Transformation of a recreational youth group into community service group during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

This narrative is based on the solidarity of a recreational youth group during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Note: Youth refers to older adolescents and young adults, 17–28). The narrative describes the journey and transformation of the youth group from playing cricket to the engagement in community service during the lockdown period. This paper also presents how the presence of the group shifted from physical to a digital platform, and the focus turned from recreation to social support; with that change in the focus, how a small group of youths turned into a larger group to mobilize and utilize resources for community service during the crisis time.     

The application of a small group learning approach to social group work teaching - an exploratory study

A new modality – the small group learning approach, was developed for social group work courses for social work students in Hong Kong. A research study, aimed at understanding the students’ level of satisfaction with the new approach and exploring its effectiveness regarding enhancing students’ learning in social group work, was conducted for three cohorts of students in the academic years from 2013-14 to 2015-16. The findings indicated that its effectiveness was influenced by the quality of the tutors and the level of co-operation of the students. Strategies for improving the design and the implementation of the approach will be discussed     

Interactions and outcomes using the Social Relations Model in a healthcare group

Health care today necessitates a group effort, in part, due to the availability of complex interventions. Often measures of central tendency are used to examine groups which can result in misleading interpretations. Interactions within groups can influence outcomes so a multi-level approach to examining individual and dyad contributions is helpful to determine where interventions may be needed. The Social Relations Model (SRM) (Cook & Kenny, 2004) is a mathematical technique used for estimating the variances due to interaction effects from individuals and dyads within the group. This exploratory research used the SRM to examine 43 triads, composed of a patient, telehealth nurse and home helper, from three western U.S. Veterans Health Administration systems. The purpose of this research is to utilize the SRM to examine communication and information integration among individuals and dyads within groups that may influence outcomes in a health care example. Three triads with identical communication and information integration group scores were compared for Perceiver, Target and Relational Effect scores. Results identified individual and relational variances within the groups that may influence satisfaction and self-care outcomes. SRM techniques are beneficial not only to examine existing group interactions but to prevent potential group combinations that may inhibit desirable outcomes in a complex health care environment.     

Welfare functions and group decisions

The paper shows that Pareto optimal sharing rules imply that group decisions will be made unanimously. An example is given.     

Lattices,bargaining and group decisions

This essay aims at constructing an abstract mathematical system which, when interpreted, serves to portray group-choices among alternatives that need not be quantifiable. The system in question is a complete distributive lattice, on which a class of non-negative real-valued homomorphisms is defined. Reinforced with appropriate axioms, this class becomes a convex distributive lattice. If this lattice is equipped with a suitable measure, and if the mentioned class of homomorphisms is equipped with a metric, then the class and its convex sets are seen to possess certain characteristic properties. The main result (Theorem 6) follows from a combination of these results and a famous result due to Choquet.The mathematical scheme is then interpreted in the subject-language of choice among alternatives. It is shown, by means of an example, that the system furnishes all the ingredients for describing multi-group choices. Whether or not the same ingredients are also adequate for a behavioural theory of multi-group choices is an issue that will not be gone into. However, the example effectively illustrates how a process of bargaining can be described with the aid of the mathematical scheme.In the second example, a class of bargaining situations is modelled in the symbolism of linear programming with several objective functions combined with unknown weights; the cost vectors in such formulations are identified with homomorphisms, and the main theorem of this essay is applied.     

II. The social and economic adjustment of a group of special class graduates 1

Doctoring Together, a Study of Professional Social Control. Eliot Freidson. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1980.)

Object Relations and the Developing Ego in Therapy. Althea J. Horner, Ph.D. (New York: Jason Aronson, 1979.)

New Developments in Foster Care and Adoption. Ed. John Triseliotis. (London, Boston: Routledge &; Kegan Paul Ltd., 1980).

Transference Neurosis and Transference Psychosis: Toward Basic Unity. Margaret I. Little. (New York: Jason Aronson, 1981.)     

The ADHD treasure hunt: a group intervention using a social model approach to disability

ABSTRACT

This article describes the ADHD Treasure Hunt - a groupwork model that integrates the spirit of a social model of disability into therapeutic practice with parents and children. Following a discussion on the discourse and controversy over the nature and treatment of ADHD in Western society, we evaluate our intervention in terms of its usefulness in addressing a family’s sense of helplessness and frustration in the face of social interactions. The model also focuses on helping the families recognize the value of their own experiential knowledge. We examine the contributions of the model to current practice as well as offer future directions for its development.     

