This popular article summarises the paper that was published in Social Work / Maatskaplikewerk in 1997.

This popular article summarises the paper that was publised in Social Work / Maatskaplikewerk in 1997.

This report contains several reports addressing various aspects of resilience to deployments among the South African Navy.  The report includes qualitative research, social surveys, theoretical reports on the use of family therapy in the Navy, etc.

A descriptive sample-survey was conducted on 68 married men and women in which the husband is a sea-going member of the South African Navy, in order to explore their experiences of routine Naval separations. The various emotional and relational changes experienced by these subjects over the cycle of deployment were elicited, described and then compared for differences between groups. The most significant overall differences were found when groups were defined according to rank, unit or capacity to adapt to role changes. Subjects with lower ranks, from units with frequent and unpredictable deployments or who experienced difficulty with husband-wife role changes presented as experiencing the most difficulty with separations. Men and women presented markedly similar pictures. These results confirm the results of international studies, and may be relevant to all forms of father absences. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.

Appendixes nine to twelve comprise various summaries of this study which were submitted to C Navy, Navy News, Milmed and Social Work/Maatskaplikewerk for publication. No new information is included in these papers. They highlight various aspects of the original study that are relevant to the reader.

Appendix thirteen presents a research paper which investigated the factors which help men and women cope more effectively with deployments. The samples were drawn from sailors and their wives on the SAS DRAKENSBERG, under the captaincy of Captain P. Barnard. This paper was submitted to the University of Cape Town as part of the author’s honours degree in clinical social work in 1995.

Appendix fourteen contains a clinical academic paper concerning the use of four models of family therapy with naval families, viz. the structural model of Minuchin, strategic rituals, narrative therapy and psychoeducation. This paper was submitted to the University of Cape Town as part of the author’s honours degree in clinical social work in 1995.

Appendix fifteen comprises a study conducted in 1996, which assessed the social and family functioning of almost 500 members of the South African Navy, drawn from five units in Simonstown. The results of the study which were presented to each unit, as well as the tables containing the analysed data are included.

A primary stressor in the South African Navy is the routine deployment of men to sea. This requires repeated adjustments of the family system, decreasing family well-being, which in turn decreases the morale, productivity and retention of sailors. This dissertation describes and critiques the process of developing an occupational social work intervention to assist families in resisting the stress of deployments, that is, to increase their ‘deployment resilience.’

The purpose of this essay is to explore the possibilities of using Jungian dream analysis as a platform for conducting psychotherapy between a white African therapist and a black African client. The essay is structured as two autonomous, but correlated papers. The first presents a Jungian perspective on dreams, particularly as constructed in a white, western world view. The second paper presents an African perspective on dreams, using material derived from Mongezi Tiso, a Xhosa igqira with whom Dr Vera Bührmann did much research on Xhosa psychotherapeutic/healing practices. This juxtaposition of Jung's views and Tiso's views (representing African views) demonstrates more convergences than divergences, suggesting that Jungian dream analysis may well provide a helpful psychotherapeutic framework for the white African therapist and black African client. The essay concludes with a brief guide to the technique of Jungian dream analysis, although it is not the purpose of the essay to equip the reader to conduct such analysis.

A descriptive sample-survey was conducted on 68 married men and women in which the husband is a sea-going member of the South African Navy, in order to explore their experiences of routine Naval separations. The various emotional and relational changes experienced by these subjects over the cycle of deployment were elicited, described and then compared for differences between groups. The most significant overall differences were found when groups were defined according to rank, unit or capacity to adapt to role changes. Subjects with lower ranks, from units with frequent and unpredictable deployments or who experienced difficulty with husband-wife role changes presented as experiencing the most difficulty with separations. Men and women presented markedly similar pictures. These results confirm the results of international studies, and may be relevant to all forms of father absences. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.

Many families are subjected to the crisis of the routine separation of a family member. Military practitioners and police officials are two examples of professions which require the regular separation of an individual from his/her family system. This paper describes and critiques the process of developing an occupational social work intervention to assist families in resisting the stress of deployments, that is, to increase their ‘deployment resilience.’ The presenter will explain the various factors which impact on the experience of separation, using international literature, his own clinical experience and research studies in the South African Navy. Seven clusters of factors which are associated with deployment resilience will be highlighted. He will then describe the process of developing a one-day, multiple couple psychoeducational programme which fosters these factors. Trial implementations of the Deployment Resilience Seminar are evaluated with regard to effectiveness and client satisfaction. The utilization of the seminar with couples and families experiencing such separations is explored. Recommendations are proposed to organizational management to reduce the stress of such separations.

