Racism: A Short History

Eclecticism in social work has been criticised because interventions may be based on theories that have incompatible basic assumptions. The author offers a structural analysis of theories informing social work practice, according to each theory's basic assumptions about the nature of human society as either conflict or consensus, and human behaviour as a product of either free will or determinism. Four basic paradigms of practice in social work are created as quadrants within a circle and labelled, respectively, as the functionalist, existentialist, humanist and structuralist paradigms. The structure is then modified to establish a fifth ‘heuristic paradigm’ as an inner circle. The author suggests that heuristic paradigm theories are those that best accommodate the paradoxical coexistence of free will and determinism, and also conflict and consensus. Heuristic practice is therefore not seen simply as intuitive eclecticism, but an active and reflective use of various theories as ‘heuristic tools’ to shape practice interventions and thereby build practice wisdom.     

Evaluating effectiveness in social work: sharing dilemmas in practice

Evaluating effectiveness is of primary concern to social work practice; resources will always be limited, and those using services deserve the best. But what is effectiveness, and how should it be measured? This paper explores the challenge of measuring effectiveness in social work by examining two small-scale evaluations of services (statutory and voluntary) in Scotland. Both evaluations used a mixed method approach and both were conducted in a climate of funding cuts. It will be argued that evaluating effectiveness sits uncomfortably between new public management (NPM)’s imperative for measurement and efficiency within a market economy and agencies’ own need to reflect on their practice and respond to the views of their service users. Such processes force agencies into a continual cycle of monitoring and review that may, paradoxically, impede organic change and development. It is suggested that an alternative, critical paradigm in evaluation offers a positive way forward.     

Lessons from Marrano Beach: Attachment and Culture

SUMMARY

Clinical experiences, research within the American Indian/Alaska Native and Latino/a Los Angeles community, consultation with colleagues, and reflections on professional development indicate that cultural material exerts profound influence on individual, family, and community development. Reflections on practice are discussed that emphasize the role of theory, the significance of culture, and the importance of consultation in all levels of social work practice. In particular, the discussion notes that the prevailing paradigm on cultural competency can be expanded by integrating concepts from attachment theory in the analysis of why culture exerts such a profound influence on human development and behavior.     

Made by a human like you or me: Back to the Greek classics to further develop the rhetorical paradigm of public relations

The first aim of this paper is to establish some of the core assumptions and concepts that have been used to build the rhetorical paradigm for developing public relations theory. The key tenets of this paradigm are deployed to enable some critical reflection on the value of the model, and particularly the work of Heath, for scholars who accept that public relations is constituted by persuasive discourses and perpetual competition between opposing interests and values. The second aim of this paper is to explore the question of where next? How do we develop the rhetorical paradigm and take it into new directions and allow it to embrace new problems? This paper will attempt to do this by applying agonistic theories of democracy. To mirror how Heath has drawn on classical writers such as Aristotle, Isocrates and Quintilian, this paper will also draw on classical texts: Firstly, through the satirical drama and social commentary in the writing of Aristophanes; and then through Honig’s work in reinterpreting Sophocles’ play Antigone. Agonism derives from the ancient Greek word agōn - a contest or struggle. A key priniciple of classical agonism is that protagonists should seek to win acclaim and admiration by performing openly in public, and it extols plurality above dispassionate deliberation. This suggests some resonance with the dominant assumptions of the rhetorical paradigm, but more modern forms of agonism make post-foundationalist assumptions of the impossibility of any consensus existing beyond precarious hegemonic relationships. They also hold to a radical pluralism that when applied challenge widely-held assumptions that ethically grounded public relations practice is that which seeks to eliminate conflict in favour of seeking consensus. Fusing agonistic cooperation with Heath’s notion of concurrence is suggested as a means of integrating critical theory into the rhetorical paradigm.     

Becoming a social work practitioner: The use of live supervision in the practice placement

Abstract

With the practice placement as a focus, this essay explores the process by which the student social worker learns to relate theory and practice, and the way in which the accomplishment of this learning is assessed.

It is argued that the structure of social work education is heavily influenced by Positivist epistemology; that this has impeded the understanding of social work as an organic process; and, further, that it has led to an inappropriate division between academics and practitioners, a schism which the student is forced to negotiate in learning to become a qualified social worker.

