Torture and terror post-9/11: The role of social work in responding to torture:
TL;DR: The authors argue that social work response to challenging pro-torture rhetoric has been limited at best, and to effectively address the problem there must be an international response if social work is to adhere to its obligations under the IFSW Code of Ethics, and fulfil its role as a human rights profession.
Abstract: Whilst terrorism is not a new global phenomenon, the fallout from the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US remain extensive and far reaching, including the sanctioning of harsher security measures and the denigration of human rights and civil liberties. Of particular concern is the move towards torture being an accepted practice for those deemed ‘terror suspects’ or captured ‘enemy’ combatants in countries where the so called ‘war on terror’ is still being played out. This article argues that the social work response, particularly in relation to challenging pro-torture rhetoric, has been limited at best, and to effectively address the problem there must be an international response if social work is to adhere to its obligations under the IFSW Code of Ethics, and fulfil its role as a human rights profession.
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TL;DR: In this paper , the normative framework governing the punishment of community service in Serbian criminal legislation is analyzed and a comprehensive analysis of the substantive, procedural, and executive regulations related to the punishment in question, seeking to identify certain failures in its regulations, as well as to give certain suggestions de lege ferenda.
Abstract: This paper analyses the normative framework governing the punishment of community service in Serbian criminal legislation. In this legislation, community service is prescribed as a criminal sanction. Accordingly, the paper has analyzed the provisions of every law that regulates this criminal sanction as well as statistics. A good normative framework is a precondition for the proper implementation of all legal institutes, including community service. Comprehensive analysis of the substantive, procedural, and executive regulations related to the punishment in question, seeks to identify certain failures in its regulations, as well as to give certain suggestions de lege ferenda.
TL;DR: In this paper , the normative framework governing the punishment of community service in Serbian criminal legislation is analyzed and a comprehensive analysis of the substantive, procedural, and executive regulations related to the punishment in question, seeking to identify certain failures in its regulations, as well as to give certain suggestions de lege ferenda.
Abstract: This paper analyses the normative framework governing the punishment of community service in Serbian criminal legislation. In this legislation, community service is prescribed as a criminal sanction. Accordingly, the paper has analyzed the provisions of every law that regulates this criminal sanction as well as statistics. A good normative framework is a precondition for the proper implementation of all legal institutes, including community service. Comprehensive analysis of the substantive, procedural, and executive regulations related to the punishment in question, seeks to identify certain failures in its regulations, as well as to give certain suggestions de lege ferenda.
TL;DR: In this article , Concepción Arenal revisado libros and artículos de la autora for conocer de primera mano sus contribuciones originales.
Abstract: El compromiso ético de las y los profesionales del Trabajo Social en España es una de sus características fundamentales. Pese a todo, se sigue dando un desfase entre sus declaraciones y sus realizaciones. Frente a la incoherencia existente entre la moral pensada y la moral vivida, Concepción Arenal plantea la razón compasiva a través de la cual reclama el cultivo de un buen carácter y fundamenta la obligación moral en el respeto a la dignidad humana y en la compasión hacia las personas más vulnerables, siendo por ello las virtudes éticas y los deberes morales los ejes vertebradores de su ethica misericordis. Por ello, el objetivo de este trabajo consiste en explicarla brevemente y en aproximarla al Trabajo Social. Con este propósito hemos realizado un análisis secundario de fuentes primarias y secundarias. Principalmente, hemos revisado libros y artículos de la autora para conocer de primera mano sus contribuciones originales. También hemos analizado algunas aportaciones de referentes internacionales en Ética profesional y en Ética del Trabajo Social que nos han permitido delinear mejor las conexiones existentes entre sus propuestas y las de la autora. La aportación que Concepción Arenal realiza al Trabajo Social radica en el estilo compasivo de intervención social que propone, que se deriva de la consideración que la autora posee de la persona como fin en sí misma, vulnerable y, por ello, perfectible que permite instaurar una relación horizontal entre profesional y persona usuaria que se erige sobre el respeto a la dignidad, la empatía y la comprensión.