This popular article provides guidelines to families on how they can increase their resilience to the stress of military deployments.  Eight primary factors that influence deployment resilience are identified, viz : emotional cycles, attitudes, support networks, financial preparation, family structures, separation and children, and the marital relationship.  A range of guidelines are proposed for families.

This popular article provides guidelines to military managers on how they can improve the resilience of their employees and families to the stress of deployments.  Ten ways of improving deployment resilience are proposed, viz: (1) redressing recruitment practices, (2) increasing the use of the contract system, (3) running personnel development programmes proactively, (4) rotating personnel through deployment posts, (5) facilitating the predictability of deployments, (6) increasing support systems for families, (7) reducing the frequency of deployments, (8) ensuring mechanisms for maintaining contact with families during deployments, (9) providing the impression that management cares, and (10) increasing the utilisation of social work programmes.

This paper seeks to address the clinical difficulty of working psychodynamically with black African clients in South Africa. The paper explores the points of convergence and divergence between Jungian dream theory and black African dream theory. In many respects, these two frameworks are remarkably similar, suggesting that Jungian dream work could serve as a basis for psychodynamic therapy with black African clients. The author proposes that this dream work could bridge the historical gulf between white African (clinical social worker) and black African (client). Guidelines for cross-cultural dream analysis are suggested.

Obtaining feedback directly from soldiers who have been post-counselled for HIV/AIDS is an important dimension of research into HIV/AIDS in the armed forces. This paper presents key findings from a national study into the responses of soldiers to HIV post-counselling in the South African National Defence Force in April 1999. The sample comprised soldiers found to be unfit for an international peacekeeping exercise for various medical reasons, including HIV/AIDS. Counsellors completed a structured questionnaire at the end of each counselling interview. Results of the study indicate that sound knowledge of HIV/AIDS and positive attitudes towards safer sex are associated with negative HIV status. Results also point to the importance of adequate briefing of soldiers involved in organization-initiated HIV testing. Emotional responses towards HIV testing and counselling, including resistance to hearing the test result, denial, the request for confirmatory testing and the support systems soldiers would make use of, are described in the paper. Guidelines for the psychosocial management of organization-initiated testing of soldiers, particularly soldiers involved in international operations, are given.

Many families are subjected to the routine separation of a family member.  Business executives, sales representatives, military employees and politicians are just a few examples of professions that require the regular separation of an individual from his/her family system.  This paper describes a new occupational social work intervention which assists families in resisting the stress of separations, that is, which increases their ‘separation resilience’.  The paper describes eight dimensions which are associated with separation resilience.  A one-day, multiple couple, psychoeducational programme which fosters these factors is introduced.  A trial implementation of this Separation Resilience Seminar is evaluated with regard to client satisfaction and effectiveness.  Recommendations for ongoing research and development and social work practice guidelines are proposed.

This paper presents the results of a large study conducted to address the prevention of violence towards women and children in the SA Department of Defence.  Three samples participated in the study: 1,769 male military employees, 977 female military employees and 462 wives of military men.  Extensive results are presented which show a high rate of domestic violence and child abuse in military families, ranging from 10% to 37% depending on the sample and the type of violence.  It was also found that a large percentage of men endorsed patriarchal statements.  The study found a high rate of co-occuring violence - if one person in a family is being abused, the likelihood that another is also being abused is much higher.

This paper presents the results of a large study conducted to address the prevention of violence towards women and children in the SA Department of Defence.  Three samples participated in the study: 1,769 male military employees, 977 female military employees and 462 wives of military men.  Extensive results are presented which show a high rate of domestic violence and child abuse in military families, ranging from 10% to 37% depending on the sample and the type of violence.  It was also found that a large percentage of men endorsed patriarchal statements.  The study found a high rate of co-occuring violence - if one person in a family is being abused, the likelihood that another is also being abused is much higher.

Strategic planning has been imported into social work from the business sector.  The Business Plan is a key component of strategic planning and is typically used by management to steer an organization through times of environmental turbulence.  This paper argues that the Business Plan is relevant not only for the management structure of an agency, but also for the individual workers within that agency.  After presenting the theory of the Business Plan and the plan of his own agency, the author presents the results of a small study (29 social workers).  This study found significant positive relationships between the feeling of making a significant contribution to the Business Plan, job satisfaction, energy and motivation for work, commitment to the organization and perceived client satisfaction.  The author discusses the resultant implications and practice recommendations.

