Needs as Claims

People “need” things if they will suffer negative effects without them. Needs are based in problems, but they are not only problems; they have to be understood in terms of a relationship between functional problems and resources. Needs are a form of claim made against services. The concept of “need” is not decisive in the allocation of resources, and this paper argues that the concept has to be understood as a form of claim-language. Once needs are understood in terms of claims, many of the apparent difficulties in conceptualizing the issues dissolve; the main conflicts are between different types of claims, rather than contested definitions of need. Similarly, the establishment of priorities between greater and lesser needs depends on the strength of the claim which the needs present, and the context in which services operate, rather than on intrinsic comparisons between different levels of need. It follows that need is often not the sole, or even the primary, determinant of the legitimacy of a claim. Greater needs only have priority over lesser ones if they also constitute a claim of a different, and stronger, kind.     

Effects of a Solution-Focused Program on the Reduction of Aggressiveness and the Improvement of Social Readjustment for Korean Youth Probationers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this investigation was to explore appropriate intervention methods for helping Korean youth probationers reduce their aggressiveness and increase their social adjustment. This study examined the effectiveness of solution-focused group treatment with Korean youth probationers using a pre- and post-test control group design. The researcher randomly assigned the consented 40 participants either to an experimental group that received the solution-focused session or to a control group that took individual supportive sessions on a needed basis. The pre- and post-test scores of each group were compared using the Aggressiveness and Social Readjustment Questionnaire to confirm the levels of statistical significance between the two groups. Results indicate that solution-focused group treatment was followed by positive changes with the participants' aggressiveness and social adjustment problems. This study also suggests that a solution-focused program is an appropriate short-term intervention for Korean probation youth.     

Health and distress in social workers: Results of a national survey

Abstract

This study investigated the physical and emotional health status of professional social workers as well as their levels of distress. The results of this national survey of 668 randomly selected NASW‐member social workers indicated that while most were healthy and satisfied with work and relationships, 17% experienced distress, defined as substance abuse, emotional problems, and/or physical illness. The distressed social workers were more likely to experience difficulties in many areas of their lives, including dissatisfaction with work and low self‐esteem. Some of the social workers reported seeking help for personal/ emotional problems, but very few sought help for alcohol/other drug problems.     

Helping each other: a peer supervision group with facilitators of mutual aid groups

ABSTRACT

Mutual aid groups can help people cope with life’s problems. A peer supervision group can help facilitators to better understand their role and improve their facilitating skills in mutual aid groups. Peer supervision groups aim to support facilitators ability to reflect on their difficulties in working with groups, deepen their methodological questions, and improve their understanding regarding how to best proceed as facilitators. This paper studied a peer supervision group of experts-by-experience facilitators to demonstrate the dynamics of mutual aid that characterized the group’s functioning.     

Developmental impact of combat exposure: Comparison of adolescent and adult Vietnam veterans∗

Abstract

This study was undertaken to find whether differences existed between two age groups of Vietnam veterans with PTSD, in terms of their social readjustment. A group of 57 men were divided by two age ranges to reflect two distinct periods of identity formation‐adolescence and early adulthood. The social readjustment measures which were examined included: (1) Substance abuse history; (2) history of legal infractions; (3) work history; (4) interpersonal relationships; and (5) peer relationships.

It was found that the younger soldiers have had a more difficult post‐Vietnam readjustment than their older cohorts. The results lend support to the idea that unsuccessful completion of Erikson's developmental phase of identity vs. role confusion may create problems with one's capacity for love, work and relationships. Specifically, when developmental tasks of late adolescence are not completed because of events such as war, one may suffer difficulties in handling adult responsibilities later in life.     

