Aushandeln von Kulturunterschieden im 30 Minuten-Takt

This paper is meant to be a contribution to critical issues in the development of intercultural competence based on a case study (two days workshop for consultants working in a social profit organisation). It focuses on cross cultural encounter situations as a specific form of interaction situation in the context of professional acting. The core of this article is constituted both by a discussion of the applicability of intercultural and transcultural concepts, diversity management and the role of groups??dynamics and the case study which highlights practical questions of the entire consulting process concerning diagnostic, planning of interventions, performance and transfer.     

Valuing and embracing complexity: How an understanding of complex interventions needs to shape our evaluation capacities building initiatives

This paper describes some of the main challenges of evaluating complex interventions, as well as the implications of such challenges for evaluation capacity building. It discusses lessons learned from a case study of an evaluation of Dancing with Parkinson’s, an organization that provides dance classes to people with Parkinson’s disease in Toronto, Canada. These implications are developed from a realist evaluation lens. Key lessons include the need to develop skills to understand program mechanisms and contexts, recognize multiple models of causality, apply mixed method designs, and ensure the successful scaling up and spread of an intervention.     

The Early Professional Experience of a New Social Worker in China

Social work is emerging as a rapidly developing profession in mainland China, a unique context that affects how these new social workers view themselves, their professional identity, and their work. Few studies explore the lived experiences of these new social workers as they enter agencies and begin working with clients while interacting with larger systems that influence clients and social workers alike. This case study highlights the experience of one of the first professionally educated social workers in Shanghai and describes the challenges and achievements of her first 5 years of professional practice. This case highlights the professional experiences and feelings of many social workers in China. We give recommendations for social work education and training.     

Gender dimensions in women’s networking for social innovation

Even if the number of research studies on social innovation has increased the last years, due to its perceived potential to address complex societal challenges, there still remains several relevant aspects to be explored, such as the impact of gendered norms and patterns on the transition from social inclusion to social exclusion strived for in social innovation processes. In order to further expand the dawning scientific field of social innovation, this article presents a case study of a Swedish network promoting women’s employment, entrepreneurship and innovation, exploring the complex and multiple gender aspects of social innovation. The potentials and delimitations of the network to address gender on various levels of social innovation is scrutinized by means of previous research on social and gender dimensions of innovation and organizational/societal change, exposing that further development of social innovation as a scientific field requires a comprehensive approach to the identification and analysis of the gendered norms, subordination and empowerment that affect the aspired transition from social exclusion to social inclusion in social innovation processes.     

Methodological strategies for evaluating youth gang prevention programs

This article reflects on common challenges and lessons learned during the evaluation of gang prevention programs based on case studies of three federally funded Canadian programs. Elements of evaluation design, implementation, data analysis and reporting of results are discussed. More specifically, the article highlights issues that occur when evaluating community projects focused on preventing extreme risks for violence and the complexity of working in potentially dangerous and/or unstable work environments. Topics covered include the problem with quasi-experimental designs, model fidelity adherence, program documentation, client recruitment and retention, and data collection. Recommendations are provided to improve evaluations of youth gang prevention programs and similar community-based interventions that focus on the prevention of youth violence.     

‘A Chance to Stand Back’: Parenting Programmes for Parents of Adolescents

Parenting interventions were an important feature of New Labour’s policies to combat social exclusion. This paper critically examines parenting programmes for families with adolescents, assessing national and local policy aims against the perspectives of women who took part in a parenting course, which was the subject of a local evaluation. The paper argues that, while there were important positive outcomes for the participants, the high levels of unmet need which women reported reflect important disparities between the aims of the intervention, the level of service provision, and the needs and concerns of mothers and grandmothers.     

Educational potential of e-social work: social work training in Spain

ABSTRACT

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have enhanced peer communication and contributed to social change and, as such, have become an essential tool in the initial training and professional development of future social work practitioners. In the new millennium, it is particularly important to provide the foundations for delivering appropriate interventions in the fields of social education, social services, healthcare and development cooperation. To face these new challenges, training programmes in the framework of the European Higher Education Area should facilitate the acquisition of skills and competencies through curricula based on ongoing assessment which promote creativity and educational innovation. Through a systematic and comprehensive review of the scientific literature, this article examines the educational potential of e-social work in Spain and the training needs of social workers from an interdisciplinary approach. A critical debate is presented throughout the paper to encourage reflection among professionals. The study highlights the importance of the acquisition of digital skills through the development of educational intervention programmes using the latest technological media and resources with a view to serving citizens in these new spaces of interaction.     

