奥运志愿活动与北京市社会志愿服务体系的建设

近年来,我国的社会志愿服务体系建设发展迅速,但在快速发展的同时,整体上存在着志愿服务机制不成熟、活动质量不高、力量分散、参与面不够广等问题。2008年北京奥运会志愿者工作对我国的志愿服务体系建设产生了重大影响。本文建议认真总结奥运会志愿者服务活动的经验,并以此为契机,采取多种方式完善和发展志愿者服务体系。     

Controlling for Care: Private and Voluntary Homes Registration and Inspection--A Forgotten Area of Social Work

Summary The size and growth of private and voluntary residential careprovision for the elderly make it, despite past neglect, a subjectof great importance to social workers. Drawing on exploratoryresearch data, the origins and role of registration and inspectionare discussed and some of the shortcomings of the present systemhighlighted. The paper discusses necessary requirements to preventfinancial exploitation of the elderly and makes two modest suggestionsfor improving and maintaining the quality of care-designatedliaison officers and a complaints procedure. In conclusion,however, it is pointed out that quality is not the only issuein the regulation of the private and voluntary sectors, thereare also issues of quantity, type and location. None of theseare being addressed by recent legislation and Code of Practice,but their resolution is important in ensuring that elderly peoplereceive the care they want and need, when and where they wantit.     

Policies and quality assurance in the pharmaceutical industry 1

The pharmaceutical industry is engaged in a critical undertaking of research, development, and marketing of drugs to patients. In this complex process there are a number of important steps involving corporate policies that require adherence by top management and personnel. The clinical trials, especially phase I—where drugs are first introduced into man, is one of these key steps that requires careful ethical consideration. The generic problem of varied conflict of interest among the personnel and departments can be the main contributing factor to decline in faith and confidence in the industry. It is argued in this paper than an effective and comprehensive quality assurance program that depends on internal and external review process and augumented by periodic externally conducted data audit is essential for corporations in developing and marketing safe and effective drugs. External quality assurance programs and data audit can make recommendations to management to avoid conflict of interests. The comprehensive key points of a high quality assurance program is proposed.     

Voluntary Leaders in Voluntary Welfare Agencies

The voluntary sector is an increasingly important component of our system of welfare provision. This paper focuses on voluntary leaders of welfare agencies in the voluntary sector; the chairpersons of governing bodies. It draws on a study carried out in an outer metropolitan borough with a socially mixed population. The characteristics of chairpersons and the background to their involvement are described. It appears that most are drawn in to their agencies and in to the role of chairperson more by chance than through positive commitment to a cause, but that, once in post, they rise rapidly to the challenge. Leadership of the local voluntary sector is found to be part of a wider commitment to community benefit and to collective provision of welfare. Some implications of the findings for the development of voluntary sector welfare agencies and for social policy are discussed.     

'The Tip of the Ice Berg': Children's Complaints and Advocacy in Wales--An Insider View from Complaints Officers

This paper is based on findings of a Welsh Assembly Governmentfunded review of children’s independent advocacy servicesin Wales with reference to their involvement in complaints madeby children, or by their parents or carers on their behalf,about local authority social services. It draws, primarily,upon qualitative interviews with local authority children’scomplaints officers, whose task is to receive complaints orconcerns, field these to appropriate social services staff,maintain oversight of their progression and keep complainantsinformed of developments. The paper describes the challengesthat complaints officers perceive children encounter in movingcomplaints forward, especially in a context where independentadvocacy services are involved and where these services areviewed with some suspicion by social services staff. It suggeststhat complaints officers play a pivotal part in managing thesometimes contested and complex interface between service providerand child and may do so from a position of limited authorityand influence. The role of complaints officers in engaging withcomplainants and their advocates, and with those colleaguesimplicated in complaints, has rarely been the topic of research.This paper provides accounts from these key staff that helpilluminate the tensions and difficulties that can enter thechildren’s complaints process.     

Partnership between the probation service and voluntary sector organizations

Summary This paper considers the development of inter-agency partnershipsbetween the probation service and voluntary sector organizationsin the early 1990s in England and Wales and reports the resultsof research by the author and their implications for youth justicearrangements outlined in the recent 1998 Crime and DisorderAct. The article outlines the development of probation partnershipsand the impact of changes to probation services, voluntary organizationsand service users which include: a shift towards purchaser-providerand contract-based arrangements; voluntary organizations takingon a role to work with involuntary clients; and the introductionof a discourse on partnerships which marginalizes small, informalvoluntary groups. These findings are then considered in relationto the Crime and Disorder Partnerships for crime preventionwhich form a crucial part of the 1988 Criminal Justice Act.The Crime and Disorder Partnerships have less emphasis on amanagerialist agenda but offer no extra resources and this articlesuggests that they may therefore not result in significant benefitsfor agencies working with young offenders.     

Pre-Sentence Reports: Does Quality Matter?

