Showing papers in "International Social Work in 2018"
TL;DR: Suggestions are provided on how to enhance engagement with ICT by social workers to implement and provide mental health services and supports tailored to community values, needs, and preferences that are commensurate with the values of the social work profession.
Abstract: Rural and remote communities often have complex and diverse mental health needs and inadequate mental health services and infrastructure. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide an array of potentially innovative and cost-effective means for connecting rural and remote communities to specialist mental health practitioners, services, and supports, irrespective of physical location. However, despite this potential, a review of Australian and international literature reveals that ICT has not attained widespread uptake into social work practice or implementation in rural communities. This article reviews the social work literature on ICT, draws on research on tele-psychology and tele-education, and provides suggestions on how to enhance engagement with ICT by social workers to implement and provide mental health services and supports tailored to community values, needs, and preferences that are commensurate with the values of the social work profession.
44 citations
TL;DR: The ecosocial framework challenges structural social work to follow the principles of sustainable development and considers environmental issues as a crucial part of the goals and practical activities of structural Social Work as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The article aims to deepen the understanding of structural social work from the point of view of the ecosocial framework. It analyses selected current international literature from the debate on the new wave of various interpretations of ecological social work. The debate shares four main themes: (a) a global perspective, (b) a critical view of professional social work, (c) a holistic ecosocial transition of society and (d) environmental and ecological justice. The ecosocial framework challenges structural social work to follow the principles of sustainable development and considers environmental issues as a crucial part of the goals and practical activities of structural social work.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a process model for a form of social case work that is informed by social development principles and priorities is presented, with the aim of translating the translation of developmental social welfare to social work has been difficult for many social workers.
Abstract: Social development has been adopted as South Africa’s social welfare approach and is increasingly being adopted in Africa and other parts of the developing world. The translation of developmental social welfare to social work has, however, been difficult for many social workers. A particularly challenging aspect of this translation concerns the practice of social case work within a social development approach, a topic that has received virtually no attention in the social development literature. This article constructs a process model for a form of social case work that is informed by social development principles and priorities.
33 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the extent to which issues of environmental sustainability are represented in three national social work codes of ethics (COSO) in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia is examined.
Abstract: This article examines the extent to which issues of environmental sustainability are represented in three national social work codes of ethics – the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia....
30 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a study of quality of life (QoL), anxiety, depression, and stress in Greece following the global financial crisis that spread from the United States to Europe severely impacted Greece.
Abstract: The global financial crisis that spread from the United States to Europe severely impacted Greece. This is a study of quality of life (QoL), anxiety, depression, and stress in Greece following the ...
26 citations
TL;DR: A conceptual framework highlighting the richness of hope, its application in social work practice and its position in social relationships is presented in this paper, where the implications for direct practice, further research and professional education are also discussed.
Abstract: Hope has dynamic features that look to the future and motivate people Yet despite being synonymous with social work, psychological terms have tended to define hope’s perimeters Its role in social work is often heralded, yet its unique, critical and temporal role has not been well mapped in social work theory This article explores the use of hope in social work practice A conceptual framework highlights the richness of hope, its application in social work practice and its position in social work relationships The implications for direct practice, further research and professional education are also discussed
25 citations
TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that social justice, locally-led development and cultural preservation will be better realized with an expansion of Pacific social work across borders, and it is proposed that the next wave of Pacific Social Work be centred in Pacific homelands to invigorate new approaches that better address well-being for transnational Pacific peoples.
Abstract: Pacific indigenous social work has developed across borders reflecting the diaspora of Pacific peoples outside their homelands. It is proposed that the ‘next wave’ of Pacific social work be centred in Pacific homelands to invigorate new approaches that better address well-being for transnational Pacific peoples. The current status of Pacific social work education, professionalization and theory is discussed. It is argued that social justice, locally-led development and cultural preservation will be better realized with an expansion of Pacific social work across borders. The article reflects on decolonization, universalism–relativism, nature of social work, resourcing and collaborations for Pacific social work.
24 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined Estonian child protection workers' perspectives about child welfare work and assessment in the context of children in need and found that workers seem to overly rely on a deficit-based, as opposed to a strengths-based approach and lack skills for understanding their role, conducting assessments and engaging in trusting relationships with children and families.
