scholarly journals Structural Conditions for Conflict Mediation in Civil Wars: The Role of Aid and Social Service Provision

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 276-286
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Conflict Mediation ◽  
Considerable Body

Despite a considerable body of knowledge that examines the negative effects of aid and related social services during civil wars, the role these same services can contribute to conflict management and transformation is less well understood. This article describes findings from a research study undertaken by the author to examine this question through a comparison of experiences with respect to social service provision in three very different conflicts – Northern Ireland, Tajikistan and Sudan. It discusses the ways that aid and social service provision can change structural conditions, making mediation efforts more likely. It also considers the limitations of aid’s effectiveness in this regard.

Islamist Organizations and the Provision of Social Services

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Thomas Brooke
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Political Behavior ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
Comparative Political Behavior

For decades, Islamist groups’ provision of social services, such as schooling, medical care, welfare provision, and childrearing, has been a key feature of life and politics in the Islamic world. But despite their ubiquity, this phenomenon largely eluded sustained investigation and theorizing. This has recently changed as a variety of scholars have made increasingly detailed interventions into the question of nonstate social service provision by Islamist actors. This chapter reviews this literature and uses cases from across the Islamic world to conceptualize Islamist social service provision, theorize its causes, and isolate its effects. In the process, it highlights how research into Islamist social service provision can contribute to broader research agendas, including the political economy of authoritarian regimes and the role of religion in comparative political behavior.

scholarly journals Knowledge Transfer in a Project-Based Organization Through Microlearning on Cost-Efficiency

2021 ◽  
pp. 002188632110330
Author(s):  
Teresa Beste
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Cost Efficiency ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Participation Rate ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Organizational Practice ◽  
Public Sector Organization ◽  
Body Of Knowledge

This paper investigates the role of microlearning on cost-efficiency on knowledge transfer in a project-based organization. As part of an action research study in a Norwegian public sector organization working with construction projects, a microlearning series was initiated to increase knowledge transfer on cost-efficiency. Seven microlearning lessons were distributed to 334 employees, including short questionnaires after the first and last lesson. The study reflects on the design process of the lessons, on the participation rate, and on how it contributes to an increase of knowledge. Microlearning was perceived as relevant by the participants. It makes knowledge transfer less arbitrary by providing a common body of knowledge to all project teams. For the organizational practice, this implies that microlearning also has potential for knowledge sharing on other topics in the project-based organization. Updating the microlearning series with further examples and new lessons is expected to contribute to continuous learning on cost-efficiency.

Team Managers in Local Social Service Departments in Israel as Bottom-Up Social Policy-Makers

2021 ◽  
pp. 324-345
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Psychosocial Services ◽  
Service Departments ◽  
New Policies

Following on Felice Perlmutter's work on the managerial role of social workers in social services, this article contributes to the still limited knowledge on the role of social workers in middle-management positions in formulating new policies `on the ground`. The study expands knowledge about policies determined by team managers in local social service departments in Israel. It occurs in the nexus between street-level bureaucracy, professionalism and managerial positions. Semi-structured interviews with 28 team managers revealed that they formulated `new` policies with regard to the provision of psychosocial services and material assistance (who gets what, when and how). This occurs when they resist official policy, when it is vague or non-existent. Most of their policy decisions are not documented and draw upon consultations with colleagues and superiors though not with clients. The team managers perceive these policies as a means for achieving balance between clients' well-being and budgetary constraints. Yet their decisions lack transparency, are decided upon without public discourse and may lead to greater inequity between clients

A DESCRIPTION OF THE CAREER PATH OF A "STREET KID" IN HONG KONG AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR LABOR LAWS, THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND SOCIAL SERVICE PROVISION

1999 ◽  
Vol 33 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 73-85
Author(s):  
Peter Newbery
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Career Path ◽  
Labor Laws ◽  
Running Away ◽  
Critical Age ◽  
Pass Through

A study of existing research focusing on marginal and delinquent youths in Hong Kong makes it possible to describe a typical career path for marginal youths. They typically pass through five stages beginning with casually running away at the age of ten until eventually serving a second prison term at the age of 18. The age of 14 is an important turning point at which young people make crucial decisions, which either take them out of this path or fix them more firmly in it. The fact that 14 is a critical age has implications for labor laws, for the educational system and for the provision of social services. It is suggested that (rather than search for causes) this data makes it possible to identify the target group and prescribe interventions. 现时对香港边缘少年及年青罪犯的研究，可以清楚描述一个典型的边缘少年误入歧途所经过的阶段，就如十岁便离家出走 ... ... 十八岁便已经在监狱第二次服刑。 「十四岁」为这些少年，是他们生命中的一个转捩点，他们一是决定回归正途，或是更加泥足深陷，难以自拔。故此劳工法例、教育制度，以及社会服务等，应作出适当的修订及改革。 文中的资料并非为研究青年人误入歧途的原因，而是为确认出这类型的青少年及如何为他们提供协助。

The Role of Discretion in the Legal and Social Service Systems

1981 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 387-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Gaskins
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Judicial System ◽  
Service Systems

New legislation regulating social services is based on judicial models of fairness and due process. These models are, however, inadequate because they are founded on a misleading analogy between discretion in the judicial system—where cure may be procedural—and the more complex discretion found in social work.

