Combat Social Work in Vietnam, 1968–1969

2020 ◽  
pp. 65-92
Author(s):  
Raymond Mansour Scurfield
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Combat Veterans ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Military Career ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
The U.S

This chapter presents combat social work in the U.S. Vietnam war. The author discusses his military career, the special challenges and lessons from his year-long tour of duty and a combat social worker’s view of the realities on the ground. This chapter provides a case study of how behavioral health practitioners in-country were confronted with what the author refers to as the psychiatric paradox—Was a psychiatric casualty “too sane” to be medially evacuated or “too sick” to be returned to duty?—coupled with significant pressure to return psych casualties to duty. The author describes his personal experiences and how he came home changed and interested in helping fellow combat veterans. He describes the lessons learned from his further mental health services to hundreds of war veterans postwar and the pervasive impact of war on those exposed to war, directly or indirectly, and their long-term recovery.

Social Workers’ Impact on Policy Through Regulations: A Case Study of the U.S. Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

2021 ◽  
pp. 146801732110103
Author(s):  
Susanny J Beltran ◽  
Vivian J Miller ◽  
Tyrone Hamler
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Writing Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Term Care ◽  
The Social ◽  
The U.S

Summary Involvement in the political process in the United States is critical for social work professionals, as social policies dictate funding and programming in social work practice. Yet, there is little to no focus given to the regulation writing process in the social work literature in the United States. This article contributes to the scant body of knowledge that addresses the regulatory process from a social work perspective. A brief overview of the regulation writing process is provided, followed by a case study using the regulations for the U.S. Older Americans Act Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to illustrate the process. Findings A total of 85 comments, submitted to the Federal Register docket, were analyzed using content analysis. Findings reveal that comment submissions varied greatly in terms of length, source, and input. Notably, findings indicate low participation from the social work profession. Application The open comment period of the regulation writing process offers a free, but effortful, window of opportunity for social workers to engage in post-legislative advocacy. There is a need to support the involvement of the social work profession in the regulation writing process, through practice and training enhancements.

Unlocking the value of HR to drive a change-ready culture

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 171-176
Author(s):  
Campbell Macpherson
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Culture Change ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
World Culture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Large Organization ◽  
The Real ◽  
Personal Experiences

Purpose This paper aims to present a case study focused on developing a change-ready culture within a large organization. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on personal experiences gleaned while driving an organization-wide culture change program throughout a major financial advisory firm. Findings This paper details over a dozen key lessons learned while transforming the HR department from a fragmented, ineffective, reclusive and disrespected department into one that was competent, knowledgeable, enabling and a leader of change. Originality/value Drawing on the real-world culture change intervention detailed here, including results and lessons learned, other organizations can apply similar approaches in their own organizations – hopefully to similar effect.

Water in the Time of Drought II: Lessons from Droughts around the World

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphaëlle Ortiz ◽  
Anamaría Núñez ◽  
Corinne Cathala ◽  
Ana R. Rios ◽  
Mauro Nalesso
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Technical Note ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Institutional Frameworks ◽  
The World ◽  
Relevant Case ◽  
Management Policies ◽  
Successes And Challenges

This technical note is an update to the previous "Water in the Time of Drought: Lessons from Five Droughts Around the World", published in 2018. It explores drought situations and policies in Spain (including the Canary Islands), Chile, Mexico, the dry corridor between Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, Brazil, and South Africa. Each of these countries has recently dealt with droughts and/or developed long-term solutions to manage them. HydroBID, a tool developed by the IDB, will be presented through relevant case studies. After defining drought experiences and institutional frameworks in each country, the brief will explore the successes and challenges of national drought and water management policies. Best practices and lessons learned will be extracted from each case study to help policymakers better prepare for droughts.

Using National Financial Incentives to Build Local Resiliency: The U.S. Disaster Mitigation Act

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-171
Author(s):  
Kenneth C. Topping ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Hazard Mitigation ◽  
Disaster Mitigation ◽  
Federal Grants ◽  
Local Resilience ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The U.S

The U.S. Congress passed the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) which requires adoption of multihazard mitigation plans as a precondition of local government eligibility for federal pre-disaster and postdisaster hazard mitigation grants. Its underlying purpose was to encourage local governments to systematically plan for reducing risks and future disaster losses before requesting federal grants to execute hazard mitigation projects. This paper examines the DMA 2000 legislation, its purposes, and the responses to it by state and local governments. Among other things the paper: 1) describes DMA 2000 statutory requirements, 2) assesses overall participation by region, 3) uses the State of California as a case study to examines hazard mitigation plan compliance issues, and 4) explores long-term implications of this broad national effort to use financial incentives to increase local resilience. By early 2009, 18,783 locally adopted hazard mitigation plans had been approved by FEMA. Although community resilience outcomes cannot be truly assessed without further research, the magnitude of this response implies substantial long-term local capacity building benefits within the U.S. This experience should also be the subject of comparative research regarding parallel efforts elsewhere.

scholarly journals Corporate Governance Principles and Sustainability

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh Grove ◽  
Maclyn Clouse
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Boards Of Directors ◽  
Financial Analysts ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
International Accounting Standards ◽  
Short Sellers ◽  
The U.S

