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The article presents a study that aims to compare the key academic journals in Japan and Great Britain. The articles found in the "Studies on Social Work of Japan" journal in 1997 were compared to the articles in the "British Journal of Social Work." These articles were categorized based on the work of Toyomichi Sato. To analyze those articles, Sato has used 61 items which were arranged and sorted into five groups including study methods, social work process studies, explanation study, social work skills and treatment study, and social work practice model and approach study. Some of the findings revealed that the largest number of articles which comprised of 38.6% in the Japanese journal, was on the explanation study group, while only 8.7% fell on social work skills and treatment study.

COVID-19 has had a significant and measurable impact on individuals and families in economically deprived areas both in the United Kingdom and internationally. This article examines issues of community resilience and service adaptability and focuses on the period during the first lockdown in the United Kingdom (May to July 2020). Data were collected from members of the local community in Southend, with specific reference to the 'A Better Start Southend' programme of support. The evidence presented in this article uncovers the impact of the 'first lockdown' on families with young children, and local children's and community services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on recent developments in ‘ideal-typical’ welfare analysis, including findings on East Asia, Eastern Central Europe and, for the first time, Latin America. The characteristics of a new ideal-typical welfare regime in large parts of Latin America are singled out, looking at key features of major welfare state systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper compares contemporary developments in social work in Vietnam with the United Kingdom (UK). Three areas of comparison form the focus of the paper: the role of the paraprofessional, the potential of vocational education and the different expectations of social work in the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper discusses the main ideas of the Diversity Based approach to culturally sensitive practices in health and social care services.This approach is important in emphasizing the fluid nature of culture, the diversity in cultural groups and the impact of inegalitarian and racist power relations on their life. Chinese people in the UK are used as an example to demonstrate how exploration of the diversity of ethnic minority groups could strengthen cultural sensitivity. Some methods for the realization of the Diversity Based approach, such as the culturagram and user involvement, have also been highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This qualitative study was conducted with a convenience sample of 20 South Asian women experiencing domestic violence in the United States. The results explore the patterns of abuse as well as the factors and circumstances (i.e. turning points) that motivated South Asian women to change in the context of the stage that they were in as per the Landenburger model (binding, enduring, disengaging, and recovery). The four themes that emerged from the interviews and analysis are (1) 'Timing and Frequency of abuse', (2) 'Methods of control – financial, isolation and suspicion', (3) 'Cycle of Abuse', and (4)' Turning Points – motivation to change'. Implications for practice and policy-level changes for abused South Asian women in the United States are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is a critical review of the community care movement in Great Britain and the U.S. and its implications for social work practice. Parallel to the developments in Great Britain, the communities care movement in the U.S. developed quickly after the Second World War and flourished in the 1970s. The National Mental Health Act of 1946 was passed in 1947. This act created the National Institute of Mental Health to provide research and training grants to develop community-based psychiatric services as well as close down mental-health hospitals. In the 1980s, the practice of community care was under critical review by professionals and policy-makers in Great Britain. In 1986, two important papers, "Making a Reality of Community Care" and "Community Care: An Agenda for Action," were published by the government. In these two reports, the gloomy picture of community care for the mentally ill and other disabled groups was critically reviewed. Similarly, in the U.S., the practice of community care was under criticism. In 1984-5, a Delphi process study found that 42 states had no consensus on the support of chronic mental patients being treated outside institutions.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people are a particularly vulnerable group. This paper examines the existing literature on this group of children and young people in and leaving out-of-home care in the UK and Australia, and compares and contrasts their experiences. Attention is drawn to legislation, policies and programmes which alternatively assist or hinder their successful transition to adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the extent to which issues of environmental sustainability are represented in three national social work codes of ethics -- the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. These national codes are discussed and implications for social work are analysed with a view to strengthening the profession's position regarding environmental sustainability. Findings suggest that national codes do not include concern for environmental sustainability as a core professional concern. The authors make recommendations for developing ethical practice and further argue that the international professional body of social work, the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), should take a fundamental leadership role in advocating for environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analyses of the contesting moment social work faces in the United Kingdom bring to discussion many claims that appear familiar to the context and performance of social work in Chile. This note compares the UK assessment of social work education and professional practice with Chilean social work, concluding that rising demand, high vacancy rates and reliance on agency staff, quality of recruits and training, and low status of the profession are issues shared by both countries, raising the question of how to improve international standards of the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accompanying the diminishing voice of the client in cross-subsidized social work, the author makes an attempt to reveal the ambivalence and ambiguity of state-sponsored social work in Hong Kong. In light of the increase in quasi-welfare markets that promote an environment of competitive bidding on government subventions, this article addresses the contradictions between commercial and social work values after the commodification of welfare. Because frontline practitioners are becoming more reluctant to be involved in ‘typical’ social work interventions, reconsidering and recalculating costs are recommended under the pendulum of left and right ideologies in a postcolonial, neoliberal metropolis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on the accounts of a group of children who work at an artisanal gold mining site. Their work is potentially harmful; yet, it is also the means by which they attempt to access their rights to education and other opportunities. The article argues that child labour preventative efforts must recognize and address this complication. This is in order to develop interventions that unquestionably serve some working children’s best interests. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The critical realist perspective which suggests that social reality is stratified informs this article, which attempts to uncover racial discrimination as experienced by Zimbabwean social workers within the UK social services. Research findings highlight racism perpetuated by institutional policies that have remained unchallenged for years but have continuously served to undermine foreign qualifications and devalue work experience of those recruited from the Global South. Also, the majority of the Zimbabwean social workers were reluctant to pinpoint what could be regarded as everyday racism, but they still showed agency in how they responded to both subtle and blatant forms of racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explains processes of disaporan ‘virtual village community’ (VVC) formation and its moral action. It is suggested that both self-interest and normative aspects of behaviour contribute to the formation of VVCs, centred in the ancestral place. However, social action for development becomes difficult in an evolving socio-economic environment unless core values are refurbished by realigning interests and creating new modes of interaction and communication. The intervention by morally driven members is key to mobilising VVC for development. Members’ links external to the VVC enhance its capacity to contribute to ancestral places. As most of the diaspora from South Asia are rooted in village communities back home, analysis and findings are of wider significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Social Work is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. 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.)