Resilience theory, although it has been evolving over the past 70-80 years, has enjoyed a renaissance in the past two or three decades. What started as an enquiry into the childhood roots of resilience has grown into a broad, dynamic and exciting field of study. Resilience theory currently addresses individuals (both children and adults), families, communities, workplaces and policies. There are few domains of life that have not been touched in one or other way by resilience theory, including the military community.

This document serves to review the wealth of literature on resilience and to provide a consolidated summary of this literature. Close to 500 sources are cited in this document, published between 1945 and 2001, and drawing from books, academic journals, masters and doctoral dissertations, released government and military reports, training and family manuals, popular magazines and unreleased research reports. The comprehensive review addresses:

• Individual resilience (including resilience in children, salutogenesis, sense of coherence, thriving, hardiness, learned resourcefulness, self-efficacy, locus of control, potency, stamina and personal causation),
  
• Family resilience (including family stress research, Hill's ABCX model of family stress, family strengths research and the various models of family resilience developed by McCubbin and associates - Double ABCX Model, FAAR Model, T-Double ABCX Model and the most recent Resiliency Model of Family Adjustment and Adaptation),
  
• Community resilience (including social support systems and a number of cutting edge writings in this newly evolving field),
  
• Resilience-based policy (again with the latest thinking on the integration of resilience theory into policy formulation, and with a detailed section on work-life or work-family policies as an example of resilience-based policy),
  
• Resilience theory in social work (including an historical review of social work's inconsistent alliance with resilience theory, the newly evolving strengths perspective and the narrative and solution-focused therapies of Michael White and Steve DeShazer),
  
• Cross-cultural perspectives on resilience, and
  
• Deployment resilience (including a detailed review of literature pointing towards families developing the resilience to resist the stress of military separations).

This review does not aim to provide a synthesis of these various fields of study, but rather to bring together in one place a range of writings and perspectives on resilience and strength that have not previously been seen together in one document.

The transformation of the South African National Defence Force has prompted a critical reassessment of the Directorate of Social Work. As a result, the Directorate realised the need for a formal Business Plan in order to align the profession strategically with the core business of the military system. After completion of the Business Plan, the need for a unique military social work practice model was identified. Such a model should present social workers with a strategy for the achievement of the goals and objectives of the Business Plan. The Practice Model rests on two key concepts: binocular vision and practice positions. Since the onset of the transformation process in the SANDF, these two documents have reflected the changing milieu within which social work is practised. The main concepts of these documents are presented.

Resilience is a broad term that pulls together a wide range of theories and models, including salutogenesis, thriving, community capacity and the strengths-approach in social work.  Social work, including military social work, has long been dominated by a pathogenic focus, in which the emphasis is on the development and treatment of pathology. Resilience theory has been much discussed by South African military social workers and there is an increasing belief that the resilience approach offers a more valuable and impactful conceptual foundation to military social work practice.  This paper provides an overview of resilience theory, based on a detailed review by the author of over 500 documents on resilience theory.  Resilience theory is discussed at individual, family and community levels.  Emphasis is given to the application of resilience theory at organisational level and also in the military context (with particular reference to deployment resilience).

The comprehensive or holistic health assessment of soldiers’ readiness for participation in a military operation has, over the past two years, become an integral part of the military health service in South Africa.  One dimension of this assessment is a social health assessment, conducted by the Directorate Social Work.  This paper introduces the Resilience Model that is used in this assessment.  The process through which soldiers go during the social health assessment – entailing group preparation, verbal group administration of the an assessment instrument, scoring of the instrument, individual assessment interviews and a final social health status recommendation – is described.  The value that an assessment of this nature adds to the military organisation is outlined and further developments required in the social health assessment process are detailed.

Based on instruction from the President of South Africa, the South African National Defence Force initiated a study, under guidance of the Director Social Work, into family violence in the military community.  A large, representative sample was drawn from the entire military community, stratified into three sub-samples: male employees (1769 respondents), female employees (977 respondents) and military wives (462 respondents).  Parallel measuring instruments were used for the three sub-samples.  The results indicate the broad prevalence of family violence in the military and identify a number of risk factors.  Of special note are the coincidence between different forms of family violence, notably wife battering and child abuse by one or both parents.  Also of interest are those variables that did not increase the risk of family violence, such as deployments.  Recommendations emerging from this study are presented and a number of issues for social work practise will be emphasised.