With 21st century U.S. frauds destroying well over one trillion of market capitalization and now with Valeant’s 2016 market cap destruction of $86 billion, the question must again be asked: where were the gatekeepers (boards of directors, regulators, sell-side financial analysts, and auditors) to protect investors? Many of these frauds were caught only by short sellers, such as Jim Chanos (shorting Enron in 2000 and Valeant in 2014), Andrew Left (shorting Valeant in 2015), and buy-side financial analysts. Sir David Tweedy, the former chair of the International Accounting Standards Board, has commented: “The scandals that we have seen in recent years are often attributed to accounting although, in fact, I think the U.S. cases are corporate governance scandals involving fraud” (Tweedy, 2007). This paper is a case study using the Valeant $86 billion market cap destruction in 2016 to emphasize the timeless nature of such corporate governance scandals. This scandal was even larger than the infamous $78 billion market cap destruction scandal of Enron which occurred 15 years earlier in 2001. These scandals appear here to stay as the new normal so these gatekeepers should be doing everything they can to analyze the ongoing fraud problems. Accordingly, as a case study, this paper develops lessons learned from this $86 billion Valeant scandal to emphasize the importance of sustainable corporate governance principles as a pathway to avoid malpractices in the future.

scholarly journals Building-Back-Better in Post-Disaster Recovery: Lessons Learnt from Cyclone Idai-Induced Floods in Zimbabwe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest Dube ◽  
Gayan Wedawatta ◽  
Kanchana Ginige
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Continuous Training ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Disaster Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Post Disaster

AbstractThis study evaluated the build-back-better considerations in post-disaster recovery, following the devastation of Chipinge and Chimanimani communities by Cyclone Idai-induced floods in 2019. Conducted in 2020, the study assessed the impact of Cyclone Idai-induced floods on communities in Chipinge and Chimanimani Districts of Zimbabwe; evaluated the build-back-better considerations; and analyzed the lessons learned. Based on a qualitative approach and case study design, the study depended on focus group discussions, interviews, and researcher observations to gather data from 85 participants. The findings indicate that Cyclone Idai-induced floods seriously impacted human lives, infrastructure, and livelihoods of communities that had been living with flood risk and vulnerability. Build-back-better considerations were absent in much of the post-disaster recovery effort to address the cyclone disaster impact. There are important early lessons for both practitioners and community members to learn from the Cyclone Idai event. These lessons still can inform policy and disaster risk reduction practice in the medium and long term. Build-back-better should be a mandatory objective in the recovery from any disaster impact. Continuous training is also recommended to improve the disaster knowledge of stakeholders and increase local ability to cope with future disaster events.

scholarly journals Hegemony and Humanitarian Norms: The U.S. Legitimation of Toxic Violence

2013 ◽  
pp. 82-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Bonds
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
War On Drugs ◽  
The United States ◽  
World War ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Forms Of Violence ◽  
The U.S

Despite widespread beliefs that the United States has not used chemical weapons since the distant past of World War I, this study suggests a more complicated history by examining U.S. use of herbicides and incapacitating gases in the Vietnam War and its use of herbicides in the "War on Drugs." This article places such use of toxic violence within a context of U.S. hegemony, by which U.S. officials have used contested forms of violence to secure geopolitical goals, but have also been pressured to comply with humanitarian norms or-when there is a gap between norms and state policy-to do legitimating work in order to maintain domestic and international consent. Based on case study analysis of archival and secondary sources, this article identifies three main techniques U.S. officials use to legitimate contested forms of violence. These techniques are defensive categorization, humanitizing discourse, and surrogacy.

scholarly journals Internet of Things for Smart Spaces: A University Campus Case Study

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 3716
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Gilman ◽  
Satu Tamminen ◽  
Rumana Yasmin ◽  
Eemeli Ristimella ◽  
Ella Peltonen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Internet Of Things ◽  
User Interfaces ◽  
Real World ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Smart Space ◽  
Smart Spaces

Advances in technology and data analysis provide rich opportunities for developing intelligent environments assisting their inhabitants, so-called smart environments or smart spaces. Enhanced with technology, sensors, user interfaces, and various applications, such smart spaces are capable of recognizing users and situations they are in, react accordingly, e.g., by providing certain services or changes to the environment itself. Therefore, smart space solutions are gradually coming to different application domains, each with corresponding specific characteristics. In this article, we discuss our experiences and explore the challenges of a long-term real-world Internet of Things (IoT) deployment at a University campus. We demonstrate the technical implementation and data quality issues. We conduct several studies, from data analysis to interaction with space, utilizing the developed infrastructure, and we also share our actions to open the data for education purposes and discuss their outcomes. With this article, we aim to share our experience and provide real-world lessons learned when building an open, multipurpose, publicly used smart space at a University campus.

Americanization and Anti-American Attitudes in South Africa and Georgia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loes Nas
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Military Power ◽  
Republic Of Georgia ◽  
Emerging Democracies ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The U.S

This essay compares processes of “Americanization” and “anti-American” attitudes in South Africa and the Republic of Georgia. The author, originally from the Netherlands, focuses on these two countries because of her long-term personal experiences in these countries and because they are two emerging democracies. But she makes a point of drawing on survey materials in order to extend her personal experiences. While Nas argues that both countries, like probably most countries, have to contend with the economic, political, and military power of the U.S. today, the essay ultimately argues that the Republic of Georgia is moving from being anti-American (and anti-Western) to being pro-American, whereas South Africa is moving from being generally pro-American to being increasingly anti-American.

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