‘Fighting a war alone’: reintegration of ex-offenders from ethnic minority groups

Reintegration into society is crucial for the rehabilitation of ex-offenders. However, in Hong Kong, ex-offenders from ethnic minority groups often face specific difficulties in reintegrating into society when they have completed their sentence and have been released from prisons and correctional institutions. Due to language barriers and cultural differences, as well as a sense of inferiority originating from their convictions, many ethnic minority ex-offenders are likely to experience difficulty in accessing support networks that can help in their rehabilitation, and to re-establish and sustain an identity as a law-abiding citizen, and face more barriers to reintegration than their Chinese counterparts. These barriers are further compounded by problems reintegrating into their own ethnic communities. Many ethnic minority ex-offenders have experienced isolation, stigmatization and discrimination following rejection from their own communities. This, in turn, further complicates their reintegration and can contribute to recidivism and an increase in the crime rate over time.

This paper seeks to analyse the reintegration of ethnic minority ex-offenders into their own ethnic communities using the story of a single ethnic minority ex-prisoner to learn about the lived experience of being jailed and stigmatized. This was carried out to understand the difficulties encountered during reintegration into society, and to look at ways to remove any ‘labels’ bestowed upon ex-offenders following imprisonment.

Finally, the main outcomes of this study are to identify facilitative factors for ethnic minority ex-offenders to aid their re-establishment and reintegration into society and consider possible implications for rehabilitative programmes for ethnic minority ex-offenders and crime prevention programmes for the community.     

Death Does Not Become Us

Abstract

The social issues of death, dying and bereavement represent important but neglected research areas, and such issues need attention both for practical reform and for deciphering what living with intellectual disability entails. The difficulties which life poses for people with intellectual disabilities may well persist in the times before and after death. As research issues they offer not only potential practical significance, but also a means of determining the social status and value of people with intellectual disabilities. This paper reviews the issues of death and dying from the viewpoint of sociological research and seeks to identify the ways death and dying have been treated within the research literature on living with intellectual disability. It is suggested that these issues have been discounted with some important consequences for the way intellectual disability is perceived. Important areas for research in this area are highlighted.     

The Work Experiences of Social Workers: Factors Impacting Compassion Satisfaction and Workplace Stress

Abstract

In 2015, over 6,000 licensed social workers in 13?US states responded to an online survey regarding perceptions and feelings about their work, as well as numerous personal and practice issues. Specifically, this study examined participants’ levels of compassion satisfaction and workplace stress, and then determined through multivariate analyses what demographic factors, behavioral and physical health problems, practice issues, fields of practice, and workplace environment issues impacted these two variables.

The findings indicate that participants demonstrated high levels of compassion satisfaction, with a wide range of workplace stress levels. Workplace environment issues had the greatest impact on both variables, with social workers’ mental health problems, physical health status, and certain demographic factors such as race also influencing them. Over 82% of respondents expressed agreement that they were glad that they chose social work as a profession. The results appear to demonstrate that despite being a potentially stressful occupation, licensed social workers tend to experience significant emotional satisfaction from their work. On the other hand, the results also highlight the need for further research to determine how to enhance support for social workers in the workplace in order to not only reduce workplace stress, but also to increase compassion satisfaction.     

The Misuse of Statistics: Concepts,Tools, and a Research Agenda

This paper presents concerns regarding misuse of statistics in scientific work, especially in biomedical research. The paper discusses what is meant by "misuse." It appears that misuse arises from various sources: degrees of competence in statistical theory and methods, honest error in the application of methods, egregious negligence, and deliberate deception (misconduct.) The incidence of error is partly due to a perceived need to meet artificial statistical criteria for acceptance of research reports for publication by journals. There has been no systematic research into the prevalence of misuse or its breakdown by type. Nonetheless, there are ways to encourage, or even to enforce, good statistical practice. These can be greatly supported by use of available statistical ethics documents. This article suggests lines of further research that could define the problem more explicitly and that might lead to additional corrective measures.     