Abstract: After years of Soviet occupation, the country of Estonia is in transition, as are their newly developed child protection services. This quantitative study examines Estonian child protection workers’ perspectives about child welfare work and assessment in the context of children in need. These findings indicate that workers seem to overly rely on a deficit-based, as opposed to a strengths-based approach and lack skills for understanding their role, conducting assessments and engaging in trusting relationships with children and families. These findings suggest a possible holdover from Soviet philosophies, but definitely indicate the need for further training.
23 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the social construction of public services within the conceptual and theoretical framework provided by Lipsky is discussed, and it is discussed what it means if/when street...
Abstract: In this research article, we discuss the social construction of public services within the conceptual and theoretical framework provided by Lipsky. We are interested in what it means if/when street...
19 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a group of social work faculty members are responding by supporting the resettlement of a Syrian refugee family in Canada through private sponsorship options, grassroots activities, and the role of social workers in resettlement.
Abstract: The Syrian conflict and war has contributed to the largest refugee crisis in recent history. Many refugees are seeking protection and safety for their family. This article discusses the context of the Syrian refugee crisis and how a group of social work faculty members are responding by supporting the resettlement of a Syrian refugee family in Canada. Private sponsorship options, grassroots activities, and the role of social work in resettlement are discussed. This article concludes with a call to action for social workers to strengthen their support and involvement in the resettlement of refugees.
17 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a randomized trial tested the efficacy of a microsavings intervention on women engaged in sex work and found that diversifying options for income generation and employment may enhance health outcomes.
Abstract: Diversifying options for income generation and employment may enhance health outcomes for women engaged in sex work. This randomized trial tested the efficacy of a microsavings intervention on redu...
TL;DR: Social work developed from Christian caring and a eudaimonic desire for a worthwhile life as discussed by the authors. Although ethics continue to underpin the discipline, contemporary complexities of post-modernism, globalis...
Abstract: Social work developed from Christian caring and a eudaimonic desire for a worthwhile life. Although ethics continue to underpin the discipline, contemporary complexities of post-modernism, globalis...
TL;DR: In this paper, the influential factors of community participation in a rural poverty alleviation program in Malaysia were investigated using a quantitative approach, and data were collected througge the country.
Abstract: This study aimed to uncover the influential factors of community participation in a rural poverty alleviation programme in Malaysia. A quantitative approach was used, and data were collected throug...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors find out what can be learned from Finnish social work preparedness to develop future interventions and use of social capital in disasters, and show that micro-level social work and bonding social capital were emphasized.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to find out what can be learned from Finnish social work preparedness to develop future interventions and use of social capital in disasters. The data consisted of municipalities’ social sector’s disaster preparedness plan documents. Quantitative content analysis was used as the research method. The analysis was based on the concept of social capital and its forms of bonding, bridging, and linking. The results show that micro-level social work and bonding social capital were emphasized. Bridging and linking social work to disaster-related structures should be developed and social capital enhanced pre and post disasters.
TL;DR: The authors found that the knowledge base undergirding social work has been found to be dominated by Anglo-American cultura, and that the experiences of diverse people present challenges and opportunities for knowledge production.
Abstract: The experiences of diverse people present challenges and opportunities for knowledge production. The knowledge base undergirding social work has been found to be dominated by Anglo-American cultura...
TL;DR: This paper investigated the operationalisation of assistance for unemployed people to illuminate the language, discourse and processes through which workers and unemployed people were constructed within the quasi-market culture, including individualistic and behaviourist frames, paradoxical positions in relation to client choice and blame, and a metaphorical frame which reinforced position, status and difference.
Abstract: This article reports on qualitative Australian research that was conducted with 32 workers from Job Services Australia and Emergency Relief agencies. Researchers investigated the operationalisation of assistance for unemployed people to illuminate the language, discourse and processes through which workers and unemployed people were constructed within the quasi-market culture. Findings included individualistic and behaviourist frames, paradoxical positions in relation to client choice and blame, and a metaphorical frame which reinforced position, status and difference. This study provides important evidence from the frontline of Australia’s deregulated employment services, adding to the growing body of international social work literature pertaining to neoliberal welfare reform.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the challenges that superdiversity and complexity pose for social workers, focusing on the "knowledge-in-action" of social workers in a small service organization in Belgium in order to access their experiences of being professionals in superdiverse contexts.