The essay attempts to construct a paradigm for understanding the student-to-practitioner learning which will facilitate a more holistic alternative to the current dichotomy between theory and practice. A congruent model for supervision of the practice placement is offered with some concluding suggestions as to how this may be extended to help bridge the academic-practitioner divide.     

A Possible Pension-Savings Paradigm for a Sustainable Future: A Developed Country Case Study (UK)

Abstract

For millennia, the percentage of the population aged sixty-five and older never exceeded 3 or 4 per cent (), while the percentage of children under the age of 5 numbered between 15 and 20 per cent. By 2050 this picture will be reversed due to various demographic mega-trends. This means that many developed nations need to rethink their assumptions regarding their existing pension-savings and accumulation paradigm and rebuild their very conceptual foundations. Some countries try infusing into the defunct current pension-savings’ model small adjustments; but what is required is an entirely new pensions funding and accumulation paradigm. The new paradigm proposed in this paper is based on ten pillars addressing the demographic and economic challenges projected ahead. Two principles guide the proposed model. One is that it must foster confidence among the citizens who will retire in mid-twenty-first century that they may have sufficient financial resources for long retirement years. The second principle is that the new pension funding system must leave them with enough available funds for social and economic development as they save for the long years of retirement.     

The Passion Paradigm: Professional Adherence to and Consequences of the Ideology of “Do What You Love”

If changes to the material structures of work have ushered us into a “new economy,” cultural scholars assume that there must also be changes to ideological structures of work. Extant scholarship on precarious professionals and on the role of emotions in 21^st‐century work find that passion may be an important cultural component of white‐collar work in the new economy. Using data from engineers, nurses, and graphic designers who work in either less precarious or more precarious contexts, this paper contributes the first emic definition of work passion as the experiences of attraction, enjoyment, motivation, and perseverance. Because I find overwhelming adherence and conceptual consistency among professionals in my sample, I argue that the pursuit of work passion constitutes a coherent ideology of work, which I call the passion paradigm. I argue that the passion paradigm is compatible with and protects structures of work in the new economy because its logic of hyper individualism motivates workers to work hard and work well as a practice of self‐care, shifting the locus of critique further away from institutions and more toward the self. Adherence to and institutionalization of the passion paradigm may have myriad consequences, opening up broad areas of future research.     

Crisis communication plans: Poor predictors of excellent crisis public relations

Public relations is an important element in almost all successful crisis mana ment efforts. Newly developed theory in crisis public relations, though, suggests a shift is necessary in the way practitioners view crises. The well-accepted tactics and techniques advocated by practitioners need to be replaced with strategies and beliefs from a new perspective—a perspective or paradigm that defines excellent crisis public relations practice very differently from the literature of the past 20 years.     

Using Relational Theory to Treat Adolescent Girls Victimized by Social Aggression

While much has been written on social aggression in adolescent girls, less has been written on the clinical treatment for victims of such bullying. This paper will look at social aggression in girls from relational and psychodynamic perspectives. Further, the interplay of trauma dynamics which are integral to the social aggression paradigm will be reviewed. Using a clinical example, the author will show how victim/victimizer/bystander roles inherent in trauma dynamics were enacted in the clinical dyad. Enactments were discussed in the treatment process leading to a new and different outcome. Implications for practice with girls who experience social aggression will be discussed.     

A Comparison of Topography-based and Selection-based Verbal Behavior in Typically Developed Children and Developmentally Disabled Persons with Autism

This study is a replication of Sundberg and Sundberg (1990) that compared topography-based verbal behavior with selection-based verbal behavior in terms of acquisition, accuracy, and testing for the emergence of a new verbal relation. Participants were three typical children and three developmentally disabled persons with autism. The study sought to determine which paradigm (topography-based or selection-based) resulted in more rapid acquisition of tacts and intraverbals, which was associated with the fewest errors, and which paradigm resulted in the emergence of the highest number of new verbal relations. The results of the study showed that the six participants performed quite differently from one another. Most importantly, the results from the person with autism contradicted previous findings favoring selection-based verbal behavior over topography-based approaches for teaching verbal behavior to low-functioning individuals.     

