Change and Deeper Change: Transforming Social Work Education

In recent years, the concept of transformation has become more prevalent in the social work literature; however, its use is quite varied. In this article, I attempt to disentangle some of these uses. I then propose a conceptualization of transformation and discuss its relevance for social work education. In this conceptualization, transformation is considered an orientation to learning and knowing rather than about particular content or an end state. I conclude with some ideas about how this conceptualization might be integrated into social work education.     

Change Research: Narrating Social Change from the Bottom-Up

This essay provides a review of Bent Flyvbjerg’s critique of conventional social science research, including its limitations in applied fields such as social work, followed by a specification of his alternative for a “phronetic social science.” I detail how I with two colleagues practiced phronetic social science in our collaboration with Philadelphia housing activists, including most especially the role of interpretive narrative analysis as part of our case study research. In conclusion, I discuss the somewhat ironic challenges of trying to increase the legitimacy of such activist research in applied fields like social work where an obsession with being seen as scientific is prevalent as a means to improve prestige of applied research. I discuss how we need less top-down research which focuses on a “what works” agenda that serves the management of subordinate populations and more research that provides bottom-up understandings of a “what’s right” agenda tailored to empowering people in particular settings. Real social science research needs to listen to how people on the bottom experience their own subordination so that we can help them overcome their subjugation. Good social science includes taking the perspective of the oppressed in the name of helping them achieve social justice. In the end, there are a number of tension points between the model of conventional social science and phronetic social science that starkly highlight how we need to change research in order do research that promotes positive social change.     

Tackling Climate Change Through Social Change: A Comparative Analysis

In recent years there has been a widespread perception of climate change as a growing threat to security, both at the individual level and at the international level. This increased attention is mainly due to scientific research, which indicates that climate change is a process already underway, with observable facts and potentially serious consequences. Moreover, according to some scholars, even the immediate implementation of stringent mitigation measures—i.e. reducing greenhouse gas emissions—would not contain the effects of climate change in coming decades, making it necessary to combine the efforts of mitigation policies targeted for the prevention of major threats. Are there any chances for climate stabilization to be sustainable with the economic growth required under a capitalist system? On the one hand, climate environmentalists raise concerns about the risks associated with global warming. On the other hand, leading economists’ main concern is to foster economic growth, thus, a trade off is advocated. In fact, policy-makers are unlikely to impose a burden on the economic growth of their own country in order to meet the targets imposed by the international climate change agreements. This work intends to identify and suggest a framework for climate policies, with the aim to maximize social consensus, through an integration of the issues raised by both disputing fields. A proposed solution is to take into consideration an additional GDP driver, the so-called human capital that would allow a social change.     

Continuity and Change

No abstract available for this article.     

A Process of Change

Abstract

The GLBT individual experiences familial and societal constraints that can impede and disrupt personal and relational health. This article explores those constraints and the impact within the family of origin. It also addresses issues surrounding the GLBT individual's awareness and discovery of sexual orientation and gender identity and the decision-making process surrounding disclosure. The family process of change, through adaptation, transition, and sometimes transformation, also is outlined. Clinical implications and future trends in research are included.     

Change the Change Management! Die Kunst der kontinuierlichen Selbsterneuerung von Unternehmen

Given the increasing dynamics in the markets, the possibility to adapt quickly to the changing environmental requirements is regarded as the key competence of corporations. Following the latest empirical findings of strategic and organizational research, those corporations will be successful in the long run that have the ability to continually reinvent themselves. We call this type of change “continuous self-renewal”. Continuous self-renewal is a profound change that proceeds with foresight and is not triggered by an external acute pressure to act. This approach is opposed to the established concepts of Change Management which state that processes of profound change can only be successful if exactly this pressure to act exists. Hence, the question arises whether “continuous self-renewal” is merely a theoretical concept? Based on a case study, the author comes to the conclusion that “continuous self-renewal” is an empirically verifiable type of change. The research results show furthermore that this type of change operates on completely different principles than previously known processes of change. Continuous self-renewal challenges therefore our established thinking about organizational change in a fundamental way, so the central conclusion of the author.     

Managing Change in Museums

Museums and the Paradox of Change, by Robert R. Janes. (2nd ed.) Calgary, Alberta: University of Calgary Press, 1997. 276 pp., $24.95 paper. Museum Strategy and Marketing: Designing Missions, Building Audiences, Generating Revenues and Resources, by Neil Kotler and Philip Kotler. San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass, 1998. 297 pp., $41.95 cloth.     

The Management of Change

No abstract available for this article.     

Coalition-Based Social Change Initiatives

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a model for establishing and maintaining social change coalitions. The model, based on the authors' study of a successful coalition-based social change initiative, highlights the potential contribution of a neutral, external support agency whose goal is to help a group of organizations collaborate in an effort to promote change in social policy in an area of shared concern. The external agency brings knowledge and experience in working with coalitions, needs to be trusted by all the coalition partners, and should be perceived as not competing for recognition or resources, and as having only the common goal in mind. The components of the model and the methodology employed to develop it are presented, followed by assessment of its generalizability to other settings. Experts, from different disciplines, countries and ethnic backgrounds, advised that this model has great potential for solving social problems in many different areas.     

„Change Management“

Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. Zeitschrift für Angewandte Organisationspsychologie (GIO) -     

Commitment to Social Change:

The purpose of this paper is to examine commitment as it relates to the pursuit of social change. This is done through the analysis of accounts by veterans of their involvement in feminist social movement organizations (FSMOs). They convey their stories of commitment to the feminist movement with language that one might use to describe an intimate relationship. The collective voice suggests considerable sacrifice and dedication. It also reveals a deep belief that they were betrayed by movement beneficiaries. This sense of betrayal is rooted in the expectation that movement commitment would increase as attacks by the New Right on the FSMOs rose. The paper concludes with discussion of the relevancy of studying commitment to social change for both micro and macro social work theory and practice.