scholarly journals A Fisher-eye lens on social work reform

2020 ◽  
pp. 146801732095675
Author(s):  
Michael McGrath-Brookes ◽  
Joe Hanley ◽  
Martyn Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Eye Lens ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Neoliberal Reforms ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Power And Influence

Summary Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism, published in 2009, has been recognised as one of the most important contributions chronicling the rise, application and consequences of neoliberalism. However, Fisher’s ideas have until now only garnered passing mention in the study of neoliberalism in children and families social work in England, despite there being extensive research, argument and publication on the subject more broadly. This article attempts to rectify this gap and apply Fisher’s theory to the recent reforms in children and families social work in England. Findings The article applies Fisher’s commentary on the co-option of language, invoking crisis, bureaucracy and proposing change to implement no change, to the reforms in children and families social work that began with the implementation of Reclaiming Social Work in 2008. Since that time, the original architects of Reclaiming Social Work have gained significant positions of power and influence and been instrumental in introducing neoliberal reforms throughout children and families social work in England. Applications Through applying the approach and concepts of Mark Fisher, this article concludes that it is possible to determine that the current reforms are, at their core, neoliberal in nature and driven by an ideological imperative to transform children and families social work in England into a neoliberal edifice, with less public sector and state input and oversight and an increase in the influence of ‘not-for-profits’, charities and international for-profit consultancies.

Social work approaches to mental health work: international trends

2012 ◽  
pp. 1408-1413
Author(s):  
Shulamit Ramon
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Managed Care ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
For Profit ◽  
The One

Mental health social work is a broad, rather than a rigorous, church. Since the 1980s social workers have gained in professional status by the introduction of the roles of the approved social worker (or licensed to carry out civil commitment in the American context), care co-ordinators, managers of managed care facilities, or psychotherapists. These gains have come at a price outlined in the text above. Often the cost of closer collaboration within the multi-disciplinary framework has led to the risk of giving up the attempt to hold on to, and further develop, an alternative and complimentary perspective from that of psychiatrists, nurses, or psychologists, as well as raising doubts as to the uniqueness of MHSW. The increased narrowness of the role is not simply the byproduct of the legal framework. It is also due to increased specialization within mental health on the one hand, and the effects of neo- liberal policies globally on public sector funding on the other hand. The move to privately contracted work, either in managed care or in psychotherapy so apparent in the United States, is yet another outcome of neo-liberal policies which fragments MHSW. As a trend we are likely to see growing beyond the United States, the increased concentration of mental health social workers within the private sector does not bode well for a profession whose value base focuses on the need to protect the more vulnerable and stigmatized populations, and to provide the dual perspectives of psychosocial input. Mainly due to governmental pressure related to fear of risk and its potential political fallout, the focus on working exclusively with people experiencing long-term severe mental illness has contributed to the increasing narrowness of the role of social workers in most First World countries. The paralleled withdrawal of social work involvement with people who have milder forms of mental distress within public sector and not-for-profit services, and its increased availability only to those who can afford it, is a reflection of this situation. The core qualities of belief, optimism, and caring of MHSWs identified in a cross-national research coupled with the ability of MHSW to innovate as highlighted in this chapter, illustrate the optimistic scenario for positive change within this branch of social work. However, unless theory building and research aspects are given the importance they deserve within MHSW globally, including an inevitable critical dimension of the existing system, mental health social work is likely to be no more than a reflection of the developments in other professions. This will not only mean curtailing its autonomous potential, but also the impoverishment of the multi-disciplinary framework as a whole of a crucial dimension necessary for its comprehensive work, as exemplified in some recent work on the social aspects of MHSW. In addition, mental health social work will have to develop a much stronger policy making function, if it is to provide a more responsive, effective, and comprehensive service to users, relatives, and the communities in which these people live.

