American society is becoming increasingly diverse. Certain powerful interests constrict the American policy in very important ways. Postmodern philosophy is used by Choi, Callaghan, and Murphy to illustrate how this control is maintained through the manipulation of symbolism and other cultural factors. Accordingly, they contend, new symbolism is needed before a democratic, pluralistic polity can be said to exist. Postmodernism is also employed to show how a democratic mode of order can be conceptualized.Contrary to what some critics claim, Postmodernism is a worldly philosophy that has much to say about contemporary issues. This volume of cultural criticism will be of interest to political philosophers, sociologists, and others concerned with current social and political problems.

Professors Murphy and Choi use postmodern philosophy to expose an important source of racism and cultural domination. They examine foundationalism, which they see at the core of the Western intellectual tradition and which is shown to foster a metaphysics of domination. By contrast, postmodernism undermines this root of racism.They demonstrate that foundationalism is not needed to support identity, institutions, or political order. Indeed, they assert that true pluralism is possible once foundationalist approaches to knowledge and order are set aside. Special attention is directed to two current modes of discrimination: institutional racism and symbolic violence. Murphy and Choi provide an intriguing look at ways to undercut the justification for racism and other threats to cultural difference. This volume will be of particular interest to scholars and other researchers in the areas of race relations, cultural studies, and political theory.

As computers become more prevalent throughout society, the issue of computer-human interaction has become paramount to computer scientists and professionals furthering the computerization of organizations. Computers, Human Interaction, and Organizations revisits important theoretical and conceptual issues that have not been resolved in discussions of the increasing computerization of society. The authors here move beyond the technical issues relating to computerization to examine the social and political nature of information and computer technology using contemporary critical theory. This unique volume, therefore, offers a serious reflection on the proper scope and nature of computerization and the proper adjustment to and utilization of these instruments.According to the authors, without the guiding use of theory, computer use will be misguided and socially disruptive. Without a critical analysis of the issues involved in computer-human interaction, the current push to have computers support intimate interaction among workers and other groups may never come to fruition. By contrast, recognizing the computer as an expression of the technological worldview allows one to recognize the limits as well as the promise of these instruments and to define the proper scope of computerization. The authors of this volume help the reader understand the social nature of computer technology and the limits of its application while circumscribing socially responsible uses of the new technology.

This collection of essays reflects a wide array of realities and experiences of people from different areas of the world, including England, Nicaragua, Colombia, Spain, and Guatemala. Globalization requires innovation and adaptation, things that are easier for some countries to achieve than others. This book states that the current form of globalization allows the West to dominate the world market at the expense of other countries. This collection challenges the framework of globalization and provides practical advice for making globalization beneficial to all countries.This volume seeks to transform globalization into something productive for humanity as a whole. The nature and history of globalization is discussed as well as its impact on the Third World. New approaches to globalization are presented, as well as the rationale of these recommendations. The book shows that globalization can be reworked in order to include all countries, from the First to Third World.

This volume details the philosophical propositions of technology, illustrates its impact on various facets of social life, and demonstrates how the disruptive effects of technology can be reduced by providing it with a new philosophical base. Philosophical principles that will help to foster the responsible use of technology are developed. The contributors deal specifically with the ways in which technology shapes a person's view of politics, capital punishment, education, health and illness, work, communications, and the human body. They argue that technology tends to deanimate these aspects of life, thereby purging society of its creativity and spontaneity. Collectively, they suggest ways in which this trend can be reversed by the creation of a socially responsible technology.