A multidimensional approach to child poverty in Taiwan

To elucidate the multidimensional nature of poverty, this study analyzed child deprivation and social exclusion in Taiwan. First, a fuzzy set approach was used to construct an aggregate poverty index, to measure the levels of perceived necessity, deprivation, and social exclusion experienced by children. The study involved conducting a decomposition analysis to measure the poverty index according to certain dimensions. Second, this study involved analyzing possible determinants of perceived necessity, deprivation, and social exclusion, using seemingly unrelated regression models. We used cross-sectional data obtained from the Household Living Conditions Survey conducted in 2014. The results suggest that over two-thirds of the respondents identified all the items as necessary. Three highest levels of perceived necessity were housing, medical care, and clothing dimensions. Children faced high risks of deprivation and exclusion. The three highest levels of deprivation and exclusion were exhibited in the dimensions of environment, recreation, and education; the lowest two levels of deprivation and exclusion were exhibited in the dimensions of medical care and housing. The dimensions with higher levels of deprivation and exclusion exhibited higher relative contributions to facilitating poverty reduction. Moreover, evaluation of income and expenditure, family income, and family type were significantly related to the degree of perceived necessity and the levels of deprivation and exclusion. Those living in families with a large number of children exhibited a higher level of deprivation. Education of the caregivers was closely linked to social exclusion of children. This paper represents preliminary and small-scale research; however, several implications for methodology and policy can be derived from this study.     

“They give you back that dignity”: understanding the intangible resources that make a transitional house a home for homeless families

Approximately 33% of the homeless population in 2017 were families with children. Researchers have argued for interventions and services to employ an ecological perspective to mitigate some of the unintentional harm inherent in existing programs designed to serve homeless families. This paper utilized a case study of a transitional housing program to (1) determine how well the program met recommendations informed by the ecological perspective and (2) explore underlying themes across recommendations. Past and current residents of a transitional housing program participated in semi-structured interviews as part of a program evaluation. Interviews were deductively and inductively coded to meet aims 1 and 2, respectively. Residents identified several aspects of the program that met the ecological perspective recommendations including culturally-responsive services, trauma-based services, and social and community connections. Major underlying themes spanning across recommendations included interpersonal resources (caring, sense of belonging), empowerment resources (advocacy, family preservation), impact on family (family life, positive youth development), and communication. This case study, through the analysis of residents’ perspectives, highlights the important role of transitional housing programs in providing a supportive, empathetic, empowering, and home-like environment that gives residents “back that dignity” so they are emotionally and physically prepared to successfully transition to permanent housing.     

Economic evaluation of continuing care interventions in the treatment of substance abuse: recommendations for future research

The chronic and relapsing nature of substance abuse points to the need for continuing care after a primary phase of treatment. This article reviews the economic studies of continuing care, discusses research gaps, highlights some of the challenges of conducting rigorous economic evaluations of continuing care, and offers research guidelines and recommendations for future economic studies in this emerging field. Rigorous economic evaluations are needed by health care providers and policy makers to justify the allocation of scarce resources to continuing care interventions. The adoption of cost-effective continuing care services can reduce long-term consequences of addiction, thereby potentially increasing overall social welfare.     

Making it ‘APP’en: service user feedback: developing and implementing a service user APP: reflections from Northern Ireland,England and Scotland

Despite the advent of social media and increasing use of smart phone technology amongst global and UK populations, APP’s for social work remain in their infancy. Several have been developed which focus on the education of social workers and practitioners providing information on specific social work issues, and one we are aware of that explores ethics and values using a games-based approach. In this paper, we discuss the importance of service user perspective in social work practice and how this informed the development of the feedback App. We reflect on developing this instrument using digital technologies which social workers can use to gather anonymous feedback from service users about their experiences of social work interventions. This project, developed in response to demands placed on social work agencies to evidence the effectiveness of service interventions, provide robust data from service users for inspection regimes and sustain service user involvement in improving services. The evaluation model is designed to document the implementation process, exploring what works and what barriers, challenges and lessons were learned by the project team together with how some of the tensions in the process were addressed and resolved.     

The role of social work field education programmes in the transmission of developmental social work knowledge in Southern and East Africa

This paper reports on the findings of a study on the role of social work field education programmes in the transmission of developmental social work knowledge in Southern and East Africa. It highlights the challenges in locating developmental social work placements and the creativity shown by social work educators in addressing these challenges and improving learning opportunities for social work students. Both academics and students were found to be committed to developmental social work, within a willing practice environment hampered by knowledge, capacity and resource constraints. Social work education was found to be playing a transformative role through the teaching of a developmental social work curriculum and the creation of collaborative developmental social work learning experiences. Social work educators trained and supported agency supervisors in developmental social work, while students served as conduits, modelling developmental social work practice. What has yet to be determined in future research is the students’ perspective of this developmental educational environment.     

‘Why is This Not Social Work?’ The Contribution of ‘Non-Traditional’ Placements in Preparing Social Work Students for Practice

This article reports on the findings of two evaluations of a major charity's learning from providing ‘non-traditional’ social work placements with young people at risk of social exclusion. The article challenges the terminology of ‘non-traditional’ and ‘non-social work’ placements and examines the potential of these placements in the current social work curriculum and in the light of the recommendations of the Social Work Task Force and directions from the Social Work Reform Board. In particular, the article highlights the ability of such placements to help prepare students for their ‘statutory placement’ in relation to formal assessment, legal literacy, and risk awareness and safeguarding. Overall, it is argued that the time is ripe to champion the creative use of such placements for HEIs, delivery partners, social work students and, most importantly, for service users.     

