Social Work's Legacy: Irreconcilable Differences?

Social Work is under attack, not the least of which comes from within its own ranks. Clinical social work appears to the hardest hit as critics question its fit with social work's historic focus on the poor and the oppressed. In addition, there continues to be ongoing controversy regarding the profession as means of social control. Clinical social work has also been attacked for its reliance on the medical model and the growth in private practice. Do these attacks and criticisms signal the end of clinical social work? Or, could this be viewed as part of a process through which social work analyzes its self in its continuing efforts to remain relevant. Is this the evolutionary path of social work? This paper explores some of these controversies and debates. The profession has grown, evolved, and responded to criticism since its inception. A current model for understanding the fit between clinical social work and social justice is presented as an example of how debate continues to lead the profession forward.     

III. Implications of the Report of the Commission on the Social Studies of the American Historical Association

In a world that is, on the one hand, determined to sustain distinct national and group identities and, on the other hand, becoming increasingly globalized, interconnected and interdependent, social studies educators are regularly faced with the challenge of supporting diversity, creating a unified national community, and promoting global perspectives through education. This paper explores how the Singapore education system addresses these disparate goals through its national social studies curriculum for secondary schools, particularly through its use of international case studies. The Singapore social studies curriculum also serves as an interesting case study of how a national social studies curriculum has been shifted away from an exclusive focus on a nation-centric paradigm to one that is more globally oriented in nature, while still being firmly anchored to the nation-state and its priorites.     

Quality of Life and Subjective Well-Being

Abstract

There is a propensity in the social work profession to base programmatic theories on knowledge derived from other disciplines. A term that has found wide acceptance in the profession of social work is the concept of quality of life (QOL). Over the last two decades QOL has emerged as an organizing framework for assessing health indices within the medical and mental health fields. In relation to QOL, there is a need for a comprehensive understanding of the concept in order to ascertain its congruence with, and potential shaping of, the values and ethos of the profession. The paper gives a clear and straightforward introduction to a range of work. The main objective is to examine the individual work of certain researchers and thinkers in their independent search for the methods of measuring subjective states. A review of these separate efforts will reveal an internal coherence and overlap of work that is responsible for the way QOL is presently conceptualized.     

Science as a Strategy for Social Work

For more than one hundred years, various forms of science have been promoted to boost social work’s status as a profession. Evidence-based practice and talk about the science of social work are only the most recent manifestations of this pattern. Counter to this trend, this article argues that the latest upsurge of interest in scientific social work is no more likely than any of its predecessors to address the problems of the profession. Beginning with a linguistic analysis of the words science and scientific as positive signifiers, the article traces social work’s long history of science talk as a means of reassuring funding agencies and bolstering the profession’s status. Drawing on a critique of this discourse as the latest example of abstracted empiricism, it then contends that while scientific social work can only rarely capture what occurs in the field, its attempt to do so actually undercuts practitioners’ professional judgment and discretion. Last, after rejecting science talk as counterproductive, the article concludes with recommendations for an alternative strategy that might better position social work to reconcile its advocacy of social justice with its concerns about its professional status.     

Physician's perceptions of the suit-prone patient

The medical profession is experiencing tremendous increases in the number of malpractice claims and suits. The individual physician is confronted with the question of whether he has patients who are prone to sue him. This paper examines physicians' tendencies to label certain patients as suit-prone and identifies the social characteristics of those labeled as such. The findings suggest that physicians may be labeling the wrong patients. Further, the characterization of the suit-prone patient appears to be a stereotype that merely reflects the physician's political and social attitudes. The moral, ethical, and practical consequences of labeling and of mislabeling are discussed.     

社会工作专业使命的探讨

当今世界正迈向后现代,中国正在推进社会工作专业建设,本文试图在这样的背景下探讨社会工作专业的使命问题。文章首先对国际社会工作界既有的有关社会工作专业使命的论述做出批判性检视,特别关注后现代的视角;而后作者尝试提出自己的一个后现代社会工作的构形并阐述其使命主张。最后,文章阐述了上述这些讨论对于建构中国社会工作专业的含义,得出结论应以遣使者—受任者关系为据来决定使命。     

Inclusion in Singapore: a social model analysis of disability policy

A rhetoric of inclusion and increased social spending within a global context of austerity cuts has dominated disability policies in Singapore today. However, there is a lack of academic works that take a critical disability studies view towards the analysis of disability in Singapore. This work aims to address this gap by adopting a critical social model-led analysis of disability policies in Singapore. The article examines the rhetoric of inclusion, how disability is defined and its implementation through various policies in Singapore. It will examine the underpinnings of disability in Singapore today and its impact on the lives of disabled people.     