Challenging passive partnerships with parents and children in the core group forum: a framework for a proactive approach

This paper looks at two concepts central to effective child protection practice: partnerships and the core group system, which need to work together if we are to improve the worrying, ad hoc approaches to child protection work once a child's name has been added to the child protection register. These concepts emerged at around the same point in time, but little has been written about the core group, even though it has been given the key tasks of formulating, implementing and reviewing the child protection plan, and forging effective working partnerships with other professionals, parents/carers and their children ( Calder 1991, 1995 b; Calder & Horwath 1999 ). Whilst the concept of partnership has received considerable media and publishing attention, no previous paper has explored partnerships with families within the core group phase. This reflects the low priority currently afforded to activity following the initial child protection conference, and arguably sets the core group up to fail, even before it has started ( Calder 1996a, 1998 ). The authors draw on their national research into core group practice to explore the notion of partnerships between the core group and parents, carers and children, concluding with some recommendations on how Area Child Protection Committees can create the environment in which we can move from passive to proactive partnerships within a higher profile for this stage and focus of the work. The authors draw on some suggestions from Messages from Research ( Department of Health 1995a ) and from several small-scale research studies into core group practice.     

Introspective utility and the group choice problem

This paper presents empirical evidence somewhat supportive of the hypothesis that von Neumann-Morgenstern utility and so-called ‘introspective utility’ are intrinsically the same. In other words, this evidence is somewhat supportive of theview that the Allais Paradox and related phenomena are more apparent than real. The bearing that this evidence has on the relationship between two methods of group choice is discussed.     

Interview group therapy: Process and effects 1

Abstract

This article identifies major forms of institutional racism in the United States today. It considers how taken together they form a web of oppression which obstructs economic, social, and political mobility for people of color while white people are issued passports of privilege. The implications of this enduring form of social inequality for social workers and other helping professionals are considered.     

The impact of peer death on adolescent girls: a task-oriented group intervention

Adolescents' exposure to death is high, with approximately 40% of adolescents reporting past year death of a peer. Each of the estimated annual 14,000 deaths of adolescents has an impact on friends, classmates, and peers, with adolescent girls experiencing more peer deaths within a one year time frame than boys. Much of the literature focuses on parent or sibling death but little on the death of a peer. The sudden and unexpected nature of adolescent deaths appears to be a common experience that deeply affects adolescent girls and puts them at risk for a wide range of negative physical, emotional, social, and cognitive outcomes. The author outlines a task-oriented group intervention that meets the developmental, emotional, cognitive, and gender-specific needs of adolescent girls grieving the death of a peer.     

Political Violence and Adolescent Out‐group Attitudes and Prosocial Behaviors: Implications for Positive Inter‐group Relations

The negative impact of political violence on adolescent adjustment is well established. Less is known about factors that affect adolescents' positive outcomes in ethnically divided societies, especially influences on prosocial behaviors toward the out‐group, which may promote constructive relations. For example, understanding how inter‐group experiences and attitudes motivate out‐group helping may foster inter‐group co‐operation and help to consolidate peace. The current study investigated adolescents' overall and out‐group prosocial behaviors across two time points in Belfast, Northern Ireland (N = 714 dyads; 49% male; Time 1: M = 14.7, SD = 2.0, years old). Controlling for Time 1 prosocial behaviors, age, and gender, multi‐variate structural equation modeling showed that experience with inter‐group sectarian threat predicted fewer out‐group prosocial behaviors at Time 2 at the trend level. On the other hand, greater experience of intra‐group non‐sectarian threat at Time 1 predicted more overall and out‐group prosocial behaviors at Time 2. Moreover, positive out‐group attitudes strengthened the link between intra‐group threat and out‐group prosocial behaviors one year later. Finally, experience with intra‐group non‐sectarian threat and out‐group prosocial behaviors at Time 1 was related to more positive out‐group attitudes at Time 2. The implications for youth development and inter‐group relations in post‐accord societies are discussed.