Using a capabilities approach to understand poverty and social exclusion of psychiatric survivors

The purpose of this project is to better understand poverty and social exclusion of psychiatric survivors using a capabilities approach to social justice as part of a larger mixed-methods longitudinal study (N=380) in Ontario, Canada. Using thematic coding, four themes emerged: poverty, ‘You just try to survive’; stigma, ‘People treat you like trash’; belonging, ‘You feel like you don’t belong’; and shared concern and advocacy, ‘Everyone deserves housing’. This analysis provides a deeper understanding of poverty and other social determinants of experiences of psychiatric survivors, including the synergism of poverty and social exclusion.     

Challenges and Opportunities in HIV/AIDS Counseling: A Case of Jharkhand

The study highlights the challenges and opportunities in HIV/AIDS counseling. The major challenges are recruiting the right individuals and their capacity building and retention. The finding shows that most of the counselors are not befitting in terms of qualification and experience besides motivation, remuneration, and other issues. The study suggests that to ensure the effective counseling to reverse the epidemic, it is important to focus on such issues through appropriate policy interventions.     

Grassroots Meet Homophobia

SUMMARY

This case study highlights the challenges and successes of a small grassroots effort to change the learning environment for GLBT youth in a local public school district located within the conservative social climate of a small city in Colorado. Strategies included tailoring the social action agenda to the unique characteristics of the conservative community; finding allies in the school district; recruiting volunteer professional talent; and reframing social justice issues to focus on the educational value that every child is entitled to a physically and psychologically safe and supportive learning environment in order to achieve full academic potential.     

Family Social Work Practice: Onward to Therapy and Policy

ABSTRACT

In a recent article published in the Journal of Family Social Work McNeece (1995) argued that family therapy has no interest in or relevance for social policy interventions. Through the presentation of several arguments he constructs an irreconcilable dichotomy between policy and practice, suggesting that therapeutic interventions are responsible for pulling resources away from the development of effective social policy interventions. This paper challenges the dichotomy between policy and practice and presents an alternative view concerning the relationship between social policy and family therapy. The increasing importance of family policy in family therapy is summarized and a new trend within marriage and family practice, policy as practice, is discussed. Current family practice literature and personal case examples are used to provide alternative viewpoints to three main points that were presented by McNeece concerning family therapy practice, and the therapy/policy interface. Finally, the current practice context of managed care is used to illustrate the interdependence of practice and policy, and the need for a new understanding concerning family practice.     

“Because we all love K-Pop”: How young adults reshape symbolic boundaries in Paris,Manchester, and Philadelphia

In this paper, we examine how young adults who are consumers of K-Pop in three culturally diverse cities (Paris, Philadelphia, and Manchester) reshape their symbolic boundaries to face social challenges. Analyzing data from 132 interviews, we show how young adults mainly confront social exclusion in Paris, fight racism in Philadelphia and deal with xenophobia in Manchester. Although K-Pop adds to the dynamics of exclusion due to being perceived as culturally foreign, our participants use K-Pop as a resource to reshape social boundaries towards new forms of inclusion. They do this by relying on K-Pop as a cultural product that promotes inclusion, and on their affiliation with the K-Pop community on a local and global level.     

Constructing Couples’ Stories: Narrative Practice Insights from a Dyadic Dementia Intervention

Memory loss and dementia can be devastating for both caregivers and care recipients. Narrative therapeutic approaches offer promise, as well as challenges, for social interventions with couples where one partner has dementia. The Couples Life Story Approach is a recently-developed method by which practitioners work with such couples to help them narrate the story of their life together. This narrative approach is augmented by mementoes (e.g., photos, cards) that are collected by the couple during the intervention. Significant memories are elicited from both partners and developed into a Life Story Book. Drawing on data from this clinical research intervention with 20 older couples, we ask: What are some of the challenges of conducting narrative-based therapeutic interventions with older couples with memory loss? Clinical themes were identified utilizing a multiple case study approach during weekly team meetings. Six of the most prominent themes are presented here. Specifically, how to: (1) construct a narrative from disparate stories, (2) tell a mutual story, (3) tell the story of a couple that has been in a shorter relationship, (4) incorporate others in the story, (5) include difficult life moments, and, (6) end the story. Within each theme, we utilize case examples to illuminate relevant issues and describe strategies that were developed to resolve these clinical challenges. Implications for practitioners and clinical researchers who are engaged in dyadic interventions are discussed.     

Completing the Story: connecting relational and psychological processes of exclusion

This paper explores how my understanding of and approach to investigating youth transitions and social exclusion, shifted when conducting a case study about Ray, a mature student in transition from a further education college. Having relayed the findings of a study about Ray's experiences of social exclusion, I will discuss the events and reconsiderations that prompted a change in my relationship with Ray. I will reveal how I began to know Ray is his own right, and grasp his feelings and views about his life, and show how this caused Ray to become a participator in and not merely the subject of the study about his life. This (methodological) reconsideration prompted me to perceive my original relationship with Ray in exactly the same way as I had understood his relationships with his mother, his lecturers and with officials--a relationship between the barer of 'expertise' and the subject of this knowledge. The paper will conclude that the new, closer relationship Ray and I developed enhanced the validity and the richness of my understanding of his social exclusion.