Examining the issues of treatment, organizational planning, and research, this multidimensional study offers a critique of both the theoretical and programmatic aspects of providing mental health services to traditionally underserved populations. Focusing on minority groups, the book uses the case of Hispanics to illustrate the largely unaddressed need for services that are relevant to social groups with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Vega and Murphy maintain that the present service system is socially insensitive, that mental health services in the United States were never designed to serve a multicultural population, and that, in general, those who dominate the current mental health system from administrator-clinicians to bureaucrats and politicians do not know how to direct their services to minority groups. Calling for fundamental reconceptualization and change, the book argues for community-based planning and intervention as an enlightened and necessary alternative, and provides a detailed description of such a program in terms of both philosophy and method.The eight chapters offer a reassessment based on understanding not only the rationale for these necessary services, but also the important philosophical and pragmatic issues that have resulted in the current, inadequate system; they provide the new thinking necessary to reframe the objectives of mental health services for cultural minorities. The early chapters explore some of the critical junctures in the community mental health movement between 1946 and 1981, the development of theory in the movement's early days, and the thrust of community-based intervention--the culture-specific methodology that has not been well-understood or implemented. Chapters 4 and 5 focus on the relationship between medicalization and the degradation of culture and on the reconceptualization of knowledge, order, illness, and intervention. The last three chapters analyze an example of community-based intervention in operation, and citizen involvement and the political aspects of community-based policies are reviewed. This timely discussion of the requirements for a socially responsible and community-based services delivery program lays the theoretical foundation for a future public mental health system. As such, it will prove invaluable and important reading for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the health and human services areas, including social work, clinical psychology, and medical sociology; it also has much to offer professional administrators and planners. Culture and the Restructuring of Community Mental Health has been designed to meet the needs of both academics and practitioners.

This book takes up the challenge of the failure of most initiatives in community-based service delivery to address the significant philosophical shift that is necessary to create, implement, and evaluate appropriately these sorts of projects. Challenging the tendency to focus entirely on practicalities, the authors emphasize the centrality of philosophy to any successful community-based undertaking. While fully acknowledging the importance of local knowledge and the guidance of projects by local people, this volume shows that these principles are often at odds with the ‘Cartesian’ mindset that underpins much project planning, with its emphasis on objectivity in science and knowledge. Since all knowledge is mediated by human activity and embedded in language and other modes of expression, this dualist approach must be reconsidered. A thorough rethinking of traditional service delivery, which takes into account issues of data, methodology, and bias together with questions of generalizability, community, power, and communication, this book will appeal to scholars of sociology, social policy, and social work with interests in community-based service delivery.

Reason and Rationality in Health and Human Services Delivery is the first book to discuss the topic of decisionmaking and services from a multidisciplinary approach. It uses theory and social considerations, not just technology, as a basis for improved services. Health and human service students and professionals will learn how to form rational and reasonable decisions that take their clients’cultural backgrounds into consideration when identifying an illness or appropriating any kind of intervention. With a particular emphasis on theories, models, organizational settings, technologies, and practitioner training methods that lead to culturally sensitive decisions, Reason and Rationality will help you deliver efficient and improved medical and social services to clients from all ethnic backgrounds. Recognizing reason as the centerpiece of most of Western philosophy, this text reveals how our idea of truth, fact, and order are wrongly thought to be universal; yet, Western principles are continually used in the decision-making process for health and social services. Focusing on the policy implications of decisionmaking in medical and social service settings, this text works to incorporate a broad range of factors into the reasoning process, such as cultural traditions and beliefs, that will result in better treatment for patients. Giving you suggestions and strategies for upgrading reasoning and decision-making processes and applying them to every area of service, Reason and Rationality discusses different themes that will help you improve services to patients, such as:the rationale currently used to justify decision-making strategies concerning medical and human services using computer technology to make clinical assessments revising administrative structure, management theories, and organizational strategies so that decision-making processes enhance the overall quality of service delivery how the practitioner/patient relationship is important in choosing the proper treatment soliciting community-based input to assess the public’s health and human service needs in order to lessen political involvement in decision-making stages In addition, Reason and Rationality provides information and examples that show why you should consider the “life-world”--the values, beliefs, and commitments of a culture’s history-- as the key to understanding the powers of reasoning that specify parameters of health and illness.

Postmodernism, Religion, and the Future of Social Work discusses the benefits and disadvantages of the postmodern philosophy as a foundation for social work and human service practice. Social work students and practitioners will learn about the developments that have shaped postmodern thinking as they pertain to society in general, as well as to the profession of social work. By exploring this increasingly popular philosophy, Postmodernism, Religion, and the Future of Social Work provides you with methods and theories that help you evalute contemporary problems more effectively, resulting in better services for your clients.Challenging traditional social work practices, Postmodernism, Religion, and the Future of Social Work examines postmodernism in terms of a world view that is emerging along indeterminate and ambiguous lines. With the goal of helping you provide more helpful and relevant services to your clients, Postmodernism, Religion, and the Future of Social Work discusses many themes related to postmodernism, including:understanding how principles of postmodernism are characterized by ongoing change, indeterminacy, and relativism reviewing the historical movement of a postmodern perspective and its present implications on social work practice supporting the strengths perspective through a postmodernist approach discussing some unintended and potentially negative consequences of postmodernism that arise from uncritically adopting postmodernistic principles analyzing the nature of social work and social welfare in Britain and the Western World to gain insight into how social theory is associated with postmodernity, postmodernization, and post-Fordism exploring the postmodernistic relationship between institutionalized religions and social services provided by religious auspices Although postmodernism offers a new and different way of understanding social problems and of structuring social work practice, this text urges you to be critical in the evaluation of its aspects and outlines some possibly negative outcomes in certain situations. In evaluating postmodernism and its relevance to social services and social problems, Postmodernism, Religion, and the Future of Social Work offers theories and research into methods that go beyond traditional practices to assist you in providing effective and relevant services for your clients.

