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Summary: Letter writing was used as a qualitative research strategy to access the narratives of individuals living in rural poverty. Undergraduate social work students in a freshman seminar course were paired with participants of a local agency to engage in a letter writing exchange about life experiences. Community members who volunteered to participate in the letter-writing exchange were identified via their participation in services offered by a local, community-based agency that is situated in a rural community. In the fall of 2018, a sample of 20 community members and 28 students participated in two rounds of letter exchange. Findings: The letter-writing exchange was an effective way to collect data. The content of the letters enhanced students' understanding of the daily experiences of individuals living in rural poverty. Data collected demonstrated that social isolation remains a central concern among poor, rural residents. Letter writing supported a sense of personal connection between students and community members; these social connections may have attenuated the pain of social isolation that many community members experience. Applications: Narrative inquiry and the use of letter writing as a research methodology allowed us access to greater understanding about the lived experience of rural poverty. People living in rural poverty experience a layered isolation that keeps them separate from resources and each other. Letter writing provided connection and rich data that enhanced our understanding of this community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In difficult times, people turn to poetry, reading, and writing for solace and peace. In emotionally intense and traumatic times, people use poetry to process and understand the lived eyepieces. The havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the emotional and psychological well-being of individuals all across the world. Poetry has emerged as a savior in these difficult times. A phenomenon, "lockdown poems", came into existence as individuals all across the globe processed and shared their lived experiences of isolation, pain, and suffering through poems. In the present paper, students of a management program process and share their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the subsequent lockdowns, and their community work experience. Poetry as a therapeutic and hope-building tool is discussed in the paper along with the original poems written by the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the cultural image of child and adolescent labour performed in the People's Republic of Poland in the years 1948–1989 as was presented in the literary fiction addressed to the young people. During the Stalinist period, literature officially condemned child labour on individual farms, but affirmed the labour of adolescent workers in state industry and construction. After the 1956 Thaw, the subject matter of labour was receding into the background, for several reasons. Nevertheless, the post-1956 youth literature also featured labour-related themes: community works, school cooperatives, work in family crafts, tutoring, and shady trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health emergency that we are experiencing has caught everyone unprepared. There are many changes that people and communities face. In this general climate of uncertainty, we can ask ourselves what social work can do to address this emergency and what role the community occupies in facing crises and building social well-being. This paper attempts to answer these questions by presenting an experience of unconventional practice placement. A project arising from the collaboration between a municipality and a charity organisation to address community problem-solving due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emergency will be presented. The project aimed to develop actions to support the elderly in the community during the pandemic lockdown in Italy. This paper discusses the importance of collaboration and networking between public services, no profit organisations and civil society in general. It also highlights the important role of young people who, in the worst possible time of the emergency, took action by becoming volunteers and providing essential help to the elderly. This intra-generational exchange has allowed the community to respond positively in a moment of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applied theories in social work are social constructs that evolve according to cultural, political and social trends. The history of community work in Europe after the Second World War provides an example of a family of practices that is constantly evolving, in terms of its integration into social work, its methods, and the political project that underpins it. While the development of broad-based and conscientising approaches were challenged by neo-liberalism from the 1980s on, community work practice is currently undergoing a revival based on community building and person-centred methods, under the influence of the new public management. This paper is based on a doctoral research conducted in six European countries, examining the relationship between social work and community work, and the various forms of community work across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This facilitation guide has been created to assist practitioners to use the ‘Raising our heads above the clouds’ methodology from the Mt Elgon Self-Help Community Project. It first outlines the local values that this approach is built on. It then outlines the narrative assumptions and principles that underpin it before taking the reader through each of the steps of the process. The paper also includes stories from practitioners in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda and reflections about how this approach fosters community economy through collective narrative practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Brazil, as elsewhere, The COVID-19 pandemic and related upheavals exacerbated problems like unemployment and domestic violence. Feelings of hopelessness, isolation and impotence became pervasive. Seeking ways to respond to the uncertainty, insecurity and discouragement that many young people were expressing, the author sought ways that stories of courage, care, hope and solidarity could be shared and acknowledged. Drawing on the ‘checklist of psychological and social resistance’ developed in Lebanon by David Denborough and Mohamad Safa, a conversation guide for Brazilian communities was developed. It can be used by professionals, but is particularly designed for use among friends, family members and colleagues. It can even be used for individual reflection. Through consultation with the Nelson Mandela Favela in Rio de Janeiro, and its young people in particular, the Fala aí checklist was refined to be accessible and culturally resonant as a prompt for peer conversations that sustain hope and connection. The Fala aí checklist is included in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the cultural image of child and adolescent labor performed in the People’s Republic of Poland in the years 1948–1989 as was presented in the literary fiction addressed to the young people. During the Stalinist period, literature officially condemned child labor on individual farms, but affirmed the labor of adolescent workers in state industry and construction. After the 1956 Thaw, the subject matter of labor was receding into the background, for several reasons. Nevertheless, the post-1956 youth literature also featured labor-related themes: community works, school cooperatives, work in family crafts, tutoring, and shady trade.

