Career Patterns of Qualified Social Workers: Discussion of a Recent Survey

Summary The article presents some of the findings of a recent surveyon the career paths of qualified social workers. The factorsinfluencing career progression, and particularly moves intomanagement, axe explored. Wastage rates and the relationshipbetween job characteristics and people's decision to leave socialwork are also discussed. Finally, the article looks at levelsof job satisfaction among social workers.     

Anthropologists, moralities, and relativities: the problem of genital mutilations

Les opérations traditionnelles sur les organes génitaux féminins, étant été reconnues comme une question importante dans le contexte du mouvement international pour les droits des femmes, provoquent actuellement de nombreux débats. Les anthropologues ont été accusés d'caravoir dissumulé les effets dangereux et estropiants quant au sexe, de l'carexci-sion et de l'carinfibulation. Ce mémoire examine les antécedents historiques de la position actuelle des anthropologues sur ces questions, s'attachant surtout aux implications raciales des condamnations antérieures qui ont été portées contre les opérations génitales parmi les Africains, les Juifs et les Australiens, et suggére que la théorie anthropolo-gique contemporaine offre une approche qui est différent et acceptable du point de vue moral, et solide du point de vue scientifique.
Traditional operations on the female genitals are currently the subject of considerable debate, having been identified as an important issue in the context of the international movement for women's rights. Anthropologists have been accused of perpetrating a 'cover-up' of the dangerous and sexually disabling effects of clitoridectomy and infibula-tion. This paper examines the historical background to anthropologists' current position on these issues, with particular attention to the racial overtones of earlier condemnations of genital operations among Africans, Jews, and Australians, and suggests that contemporary anthropological theory may offer an altered focus for discussion that is both morally acceptable and scientifically valid.     

The 1996 Research Assessment Exercise and the Response of Social Work Academics

Summary In 1996 the Higher Education Funding Council undertook the fourthResearch Assessment Exercise (RAE) in universities in England,Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Performance in researchis a crucial measure in university departments because it hasdirect implications for funding, but some doubt that the criteriaused are appropriate measures of quality of research. Many factorshave an impact on the way that research by social work academicsis presented in the RAE. After the 1996 RAE, the Joint UniversityCouncil Social Work Education Committee undertook a survey ofdepartments which teach social work to try and elicit responsesto the assessment exercise which might inform preparations forthe next RAE.     

Towards Accountability in Social Work: Long Term Social Work in an Area Office

Summary This article reports the results of monitoring the social workof two long term teams in an area office throughout one yearwith the help of a computerized Case Review System. It describesthe characteristics of some 1,400 long-term cases of whom 61%were disabled, visually handicapped and/or elderly and 22% presentedproblems related to children and families. One of the outstanding features was the concentration on surveillanceand review visiting which was reported for nearly three quartersof these cases and was considered the most important socialworker activity in two fifths of them. In over half of theselong term situations no change was expected and nearly threequarters of the cases were to remain open indefinitely. Another striking feature was the somewhat uneven distributionof social work resources among the different problem groups.Although the physically disabled and/or elderly outnumberedthe child/family problems by two to one, they made up only 20%of the cases allocated to individual social workers, while almostall the child and family problems were allocated amounting to35% of all individual caseloads. But the disabled and elderlyreceived far more domiciliary services and aids to daily living. This exercise has brought into sharp focus the question of howto ensure continuous support and surveillance for the very frailelderly, as the occasional social work visit did not appearto be the appropriate means of support, rarely anticipatingor averting crises. The data highlight the challenge which chronically disorganizedand disturbed families present to social work skills. The outcomescast doubt on the wisdom of closing, within the intake stageas low priority, relatively early family problems, and on thesharp division into intake and long term teams. The general issue emerging is the need to formulate more precisesocial service strategies for those who require long term careby others to some extent—the very old and frail, the chronicallyphysically and mentally disabled and children in long term care—andwhat specific contributions social workers can usefully maketo this enterprise.