Examine issues of vital importance to you and your disabled clientstoday and in the years to come!This groundbreaking text provides you with up-to-date, authoritative information that will prove to be of critical importance for disability professionals in the coming years. It will leave you better informed about aspects of disability that have not been well covered in the literatureissues surrounding spirituality, civil rights, and the medical model vs. social (or minority) model (of viewing disability) controversy. You’ll examine the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the wake of the Supreme Court’s narrowing of the Act’s powers and explore newly developed theories designed to more accurately define the true meaning of disability.Disability Issues for Social Workers and Human Services Professionals in the Twenty-First Century explores:the currentand potentialroles of spirituality and religion in the rehabilitation process the use of medication in treating disabilitywith a study focusing on children in foster care whose emotional/behavioral disabilities are medically (rather than psychologically) treated Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in college studentshow it impacts them as a disability requiring academic accommodations disability as an aspect of cultural diversitywith suggested methods for educating the non-disabled about people with disabilities limitations on the civil rights of those with disabilitiesand what can be done to eliminate those limitations computer technologies designed to aid people with disabilitieswith an examination of a health promotion Web site for children with disabilities and their families disability and the managed mental health systemwith an examination of the differences in service utilization and satisfaction in rural and urban areas how disability can be viewed as a social construct, rather than something that is inherent to the disabled personKeeping current with new developments is imperative for social workers and other professionals whose work affects people with disabilities. Disability Issues for Social Workers and Human Services Professionals in the Twenty-First Century provides the information you need to stay on the cutting edge of progress in this rapidly evolving field.

Examine issues of vital importance to you and your disabled clientstoday and in the years to come!This groundbreaking text provides you with up-to-date, authoritative information that will prove to be of critical importance for disability professionals in the coming years. It will leave you better informed about aspects of disability that have not been well covered in the literatureissues surrounding spirituality, civil rights, and the medical model vs. social (or minority) model (of viewing disability) controversy. You’ll examine the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the wake of the Supreme Court’s narrowing of the Act’s powers and explore newly developed theories designed to more accurately define the true meaning of disability.Disability Issues for Social Workers and Human Services Professionals in the Twenty-First Century explores:the currentand potentialroles of spirituality and religion in the rehabilitation process the use of medication in treating disabilitywith a study focusing on children in foster care whose emotional/behavioral disabilities are medically (rather than psychologically) treated Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in college studentshow it impacts them as a disability requiring academic accommodations disability as an aspect of cultural diversitywith suggested methods for educating the non-disabled about people with disabilities limitations on the civil rights of those with disabilitiesand what can be done to eliminate those limitations computer technologies designed to aid people with disabilitieswith an examination of a health promotion Web site for children with disabilities and their families disability and the managed mental health systemwith an examination of the differences in service utilization and satisfaction in rural and urban areas how disability can be viewed as a social construct, rather than something that is inherent to the disabled personKeeping current with new developments is imperative for social workers and other professionals whose work affects people with disabilities. Disability Issues for Social Workers and Human Services Professionals in the Twenty-First Century provides the information you need to stay on the cutting edge of progress in this rapidly evolving field.

