Purple Heart Is Ruled Out for Traumatic Stress
from The New York Times
The Pentagon has decided that it will not award the Purple Heart, the hallowed medal given to those wounded or killed by enemy action, to war veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder because it is not a physical wound. The decision, for now, ends the hope of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have the condition and believed that the Purple Hearts could honor their sacrifice and help remove some of the stigma associated with the condition. More

Martin Luther King Jr. and Inaugural Events
from NASW IL
The timing of yesterday’s inauguration of President Barack Obama, a day after Martin Luther King Day, is replete with meaning and symbolism. Just as thousands convened for the 1963 "March on Washington" to hear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., (including social worker, civil rights leader and NASW President Whitney M. Young,) thousands gathered in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20 to witness the inauguration of our nation's first African American President. More

Inauguration: Social Workers Blog from D.C.
from NASW IL
Millions of people gathered on the Mall in Washington yesterday to celebrate the inauguration of the 44th U.S. president, Barack Obama. Social workers Ireta Gasner and Rashanda Perryman, both members of the National Association of Social Workers - Illinois Chapter, were amid the crushing crowd witnessing history firsthand. Read how they were able to experience a journey of a lifetime. More

NASW Seeks Privacy Protections for Personal Health Records
from NASW
The National Association of Social Workers urges Congress to include provisions in the economic recovery bill that encourage the development of a national interoperable health information infrastructure, provided it includes comprehensive statutory protections for the privacy and security of consumer health records. NASW supports privacy and security for personal health records as an essential element of HIT legislation, now being prepared for passage. More

New Chancellor Named At UIC
from CBS 2 Chicago
Paula Allen-Meares, former dean of social work at the University of Michigan, has officially become the sixth chancellor of the University of Illinois at Chicago. When Allen-Meares was introduced last summer, Lawrence Eppley, the board's chairman at that time, called her a "proven success" who has "exactly the right stuff that an ascendant UIC requires in a chancellor." More

Sex and Depression: In the Brain, if Not the Mind
from The New York Times
As everyone knows, sex feels good. Or does it? The temptation to speculate about psychological explanations of sexual behavior is hard to resist. Psychiatrists like to joke that everything is about sex except for sex itself, which is another way of saying that just about every human behavior is permeated with hidden sexual meaning. More

For 'Black Men,' Social Work is Social Change
from The Daily Pennsylvanian
Black Men at Penn, a group for black male students and alumni of the Graduate School of Social Policy and Practice, held its gala the University of Pennsylvania. The event, entitled "Without Struggle, There Is No Progress," was one of the first events in a larger symposium celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. The gala celebrated the contributions of black males in the social work profession. More

Victims of Intimate Partner Violence Display Distinct Patterns of Facial Injury
from Science Daily
Women who are victims of intimate partner violence tend to have different patterns of facial injury than women who experience facial trauma from other causes, according to a new report. This information, and other key characteristics such as a delay before visiting a health care facility, could help surgeons and other physicians recognize patients who are victims of this type of abuse. More

Positive Outlook Cuts Chances of Dementia
from The Washington Post
Sociable people who don't sweat the small stuff may be more likely to remember the small stuff as they age, suggests new research exploring the link between personality and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease. The study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting a link between personality traits, lifestyle and Alzheimer's disease. More

Critics Push to Cut Abstinence-Only Sex Ed. Funds
from Time
With the exit of the Bush administration, critics of abstinence-only sex education will be making an aggressive push to cut off federal funding for what they consider an ineffective, sometimes harmful program. More