Professional Commitment in Novice Social Work Students: Socio-Demographic Characteristics,Motives and Perceptions of the Profession

The article attempts to define the characteristics of students at the beginning of their social work studies in institutes of higher education in Israel, including demographic characteristics, motives for choosing the profession, perceptions about the profession, and commitment to the profession. The study was conducted among a sample of 450 students, all beginning their first academic year, at four social work schools in Israel. Study findings show a demographic range, such as: nationality, level of religiosity, and political attitudes. Findings indicate that three of these socio-demographic variables predict commitment to the profession at the onset of academic studies: psychometric score, level of religiosity, and previous academic learning experience.

Findings indicate two profiles of novice students: students who choose to study social work out of a desire to bring about social change; and students who choose to engage only in clinical social work. The latter are not committed to the profession in its essence, but rather recognize the importance of its professional individual activities only. The article discusses these findings and implications with regard to both the social work profession and social work training.     

National policy approaches to social care for elderly people in the United Kingdom and Singapore 1945-2002

The authors compare policy approaches in the United Kingdom and Singapore on social care for older persons. The context of these approaches is discussed showing the development of policies, in each country from the aftermath of the Second World War to the present. Given that Singapore is a former British colony, it is of interest to scholars of social policy to examine its welfare approach as compared to the welfare state approach espoused by the United Kingdom. Both nations are faced with the challenges of an aging population, which necessitates handling similar problems with strategies that are in harmony with their respective economic, social, and cultural contexts. This paper considers their divergence of philosophies and policies, concluding with the recognition that the major difference lies in national and governmental expectations regarding the extent of the financial and regulatory responsibility for care for older people carried by the individual, the family, and the state.     

Professions in periods of social change: the case of architectural discourse and design

This article examines how professions behave in periods of social change. The article considers whether professions take positions vis-à-vis broader social discourse, and explores the relationship between the professions’ positions and those of the government. The article examines these questions through the case of the Israeli architectural profession’s behavior after the 1967 war in both the newly occupied territories, over which Israeli control is under dispute among Israeli Jews, as well as the pre-1967 areas, in which Israeli sovereignty enjoys a consensus among Israeli Jews. The article traces both design and construction activities, as well as the discourse that followed in their wake. The article’s conclusion is that changes in professional discourse are a way to understand the profession’s position regarding a given set of social changes. We argue that the transition from an inward-facing professional discourse to an outward-facing professional discourse that addresses the larger society is both an indication of that profession’s condition as well as the condition of the social group to which it belongs.     

Schizotypal Personality Disorder: A Clinical Social Work Perspective

Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is considered to be a “schizophrenia spectrum disorder” as evidenced in part by its cross-listing in that chapter of the DSM-5. SPD is considered to be a condition with limited potential for positive change because one of its major features is the presence of a biologically based cognitive deficit. This assumption, however, is an example of the medical model’s creating a bias against psychosocial features that are always involved in character development. The social work profession’s bio-psycho-social perspectives focus more comprehensively on all features of the condition and promote a more optimistic view of clients’ change potentials. The purposes of this paper are to examine SPD from a social work perspective and to demonstrate, with a case example, how effective intervention can be organized and delivered.     

The uses of social science in the history of dutch social work, 1900–1980

In this paper the author reviews the history of Dutch social work between 1900 and 1980 and tries to shed light on how Dutch social workers enlisted various insights developed by the social sciences to gain jurisdiction in dealing with social problems. He argues against the simplistic idea that scientific knowledge is merely applied in practical settings such as social work. Social workers did not just apply scientific insights; they also used scientific insights strategically to demarcate their position from various opponents both inside and outside the profession. It is useful to differentiate between the reflexive and strategic uses of social sciences: reflexive means that new interpretations of the social world and the nature of social problems are offered which imply different ways of doing social work; strategic means that with these new interpretations new boundaries are created between social work and competing actors in the field of dealing with social problems.     