This work serves as an introduction to both the theoretical and practical aspects of using computers to improve the delivery of social services. Though many practitioners believe that computerization dehumanizes clients and should be avoided, John Murphy and John Pardeck demonstrate how, through a holistic approach to computer use, this problem, and others like it, can be averted. By providing practitioners the opportunity to sharpen their conceptual skills in computer technology, this book promotes a rational understanding of the possible uses and limitations of computers in social service agencies.Unlike other, technically-oriented works in this field, Murphy and Pardeck's work focuses on the philosophical justification of computer use, along with the conceptual or symbolic nature of computerization. They fully illustrate how to create the organizational conditions necessary for computers to improve social-service delivery, and they do so in a manner that is easily accessible for both general classroom and professional use. Among the topics addressed are the technological world-view, Western philosophy, and knowledge; computer mediated therapy; ethical issues related to computerized service delivery; and construction of a socially responsible technology. This work will be a unique and important resource for courses in computer applications, policy analysis, and social service administration, as well as a useful reference source for human service agencies and practitioners. Public and academic libraries will also find it to be a valuable addition to their collections.

The editors have assembled a collection of original essays offering a holistic view of how technology shapes the modern world. Consideration is given to several major issues, such as the dehumanizing effects of technology, which tends to objectify social life; the emphasis on productivity and the accumulation of material goods; and the intricacies involved in creating a responsible technology that would establish more socially sensitive principles, values, and beliefs. Technology is examined not simply as machinery, but as a procedure that can be used to define every aspect of social existence, and the book demonstrates how to bring about the changes that are necessary to remedy this alienating situation.

This book takes up the challenge of the failure of most initiatives in community-based service delivery to address the significant philosophical shift that is necessary to create, implement, and evaluate appropriately these sorts of projects. Challenging the tendency to focus entirely on practicalities, the authors emphasize the centrality of philosophy to any successful community-based undertaking. While fully acknowledging the importance of local knowledge and the guidance of projects by local people, this volume shows that these principles are often at odds with the ‘Cartesian’ mindset that underpins much project planning, with its emphasis on objectivity in science and knowledge. Since all knowledge is mediated by human activity and embedded in language and other modes of expression, this dualist approach must be reconsidered. A thorough rethinking of traditional service delivery, which takes into account issues of data, methodology, and bias together with questions of generalizability, community, power, and communication, this book will appeal to scholars of sociology, social policy, and social work with interests in community-based service delivery.

Originally published in 1989, this book differed from others on the topic of microcomputers and education at the time, in that it focuses on the influence that microcomputer technology has on children in their early years, specially pre-school and elementary ages. Microcomputers have the capacity to do great harm as well as good and a full explanation of the technical and philosophical issues involved will be of interest to a number of disciplines. Other topics explored are – the potential uses of microcomputer-technology in early childhood education and current research and theory building on microcomputers and early education. This book should be read by teachers, sociologists, psychologists and researchers in education.

Originally published in 1989, this book differed from others on the topic of microcomputers and education at the time, in that it focuses on the influence that microcomputer technology has on children in their early years, specially pre-school and elementary ages. Microcomputers have the capacity to do great harm as well as good and a full explanation of the technical and philosophical issues involved will be of interest to a number of disciplines. Other topics explored are – the potential uses of microcomputer-technology in early childhood education and current research and theory building on microcomputers and early education. This book should be read by teachers, sociologists, psychologists and researchers in education.

First published in 1990. This study on special educational needs explores the identification of the gifted, research on gifted children and programmes, programming for young gifted children, and the socio-psychological implications of giftedness. This title will be of great interest to student teachers, teachers of special educational needs, and parents.

First published in 1990. This study on special educational needs explores the identification of the gifted, research on gifted children and programmes, programming for young gifted children, and the socio-psychological implications of giftedness. This title will be of great interest to student teachers, teachers of special educational needs, and parents.

Postmodernism, Religion, and the Future of Social Work discusses the benefits and disadvantages of the postmodern philosophy as a foundation for social work and human service practice. Social work students and practitioners will learn about the developments that have shaped postmodern thinking as they pertain to society in general, as well as to the profession of social work. By exploring this increasingly popular philosophy, Postmodernism, Religion, and the Future of Social Work provides you with methods and theories that help you evalute contemporary problems more effectively, resulting in better services for your clients.Challenging traditional social work practices, Postmodernism, Religion, and the Future of Social Work examines postmodernism in terms of a world view that is emerging along indeterminate and ambiguous lines. With the goal of helping you provide more helpful and relevant services to your clients, Postmodernism, Religion, and the Future of Social Work discusses many themes related to postmodernism, including:understanding how principles of postmodernism are characterized by ongoing change, indeterminacy, and relativism reviewing the historical movement of a postmodern perspective and its present implications on social work practice supporting the strengths perspective through a postmodernist approach discussing some unintended and potentially negative consequences of postmodernism that arise from uncritically adopting postmodernistic principles analyzing the nature of social work and social welfare in Britain and the Western World to gain insight into how social theory is associated with postmodernity, postmodernization, and post-Fordism exploring the postmodernistic relationship between institutionalized religions and social services provided by religious auspices Although postmodernism offers a new and different way of understanding social problems and of structuring social work practice, this text urges you to be critical in the evaluation of its aspects and outlines some possibly negative outcomes in certain situations. In evaluating postmodernism and its relevance to social services and social problems, Postmodernism, Religion, and the Future of Social Work offers theories and research into methods that go beyond traditional practices to assist you in providing effective and relevant services for your clients.