Abstract: This article examines the challenges that superdiversity and complexity pose for social workers. Taking an ethnographic approach, we focus on the ‘knowledge-in-action’ of social workers in a small service organization in Belgium in order to access their experiences of being professionals in superdiverse contexts. The reflections of the social workers reveal the prominence of three inter-related issues: the social vulnerability of clients, the tensions that arise in coping with differences between personal and professional frameworks and identities, and the discontinuity that challenges the professional self-confidence of social workers. The findings raise important questions for the professional identity of social work.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore how community work is being undertaken in marginalized urban settings in Germany and Sweden, in relation to changing contexts of welfare and social welfare, in a comparative study.
Abstract: The aim of this comparative study was to explore how community work is being undertakenin marginalized urban settings in Germany and Sweden, in relation to changing contexts ofrespective welfare mo ...
TL;DR: The authors explores the anti-LGBTQI campaigns' rise to power at the United Nations (UN), nation state sovereignty (of the member states), and anti-choice campaigns' emergence at the UN.
Abstract: This article explores the anti-LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex) campaigns’ rise to power at the United Nations (UN), nation state sovereignty (of the member states)...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight social work's response to socio-cultural diversity by investigating the reality of multiculturalism in social work curricula vis-a-vis the Global Standards debates.
Abstract: This study highlights social work’s response to socio-cultural diversity by investigating the reality of multiculturalism in social work curricula vis-a-vis the Global Standards debates. Content an...
TL;DR: In this paper, a short introduction to key conceptual formulae for Ranciere's main philosophical thematic preoccupations stem from an understanding that human beings are equal in all respects.
Abstract: Jacques Ranciere’s main philosophical thematic preoccupations stem from an understanding that human beings are equal in all respects. This article is a short introduction to key conceptual formulat...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors make an attempt to reveal the ambivalence and ambiguity of state-sponsored social work in Hong Kong, and the diminishing voice of the client in cross-subsidized social work.
Abstract: Accompanying the diminishing voice of the client in cross-subsidized social work, the author makes an attempt to reveal the ambivalence and ambiguity of state-sponsored social work in Hong Kong. In...
TL;DR: The aim and profile of SCs as well as the involvement of social workers in the initiatives are presented and discussed within the framework of the role of social work.
Abstract: After the eruption of the crisis and the imposition of strict austerity measures, a number of grassroots solidarity initiatives emerged in Greece. The growth of Solidarity Clinics (SCs) emerged as an answer to the lack of primary health care for around 2.5 million people who were excluded from the national health system. This article presents and discusses the findings of a research project conducted from May 2014 to September 2014 in Greece. The aim and profile of SCs as well as the involvement of social workers in the initiatives are presented and discussed within the framework of the role of social work.
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of a Nigerian mother immigrated to Italy, and is based on the five social work strategies against the social and economic crisis that were proposed for the 2014 World Social Work Day: promoting equality and equity, enabling people to live sustainably, building participation, facilitating caring communities, respecting diversity and connecting people.
Abstract: Anti-oppressive social work, promotion of equality and combating the structural causes of hardship are often conceived as matters to be pursued at the meso and macro levels, while little anti-oppressive social work is considered practicable at the individual case level. In order to counteract this dangerous idea, this article presents a case study of a Nigerian mother immigrated to Italy, and is based on the five social work strategies against the social and economic crisis that were proposed for the 2014 World Social Work Day: promoting equality and equity, enabling people to live sustainably, building participation, facilitating caring communities, and respecting diversity and connecting people.
TL;DR: In this paper, the author explores how issues of transnational identity and belonging are constantly being renegotiated within the colonial matrix, and the position the author was accorded by the actors involved.
Abstract: This article draws on the author’s personal experiences of engaging in ethically driven research and development in the Caribbean and Central America. Specifically, it explores how issues of transnational identity and belonging are constantly being renegotiated within the colonial matrix, and the position the author was accorded by the actors involved. These complex and nuanced processes led the author to reposition herself in relation to the various discourses shaping the encounters, with positive and negative results. It provides insights on how coloniality of power shapes such processes, creating conditions that bring about tensions and struggles.
TL;DR: In this article, the importance of preparing social work students undertaking international study is highlighted, as critical discussions on the internationalisation of social work continue, and the need for preparing social workers for international work is emphasized.
Abstract: As critical discussions on the internationalisation of social work continue, the importance of preparing social work students undertaking international study is increasingly recognised. This articl...
TL;DR: A special issue of International Social Work focusing on promoting community and environmental sustainability is published to coincide with the 2018 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development being held in Dublin, Ireland in July 2018 and with the publication of the third report as discussed by the authors, both of which share the same theme.