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Book•
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TL;DR: The Dialectic of Trauma Continues: Traumatic disorders as discussed by the authors, a Forgotten History, Terror, Disconnection, Captivity, and Child Abuse: A New Diagnosis Stages of Recovery.
Abstract: * Introduction Traumatic Disorders * A Forgotten History * Terror * Disconnection * Captivity * Child Abuse * A New Diagnosis Stages of Recovery * A Healing Relationship * Safety * Remembrance and Mourning * Reconnection * Commonality * The Dialectic of Trauma Continues
5,901 citations
"Torture and terror post-9/11: The r..." refers background in this paper
...As Herman (1997) notes, torture is not just a physical act, but also a political act; it is political violence (see also Danner, 2009)....
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...…that the nature of torture is such that it destroys the self and removes voice of the survivor, relabelling the pain as non-existent or unworthy, thereby removing humanity and destroying any semblance of trust in other human beings (see also Herman, 1997; Sarson and MacDonald, 2008; Skar, 1997)....
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...Herman (1997) notes that violence, such as torture, cannot be treated on an individual basis due to the political nature and deeply embedded structural problems that give rise to torture....
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TL;DR: Given the many mechanisms for disengaging moral control, civilized life requires, in addition to humane personal standards, safeguards built into social systems that uphold compassionate behavior and renounce cruelty.
Abstract: Moral agency is manifested in both the power to refrain from behaving inhumanely and the proactive power to behave humanely. Moral agency is embedded in a broader sociocognitive self theory encompassing self-organizing, proactive, self-reflective, and self-regulatory mechanisms rooted in personal standards linked to self-sanctions. The self-regulatory mechanisms governing moral conduct do not come into play unless they are activated, and there are many psychosocial maneuvers by which moral self-sanctions are selectively disengaged from inhumane conduct. The moral disengagement may center on the cognitive restructuring of inhumane conduct into a benign or worthy one by moral justification, sanitizing language, and advantageous comparison; disavowal of a sense of personal agency by diffusion or displacement of responsibility; disregarding or minimizing the injurious effects of one's actions; and attribution of blame to, and dehumanization of, those who are victimized. Many inhumanities operate through a supportive network of legitimate enterprises run by otherwise considerate people who contribute to destructive activities by disconnected subdivision of functions and diffusion of responsibility. Given the many mechanisms for disengaging moral control, civilized life requires, in addition to humane personal standards, safeguards built into social systems that uphold compassionate behavior and renounce cruelty.
2,836 citations
"Torture and terror post-9/11: The r..." refers background in this paper
...Numerous studies have determined that it is this dehumanization (Bandura, 1999), or the constructed otherness of those being tortured that cultivates violence towards the targeted group of people, or creates a ‘torture sustaining reality’ (Crelinsten, 2003; Doucette, 2010)....
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this book, Johnson primarily addresses a research audience, and his model seems designed to stimulate thought rather than to improve clinical technique, which suggests that lithium should have no therapeutic value in patients, such as those with endogenous depression, who already "under-process" cognitive information.