This book looks at the symbolic side of globalization, development, and aging. Many of the dimensions that are discussed represent updates of past debates but some are entirely new. In particular, globalization is accompanied by subtle social imagery that profoundly shapes the way institutions and identities are imagined. The process of aging and persons sense of identity is no exception. The underlying assumptions that pervade globalization inform how critical dimensions of aging are discussed and institutionalized. The application of marketplace imagery, for example, may impact attempts for holism in how aging is studied and the prospects for human agency during the aging process. This book offers a special look into how temporality, technology, normativity, and empiricism structure the symbolic side of globalization and influence dominant images of the aging process. Current debates about globalization and aging are expanded by helping readers see the social imagery that is both subtly behind globalization and at the forefront of shaping the aging experience.

For decades, community-centered social services have been promoted as an admirable ideal. Yet the concept of decentralized services delivered where people live has proved to be an elusive ideal as well, with the promise of empowerment often giving way to disinterest and apathy.Community-Based Interventions examines the reasons community programs tend to founder and proposes a realistic framework for sustained success. The book's theoretical, philosophical and political foundations begin with the importance of context, as in local knowledge and community self-definition and engagement. Innovative, often startling, approaches to planning, design and implementation begin with the recognition that communities are not "targets" or "locations" to be "fixed," but social realities whose issues require concrete answers. The variety of examples described in these chapters demonstrate the power of community interventions in providing effective services, reducing inequities and giving individuals greater control over their health, their environment and in the long run, their lives. Included in the coverage:Redefining community: the social dimensions.A new epidemiology to inform community work.The role of research in designing community interventions.The conceptual flow of a community-based project.Building autonomy through leadership from below.Relating social interventions to social justice.Attuned to the current era of health and mental health reform, Community-Based Interventions represents a major step forward in its field and makes an inspiring text for social workers, clinical social workers, public health administrators and community activists.

This book looks at the symbolic side of globalization, development, and aging. Many of the dimensions that are discussed represent updates of past debates but some are entirely new. In particular, globalization is accompanied by subtle social imagery that profoundly shapes the way institutions and identities are imagined. The process of aging and persons sense of identity is no exception. The underlying assumptions that pervade globalization inform how critical dimensions of aging are discussed and institutionalized. The application of marketplace imagery, for example, may impact attempts for holism in how aging is studied and the prospects for human agency during the aging process. This book offers a special look into how temporality, technology, normativity, and empiricism structure the symbolic side of globalization and influence dominant images of the aging process. Current debates about globalization and aging are expanded by helping readers see the social imagery that is both subtly behind globalization and at the forefront of shaping the aging experience.

This book shows why community programs often founder and proposes a framework for success. Demonstrates the power of community interventions in offering services, reducing inequity and giving individuals more control over their health, environment and lives.

Community-Based Health Interventions in an Institutional Context examines challenges of "institutionalizing" community-based health care. While the community-based or localized model is growing in popularity and importance in the United States, in practice it must often be brought in to larger institutions in order to grow to scale. The typical goals of an institution—standardization, formalization, and control—may be seen as antithetical to those of a community-based healthcare provider, such as spontaneity, customization, and flexibility.  The contributions to this work raise questions about how the community-based model can be scaled up through institutions, and how "institutionalization" can be rethought from a bottom-up approach. They provide not only an overview of community-based organizations, but also delve into practical topics such as establishing budgets, training workers, incorporating technology, as well as more theoretical topics like goal-setting, policy effects (like the ACA), and relationships between patient and community. This work will be of interest for researchers interested in exploring the community-based health care model, as well as practitioners in health care and health policy.