Publishing systematic, pragmatic case studies in program evaluation: rationale and introduction to the special issue

The present Special Issue proposes that the creation of a database of systematic, pragmatically focused case studies in program planning and evaluation will be useful to both theorist and practitioner. This knowledge-base can (a) facilitate cross-case comparisons for inductively deriving generalizations of best practice; (b) allow practitioners to use the experience of past cases to guide their practice in present cases; and (c) further explore the foundational nature of evaluation as a discipline. This introduction first explores why there are so few published evaluation case studies. It then describes the development of a pragmatic paradigm, including a common analytic framework for facilitating the conduct, documentation, and discussion of individual case studies and for organizing them into a database. The introduction concludes with a cross-case summary comparison of the three cases in this first part of the Special Issue. In the next issue of this journal, a second part of the Special Issue will be presented. This will include three additional case studies and an analysis of all six of the case studies in terms of what we have learned about the theoretical and practical values—as well as the challenges—of creating a database of systematic, pragmatic case studies in evaluation.     

BEYOND RESOURCE MOBILIZATION?

Resource mobilization theory became the dominant paradigm for studying social movements in the 1970s because it was better able to account for the 1960s cycle of protest than previous theories of collective behavior. After almost two decades of theoretical development, the resource mobilization framework is now under increasing challenge. Drawing on research on women's movements in the United States, this article identifies ten issues which collectively pose a major theoretical challenge to the dominance of resource mobilization theory and which may initiate a paradigm shift to a new framework for the study of social movements.     

Towards proteophilic competence? Intercultural learning and language education in Latvia

The new paradigm of language education envisages that teachers become intercultural mediators. However, there is no agreement about implementing the new paradigm in school practice and language teacher education. The author believes that the intercultural dimension of language education is strongly linked to integrating intercultural learning in language education. It implies cooperation with teachers from other subject areas and attitude change. The author recently designed a new course to prepare language teachers for understanding the processes involved in intercultural learning. The present article presents a case study carried out while piloting the course ‘Integrating intercultural learning in language education’ at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Modern Languages. The student teachers commented that pupils’ intercultural competence cannot be fostered by teachers alone, without the support of parents and broader Latvian society. The author recommends introducing a special course on intercultural learning in the compulsory part of all higher education programs.     

Is There a Place for Biopsychosocial Formulation in a Systemic Practice?

There is a long history of literature concerning integrative practice and how a systemic practice can fit with other models of therapy Much of this literature has focused on establishing a space for systemic therapy within the dominant medical paradigm, and exploring how the medical model can be enhanced by systemic ideas. The outcome has been better practice, especially in child and adolescent mental health. Interestingly, however, there has been less discussion of the converse: the family therapy literature has rarely considered whether or not systemic practice itself can be enhanced by ideas from the dominant medical model. This article proposes that a biopsychosocial formulation can enhance systemic practice by: (I) holding clinicians accountable for their thinking; (2) facilitating a rigour and attention to detail that may prove useful when therapy falters; (3) opening up other possibilities for intervention; and (4) providing a way to engage with the dominant medical paradigm and support clients in negotiating their way through this system. Potential problems nevertheless arise when integrating a biopsychosocial formulation into a systemic framework. This article identifies these problems and presents ideas for how they can be managed in practice.     

ACHIEVING INDIVIDUALLY SUSTAINED COMMITMENT TO TREATMENT THROUGH SELF-CONSTRUCTED MODELS OF MEDICAL ADHERENCE

One of the main challenges facing medication adherence research is to provide a framework that allows patients and practitioners to effectively use the many efficacious treatments that will undoubtedly be developed in the new millennium. This framework, especially for chronic disorders, must be based on requiring patients to make the long-term behavioral changes needed to achieve a high level of commitment to these treatments. The best way to generate this high level of commitment is through a paradigm shift away from medical and patient models toward models that incorporate the social psychological literature focusing on how people's sense of self is constructed, enacted, and sustained over the life course. This review demonstrates the need, value, and appearance of this shift. First, it describes a previous paradigm shift in the medication adherence literature and then argues that a new paradigm shift is necessary. Second, it identifies and describes the models currently used in adherence research and notes three critical shortcomings of these models. Finally, it demonstrates how symbolic interaction's identity theory may be used creatively to overcome these shortcomings and convert efficacious treatments into effective treatments. Developing such an approach would well position the medication adherence research field for excellent contributions to the treatment of chronic disorders in the twenty-first century.     