An exploration of social work supervision in Mainland China

ABSTRACT

Social work supervision is receiving increased attention in Mainland China. This paper uses qualitative interview data from a study in Mainland China, which involved telephone interviews with 24 social work supervisors which enabled the readers to know the current situation of supervision and its provision in the country. Common difficulties facing social work supervision and the possible solutions are identified. The Findings suggest greater attention should be given to the establishment of supervision system, the provision of the supervisor training and the adoption of new supervision methods.     

Caregiver Isolation

Abstract

Caregiving to a partner with Alzheimer's disease results in isolation, which impacts on the help/service seeking behaviors of care givers. In-depth interviews done with caregiving wives found that they experienced multiple dimensions of isolation. A tentative ecological model of the dimensions of caregiver isolation is proposed. Research participants did not engage early in supportive help because they were not aware of their isolation, did not know about available supports, and were not identified by medical or social services personnel as needing support and assistance. Social workers need to be aware of the isolating effects of caregiving and reach out to caregivers to avoid or lessen isolation in their caring role.     

Managing the Family: Productivity, Scheduling and the Male Veto

This paper argues that research, analysis and policy innovations focused on how households combine paid work with care responsibilities are driven to too great a degree by preconceptions of “the problem” that do not take sufficient account of how families themselves understand their work and care roles and the choices they are making. The evidence of 246 SOCCARE interviews across five European countries (Finland, France, Italy, Portugal and the UK) is that the variables that are conventionally accepted as having fundamental significance (family‐friendly policies and generous care services, flexible working hours, women's work–life preferences, family type, national labour markets, cultural differences) are less important than is often suggested. More important are time pressures and the idiosyncratic factors that constrain the work and care timetables that families are able to construct. We characterize these as “scheduling problems”. They occupied a large part of the accounts of their lives provided by our respondents and are a primary dimension within which their combinations of paid work and care responsibilities need to be understood. The difficulties our respondents faced in coordinating the work and care activities of their families bear a striking similarity to the problems described in the operations research literature on small businesses. Within the context of these scheduling problems a second important factor emerged: the preferences and behaviour of men who played a critical, though often passive, part in the construction of work and care timetables of the families. We characterize this effect as the “the male veto”.     

Family Transitions,Conduct Problems,and Self-Esteem in Elementary School in Kuwait: A Quasi-Experimental Design

ABSTRACT

This study investigated whether family transitions (disruptions due to parents’ divorce, separation, marriage, or death) were related to problems in the conduct and self-esteem of 331 boys aged 8 to 10 years old in elementary school in Kuwait. The boys were divided into two groups: one whose families had undergone a transition within the past 3 years and one whose families had not undergone such a transition. The two groups were compared on conduct and self-esteem as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist 6–18 and on the Self-Esteem Index. A two-tailed t test was used. The study revealed statistically significant relationships between the two groups. Transitions in the families of young Kuwaiti boys seem to be precursors to problems with conduct but not with self-esteem. Kuwaiti tribal culture may help explain why self-esteem does not suffer after a family transition. The findings suggest a greater need for social services to work with schools to gather information from families to track students and offer services to these families. Future research could study the broader factors surrounding conflict in families undergoing transitions to determine the later impact on children.     

Using Multilevel Statistical Models in Social Work Intervention Research

ABSTRACT

Statistical analyses of data from a classroom-based study illustrate the need to account for intra-class clustering in studies involving schools, classrooms, and other higher order units of analysis. Students were clustered in homerooms that were assigned to intervention and comparison conditions. Standard multiple linear regression analysis yielded a significant group effect but incorrectly ignored intra-cluster response correlations. A multilevel model appropriately accounting for the dependency among responses in the same cluster yielded a nonsignificant group effect. Implications for the analysis of intervention research data are discussed.     

