Gay Affirmative Practice: A Model for Social Work Practice with Gay,Lesbian, and Bisexual Youth

Gay affirmative practice has recently been introduced into the social work literature as a culturally sensitive model for working with gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) adults, however, this model has rarely been applied to practice with GLB youth. In this article, the authors review the literature to present the main tenets of gay affirmative practice, outline the challenges that GLB youth face, and delineate the environmental and individual strengths that can be enhanced to promote well-being. The authors then apply the gay affirmative practice model to GLB youth, offering concrete information about the specific knowledge, attitudes, and skills that social workers should acquire to better serve the unique, yet diverse, needs of GLB youth.     

Drug Addiction and Families

Abstract

Australia is experiencing a period of immense cultural change predicated on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). New devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, and the social iterations of the internet are impacting on communication patterns and contributing to the merging of people's online and offline lives. Using Spanish sociologist Manuel Castells's theory of the Network Society as a theoretical foundation, this issues paper posits that social work must overcome its historical reluctance to embrace ICT if it is to remain relevant in the era of the network society. In particular, we argue that social work professionals need to begin a dialogue with IT developers, social service managers, and funding bodies about the need for practice-led ICT systems. This paper examines the turbulent history social work has had with technological change, and concludes that the adoption of a practice-led approach to ICT use in education, practice, and research provides a strong foundation for reimagining the relationship between social work and ICT.     

Older Gay,Lesbian, and Bisexual Adults: Tools for Age-Competent and Gay Affirmative Practice

This article presents a demographic snapshot of older GLB adults, discusses the barriers to service provision, and melds aging competencies with that of affirmative practice with GLB individuals. Its goals are to delineate the specific knowledge, attitudes, and skills recommended for age-competent and gay affirmative practice with an aging GLB population.     

The Impact of Emotions on Practicum Learning

Nine mature aged, experienced practitioners enrolled to gain a BSW qualification in social work were interviewed regarding a course requirement to complete the first placement. At the time of interview no recognition of prior learning for previous experience in the field was made possible for these students. As educators we had experienced considerable hostility from students who believed they should be exempt from completing this course requirement. This paper reports on interviews with the nine students, where we consider how student sentiment about completing the practice learning component might impact upon their learning experience. As anticipated, some students expressed strong negative views about being on placement. However, others were much more positive about the experience. These mixed views prompted us to explore further the relationship between emotion and practice learning. The article begins with a review of the literature concerning mature student engagement with tertiary education, followed by an overview of theory and research related to the ways feelings and emotion influence learning. Using passages from the interviews, expressions of participant anxiety, anger and excitement about the practicum are discussed with the view to extending discourse about practicum learning to include consideration of emotional intelligence and investment.     

Mind the Gap! UNHCR,Humanitarian Assistance and the Development Process

This article provides a historical critique of the initiatives taken by UNHCR to link its refugee and returnee assistance programs with longer‐term development efforts in low‐income countries. Such initiatives include the integrated zonal development approach of the 1960s; the refugee aid and development strategy of the 1970s and 1980s; the returnee aid and development strategy of the 1990s; and, most recently, the Brookings process. The article concludes that these initiatives have generally been flawed in their conceptualization and implementation and have consequently failed to meet their intended objectives.     

Do the regulatory standards require religious literacy of U.K. health and social care professionals?

Health and social care professionals need sufficient religious literacy in order to handle the complexities of religious beliefs and practices, including the growing numbers who identify with other belief systems and those who claim to identify with no religion. The extent to which the need for religious literacy has been formalized was examined in an analysis of regulatory frameworks for health and social care professionals in the United Kingdom. Although all but one of the regulators make some reference to religion and beliefs, they are silent on the question as to what is meant by religion and beliefs. Some standards include a requirement not to impose one's own beliefs on others, but there is very little requirement to develop a reflective and self‐critical awareness of one's own stance. Likewise, some standards refer to knowledge and skills required, but greater specificity is required for these to be meaningful.     

Personal Responses to Traumatic Brain Injury: A Qualitative Study

This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study of ten persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) based upon a series of in-depth interviews conducted over a period of 12 months. Data was analysed with procedures similar to those utilised by grounded theory and ethnographic researchers, and resulted in a typology that reflected different experiences of living with TBI as well as different meanings it had for persons with TBI. A thematic analysis of the data yielded information about self, disability and handicap, and involvement in social networks; and, reflected the participants' sense of personal well-being. This analysis provided an alternative to the data yielded by traditional quantitative research designs.