Copyright of Facta Universitatis: Series Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology & History is the property of University of Nis, Serbia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article describes a unique software system for the intelligent decision-support of community workers called EVKA. Community work has been proved to be a key tool in tacking dealing social exclusion. So far, distinct approaches and expert methodologies have been developed to help community workers, especially the organization and mobilization of the community and its members through the so-called mobilization cycles. However, to the best of our knowledge, these methodologies and principles have never been implemented in an advanced software tool, and therefore their implementation has always been a matter of personal experience for each community worker. EVKA contains recent computational intelligence techniques, especially in the field of fuzzy modeling, which allow the use of expert knowledge and to use it for decision-making support purposes. This article provides readers with a detailed description of the techniques as well as their implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on prosocial organizing has made great strides in understanding how organizations foster durable social change through core work directly targeting specific beneficiaries (e.g. work integration), and also through community work to obtain the cooperation of key stakeholders. Yet, extant research tends to focus on community work that is closely related – or proximal – to core work and is thus weakly equipped to explain how seemingly unrelated, distal community work unfolds. To address this puzzle, we study an Italian work integration social enterprise that engaged in anti-Mafia work to support its core work of reintegrating people with mental health issues. We unveiled the process whereby it came to engage in this distal community work, how this work facilitated the destigmatization of the beneficiaries and, ultimately, their reintegration in the community. We contribute to the literature on prosocial organizing by providing a more complex and nuanced view of the relationship between core and community work, as well as how to manage stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Inonu University Law Review / İnönü Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Inonu University Law Review (IULR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article looks at the challenges and opportunities of collecting and disseminating performance art from an art library's perspective. Based on the collecting experience of the Mediathek at the Academy of Art and Design FHNW Basel (Switzerland), the text contextualizes its own digital collections within the Swiss performance art context. What is special about Mediathek's collection is; (1) the fact that a remarkable number of documents of performance art are accessible for free via the internet, without login, in a structured, searchable and sustainable way. Because the policy permits, upon certain conditions, the acceptance of content from individuals, groups, and institutions not associated with the university, there is; (2) a considerable amount of 'external' materials in the collections. The aim of the essay is to make this treasure of sources known. Therefore, digital access points to the projects and collections described in the text are mentioned in the references. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of research that studied a project in an area of northern Italy aiming to carry out community work interventions to benefit and promote the participation of young people with the support of community advocates. Three community advocates and three community social workers worked with young people to listen to their proposals and help them present their ideas to the relevant local authorities. Qualitative research was conducted to understand in which areas and to what extent young people were able to participate in developing community interventions; what were the outcomes of their participation and what role the community advocates play. Five in-person focus groups with young people and six semi-structured interviews with community advocates and community social workers were conducted. A thematic analysis of the transcript was completed. Results show that youth participation in the definition of social interventions within local communities is helpful on two levels: it allows to identify concrete initiatives of genuine interest to young people living in those areas, and it is an opportunity to experience a process of empowerment generating further interest in participating, active citizenship and social capital. However, it is also confirmed that youth participation is not easy. The research highlights the importance of offering young people specific support to encourage their participation. Community advocates can play a crucial role in preparing young people to participate, deciding what to ask adults, and understanding how to engage with local authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue examines welfare programs as sites where Europe's increasingly diverse societies are being shaped and negotiated. It zooms in on parenting as a central governmental domain where concerns about, and hopes for, the future of society intersect with notions of citizenship, family care, welfare, and deservingness of public resources. In this introduction to the special issue, we draw out three paradoxical orders that shape the encounters between migrant parents and welfare actors we have studied. One is concerned with the tension between the universal and difference, the other with the re-articulation of the public and the private, and a third with irreconcilable social and institutional demands. This helps us understand how Europe's diverse societies are being shaped on the ground, beyond the often strongly racialized, nationalist rhetoric that has come to dominate public debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilizes data initially collected by evaluators at Wisconsin's Department of Health Services to create a secondary data analysis to investigate the opioid use and misuse among Black residents of Dane County. Sociologist Eric Klinenberg defines the term social infrastructure as the physical places and organizations that shape the way people interact. This study analyzes conversations of Black women, men, and youth throughout Dane County as they discuss the role of social infrastructure, specifically Third Spaces, as a contributing factor to drug abuse. Using a phenomenological design to analyze eleven focus groups and interview transcripts, this study helps fill the gap in scholarly literature of first-hand accounts from Black residents who have been impacted by the opioid crisis. Interviewees reveal that opioid use in Black communities throughout Dane County is exceptionally complex and involves multiple systems and structures that reach far beyond individuals' choices and behaviors, which are often alluded to as the root of drug abuse. The first-hand accounts depict the impact of being denied access to spaces and how the absence of social infrastructure has impacted their lives. The results of this study help support arguments for easily accessible social, economic, and political resources in Black communities to reduce opioid abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Czech & Slovak Social Work / Sociální Práce / Sociálna Práca is the property of Czech & Slovak Social Work and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)