Social work, a profession that has a core value of service to clients, has perhaps not promoted research and theory development as much as some other professions.  In the South African Military Health Service, however, the Directorate Social Work has demonstrated its commitment to and value of research through the establishment of a Social Work Research & Development (R&D) department in 1997.  This paper describes the development of that department.  The original vision of and need for such a function are highlighted.  Several key projects undertaken by the department over the five years are discussed, and the value added to the rendering of social work services to a military community is outlined, with particular regard to the relationship between military social workers and senior military clients.  Guidelines are provided for the establishment of military social work research centres.

Peace Support Operations (PSO) place unique demands on military members and their families.  This paper presents the results of a study conducted in two infantry units in the South African National Defence Force.  The sample comprised 739 soldiers (about half of the population) and 104 military wives.  Action research techniques were used with small groups of respondents to collect information about the problems families experienced regarding PSOs and solutions families saw for these problems.  The resultant problems were content analysed into 39 problem categories grouped in 14 themes.  Key problems included difficulties in maintaining communication between families and soldiers during PSOs, concerns about the impact of PSOs on families and difficulties in managing family finances during PSOs.  A set of 15 recommendations was derived from the study, all of which were accepted by the South African Defence Staff Council.  The utilisation of the study by the SANDF during PSOs will be highlighted.

This paper offers new information on the reliability and validity of the Heimler Scale of Social Functioning (HSSF), based on a sample of 8 561 soldiers in the South African National Defence Force. The HSSF is a 55-item questionnaire, developed in the United Kingdom, designed to measure social functioning as a whole, as well as a number of specific areas of social functioning. The HSSF shows inadequate levels of reliability (Cronbach Alpha and Standard Error of Measurement) at Subscale and Index levels, but good reliability at whole-scale-level. The HSSF also does not demonstrate adequate item-level construct (factorial) validity and criterion-related (known groups) validity, although adequate construct validity at scale-level was found. Reasons for the poor reliability and validity of the scale are explored and suggestions made for enhancing the scale’s performance.

This paper addresses the role of ecometric instruments (standardised measurement tools) in social work assessment and practice.  The paper described the progress that has been made in promoting accountability in assessment practice.  The paper outlines the initiatives of the South African Council for Social Service Professions regarding the regulation of assessment technologies.  A view of the future regarding assessment technology is also presented.

Van Breda, A.D. (2004). Ensuring relevance and sustainability through monitoring and evaluation. Paper presented at the National Conference for Social Service Professions, 25-27 October 2004, St Georges Hotel, Pretoria, South Africa.  

South Africa – particularly the domain of social services – has limited human and financial resources with which to address tremendous and often intractable social problems.  Within such a context, it is imperative that every Rand that is spent makes a difference.  The challenge is how to determine whether we are, in fact, making a difference.

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is an applied field that endeavours to answer this and other questions:

• What is our input into our social development programmes? 

• Are they run according to process specifications?  Are they of a high standard? 

• Are we reaching the number of people and outputs that we hope to? 

• Are we reaching our outcomes of changing people’s behaviour and improving their quality of life? 

• Are we having an impact on the foundation of society?

This paper will provide a practical introduction to M&E, based in part on the author’s own experience of developing an M&E system for a national HIV programme.  The value of M&E in ensuring that programmes are relevant (achieving the intended outcomes) and sustainable (ensuring the money and resources are well utilised) will be emphasised.  The paper will highlight the centrality of partnerships, cooperation and alignment in M&E.  The costs and expertise required for M&E will be mentioned.

The emphasis of the paper will be on equipping participants with sufficient core knowledge about M&E that they will be able to design or refine an M&E plan in their domain of responsibility.

This study serves to expand the work of A.C. Faul on scale development in social work to incorporate the demand for multiculturalism.  Ecometrics – the measurement of ecosystems – is a steadily growing field in South Africa.  To date, however, scale development has assumed that the ecometrics will be practiced in a monocultural context.  This is obviously not the case in South Africa.  Consequently, the research goal is to design a process model for the development of social work scales for multicultural use in South Africa.  As a secondary objective, the study aims to test this model in practice, through the development of a multicultural scale that accurately measures the social health of military employees/families.

A number of issues underlying the technical aspects of multicultural scale development are first explored, including issues of the characteristics of ecometrics; the meaning of the term culture; the emic-etic debate; cultural equivalence; and bias, fairness and standards in ecometrics.  Thereafter, a process model for the development of multicultural ecometric scales is introduced and five main phases are described: analysis, design, development, evaluation, and diffusion & adoption.  Each of these phases is further decomposed into main moments and steps, each of which is described at both theoretical and technical levels.

