scholarly journals Holding It Together? Professional Perspectives on the Role of Relationships when Relocating Young People due to Extra-familial Harm

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlene Firmin ◽  
Rachael Owens
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Young People ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Integrated Research ◽  
Professional Perspectives ◽  
Safety Professional

Abstract When young people come to harm in extra-familial contexts, professionals may move them a distance from their home community to protect them, and in doing so disrupt relationships in which they have encountered harm. However, relocations can also fracture young people’s protective relationships with family, peers, and professionals; relationships that have been positioned as targets for intervention in cases of extra-familial harm. The extent to which these relationships are considered during relocations is under-explored. Utilising semi-structured interviews with 16 social work professionals in England and Wales, we assessed their accounts of using relationships prior to, during, and following relocations in cases of extra-familial harm. Three themes emerged: using relationships during relocations to provide consistency, to collaborate, and to create safety. Professional accounts prioritised young people’s relationships with practitioners, over relationships with families, peers, and their wider communities, when using/seeking opportunities to offer consistency and to collaborate on safety plans. They also depicted a struggle to engage with the complex web of family, peer, and community relationships associated to young people’s protection in both their home communities and those they had been moved to; relationships that were critical for creating safety. Implications for practice and future research are discussed, highlighting the potential merits of offering integrated research and practice frameworks that hold together young people’s relationships with families, peers, communities, and professionals, in response to extra-familial harm.

scholarly journals The Role of Parents in Talented Youth Sport. Does Context Matter?

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márcio Domingues ◽  
Carlos E. Gonçalves
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
Youth Sport ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Personal Variables ◽  
Competitive Environments ◽  
Role Of Parents ◽  
And Behavior

Abstract Introduction. The present study investigates the characteristics of the environmental factors that influence the structure of sport amongst young people; alongside this, the study also attempts to describe the influential role of parents in the development of sporting talent; finally, the study emphasizes the significance of parents' educational beliefs concerning the acquisition of life-long social skills through participation in sport in demanding competitive environments. Material and methods. 8 semi-structured interviews and 3 unstructured interviews were conducted among young people participating in a semi-professional club at national competitive level. A field diary was also collected. Results. Qualitative analysis revealed that: a) structural and organizational aspects, as well as the overall climate of the club, shape the behavior of young people in relation to social goals; b) parents play an important role as socializers in competitive environments; c) parents display a solid awareness of their own influence on the attitudes and behavior of young people. Conclusions. The findings highlight the important role of parents in sport participation in highly competitive environments. The study also shows contextual factors as predictors of the degree of youngsters' social and personal variables in performance levels. Implications for parental involvement in youth sport as well as future research directions are further discussed.

scholarly journals Mobile media practices of young people in «safely digital», «enthusiastically digital», and «postdigital» schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (Media literacy) ◽  
pp. 136-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annekatrin Bock ◽  
Felicitas Macgilchrist
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mobile Media ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Media Practices ◽  
Oriented Research ◽  
Mobile Use

How do schools today engage with mobile media? Drawing on ethnographically oriented research at German Schools Abroad, this paper teases out three sets of practices regarding young people’s mobile media use: «safe», «enthusiastic», and «postdigital». Presenting vignettes from three schools to illustrate each set of practices, the paper demonstrates how students are differently controlled, guided, and given space to shape their worlds through the practices. The paper highlights that these practices exist simultaneously. They enact different (not better or worse) institutional priorities and different (not better or worse) understandings of young people’s mobile use. The paper also highlights the tensions when schools aim to control young people’s mobile use, arguing that each set of practices undermines itself. It ends by reflecting on the implications for future research and practice if we see increased mobile media use in schools not, as often assumed, as a mark of «progress», «improvement» or «modernity», but instead as emerging from different understandings of school and young people.

Smart technologies challenges and issues in social inclusion – case of disabled youth in a developing country

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bissane Harb ◽  
Dina Sidani
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Millennium Development Goals ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Smart Technologies