Abstract: basic research and clinical data in an attempt to derive a cohesive model which explains the behavioral effects of the drug. Johnson is an experimental psychologist, and his work underlies many of the chapters which suggest that lithium decreases the behavioral response to novel external stimuli. He then utilizes this foundation to propose a cognitive model for lithium's anti-manic action, its inhibition of violent impulsivity, and its prophylactic effects in recurrent depression. Previous formulations which were clinically based, such as that of Mabel Blake Cohen and her associates, stressed the primacy of depression and noted the \"manic defense\" as an attempt to ward off intolerable depression. In direct contrast, Johnson views mania as the primary disturbance in bipolar disorder. He considers depression in bipolar disease as an over-zealous homeostatic inhibitory responsf to a maniaassociated cognitive overload. Consistent with this, he believes, lit lum exerts its anti-manic effect by decreasing cognitive processing in a manner analogous to his animal studies. Johnson also suggests that lithium exerts its prophylactic effect in recurrent depressions by treating subclinical mania. These concepts are supported by the work of Johnson's associate, Kukopulos, to whom the book is dedicated. The bulk of the research which describes the cognitive disturbance in mania is complex, however, and uncomfortably open to multiple interpretations. Recognized as a preliminary effort, Johnson's formulation may help to guide further research. Although Johnson clearly traces lithium actions through a broad range of subjects, his discussion of the neurophysiological aspects of this drug is notably spotty. In particular, Johnson ignores the work of Svensson, DeMontigny, Aghajanian, and others who suggest that serotonergic systems may play an important role in the antidepressant actions of lithium. As a result, he fails to discuss one of the most important current uses of lithium: as an agent used in conjunction with antidepressant medications to increase treatment response in medication-resistant forms of depression. Lithium augmentation of antidepressant medication also challenges the formulation presented by Johnson. This formulation suggests that lithium should have no therapeutic value in patients, such as those with endogenous depression, who already \"under-process\" cognitive information. The omission of lithium augmentation in depression is clearly unfortunate in this text. Overall, this volume demonstrates the benefits of a single-authored text. It it clearly organized and readable. The bibliography is also broad and useful. In this book, Johnson primarily addresses a research audience, and his model seems designed to stimulate thought rather than to improve clinical technique. In this capacity, his book will be of most interest to behavioral psychologists. Other books, focusing purely on clinical data, may be more useful to clinicians. Nevertheless, the clear organization, the large bibliography, and the thoughtful presentation may make this text a useful addition to a clinical library as well.
1,865 citations
"Torture and terror post-9/11: The r..." refers background in this paper
...In its essence, it destroys language and deconstructs the survivor’s voice, thereby allowing the powerful to redefine the act, shift the focus off the act to whether the person is deserving or undeserving of the treatment, and in the process, creating the Other (Philipose, 2007; Scarry, 1985)....
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...Scarry (1985) notes that the nature of torture is such that it destroys the self and removes voice of the survivor, relabelling the pain as non-existent or unworthy, thereby removing humanity and destroying any semblance of trust in other human beings (see also Herman, 1997; Sarson and MacDonald,…...
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...…to torture and the War on Terror From a therapeutic position, regaining trust in other human beings, and re-establishing connection with the community can only occur through validation (Barclay, 1998), and naming as well as condemning torture (Chambon et al., 2001; Herman, 2005; Scarry, 1985)....
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TL;DR: In a broader socio-cognitive self-theory encompassing affective self-regulatory mechanisms rooted in personal standards linked to self-sanctions, moral functioning is governed by self-reactive selfhood rather than by dispassionate abstract reasoning.
Abstract: Moral agency has dual aspects manifested in both the power to refrain from behaving inhumanely and the proactive power to behave humanely. Moral agency is embedded in a broader socio-cognitive self-theory encompassing affective self-regulatory mechanisms rooted in personal standards linked to self-sanctions. Moral functioning is thus governed by self-reactive selfhood rather than by dispassionate abstract reasoning. The self-regulatory mechanisms governing moral conduct do not come into play unless they are activated and there are many psychosocial mechanisms by which moral self-sanctions are selectively disengaged from inhumane conduct. The moral disengagement may centre on the cognitive restructuring of inhumane conduct into a benign or worthy one by moral justification, sanitising language and exonerative social comparison; disavowal of personal agency in the harm one causes by diffusion or displacement of responsibility; disregarding or minimising the injurious effects of one's actions; and attributio...
1,381 citations
"Torture and terror post-9/11: The r..." refers background in this paper
...It is also the first step in what Fairbain (2009) calls the creation of a torture-sustaining reality (Crelinsten, 2003; Doucette, 2010; Jackson, 2007) and the social conditions that give rise to brutal acts such as torture (Bandura, 1999, 2002; McAlister et al., 2006)....
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Book•
24 Jul 2002
TL;DR: In this paper, a text which is organised with a reflective approach to social work is presented, where discussion and description of theories and practices are interspersed with exercises, which serve to engage the reader in an interactive thinking process.
Abstract: This is a text which is organised with a reflective approach to social work. The discussion and description of theories and practices is interspersed with exercises, which serve to engage the reader in an interactive thinking process. Author is from Deakin University.
620 citations