In recent years much attention has been paid to research into the value and effectiveness of pre-sentence reports and this has contributed to the emergence of the concept of "quality assurance". This encompasses the practice of monitoring reports for "quality" and "effectiveness" and the assumption that there is a positive association between these two factors. In other words, higher quality will normally be associated with a higher level of agreement or concordance between report recommendation and sentencing outcome. Using evidence gained from a sample of pre-sentence reports from a busy magistrates' court in the south-west of England, the authors' three main findings show that this is not the case. First, contrary to expectation, there was little or no relationship between quality of report and concordance rate for the whole sample of pre-sentence reports. Second, whilst there was some relationship between quality of report and concordance for those reports which proposed community sentences, this was not significant. Finally, whilst report writers were generally in favour of quality assurance systems, they did not have any universal definition of "quality" in relation to pre-sentence reports. As a result of these findings the authors question existing practice and make several suggestions for improvement, including the replacement of pre-sentence reports with a new personal social enquiry report and an alternative model of quality assurance based on models from social science. Finally, several key recommendations are identified as essential in order to safeguard the crucial role of the Probation Service as adviser to sentencers.     

Tea and Sympathy or Teetering on Social Work? An Investigation of the Blurring of the Boundaries Between Voluntary and Professional Care

As the voluntary sector, particularly the use of volunteers, has been promoted and given greater importance and responsibility by the government, and statutory personal social services have been attacked, the boundaries between voluntary and professional care have become blurred. This article investigates this phenomenon using data from a study of a Home-Start scheme, which employs two part-time professional workers to organize a pool of volunteers. It looks at the reality of the provision of voluntary care from the perspective of the volunteers, the organizers of the scheme, and those for whom they provide a service. The gender perspective is considered as a crucial aspect in the “blurring of the boundaries”. It is argued that the new rhetoric of the flexibility and adaptability of welfare provided by the voluntary sector hides the increasing use of women volunteers, to offer sophisticated and intensive care. This creates a dilemma. In some cases, the women volunteers and their organizers feel that the essential nature of the care and the responsibility they are expected to take on are inappropriate and should be fulfilled by professional workers. On the other hand, the clients feel that its voluntary nature is an essential part of this care and that it could not be provided by paid statutory workers.     

Quality Assurance, Pre-Sentence Reports and the Probation Service

Correspondence to Dr Peter Raynor, Applied Social Studies, University of Wales, Swansea, Wales SA2 8PP. Summary During the months immediately preceding the implementation ofthe 1991 Criminal Justice Act the Home Office commissioned astudy of quality assurance and quality control procedures usedby probation services in their work on social inquiry reportsand in their preparation for the change to pre-sentence reports.This paper summarizes the results of that study, which includeda survey of current practice in probation services and the developmentof a quality control instrument for assessing the quality ofpre-sentence reports. It is emphasized that the views expressedin this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily thoseof the Home Office.     

The Experiences of Frontline Staff Working with Children Seeking Asylum

The focus of this paper is welfare professionals’ accounts of their work with children who are seeking asylum. The empirical basis is a commissioned study of children seeking asylum in Wales. As well as qualitative research with children (which is not discussed in this paper), 62 professionals took part in interviews and focus groups. This sample included staff from social services, health, housing, education, police and the voluntary sector. Research findings are presented in relation to the experience of these frontline staff. We attempt to identify some of the sites of tension and the nature of the professional dilemmas, as well as discussing the potential for the exercise of discretion to be exercised. We conclude that there is very little room for manoeuvre within the asylum system for welfare professionals, but that there is evidence of questioning and even minor challenge of current policy from frontline staff. We discuss the extent to which the professional dilemmas raised by the asylum system are of a different order from those experienced throughout social welfare work.     

Diversity and Identity in the Non-profit Sector: Lessons from LGBT Organizing in Toronto

The objective of this paper is to explore the ways in which diversity is taken into account in the conceptualization, definition and role of the voluntary sector as well as policy debates around the recasting of relations between the state and the voluntary sectors. The paper is based on a study of voluntary sector organizing among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens in the city of Toronto. It presents an overview of LGBT voluntary sector organizing in the city, demonstrating the rich network of non‐profit organizations that serve the LGBT community in the city of Toronto, Canada's largest city. The paper argues that the dominant cross‐national and cross‐time definitions of the voluntary sector do not account for some of the specific features of LGBT organizing and result in the marginalization of such organizing from the very concept of the voluntary sector. The paper discusses the implications of this mapping for policy discussions of the state–voluntary sector relationship. Drawing on the Canadian experience of government consultation with voluntary sector organizations, the paper demonstrates that such initiatives define certain forms of diversity in voluntary sector organizing out of the policy‐making process. Traditional policy‐making around voluntary sector issues is organized in ways that exclude urban and local identity‐based organizing.     

Data disclosure and data sharing in scientific research

Data sharing is examined for its bearing on (i) quality assurance and (ii) extensions of results in scientific research as well as (iii) part of a tradition of openness in science. It is suggested that sharing can be accomplished in a simple manner that is also sufficiently flexible to fit varying individual situations by asking authors of data dependent articles and grant proposals to footnote (a) whether they are willing to make their data available to others and, if so, (b) how the data may be accessed. Appendices report results from a survey of current policies and practices in professional societies and in Federal government fund granting agencies. Emphasis is on the social and management sciences.     