Abstract: This special issue of International Social Work is focused on ‘Promoting Community and Environmental Sustainability’. It is published to coincide with the 2018 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development being held in Dublin, Ireland in July 2018 and with the publication of the third report of the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development process, both of which share the same theme. The papers have been selected from among those already published online and so must not be read as specially commissioned for a specific purpose. However this approach does enable the journal to stand back from The Agenda process, reflect on the issues which are raised, and take a broad perspective. ‘Promoting community and environmental sustainability’ is the third pillar of The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development, which emerged from the consultation at the world conference in Hong Kong in 2010. Developing community sustainability has long been at the centre of social work thinking and practice but the focus on the physical environment seemed new and timely when it was proposed in 2010. It certainly put social work at the cutting edge of the exploration of the relationship between people and communities and their physical environment before the launch of the consultation on the SDGs. Whilst ideas are rarely ‘new’ – concepts and theories usually evolve from what went before – social work can justifiably claim to have been among the first in the 21st century to make public statements explicitly linking human wellbeing and community sustainability to developments in the physical environment. However this link between wellbeing and the physical environment was already evident in the work of many social work pioneers of the 19th century, such as Octavia Hill (Wohl, 1971) and Jane Addams (1902; 1930), both of whom were active in protecting and improving the physical environment, seeing this as intrinsic to improving the circumstances and wellbeing of the mass of people living in poverty. So by exploring these themes, we are also rediscovering our roots – and the reality that social work has to take a holistic approach if we wish to understand and support people to respond to their difficulties. The four pillars of the Global Agenda are intrinsically linked. Originally focused on ‘environmental sustainability’, the conceptualisation of this third pillar evolved as the three global partners explored what it meant in terms not only of daily practice but also global policy and advocacy – and how it linked to the other three pillars. The first report on ‘promoting social and economic equalities’ highlighted the risks inherent in the growing economic inequalities in the world and explored how social workers helped people to challenge inequality and improve their own situation (IASSW, ICSW and IFSW, 2014). The second report on ‘promoting the dignity and worth of peoples’ explored how social workers can help people to shape environments in which they ‘can live without fear, give expression to their identity and personality as they wish whilst showing respect to others, care for their family and community members, practise their beliefs and religions, participate in and shape their communities through social as well as political engagement and have access to the resources needed for a dignified and secure life’ (IASSW, ICSW and IFSW, 2016). The fourth pillar – ‘strengthening 770562 ISW0010.1177/0020872818770562International Social WorkEditorial editorial2018
TL;DR: In this paper, a conceptual framework of social protection intersperse in Africa to identify the missing link in the evolving debates on extending social protection to informal workers is developed, and three models of possible pathways for providing social protection in Africa are identified: the state-informal single model, the state informal collective model and the stateformal model.
Abstract: Social protection has reached development policy agenda in Africa, and extending coverage to informal workers is now a key concern. First, this article develops a conceptual framework of social protection intersperse in Africa to identify the missing link in the evolving debates on extending social protection to informal workers. Second, the article reviews and assesses literature on African burial societies to make an argument that they are well positioned to be engaged as pathways for providing social protection to those working informally. The article concludes by identifying three models of possible pathways for extending social protection in Africa: the state-informal single model, the state-informal collective model and the state-formal model.
TL;DR: In this paper, a mixed-method study explores the experiences of supervision within Australian social work, focusing on the ways in which organisational cultures support supervision as a mechanism of practice improvement.
Abstract: This article reports on the findings of a mixed-method study exploring the experiences of supervision within Australian social work. It looks particularly at the ways in which organisational cultures support supervision as a mechanism of practice improvement. The research suggests the need to better understand performance within the practice and supervision sphere, and create ways in which workers can be acknowledged to develop their skills in a supportive organisational environment. It argues that within a neoliberal context, supervision has the potential to assist in the management of competing workplace demands.
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the history of poverty reduction programs in Chile since the 1960s and the installation of CCT programs in the country with a particular focus on the role of social work in their design and implementation is presented.
Abstract: The following article revises conditional cash transfers (CCTs) in Latin America, followed by an examination of the history of poverty reduction programs in Chile since the 1960s and the installation of CCT programs in the country with a particular focus on the role of social work in their design and implementation. The article concludes with a discussion of the challenges social work faces in actively participating in the redesign and implementation of the new CCT model from a human rights and social justice focus.