In order to test this process model in the real world, a new multicultural, multilingual, multidimensional, systems-oriented, salutogenic scale was created, called the Military Social Health Index.  In the analysis phase, the need for the scale was analysed and the innovation requirements determined and contracted with the client.  A theoretical framework – family resilience theory – was identified and explored, resulting in the development of an assessment model that underlies the scale.  The cross-cultural comparability of the constructs was assessed and each construct was operationally defined, using facet maps.

In the design phase, a multicultural, multilingual team of social workers generated close to 200 items, as well as instructions, using a multifocus approach, in which items were generated in four languages simultaneously (English, Zulu, Setswana and Afrikaans).  Only items that could be expressed equivalently across languages were accepted.  This resulted in an initial instrument, comprising 175 items (plus 16 demographic items), covering seven constructs, in four languages, at an average reading level of Grades 6-7.

During the development (or field testing) phase, the instrument was reviewed by a group of social workers for content relevance, translation equivalence, item formulation, etc.  Thereafter it was reviewed by focus groups of soldiers in the SANDF.  Finally, the instrument was subjected to an analysis of linguistic equivalence.  In response to each review, changes were made to the instrument.

In the evaluation phase, the Military Social Health Index was completed by 4171 uniformed soldiers, of whom 951 were casework clients of military social workers.  Convenience sampling was used, but because the data were collected by approximately 100 social workers across the country, the participants represent a highly diverse group of soldiers.  Data were subjected a series of analyses at concept-level, item-level and scale-level, culminating in the establishment of clinical cutting scores.  The validation of four of the seven scales is reported.  Overall the results of this phase show that the Military Social Health Index is reliable and valid both within and across the four target cultures (African Xhosa, African Setswana, Coloured Afrikaans and White Afrikaans).  Only the known groups validity, and consequently the clinical cutting scores, performed poorly.

This presentation covers the core theory of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in HIV workplace programmes, illustrated with practical examples from the South African Department of Defence.  The presentation will address a detailed working definition of M&E; the standard international M&E model; the process of establishing an M&E plan in an organisation; the defining of programme components and objectives; the determination and definition of indicators; the collection of M&E; and the utilisation of M&E data for programme planning.  Tools, used in the SA DOD’s HIV programme, are provided in this package.

The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is gaining popularity among social workers as a research tool that is consonant with action research, participatory research, community development, the developmental approach, practice-based research, qualitative research, etc.  The NGT has many advantages over other data collection methods and is accessible and simple to use.  However, when collecting NGT data from more than one group the researcher has the difficult task of trying to integrate separate sets of NGT data into one consolidated set.  This technical paper provides step-by-step guidelines for analysing multiple-group NGT data, using a combination of qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative (ranking) data analytic techniques.

HIV prevention efforts are typically focused primarily on reducing sexual risk behavior.  In the South African Department of Defence (DOD), such efforts are augmented by attention to the relationship between gender and HIV risk, through the Gender Equity Programme.  This paper draws on data from two large-scale, national studies, conducted within the DOD, that form part of the Department’s monitoring and evaluation of its HIV and AIDS programme.  These data reveal significant associations between gender and HIV risk.  Women emerge from the data as sexually conservative, lacking in self-protection beliefs and behaviors, and colluding with patriarchal and gendered paradigms.  Men emerge as sexually aggressive, patriarchal and with limited regard for the sexual rights of women.  The centrality of gender in HIV risk and prevention is emphasized.

The social work profession, like many health professions in the developing world, is increasingly under pressure to produce evidence that the scarce resources allocated to the profession are adding value and making a difference.  Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is a powerful conceptual framework and tool-kit to assist social workers in responding to this pressure.  This M&E Workshop will address the following topics: a detailed working definition of M&E; the standard international M&E model; the process of establishing an M&E plan in an organisation; the defining of programme components and objectives; the determination and definition of indicators; the collection of M&E data; and the utilisation of M&E data for programme planning.  The workshop will provide participants with conceptual tools, practical exercises and actual tools that can be customized for use at unit, regional and national levels.