(In)visible fathers in social work with the child and family

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-141
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Ciczkowska-Giedzun
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Family Support ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Polish Literature ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Helping Process

This text explores the issues of (in)visibility of fathers in the process of helping and supporting the family, little recognized in the Polish reality of social work with children and families. Despite the ongoing discourse about the engaged fatherhood, fathers in social work are still seen from the perspective of absence, danger and exclusion. They are much less involved in the family support process than mothers. The reason why so few men are actively involved in these activities is not only because of their physical absence in their families, but also because of the difficulty in involving them in the interventions experienced by social workers. There are few studies on this issue in the Polish literature. More data on the reasons for the situation is provided by research conducted by scientists from other countries - they show the reasons why cooperation with men is difficult. These studies are the subject of the analysis of the presented considerations. The analysis was carried out taking into account three perspectives: social workers, fathers and mothers. The whole inquiry is complemented by reflections on the change in the organization of the helping process so that fathers become visible subjects in social work with the family.

Facilitating Injustice

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoosun Park
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Mass Removal ◽  
Professional Obligations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Private Charity ◽  
Political Alliances ◽  
Major Shift

Social workers were involved in all aspects of the removal, incarceration, and resettlement of the Nikkei, a history that has been forgotten by social work. This study is an effort to address this lacuna. Social work equivocated. While it did not fully endorse mass removal and incarceration, neither did it protest, oppose, or explicitly critique government actions. The past should not be judged by today’s standards; the actions and motivations described here occurred in a period rife with fear and propaganda. Undergoing a major shift from its private charity roots into its public sector future, social work bounded with the rest of society into “a patriotic fervor.” While policies of a government at war, intractable bureaucratic structures, tangled political alliances, and complex professional obligations all may have mandated compliance, it is, nevertheless, difficult to deny that social work and social workers were also willing participants in the events, informed about and aware of the implications of that compliance. In social work’s unwillingness to take a resolute stand against removal and incarceration, the well-intentioned profession, doing its conscious best to do good, enforced the existing social order and did its level best to keep the Nikkei from disrupting it.

scholarly journals SMARTIES Project: The Survey of Needs for Municipalities and Trainers for Smart Cities

Challenges ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
George Xydis ◽  
Luca Pagliaricci ◽  
Živilė Paužaitė ◽  
Vygintas Grinis ◽  
Gyula Sallai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Environmental Awareness ◽  
General Concept ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The Subject

In an aim to contribute to already existing knowledge upon the subject of smart cities and the public sector’s wider knowledge in Europe, this study investigates the perception by the municipalities and the wider public sector, responsible for implementing smart solutions in the environment. The understanding of the concept of smart cities/villages by municipalities is on a low level due to the fact that the problem is too wide, not well described, solutions even wider, accompanied by the lack of experts able to offer comprehensive solutions to municipalities. The study presents factors according to the current municipalities’ knowledge (environmental awareness, knowledge and prior experience) and the existing market, of whether these factors can be said that affect the acceptance of smart cities. The public is already aware of the smart cities as a general concept, however, the study sheds light upon the established knowledge that the decision makers have in five countries, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Lithuania, and Denmark.

scholarly journals Social work with offenders

Social Work ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 173-190
Author(s):  
Terry Bamford
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Child Care ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Monitoring And Surveillance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Preparatory Work

It is often assumed that child care legislation is a response to scandals and inquiries from the 1948 Children Act to the Children Act 2004. This chapter looks in detail at the preparatory work preceding legislation and demonstrates that the impact of scandals has been greater on securing parliamentary time than it has in shaping legislation. The impact has been greatest on social work practice. Attention and activity have been skewed away from direct work to provide assistance and help towards risk assessment and risk management. There has been a consequent emphasis on the monitoring and surveillance of families and individuals. This shift is true in mental health as well as child care. It is timely to consider whether this shift in practice has made children and families safer.

scholarly journals Strategies Used by Public Primary School Teachers for Enhancing Students’ Curiosity in Science

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-101
Author(s):  
Bakhtawer Nasrullah ◽  
Ghulam Fatima ◽  
Dur e Nayab
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
School Principal ◽  
School Level ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Primary School Teachers ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The Subject