Reframing the Discourse on Social Work in the Arab World: Considerations for the Accreditation of Social Work in the UAE

Drawing on the author's experience of teaching social work in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this paper will interrogate the pervasive question, significant within academic circles and the wider public discourse, on the issue of values and how they are framed or not by their relevant cultural contexts. This is a critical period in the history of the development of social work in the UAE where the International Association of Schools of Social Work subjected the first professional social work education and training programme offered to the rigour of a review process. Currently most social work programmes are evaluated against Western social work accreditation frameworks and quality assurance processes. While this practice may be appropriate in certain contexts, in others, such as in the Arab world, a more authentic frame of reference is required. To this end, the frame of reference lies in the Islamic prophetic traditions and culture, uniquely characteristic of the Arab world in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). It not only provides the backdrop to the ideological context for practice and education but also for quality assurance purposes as in the case of accreditation. A quick perusal of global accreditations of social work programmes reveals intense scholarly debates about what should constitute a dynamic curricula, necessary resources, ideology, administrative needs, processes and structure of social work programmes. Given that all of these criteria satisfy the conditions for accreditation, there is still ample opportunity within the different socio-cultural contexts for variations in the curricula of social work programmes being offered universally.

There is little doubt, despite the recent debates on the accreditation processes, that the primary goal is to ensure quality programmes and competent preparation for social work practice. In this paper the author will argue that while subscribing to this academic rigour, a paradigm shift is imperative to understand what constitutes culturally sensitive social work education and training. This paper will demonstrate that the values and ethics rooted in the ideology of the Arab world should determine and influence academic and practice paradigms.     

Diversity in Diversity: Changing the Paradigm

SUMMARY

This essay discusses the growing complex diversity in client populations, emphasizes the need to support all legal statuses of clients, and advocates for a paradigm shift in culturally competent social work practice.     

基于演化理论的广州建设创新型城市政策思路研究

演化理论范式的发展为创新型城市建设政策研究提供了一种新视角。应用演化理论范式的基本哲学思想和分析框架研究创新发生和扩散的演化过程,可以得到与传统均衡范式有所不同的创新促进政策思路和原则,比如纠正系统失灵的政策主旨、政府的角色和作用更为重要、战略小生境的创新政策、至关重要的经济试验、数量型与质量型相结合的创新政策、创新政策的学习性和民主性等,这些政策思路对广州创新型城市建设大有裨益。     

Internet architecture,freedom of expression and social responsibility: critical realism and proposals for a better future

The article opens by explaining the architecture of the Internet. Given its present raison d'être, a free highway allowing maximum freedom, one may argue that the bounds of free expression are broader in scope on the Net compared with the bounds of legitimate speech allowed on other forms of communication. Contesting this assertion, it is argued that legally speaking, there is no difference between electronic communication and other forms of communication. I probe some problematic forms of expression: terrorism, criminal activity, and cyberbullying, arguing that freedom of expression is important but so is social responsibility. The article concludes by offering a new paradigm Internet for the future called CleaNet©. CleaNet© will be sensitive to prevailing cultural norms of each and every society and will be clean of content that the society deems to be dangerous and antisocial. No cyberbullying, child pornography, hateful bigotry, criminal activity, and terrorist material will be available on the new Net. Netusers, with the cooperation of ISPs and web-hosting companies, will together decide which content will be considered illegitimate and unworthy to be excluded from CleaNet©.     

Human Behavior Theory and the African American Experience

Abstract

This article discusses why it is important to give consideration to the black experience if educators and practitioners are to objectively analyze black behavior. It argues that there are few racially-sensitive theoretical formulations that can accurately serve as a base for practice, and even those present should still be subjected to rigorous empirical investigation. Therefore, until new formulations are developed, practitioners may wish to employ “theoretical strips” (bits and pieces of existing theory) to model their practice. Examples of theory pieces are included in this article.