Problem Under Study.  The measurement of the outcomes of HIV prevention programmes at national level is complex and expensive.  The identification of affordable and meaningful indicators is an important, though challenging element of the management of HIV prevention programmes.  Objectives.  The objective of this study is to explore the utility of ‘Access to a Television Set’ as an HIV prevention indicator.  Background.  The SA DOD conducts an annual HIV KAP (Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices) Survey within the DOD community.  One of the indicators included in the 2004 survey – at the recommendation of the Department of Social Development – was access to a television set.  Method.  The Behavioural Surveillance Survey method, as recommended by FHI and UNAIDS, was followed.  A national 10% sample of the employed DOD population was invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire addressing a range of HIV issues.  6.8% of the DOD (n=5,082) returned an adequately completed questionnaire.  Items were combined into indicators and analysed using the chi-square test.  Significance was set at p < .05.  Results.  Of the 36 indicators measured, 27 (75%) yielded statistically significant differences between those who had access to TV and those who did not.  In every case, those who had access to TV evidenced a more desirable response than those without – this is true for the knowledge, attitude and behavioural indicators, as well as self-reported STIs.  Conclusions.  It would seem that having a television set is associated with better knowledge of HIV/AIDS, more positive attitudes towards safer sex, lower risk behaviour and reduced likelihood of reporting STIs.  This indicator is affordable and simple to measure.  It may help HIV prevention programme planners determine where to invest scarce effort and resources.  Limitations.  This study is based on self-reported data within the military context (where, by definition, all respondents are self-employed).  These results do not necessarily represent those of the general population of South Africa.  Contribution.  A novel HIV prevention proxy indicator, which has been proposed by the Department of Social Development, has been empirically tested and found to be promising.

Scale developers, faced with an instrument that has inadequate reliability and validity, may seek ways to enhance the measurement properties of that instrument through means other than redesigning the instrument.  In response to the recommendation of a published validation study using the Heimler Scale of Social Functioning (HSSF), this paper presents comparative validation data for the original three-point response range version of the scale and a new five-point response range version.  Three samples of one thousand soldiers in the South African National Defence Force are used for this study.  Increasing the response range of the HSSF improved the reliability of the scale, but had only a very small impact on the instrument’s construct and criterion-related validities.  The author concludes that the content validity of the HSSF may be flawed and recommends a revision of the item sample of the instrument.

This popular article, written for health care personnel in the SA Department of Defence, addresses the HIV KAP (knowledge, attitudes and practices) survey that was conducted in 2004, and which was the third replicated study since 2001.  The study showed that there was an increase in awareness of HIV prevention programmes, an increased readiness for behavioural change, improved attitudes towards condom use and a stabilisation of self-reported HIV and STI symptoms.  A number of specific findings are also reported, regarding programme rollout, knowledge of mechanisms of HIV transmission, knowledge of preventing occupational exposure to HIV, condom knowledge and use, knowledge of antiretroviral therapy and sexual risk behaviour.  Six recommendations are made.

This is a popular article published in a military magazine in South Africa, summarising the results of the HIV KAP (knowledge, attitudes and practices) survey conducted in 2006.  A cross-sectional research design was followed in this study, which is the fifth KAP survey since 2001.  A sample of 2,721 was obtained, representing 3.7% of the DOD population.  Results show significant improvements in 18 of 30 indicators, less than the 21 improvements in 2004.  The data suggest that programme effectiveness is dropping off.  Seven recommendations are made.

This is the report of a task group that I facilitated, addressing the question, "How does sexual behaviour in the DOD impede the movement of the SA DOD towards the goal of a minumum of 30% women's representivity?"  Twenty-six people participated in the task group.  The task group identified (1) obstacles towards the 30% goal, (2) contextual issues that would either facilitate or impede goal attainment, (3) groups of stakeholders who are impacted by or desire to see a change in sexual risk behaviour, (4) a statement of the desired results, (5) seven action plans to deal with the issue, and (6) a range of measures to monitor progress.

The goal of social development is the synchronisation of economic and social development.  Within this framework, much attention is given to poverty alleviation and job creation, which are seen as crucial for the holistic development of a nation.  This perspective appears to exclude the field of occupational social work, which, by definition, works with people who are already employed.

There has, in response to this, been considerable debate among occupational social workers regarding the relevance of developmental social welfare for occupational social work.  Much occupational social work, and particularly social work within Employee Assistance Programmes, is not well aligned with the principles of the developmental social welfare approach as articulated in the White Paper for Social Welfare (1997).

This paper endeavours to articulate what a developmentally-oriented occupational social work practice could look like.  Six main implications of developmental social welfare for occupational social work are explicated, viz (1) working across the micro-messo-macro continuum, (2) increasing participation in decision making, (3) empowering vulnerable groups, (4) promoting economic development among the working population, (5) generating meaningful work, and (6) mobilising a conducive working milieu.