A comparison of models for strategic planning,risk analysis and risk management

Summary Risks, uncertainties in firms and their environment are increasingly dealt with strategic planning, risk analysis and risk management. The present state of strategic planning enables us to consider the greatest part of internal and environmental risks mainly qualitatively - due to the fact that the majority of planning models used are of a deterministic type.The application of CAPM in strategic planning could take risks into account explicitly and maximize the expected value of the firms' common stock. Linked to a corporate simulation model or a DSS it could generate a series of values for the expected rate of return, its standard deviations as well as other output variables important for the management. The difficulties of the use of CAPM are numerous but an attempt to optimize the value of the firm would be a big step in developing new powerful instruments for evaluating the economic consequences of alternative strategies. The problems of CAPM lead to the considerations of the application of stochastic programming in strategic planning. For special cases solution methods can be developed and applied. The implementation of the Decision Support System in strategic planning could help to find the best decision in an interactive way - as suggested in this paper for the case of strategic marketing planning. DSS renders the consideration of other factors relevant to strategic decisions possible; businesses need not be reduced to portfolio terms. The limitations of CAPM, stochastic programming and the difficulties of the implementations of DSS for strategic planning could be partially avoided through the concept of Risk Management. On this concept strategic planning represents only one instrument of Risk Management and is a powerful tool of risk identification. In this paper the other instruments have been shortly demonstrated for the cases of product reliability and risks in relation with foreign countries. The development of new instruments for special cases (e.g., siting problems, specific strategic decisions, etc.), the considerations of risk behavior in individual, group and inter-organizational or even international decision making are now the main topics in the urgent task of research in risk management.     

Security sector practitioner perceptions of the terror threat environment before the Christchurch attacks

ABSTRACT

On 15 March 2019, Brenton Tarrant destroyed New Zealand’s perception of its low threat terrorist risk. Security sector practitioners interviewed for this study before 15 March spoke about the challenges of performing counter terrorism roles in that low threat environment. Their perceptions revealed a fear that terrorist attacks occurring overseas, would sooner or later occur in New Zealand. Their roles were complicated by an overarching sense of social, bureaucratic and political complacency toward the threat of terrorism. They perceived legislative inertia, which fettered the powers and resources agencies had to effectively act against the risks they believed were present. Despite these barriers, security sector agencies continued to look for possible emerging threats across a spectrum of risk, but relied on improvised use of existing legislation to manage it. This was more effective against those motivated by militant jihadism, and as Tarrant demonstrated, less so against other threats. Community engagement was needed and successfully achieved, although difficulties were observed which need to be addressed, and the media was perceived as having an undue influence over New Zealand’s security priorities, highlighting the need for a national counter terrorism strategy.     

Transport related social exclusion in New Zealand: Evidence and challenges

Abstract

People without functional access to a car in countries where private vehicles are the predominant form of transport are at a disadvantage. Alternative modes of travel in such settings often do not meet people's mobility needs, creating barriers to participation in work, education, social activities, sport and leisure, and to accessing basic goods and services. In New Zealand, private vehicles have long been prioritised as the mode of personal transport in land transport planning policy. However, this is beginning to change with policy objectives now including improvement of access and mobility for all, and reduction of social exclusion. Despite this there is very little evidence of the experiences of those with mobility or access problems in New Zealand. This article seeks to provide qualitative data about experiences of transport related social exclusion, the efficacy of alternative modes for people's mobility needs, the impacts of these difficulties on people's lives, and the policy implications of these findings.     

Importance of Research in Social Work Practice: A Pilot Study From Turkey

Abstract

It is highly important that social work practice be guided by scientific research and the resultant practices introduced to the literature. Social work research in Turkey is carried out by social work academics and practitioners. This dual position they occupy has not been thoroughly investigated in recent years; therefore, the aim of this research was to scrutinize the relationship social workers take when completing research in Turkey. Within the scope of this research, data were collected by conducting an online survey of 365 social workers. Results of the study show that 45.8% of the social workers have conducted research before. Nonetheless, 93.7% of the social work practitioners do feel the need to carry out scientific research in order to shape their professional practices. Considering these results, future research should concentrate on social work practitioners’ problems taking into account their dual position as both the producer and consumer of the research.