Social Work: A Profession in Search of Its Identity

Micro social work practice can be understood in the context of its historical professional traditions and dialectics as well as the environmental pressures and demands placed on the profession. In becoming a profession, social work relied heavily on principles drawn from medicine and science. Although these bodies of knowledge provided the profession certain credibility, their application may have clouded social work’s distinctive social purpose and professional identity. In its search for a distinctive function and identity, the profession of social work has struggled with numerous dialectics, as discussed in this article. These help us to better understand the profession’s search for its distinctive identity and status and the importance of including this content in social work education.     

The Cycles of Social Work Practice

The social work profession has vascillated between addressing two different priorities during its history: personal troubles and public issues. The focus on personal troubles emphasizes the private interests, rehabilitation, and self-actualization needs of individuals. Public issues refers to collective needs, social action, and social reform. These riorities shaped the emergence of three distinct methods of social work practice-casework, groupwork, and community organization. This paper links these cyclical shifts in priorities to the socio-economic and political forces in American society, and suggests ways that the profession might sustain a practice framework that IS not so easily influenced by political cycles.     

'I know I signed something': older people,families and social workers' understanding of the legal aspects of entry to residential care

This purpose of this paper is to report findings that older people are legally vulnerable when entering an aged care facility, that social workers lack knowledge of the legal aspects of this move and do not necessarily view this information as core to their practice. The structure of social work services mirror the disjuncture older people and their families experience at this time and this may, in part, explain social work's lack of attention to these issues. Although many social workers are in contact with older people, the profession in Australia has been slow to develop a knowledge base to support effective practice with this group.     

Social Work Practice and Education in the US and Canada

This paper discusses shared origins and differences in the social work professions and education programs in the United States and Canada. Consideration is given to how the social work professions in the two countries attempt to resolve the possible inherent conflict between an emphasis on dealing with problems of individuals, with intervention approaches such as casework and therapy, and an emphasis on addressing the problems of society, with social reform intervention approaches. The paper also discusses social work employment in the U.S. and Canada and the structure of social work education in both countries, including consideration of how the profession is legally regulated in each country.     

新加坡地铁建设决策的过程与启示

新加坡政府在对建设地铁这样的大型基础设施做出决策时，采取了科学慎重的态度和方法，为其经济发展和社会稳定奠定了牢固的基础。本文讨论新加坡公共政策决策中的一个经典案例，即轨道交通系统的建设决策，以此引起大家的思考。     

新加坡土地综合利用效率探讨

新加坡经济发达、人口密集、土地狭小。、但有限的土地并没有成为新加坡经济社会发展的制约。相反,通过借鉴世界城市规划发展的成功经验和自身的创新土地管理,新加坡在土地空间利用上展现了其面对住房、交通、环境、水资源利用等城市发展共同挑战问题时独特的解决方法。长期稳定的综合规划、短期局部的灵活应变和土地效益的综合考量成为新加坡土地政策的三大特征。新加坡在土地管理中对土地使用效率和社会公平兼顾的政策理念与效果,对中国快速城市化进程中的土地管理有非常有益的借鉴。     

Doctors for the empire: The medical school of Goa and its narratives

This paper studies the establishment of medical teaching in Portuguese colonial settings as a means to understand the ways of empire building. The rules and regulations regarding surgeons and doctors in the African and Asian colonies evidence a structure of subalternities within the empire. Goa, in India, emerges as the second to the metropolis within that hierarchy, and the Medical School of Goa becomes the ultimate producer of doctors for the empire. We will bring to the analysis the narratives and representations of Goan doctors about their Medical School and its role in empire building. The analysis raises a number of issues that deserve further discussion: the ideologies of colonialism and the colonial condition, the formation of hierarchies within imperial structures, the tensions between social groups defined by the empire, the interaction between different bodies of knowledge and medical practices in the context of colonization, and the ambiguous position of creóle elites within a colonial system.     

Afrocentricity as an Alternative World View for Equality

An official goal of the social work profession is that of equality for all. However, social work's ability to achieve this goal is hampered by the Eurocentric world view, wherein reality is structured to emphasize fragmentation, conflict, and domination, which foster inequality. A better philosophical ''fit'' for social work is the Afrocentric world view. Its view of reality that underscores interdependency, collectivity, and spirituality places it in an excellent position to promote equality. Social workers are encouraged to apply the Afrocentric paradigm to transform social work from a profession primarily concerned with direct practice to a social movement of equality and justice.