This is a presentation on a qualitative study on the experiences of women in the SANDF who have had operational experience. The analysis of data yielded a range of key themes: the military career, woman role models, leadership abilities, liberation from patriarchy, accommodating women's needs, sexual harassment, training and gender discourses. Recommendations address: the faces of women, recruitment of women, overcoming patriarchy, training, nurturing the military career, ablutions, sexual harassment and the promotion of gender discourses.

The tendency of participants to provide an inflated impression of themselves in research and psychosocial assessment situations compromises the validity of the data collected.  It is particularly noticeable when the research is not anonymous, where the study theme is sensitive or where the assessment is high stakes.  This tendency, known as ‘impression management’, is defined as “the processes of adapting to situational demands to create a favourable impression in order to obtain a desired outcome”. This paper reports on the design and validation of a ten-item, multilingual, ecometric instrument titled the ‘Impression Management Index’ (IMI). The validation showed that the IMI has levels of reliability, construct validity (convergent and discriminant), known groups validity and concurrent validity that are at least comparable with two well-established instruments. The IMI can be distributed within other scales during social research or psychosocial assessment as a means of determining the degree to which impression management is active.

As part of an assignment for the Theological Education by Extension course ‘Doing Ministry for a Change’, a study was conducted to assess the relative strengths and growth areas in three diverse congregations, in order to increase their mission-focus.  Data were collected from approximately 20 leaders in each congregation using a self-administered, summated rating scale.  Data were analysed at both item and subscale levels.  The comparative results indicated striking differences between the three congregations.  Congregation 1 emerged as hesitant about moving out into the mission field, preferring to establish a healing Christian community into which people could be drawn.  Congregation 2 was assessed as being pregnant with potential to move out of the church building and into the community, but still needing to take that final step.  Congregation 3 had already moved out into the mission field and emerged as being strong on both building the Christian community and expanding the Kingdom of Christ.  Recommendations for each congregation are made.

In 1986, Markus and Nurius published a seminal paper entitled “Possible Selves” in which they proposed that our current behaviour is motivated in significant part by our possible selves.  “Possible selves represent individuals’ ideas of what they might become, what they would like to become, and what they afraid of becoming” (Markus & Nurius, 1986, p. 954).  Drawing on this theory, Dr Van Breda developed a group-based intervention for adolescent orphans and vulnerable children living in a township in South Africa, called the Futures Group.  The aim of the group was to stimulate the adolescents’ vision for their possible future selves.  It was hoped that this vision would result in a more focused effort in school work and a greater sense of optimism and preparation for the future. This lecture will provide an introduction to the theory of Possible Selves, outline the Futures Group programme, discuss the challenges of targeting a future orientation among young people in South Africa, and make recommendations for improving possible selves interventions.

The measuring instruments (scales and questionnaires) used in social work practice and research are often poorly designed, with little regard for the challenges of the culturally diverse society within which we work.  This paper argues that instruments should be purposely developed for use within multicultural contexts.  Practice guidelines for the design of such instruments are described and illustrated with the development of the Military Social Health Index, a multilingual social work scale developed for South Africa’s multicultural context.  Empirical evidence is mobilised to demonstrate that the design processes are effective in producing culturally reliable and valid instruments.

Routine military deployments place great stress on military families.  Before South African soldiers can be deployed, they undergo a comprehensive health assessment, which includes a social work assessment.  The assessment focuses on the resilience of the family system, in order to estimate how well the family will cope when exposed to the stress of deployments.  This paper reports on the development and validation of a new measuring tool, the Military Social Health Index, or MSHI.  The MSHI is made up of four scales, each comprising 14 items, viz Social Support, Problem Solving, Stressor Appraisal and Generalised Resistance Resources.  An initial, large-scale, multicultural validation of the MSHI revealed strong levels of reliability (Cronbach Alpha and Standard Error of Measurement) and validity (factorial, construct, convergent and discriminant).

Resilience is an umbrella term encompassing, among others, salutogenesis, the strengths perspective and solution-focused and narrative therapies. It refers to the ability of people to bounce back in the face of adversity. The application of resilience to individuals is well documented. To a lesser degree, the resilience of families has enjoyed increasing attention over the past few decades. However, resilience theory has seldom been applied to larger systems like communities or workplaces.