Building a European Community: social service provision between inclusion and economic interests

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 406-415
Author(s):  
Katinka Kraus
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
General Interest ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Services Of General Interest

Inclusion and the associated provision of social services is a central fundamental right in the European Union. Social services of general interest are based on the principles of an inclusive welfare state enshrined in EU primary law. However, the European Commission tends to interpret these social services rather economically. This paper shows that the way in which these services are provided in the Member States is decisive for the categorization of an economic or non-economic activity by the European Commission. Whether social services are to be classified as being related to economic activities and, therefore, subject to the competition and internal market rules depends on their organization and structure.

scholarly journals Welfare States and Social Cohesion in Europe: Does Social Service Quality Matter?

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
RHYS ANDREWS ◽  
SEBASTIAN JILKE
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Services Quality ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Economic Strain ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

AbstractIn this article, the authors evaluate whether the provision of good quality social services has the potential to create social cohesion. In addition to examining the relationship between social services and social cohesion, the authors expand institutional theories of social capital by investigating whether this potential for building social solidarity may be resilient to the corrosive effects of economic strain. Multilevel analyses of variations in the perceptions of social cohesion amongst Europeans were conducted for 27 member countries of the EU using the Eurobarometer 74.1 on poverty and social exclusion from 2010. The results suggest that individuals receiving better quality social service provision perceived higher levels of social cohesion within the country in which they live. By contrast, individuals living in households experiencing economic strain perceived lower levels of cohesion. Further analysis revealed that the experience of economic strain does not weaken the positive relationship between social services quality and perceptions of cohesion.

scholarly journals Challenges and Prospects for Digitizing the Social Service Providers' Activities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.E. Gasumova
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Social Service Providers ◽  
The Social

This article presents the author’s definitions of “digitization of social service provision” and “digitization of social services” concepts and identifies the difference between them. It presents the results of an interview with 18 experts — the heads of institutions and organizations of social service provision implementing the rehabilitation of disabled people in Perm region. The research was conducted in 2019 and sought to identify problems and prospects for the digitization of the social services sphere. Interviewees rated their satisfaction regarding the convenience and time cost of automated systems that are currently being used in their organizations; characterized their needs in introducing various innovative interactive services, mobile applications, and other digital software; and expressed their attitude to various innovations. Social innovations were developed by the researchers and offered to experts by interviewers (for example, services for assessing the quality of work of specialists by service users, quick selection of the right social service, filing a complaint, referring a citizen to another organization, counseling in video mode, electronic appointment service, etc.). The research has shown how innovations can improve the performance of social service providers’ work and the quality of their interactions with citizens, which will ultimately increase the satisfaction of social service users and will positively affect the level of social well-being in society as a whole. A number of problems have been identified that currently impede the development of digitization: they are related to staff resources, the level of computerization, the lack of motivation among managers and personnel of social service organizations to implement innovative IT, and a certain distrust that such technologies can facilitate the activities of the organization and increase its effectiveness. Keywords: digitization, social service provision, social services, social institutions, social work

scholarly journals Information Openness and Accessibility as a Direction of Social Marketing (by the Example of Social Service Institutions)

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 459-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Nefedieva ◽  
Anastasia Gulyaeva
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assessment ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Marketing ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Social Commitment ◽  
Internet Technologies

The article deals with the issue of ensuring and monitoring the quality of social services and the role of such an instrument of social marketing and advertising as informing the population with the help of Internet technologies. The article reveals the necessity of existence and obligatory requirements to the content of the websites of the state social organizations. The article states the functions of the sites in terms of informing recipients of social services about the activities of organizations, the opportunities and services they provide, the establishment of feedback. The article reveals the essence and purpose of an independent assessment of the quality of social service institutions, a list of its criteria. The characteristic of indicators within one criterion of an independent quality assessment - openness and availability of information on the organization - is given. The authors analyzed the legal framework for the formation and conduct of an independent quality assessment in the system of social service institutions. The article describes the results of the content analysis of the content of the websites of institutions of social service of the Irkutsk region in terms of their information transparency, completeness and accessibility for recipients of social services. The authors consider the role of the websites and the way the information is arranged on them while forming the policy to improve the quality of social services to different categories of citizens. The level of compliance with the requirements for all indicators of information openness and accessibility of social services institutions of different types is analyzed. The degree of representation of information on the websites in terms of individual indicators is stated, as well as parameters of full disclosure of information with maximum and minimum values are identified. The difference of requirements to transparency and availability of information, their relevance to various types of institutions are revealed. The differentiation of information openness and accessibility depending on the type of social service institution, the legal status of the institution, the service audience are identified. The role of Internet technologies, requirements to information openness and accessibility for the implementation of social advertising and the development of social commitment by institutions of social services are outlined.

Place-Sensitive Policies in the Provision of Subnational Public Goods in Colombia

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 94-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Otero-Bahamón
Keyword(s):  
Public Goods ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Policy Frameworks ◽  
Healthcare Model ◽  
Different Characteristics

ABSTRACTWhat causes stark differences in living standards between subnational units? What can countries do to lessen such variations? This article argues that there is an aspect of national policy frameworks that impacts subnational provision of social services: the sensitivity of policy to the particularities of place. Place-sensitive policies make adaptations to the way social services are organized and provided across a country, so that they are better equipped to deal with the different characteristics of places and better support their well-being. When policies are place-sensitive, subnational provision is facilitated in poor, rural, and marginal locations in a country. In contrast, place-blind policies employ a one-size-fits-all approach that excludes people in vulnerable areas and aggravates inequalities in social service provision and social outcomes. By studying the Colombian case, this article demonstrates that a key placeblind feature of its healthcare model disproportionately affects small localities.

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