Science and Identity in Social Work

Author(s):  
John Brekke

This chapter offers a definition of science that encompasses the interacting elements of theory, prediction, observation, and testing. The chapter also discusses disciplines and professions and their boundaries, capitalizing on the work of Abbott and Jacobs on interdisciplinarity. Disciplines are essential for science and learning, and interdisciplinarity is sometimes crucial to solving vexing problems in science—but “inter-” or “trans-” disciplinary work is only viable in the context of disciplines and disciplinary identity. A crucial linking construct in social work science is technology, which is the application of scientific knowledge to human life. In terms of identity, social work science has a dual focus on scientific understanding as well as on using and developing methods (technologies) for human behavior change on multiple levels. In many areas of society, the existence of scientific disciplines that merge with professions forms the nexus of understanding and technology for solving “problems in living.”

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 59-69
Author(s):  
Oresta Bordun ◽  
Pavlo Romaniv

This exploratory article attempts to generalize knowledge and approaches to the understanding of tourism as integrating concepts in scientific discourse on the study and research of tourism as a phenomenon of human life. There are new requirements in the study of theoretical and applied some problems before tourism science, in particular at the level of understanding of tourism as an object of scientific knowledge. The topical theoretical task is to harmonize the understanding and interpretation of tourism science, tourismology, their parts, the improvement of the concept of the separation of object-subject and methodological foundations of scientific disciplines. To solve these and other actual problems, it is necessary to combine the efforts of various sciences and their parts, individual scientists nationally and globally. The article deals with the peculiarities of tourism as a social phenomenon, an object of scientific knowledge and research, an efficient branch of economics, a part of fundamental and applied sciences, and its structure. Each science has its own subject and object of research and is a synthesis of knowledge about the phenomena of reality that it studies. However, it certainly is in certain interrelationships with other sciences. Thus, the methodological functions of tourism and tourismology are considered, such as: integrative, system-forming, structural-functional. Approaches to understanding the essence of tourism, tourism, as the fundamental categories in the scientific sense of the main object of research – tourism are described. Particular attention is paid to the geography of tourism, its place in the system of sciences and individual disciplines, their connection between them and their mutual influence. The basic directions of tourism studies are defined: the philosophy of tourism, the history of tourism, praxeology of tourism, the geography of tourism, cultural studies of tourism. We have identified tourismology and positioned it in the classification scheme over tourism in the context of scientific substantiation and conceptualization of theoretical and practical foundations of tourism studies with all its components. Key words: tourism, tourism science, tourismology, tourism geography, classification.


Bastina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (53) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dragan Lj. Tancic ◽  
Dalibor M. Elezović

In all sciences, there is a general agreement that hypotheses can be defined under the rules of scientific defining. Consequently, with most authors in different sciences and scientific disciplines, it is indisputable that there is a general agreement of different theoretical and methodological directions that hypotheses are based on assumptions about the phenomenon, problem, and subject of research, which are expressed in the form of attitudes and judgments and have some cognitive value, in all sciences as well as in historical research. Hypotheses are determined by the definition of the problem, the subject of the research, and the goals of the research, primarily scientific ones. Hypotheses in all sciences, even historical ones, consist of variables and attitudes of a hypothesis that expresses the relations between variables. It is necessary to distinguish hypotheses in the process of acquiring scientific knowledge and in scientific research projects.


Author(s):  
Rodrigo Azocar González

RESUMENEl presente artículo es fruto de una investigación de largo alcance que busca generar discusión en torno a los desafíos contemporáneos del Trabajo Social en la construcción de alternativas de intervención social en contextos de diversidad sexual en Chile. La crisis de la norma heterosexual refleja una contemporaneidad marcada por la visibilidad de los grupos históricamente excluidos, reflejo de la sensibilización y cuestionamiento de una masculinidad dominante intrínsecamente exclusora e inalcanzable, como también de procesos de posicionamiento político y cultural de un colectivo presente, pero hasta hace poco invisibilizado, en nuestro país. A través de técnicas etnográficas y la incorporación del concepto de mercado como vehículo de visibilidad, el trabajo propone ideas coherentes con la construcción de una praxis transdisciplinar que responde a la nueva definición de Trabajo Social, en discusión a nivel mundial, como de los procesos de cuestionamiento y mudanza ciudadanos revitalizados en la última década.Palabras clave: Intervención social, diversidad sexual, trabajo social, desafíos. Diversidade sexual e intervenção social: reflexões a partir do Trabalho SocialRESUMOO presente artigo é o resultado de uma pesquisa de longo alcance que procura gerar discussão em relação aos desafios contemporâneos do Trabalho Social na construção de alternativas de intervenção social em contextos de diversidade sexual no Chile. A crise da norma heterossexual reflete uma contemporaneidade marcada pela visibilidade dos grupos historicamente excluídos, reflexo da conscientização e questionamento de uma masculinidade dominante intrinsecamente que exclui e que se apresenta como inatingível, bem como processos de posicionamento político e cultural de um coletivo presente, mas até recentemente invisível em nosso país. Através de técnicas etnográficas e incorporação do conceito de mercado como veículo de visibilidade, o trabalho propõe ideias coerentes com a construçãode uma prática transdisciplinar que respondam à nova definição de TrabalhoSocial, discutido mundialmente, como dos processos de questionamento emudança cidadã revitalizados na última década.Palavras-chave: intervenção social, diversidade sexual, trabalho social,desafios. Sexual diversity and social intervention: Reflections fromsocial workABSTRACTThe current article is the result of a wider research that seeks to generatediscussion about the actual challenges of social work in the constructionof alternatives of social intervention on sexual diversity contexts in Chile.The crisis of the heterosexual regulation reflects a contemporaneity markedby the visibility of the historically excluded groups, as a reflection of thesensitivity and questioning of a dominant manhood inherently excluder andunreachable, as political and positioning processes of a current group, butuntil recently hidden in our country. Through ethnographic technics and theincorporation of the concept of market as a vehicle of visibility, this worksproposes ideas coherent with the construction of a cross-curricular praxisthat responds to the new definition of social work, globally discussed, as wellas the questioning processes and citizen movements during last decade.Keywords: Social intervention, sexual diversity, social work, challenges


