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SAGE Journal User Guide

Article 1.

Lundy, C., & van Wormer, K. (2007). Social and economic justice, human rights and peace: The challenge for social work in Canada and the USA. International Social Work, 50(6), 727-739. doi:10.1177/0020872807081899

This article argues that the current social and political context—specifically, increasing militarization and social welfare retrenchment—pose obstacles for social work to achieve its mission of social and economic justice.  The authors argue for a social justice, human rights oriented social work framework. 

Questions:

1. How does individualism (in the U.S.) influence the well being of individuals and communities and shape social welfare in response to human needs?
2. What role does militarism play in the creation and maintenance of an unjust society?    
3. What does it mean to suggest that social workers occupy a “contradictory” position in relation to the society in which they work?   
4. What is the U.S. response to social and economic rights?  Why does this set of rights matter for achieving social justice and human rights? 

Article 2.

McNutt, J. (2011). Is social work advocacy worth the cost? Issues and barriers to an economic analysis of social work political practice. Research on Social Work Practice, 21(4), 397-403. doi:10.1177/1049731510386624

This article explores the conceptual and methodological challenges involved with assessing the impact and effectiveness of social work advocacy efforts. 

Questions:

1. What is the role of cause advocacy in the social work profession? 
2. Why is it important to evaluate the effectiveness of advocacy? 
3. What are the obstacles to evaluating the effectiveness of advocacy efforts?
4. Describe the main features of each of the three existing tools for evaluating advocacy:  Return on Investment (ROI), cost-effectiveness analysis, and cost-benefit analysis.