One of the central learning outcomes of a first year programme is the acquisition of the foundational academic competencies required to complete a tertiary qualification. These competencies include the ability to source and utilise relevant literature, synthesise and present the ideas of others and debate and argue in writing. The challenge for educators is thus to integrate such learning opportunities into already full and subject-oriented teaching programmes. This paper showcases the innovative use of Blackboard to facilitate the development of skills in appropriate use of source literature in academic assignments among first year social work students at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). A Blackboard teaching/assessment system was designed that involves a sequence of six micro-teaching units, interspersed with formative micro-assessments. Students who do not achieve a certain level of competence in any of the micro-assessments cycle back into a revision module, followed by a reassessment of the same skills. Once students have completed the entire cycle, they undertake a summative assessment, covering the entire learning unit. The process is self-administrated by the student, with little intervention from the lecturer. This paper explains the rationale for this innovation, describe the design of the innovation, assess the challenges with implementing the innovation, and evaluate the success of the innovation through comparison with the previous year’s students who were taught the same academic competencies in a traditional classroom setting.

The understanding in the literature of what occupational social work is has evolved and become highly complex and nuanced. Notions of the work community, of interface and goodness-of-fit, of multiple client systems and of person-in-environment have become central to our conceptualisation of this field. A key implication of this rich understanding is a comprehensive and holistic approach to practice. This paper seeks to evaluate contemporary occupational social work practice in light of these understandings. Based on a quantitative-qualitative survey of 44 occupational social workers in Gauteng province, the author assesses current understandings of occupational social work by those who practise it. Furthermore, the author describes the scope of contemporary occupational social work practice. Adopting a critical stance, the author makes several proposals for enhancing the quality and depth of occupational social work practice.

The ‘fit’ between occupational social work (OSW) and developmental social welfare (DSW) has periodically been challenged. In this paper, the authors test the Occupational Social Work Practice Model (OSWPM), developed in the South African National Defence Force, against the five themes informing DSW practice and philosophy. The paper explores the OSWPM’s capacity to extend workers’ rights in the workplace. The authors interrogate the link between economic and social development, and look at the potential of OSW to increase worker participation and promote deep democracy in the workplace. OSW services are seen as adding to workplace partnerships and welfare pluralism. The imperative within the DSW framework that macro change be a key aspect is compared to the OSWPM’s commitment to interventions aimed at changing the work environment. Recommendations are offered which suggest ways of enhancing the alignment so that the OSWPM can better reflect the objectives of the national welfare imperatives.

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Angela du Plessis and I guest edited this issue of the Social Work Practitioner-Researcher themed as "occupational social work in the new South Africa". Papers address the current scope of occupational social work practice and thinking, the fit between occupational social work and developmental social welfare, the opportunites created for occupational social work by corporate governance and corporate citizenship, the micro-macro debate and the link with employee health and wellness, and the role of occupational social work in challenging the spread of HIV.

This article sets out the context for first-year social work students in South Africa, explaining particular needs of the typical student and the facilities available for support. The expectation of ‘deep learning’ required of university students raises many questions and a proposal for a research project is suggested on teaching and learning in social work, to be carried out collaboratively by South African universities. A literature survey, with extrapolation and application of relevant principles to serve as foundation for the project, is presented.

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There has been a burgeoning interest in social work about the strengths and resilience perspectives. The resilience perspective is highly consonant with social work values, but not easy to translate into practice. This paper presents a triangulated package of tools that the Department of Defence has developed for social workers to conduct resilience assessments with military families. The package comprises a theoretical model of family resilience, a standardised family resilience scale and a clinical assessment interview protocol. This package is presented as an exemplar of how the resilience perspective can be expressed in a particular field of social work practice.

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Social workers often work with the most marginalized and deprived segments of society. This paper addresses such a segment in South Africa – a group of ten orphaned or vulnerable young people, living in group foster care in a township. In such contexts, hope for the future becomes frayed as these children have few opportunities of escaping the trap of poverty. The author introduces and mobilises the theory of possible selves developed by Markus and Nurius. This theory argues that our visual pictures of who we could become in the future significantly motivate current behaviour. Based on this theory, the author developed a group work process with these young people, called the ‘Futures Group’, which aimed to stimulate their possible selves and to help them determine what they needed to be doing in the present to achieve their future possible selves. The paper outlines the theory of possible selves, the Futures Group intervention and reflections for practice.

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Resilience has become a mainstream concept in social work theory and practice. While resilience has been well applied to individuals and families, there has been virtually no application to the workplace, a social system that is central to the lives of employed people and their families. This paper extrapolates the literature on the resilience of the family system to the workplace system. A provisional model of workplace resilience is proposed, incorporating the dimensions of stressor, risk factors, protective factors and outcomes. Implications for occupational social work practice and research are detailed.