Torture and terror post-9/11: The role of social work in responding to torture:

doi:10.1177/0020872813487932

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Torture and terror post-9/11: The role of social work in responding to torture:

Journal Article•DOI•

Torture and terror post-9/11: The role of social work in responding to torture:

Aloysia Brooks¹•Institutions (1)

University of Sydney¹

01 Mar 2015-International Social Work (SAGE Publications)-Vol. 58, Iss: 2, pp 320-331

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.

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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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Journal Article•

The Body in Pain: The Making and Unmaking of the World.

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H Rice

01 Jan 1986-Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine

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.

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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.

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Loula S. Rodopoulos¹•Institutions (1)

RMIT University¹

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Journal Article•

Hope for HIV in Africa: observations by an Eldoret journeyman.

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Terry J. Hannan¹•Institutions (1)

Launceston General Hospital¹

14 Feb 2006-MedGenMed : Medscape general medicine

TL;DR: I first came to Eldoret, Kenya, in January 2000 amid the hustle and bustle that is associated with the end of a millennium, and since that time, my twice-yearly journeys have induced an evolutionary change in my perspective of life.

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Abstract: I first came to Eldoret, Kenya, in January 2000 amid the hustle and bustle that is associated with the end of a millennium. I carried with me a knowledge base of total naivety regarding life in Kenya. Was this good or bad? Only time and the assessment of others will answer this question. Since that time, my twice-yearly journeys to Eldoret have induced an evolutionary change in my perspective of life.

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1 citations

The practice of torture: Ethical approaches in the post-9/11 era

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Rebecca Allison Gordon

01 Jan 2009

1 citations

"Torture and terror post-9/11: The r..." refers background in this paper

...Recent studies contend, torture is not an act committed by a ‘few bad apples’, it is normalized, institutionalized, socially embedded and systematized in practice (Bower, 2007; Gordon, 2009)....
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...These impacts include: the erosion of human rights (Rogers, 2007), the deformation of ethics and moral values (Gordon, 2009), the recreation of a national identity embedded in violence (Milam, 2004), the redefinition of social norms that then include institutional or organizational behaviours that contravene human rights standards (Wright-Smith, 2007), the social exclusion or ‘outcasting’ of certain groups of people, particularly Muslim men (Lazar and Lazar, 2004) or a community that lacks empathy or is openly hostile to the survivor (Culhane, 2009; PhiladelphoffPuren, 2007)....
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...These impacts include: the erosion of human rights (Rogers, 2007), the deformation of ethics and moral values (Gordon, 2009), the recreation of a national identity embedded in violence (Milam, 2004), the redefinition of social norms that then include institutional or organizational behaviours that…...
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Dissertation•DOI•

The social construction of a torture sustaining reality: A rhetorical analysis of claims-making about terrorism as a social problem in the United States post 911

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Jason Francis Doucette

01 Jan 2010

TL;DR: This article examined how rhetoric was used to socially construct a torture sustaining reality in the United States after the September 1 1th terrorist attacks, by both print journalists and President George W. Bush's Administration.

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Abstract: This study examines how rhetoric was used to socially construct a torture sustaining reality in the United States after the September 1 1th terrorist attacks, by both print journalists and President George W. Bush's Administration. After the 9/1 1 attacks terrorism received wide attention from the media and public. As a result of these attacks, the United States began the "war on terror" and invaded Afghanistan and later Iraq. During these invasions allegations of torture by the American military began to emerge. This study carries out a content analysis of claims about terrorism and responses to allegations of torture. This analysis is guided by the contextual social constructionist approach of Joel Best (1990) and Stanley Cohen's (2001) study of "denials". The contextual social constructionist approach of Best (1990) is the theoretical departure point for a sample drawn from the New York Times as well as a sample drawn from the Internet website for the Whitehouse during George W. Bush's tenure as President. A final sample drawn from the same Whitehouse website will be engaged through an amalgamation of Best's (1990) contextual social constructionist approach and Cohen's (2001) study of "denials". This study reveals that the construction of terrorism as a social problem aided the maintenance of a torture sustaining reality. This study further explains how rationalizations are used by a liberal government to maintain a torture sustaining reality through the use of rhetoric and denials. In addition, this study shows that a torture sustaining reality is supported through the mobilization of language that dehumanizes (the process of othering) those who stand in opposition to it. As well, this study demonstrates how the concepts of risk and moral panic also help to explain how this

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1 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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...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....
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...Studies contend that the way in which torture is publicly constructed influences people’s attitudes towards the survivors or victims, and can have a long term impact on the broader social fabric (Athey, 2008; Bennett et al., 2006; Crelinsten, 2003; Doucette, 2010; Jones and Sheets, 2009)....
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...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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