Organizational support for evidence-based practice within child and family social work: a collaborative study

Research in Practice works in collaboration with over 50 English local authorities and voluntary childcare organizations, to explore new and dynamic ways to increase the use of quality evidence to improve services to children and families. One Research in Practice initiative was a two‐year collaborative project involving the social services departments of six local authorities. This paper reports on how the views of more than 100 professional staff involved with the provision of services to children and families have been gathered to offer insight into how evidence‐based practice can be supported or frustrated in social care organizations. The findings suggest considerable uncertainty about the nature of evidence in social care and its validity in relation to decision‐making, policy and planning. Mechanisms essential for the dissemination, implementation and adoption of research messages are underdeveloped and tensions exist around the explicit use of research evidence within reports and reviews. Many practitioners and teams may be excluded from making decisions based on the best available research evidence through lack of access to internet resources and adequate information dissemination mechanisms. The paper concludes that there remain considerable areas for further debate if evidence‐based practice is to become a reality in work with children and families.     

Partners in Evaluation: Modelling Quality in Partnership Projects

The concept of partnership as a way of describing relationships between public, private and voluntary agencies can take many forms. The evaluation of quality in the delivery of services by these partnerships is recognized as complex given the differing perspectives not only of the two partners but of the various other stakeholders, including service users, and the potential for added value arising from the partnership itself. This paper focuses on the partnership arrangements between Probation Services and voluntary agencies, identifying the specific characteristics of partnerships in the field of crime management. Drawing on research undertaken for one Probation Service the paper explores the concepts of value for money, inputs, outputs, outcomes and quality, and their measurement in partnership projects. A model is then offered for the more effective evaluation of projects where two different agencies are involved and a practice example is attached.     

The Devils in the Detail: Some Reflections on Contracting for Social Care by Voluntary Organizations

This paper explores the political origins and the process of introduction of the community care policy in the United Kingdom. The particular concerns of voluntary organizations in the face of the new responsibilities conferred upon them by legislation and their expectations of likely outcomes are examined. Evidence from a recent research study undertaken as part of the ESRC's Contracts and Competition Programme is then employed to draw up a preliminary balance sheet of the actual experience of voluntary bodies, their role in the operation of community care policy and their changing relationships with other agencies and the users of services.     

A Triumph of Hope over Experience? Modernizing Accountability: The Case of Complaints Procedures in Community Care

Complaints procedures are one component of maintaining and improving the quality of community care services. However, how effective are they in providing a means of redress for service users? This article presents the findings from four research projects, which included complaints procedures in their survey of service users’ experiences of community care provision. These findings are compared with the outcomes of similar research projects. The article concludes by evaluating the Department of Health’s consultation proposals on complaints procedures, and other policy documents, in the light of the research findings.     

北京公众参与志愿服务动机研究

人们参与志愿服务的动机是在综合内在需求与外在诱因的基础上建构而成的,可以分为理想型、回报型、学习型、交往型、盲目型五种类型。文章对北京公众就这五类动机的认同情况进行实证考察,进而分析和比较不同群体的志愿服务动机状况。在此基础上,文章提出了面对各类动机的基本态度,并着重就志愿服务项目设计、机制建设提出了政策建议。     

Putting the Children Act Independent Person Procedure under the Spotlight

The Children Act 1989 required local authorities to appoint independent people to participate in their complaints procedures. The Department of Health has concentrated largely on monitoring these newly established procedures. In contrast, very little guidance has been given about the role of independent people. Nor has there been much published research in this area. This paper is based on a study of the response of two neighbouring local authorities. The aims were to discover how these authorities had interpreted the imprecise guidance from the Department of Health, and thereby to analyse the application of principles of independence within complaints procedures. The findings showed how a "pool" of independent people had been selected, trained and employed to participate in Children Act complaints procedures. Analysis of this system raises fundamental questions about the potential of this system to provide the kind of objective representation intended to be helpful to complainants. It also contributes to the debate about the most effective ways of safeguarding the welfare of children and young people by providing them with an accessible complaints procedure. The study identifies areas for future research, including the nature of complaints and the "practice wisdom" being acquired by independent people.     

Barriers children face complaining about social work practice: A study in one English local authority

Despite the introduction of guidelines and procedures aimed at encouraging and supporting children and young people to complain about the services they receive, children in care still face barriers to doing so in practice. This paper explores what happens when children in care are dissatisfied with the services they receive. Specifically, this study examines the complaints procedure for children in care. The findings are based on semistructured interviews with children in care, social workers, senior managers, and independent reviewing officers from one English local authority. Thematic analysis of these data identified five emergent themes: (a) complaints by children in care are managed at the lowest possible level, (b) senior managers have an overly optimistic view about children in care being informed of complaint procedures and being encouraged to do so, (c) children in care are worried about complaining, which is recognized by professionals, (d) children's voices are often not heard, and (e) when issues are clearly defined, independent reviewing officers have some degree of success in resolving complaints from children in care.