Purpose In light of the emphasis on “inclusion” in the sustainable development goals (SDGs), the notion of social inclusion encompasses the goal of granting opportunities for disabled people, integrate them and make them participate in the new environment. Referring to the capability theory, the purpose of this study is to examine the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in the social inclusion of disabled young people in Lebanon. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a qualitative approach based on a series of focused semi-structured interviews with 11 participants occupying key positions in aid associations for disabled people. Findings The findings suggest that smart technologies can enhance social inclusion through three key factors: the nature of impairment and other personal characteristics of disabled people, the resources available to them and the environmental aspects provided by government policies and society’s cultural practices. In the contemporary society characterized by an increasing role of ICTs, the findings of this research could contribute to lead the developing countries to a sustainable and inclusive world through social inclusion of their youth. Research limitations/implications This study has some limitations that should be mentioned. First, it was conducted only on a small sample size (with 11 interviewees). Further empirical research must be conducted on larger sample to build and elaborate on the findings. Second, the results are mainly based on the points of view of people working in aid associations for disabled people. In future research, semi-structured interviews can be carried out with the disabled people themselves or with members of their family to ask them about their personal experience with smart technologies and the impact of this on their social inclusion. It was also suggested that the future research should explore the challenges of inclusion for different categories of disabled people separately because they are not all facing the same issues and the same challenges. Furthermore, as this paper focuses on the role of smart technologies in the development of social inclusion of disabled people, future research could take place with other groups, for example, Palestinian and Syrian refugees, to identify whether these groups are experiencing similar challenges and barriers when trying to use smart technologies as a way to enhance their social inclusion. Practical implications Related to a larger and broader approach, social inclusion of disabled or marginalized people or refugees in developing countries could be a way to commit to a sustainable and inclusive world, in alignment with the eight goals of the Millennium Development Goals. Originality/value Related to a larger and broader approach, social inclusion of disabled or marginalized people or refugees in developing countries could be a way to commit to a sustainable and inclusive world, in alignment with the eight goals of the Millennium Development Goals.

The Formation of Postsecondary Expectations Among Parents of Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne V. Kirby ◽  
Nancy Bagatell ◽  
Grace T. Baranek
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Transition To Adulthood ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Parent Expectations ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Family ◽  
Postsecondary Expectations

Research suggests higher parent expectations can predict more independent outcomes of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet little is known about how parents’ expectations are formed. To gain an understanding of their formation, we conducted semi-structured interviews with seven parents of adolescents with ASD. Three main types of influences on parent expectations were identified: factors related to the youth, to the parent, and to social and societal forces external to the family. Although not directly probed, all of the participants also discussed their approaches to planning for the future, suggesting a connection with their expectations. These findings contribute to a growing body of literature on the role of parent expectations during the transition to adulthood. Future research and clinical practice implications include designing interventions aimed at expanding parent expectations in addition to approaches directly preparing youth with ASD for adulthood as a means to improve outcomes.

scholarly journals Watching over or Working with? Understanding Social Work Innovation in Response to Extra-Familial Harm

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Elizabeth Wroe ◽  
Jenny Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Analytic Framework ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
And Control ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Public Bodies

This paper critically reflects on the role of surveillance and trusted relationships in social work in England and Wales. It explores the characteristics of relationships of trust and relationships of surveillance and asks how these approaches apply to emerging policy and practices responses to extra-familial forms of harm (EFH). Five bodies of research that explore safeguarding responses across a range of public bodies are drawn on to present an analytical framework that explores elements of safeguarding responses, constituting relationships of trust or relationships of surveillance and control. This analytic framework is applied to two case studies, each of which detail a recent practice innovation in response to EFH studied by the authors, as part of a larger body of work under the Contextual Safeguarding programme. The application of this framework signals a number of critical issues related to the focus/rationale, methods and impact of interventions into EFH that should be considered in future work to address EFH, to ensure young people’s rights to privacy and participation are upheld.

The role of mobile devices in 21st-century family communication

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon L. Storch ◽  
Anna V. Ortiz Juarez-Paz
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Family Communication ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Theory Analysis ◽  
The Past

Use of media devices has evolved over the past 10–15 years and the resulting effects on family communication are of interest for this study. Through 26 semi-structured interviews, the authors sought to understand the role mobile devices play in family communication. Qualitative grounded theory analysis was used to find themes and interpret results (Creswell, 2013). One overarching paradoxical theme emerged from these data, family connect–family disconnect. In family connect, categories of across distance, reassurances, and boundaries are shared. Within family disconnect, distractions, misunderstandings, and negative emotional responses are conveyed. Future research avenues recommended are decision making related to mobile devices based on values and morals, in-depth social media and app usage, emoji emotional responses, individuals under 18 and between 18 and 30 years old, and a network analysis of one extended family.

scholarly journals Do steering committees really steer?