This qualitative study was planned to identify the curiosity enhancing strategies (CES) and explore the challenges faced by teachers during the use of strategies at primary school students in the subject of science. Curiosity is the desire to acquire new knowledge through exploration in order to grow and expand understanding. Curiosity refers to the tendency of children to ask, investigate, and find out the new knowledge obtained from their environment. The researchers did not find a study in the literature that specifically examined identification of curiosity related strategies used by teachers in Pakistan. This research study was conducted to identify the curiosity related strategies used by the public sector school teachers in teaching Science to students enrolled in primary classes in Lahore. Purposive sampling technique was used for selection of the participants of the study. Data was collected from teachers and students of primary school (5th grade) level in science subject. Data from teachers was collected personally and on telephone. Data from students was collected through interviews by visiting the respective schools and after taking consent of the school principal. Two semi structured interview protocols were developed for taking responses at primary school level teachers and students. Data was analyzed by using thematic analysis technique. Findings of the study reflected that primary school teachers of the study were using different strategies for enhancing curiosity in students in the subject of Science. During the use of these strategies public sector primary school teachers faced many challenges like lack of resources, large strength of students in a classroom, lack of students attention, lack of parents cooperation. This study recommended that teachers and parents may use these strategies for enhancing curiosity in students.

scholarly journals Revisitando o Serviço Social clássico

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (40) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilmaisa Macedo da Costa
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject

Resumo − Este artigo tem por finalidade revisitar o tema das origens do Serviço Social em seu processo de institucionalização nos Estados Unidos. Expõe aspectos das bases históricas e teóricas da profissão, revelando conteúdos referentes ao Serviço Social clássico, hoje pouco analisado no interior da formação, limitando possivelmente a informação aos estudantes e profissionais sobre a produção do Serviço Social em seu contexto originário e talvez até mesmo a crítica a ele realizada. O texto trata do pensamento de Mary Ellen Richmond e sua proposição do Serviço Social de casos individuais, mostrando as bases teórico-metodológicas para uma ação sobre os indivíduos sociais em meio a um conjunto de interpretações divergentes sobre o tema. O pensamento de Richmond exerceu forte influência no Serviço Social europeu e no Brasil, oferecendo o suporte para que se fizesse uma crítica às tendências oriundas da base positivista e as insuficiências ali contidas como proposição conservadora. Palavras-Chave: Serviço Social clássico; institucionalização; bases teórico-metodológicas.   Abstract − This article aims to revisit the origins of social work in its process of institutionalization in the United States. It exposes aspects of the historical and theoretical bases of the profession, revealing contents referring to classic social work that are little analyzed today in undergraduate courses, possibly restricting information valuable to students and professionals about the inception of social work in its original context and perhaps even the criticism it received. The text deals with the thought of Mary Ellen Richmond and her proposal of the social work of individual cases, showing the theoretical-methodological bases for an action on social individuals in the middle of a set of divergent interpretations on the subject. Richmond's thought exerted a strong influence on both European and Brazilian social work, offering support to the criticism of tendencies originating from the Positivist base and the inadequacies contained therein as a conservative proposition. Keywords: classic social work; institutionalization; theoretical-methodological bases.  

scholarly journals Smart Advisor: An Intelligent Inventory Prediction Based On Regression Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 86-94
Author(s):  
Ömer Küçük ◽  
Farzad Kiani
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Inventory Management ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Accurate Estimation ◽  
Stock Management ◽  
Accurate Analysis ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
For Profit ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Work Done

Today one of the biggest expense items of the enterprises is raw material and stock amounts. Therefore, proper inventory management is very important for the profitability of the enterprises. Products that are not purchased on time cause interruptions in production and products left over because the expiration date has passed will also cause losses for businesses. Therefore, proper inventory management is critical for profit / loss situations of businesses. In this paper we presented a model to predict the demand of certain stock items by using a regression model. Our model can analysis and computer the prediction results on agiven dataset. We evaluate our model on sample dataset and provide the analysis as well calculations over the existing inventory. Accurate analysis of stock consumption enables accurate estimation of the amount of stock to be consumed in the future. Accurate forecasting of stock consumption helps to take corrective steps in decision making. That is, it only allows you to buy in sufficient quantity when necessary. These stages are critical for economic stock management. For this reason, robust and adaptable approaches that can provide models ensure that stock consumption can be managed properly. It is difficult to find previously written sources on estimating the direction of stock movements. One of the most important reasons for this is the lack of incentive to make such studies in the academic literature. As a result, articles written about the subject and the work done have been limited, the results have not reached the reproducible level.

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