Author(s):  
Falak Shad Memon ◽  
M. Yousuf Sharjeel

<span>Torrential rains and floods have been causing irreplaceable losses to both human lives and environment in <span>Pakistan. This loss has reached to an extent of assively aggrieved situation to reinstate life at <span>operationally viable position. This paper unfolds the notion that only constructive paradigm shift to <span>overcome this phenomenon is vital as a strategy. Multiple levels of observations and on-site assessment <span>of various calamity-prone venues were considered to probe into this scenario. Some of the grave site in <span>Sindh and Punjab were observed and necessarily practicable measures were recommended to avoid loss to <span>human health and environment. The paper finds that a consistent drastic management authority on <span>national level with appropriate caliber and forecasting expertise can reduce the damage to human life and <span>environment to great extent. Weather forecasting system need to be installed at many appropriately <span>observed cities and towns in the country with adequate man power, funds and technical recourses. By <span>implementing the proper frame work of prevention and mitigation of floods country can save the major <span>costs cleanup and recovery. These measures are expected to reduce operational cost of state in terms of <span>GDP and GNP to restore life and environment.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span>


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 1234-1246
Author(s):  
Lambert K. Engelbrecht ◽  
Abigail Ornellas

Purpose Within a neoliberal environment, financial vulnerability of households has become an increasing challenge and there is a requirement of financial literacy education, a necessary activity to facilitate sustainable development and well-being. However, this is seldom a mainstream discourse in social work deliberations. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach First, introducing the neoliberal impact on financial well-being and capability for vulnerable households, the authors’ postulation is substantiated on a seven-point argument. The contexts of financially vulnerable households are sketched. Second, a conceptualisation of financial literacy is offered, and third, perspectives on and approaches to financial literacy as a fundamental capability are presented. This is followed by a theoretical foundation of community education as a practice model in social work to develop financial capabilities. In the fifth place, prevailing practices of Financial Capabilities Development (FCD) programmes are offered. Subsequently, the implications of a neoliberal environment for social work practice are examined. Findings The revised global definition of social work encourages the profession to understand and address the structural causes of social problems through collective interventions. As a response, it is argued that community education towards FCD of vulnerable households within a neoliberal environment should be an essential discourse in social development. Originality/value The authors reflect on the significance of FCD, highlighting its contribution towards human security and sustainable development. Although this paper draws on Southern African contexts, the discourse finds resonance in other contexts across the world.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Lindström ◽  
Martin Bellander ◽  
David T. Schultner ◽  
Allen Chang ◽  
Philippe N. Tobler ◽  
...  

AbstractSocial media has become a modern arena for human life, with billions of daily users worldwide. The intense popularity of social media is often attributed to a psychological need for social rewards (likes), portraying the online world as a Skinner Box for the modern human. Yet despite such portrayals, empirical evidence for social media engagement as reward-based behavior remains scant. Here, we apply a computational approach to directly test whether reward learning mechanisms contribute to social media behavior. We analyze over one million posts from over 4000 individuals on multiple social media platforms, using computational models based on reinforcement learning theory. Our results consistently show that human behavior on social media conforms qualitatively and quantitatively to the principles of reward learning. Specifically, social media users spaced their posts to maximize the average rate of accrued social rewards, in a manner subject to both the effort cost of posting and the opportunity cost of inaction. Results further reveal meaningful individual difference profiles in social reward learning on social media. Finally, an online experiment (n = 176), mimicking key aspects of social media, verifies that social rewards causally influence behavior as posited by our computational account. Together, these findings support a reward learning account of social media engagement and offer new insights into this emergent mode of modern human behavior.


1984 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Dissanayake

In the absence of satisfactory accounts by evolutionary biologists to explain the ubiquity and persistence of art in all human societies, a number of reasons offered by other writers for the existence and effects of art are critically examined for their evolutionary plausibility. These are found to be inadequate because they are only partial and because their “selective value” is more parsimoniously attributed to other behaviors and attributes which art resembles (e.g., play, ritual, fantasy, ordering, and so forth). The necessity for invoking a concept “art” at all is questioned. Instead it is posited that a universal human behavior, “making special,” from which art in the modern sense is derived had evolutionary value because it reinforced the adoption of other selectively-valuable behaviors. Aesthetic ingredients and responses can be called enabling mechanisms to this end. A concluding section discusses peculiarities of advanced technological society that contribute to modern confusion about art and its place — necessary or unnecessary — in human life.


Numen ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-254
Author(s):  
Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati

AbstractThe present article focuses on the function of mythic journeys with regard to the problem of death and the transience of human life in two selected Mesopotamian literary sources: the Gilgamesh-Epic IX–XI and the Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld. The selected texts are analysed and compared from the perspective of a functionalist definition of religious symbol systems, with particular attention to the transformation involved in travelling through different cosmic regions. The structure of the journey, the characterisation of the different regions visited by the protagonist, and the changes provoked by the mythic travel evince similarities and differences in the strategies employed to produce a religious orientation dealing with the ineluctable limits of life.


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