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 785-807
Author(s):  
Stephen Keith McGrath ◽  
Stephen Jonathan Whitty
Keyword(s):  
Internal Conflict ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Tree Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Project Coordination ◽  
Governance Arrangements

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the confusion among project management practitioners about the role of steering committees. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with highly experienced participants selected from a range of industries and disciplines in Queensland, Australia. Findings Six separate confusions on the role of steering committees were identified within that practitioner community. However, despite participants expressing various opposing views, they had actually come to the same working arrangements for their committees; all that was missing was a common conceptualisation of these working arrangements and consistent terminology. Research limitations/implications The paper provides clear evidence to the academic literature that confusion over the role of steering committees actually exists within the practitioner community and identifies six separate ways in which this occurs. It also identifies a problematic error in the widely used PRINCE2 governance model. Clarity in committee governance arrangements will facilitate future research endeavours through the removal of confusion surrounding committee labelling and accountability. Practical implications A committee decision tree model that guards against all six confusions is proposed for practitioner use, providing a means of avoiding unnecessary internal conflict within organisational governance arrangements. It can be used to check terms of reference of existing or proposed committees, facilitating organisational efficiency and effectiveness. The suggested renaming of project control groups to project coordination groups, and discontinuance of the practice of labelling committees that cannot authorise their decisions as either steering committees or boards, further supports this. Social implications Reconciliation of terminology with actual practice and the consequent clarity of governance arrangements can facilitate building social and physical systems and infrastructure, benefitting organisations, whether public, charitable or private. Originality/value Clarity regarding committee accountability can avoid confusion, misunderstanding and their consequent waste of time, resources and money.

Social work academia and social policy in Israel: on the role of social work academics in the policy process

2019 ◽  
pp. 89-104
Author(s):  
Idit Weiss-Gal ◽  
John Gal
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Work Faculty ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Schools Of Social Work ◽  
Policy Engagement

This study contributes to research on policy practice by enriching our knowledge about the forms that the policy engagement of social work academics takes, the dynamics of this engagement, and the factors associated with it. The study is based on structured interviews with 24 faculty members from schools of social work in Israel, all of whom are actively involved in policy formulation. The findings of the study reveal that participants are motivated by ideology and values to engage in policy and that they do so despite their perception that there is a lack of institutional support for this type of activity. The participants report that they successfully manage to combine their policy-related activities with teaching and research. The study also indicates that the social policy formulation process in Israel offers specific opportunities for the policy engagement of social work faculty.

Narrative resistance in social work research and practice: Counter-storying in the pursuit of social justice

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne McKenzie-Mohr ◽  
Michelle N Lafrance
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Master Narratives ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Counter Narratives ◽  
Practical Guidance

In this article, we propose ‘narrative resistance’ as a potent and useful concept for both social work research and practice. A concept that attends to power and oppression, narrative resistance provides a platform for tangible applications to support people’s efforts to resist harmful storyings of their lives. The aim of this article is to provide practical guidance for how social workers can attend to and support people’s acts of narrative resistance. This is achieved by introducing the functions of narrative in people’s lives and its inextricable links to power; discussing ‘master narratives’ and their potential for harm; and exploring narrative resistance by articulating the role of ‘counter narratives’ as a means to ‘talk back’ to injurious master narratives. The remainder of the article outlines considerations, skills and tools required to enhance counter-storying efforts in the service of emancipatory change. We spotlight examples of narrative resistance in the literature to illustrate the pragmatic mobilization of this work.

Key Considerations for Advancing Women in Coaching

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenessa Banwell ◽  
Gretchen Kerr ◽  
Ashley Stirling
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equity ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Business Engineering ◽  
Female Coaches

Women remain underrepresented in the coaching domain across various levels of sport both in Canada and internationally. Despite the use of mentorship as a key strategy to support female coaches, little progress has been seen in achieving parity. At the same time, greater advances in gender equity have occurred in other non-sport sectors such as business, engineering, and medicine. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to learn from non-sport domains that have seen advances in gender equity to inform mentorship for women in coaching. A mixed-methods methodology was employed and consisted of distributing mentorship surveys to female coaches (n = 310) at various competitive levels, representing current (88%), former (12%), full-time (26%), part-time (74%), paid (54%), and unpaid (46%) coaching status. In addition, eight in-depth semi-structured interviews were also conducted with women in senior-level positions across various non-sport domains, including business (n = 1), media (n = 1), engineering (n = 2), higher education (n = 1), law (n = 1), and medicine (n = 2), regarding the role of mentorship in advancing women in their field. A descriptive and thematic analysis of the survey and interview data were conducted and findings are interpreted to suggest considerable variation in the characteristics of female coaches’ mentoring relationships, as well as the need to move beyond mentorship to sponsorship for advancing women in coaching. Recommendations for future research and advancing women in coaching are provided.

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