In the arena of disability, disabled children and young people continue to be positioned in a variety of ways with some of these affording opportunities and others continuing to focus on deficit and constraint. Social workers occupy a pivotal position at the interface between policy and practice, and can effectively counter circular processes of disablement. In this article, a frame of reference is employed which, by incorporating key areas such as targeting and rights and social exclusion and social investment, enables the potential for further development in relation to the personalization agenda in both Australia and the United Kingdom, to be critically appraised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses dismantling of anti-discrimination in British social work. A number of events over the 1990s have brought changes to social work education and practice in Great Britain. This article is a reflection on some of these, especially in relation to the Rules and Requirements for the education and training of social workers, embodied in a document known as Paper 30 issued by Great Britain validating body for social work, the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work. There have been changes in the structure of the personal social services and in the means of funding, resulting from the implementation of a range of new legislation relating to children and to "care in the community" arrangements for old people and other vulnerable groups. These changes ushered in the values of a market economy and the selling off and privatization of key aspects of the welfare state. There has also been a shift in the way social work is viewed, and in opinions of the part social work education should play in the preparation of workers in state welfare and probation services.

This article discusses preliminary findings from a study of international placement learning of British social work students in social welfare settings in Malaysia. Research data generated focuses on the learning processes experienced by the students placed in an unfamiliar, postcolonial context with an emphasis on issues relating to diversity and developing critical cultural competence. Future sustainability and benefits of such placements are also reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Some recent commentary on the relevance of religion and spirituality to social work emphasizes a liberal Western individualized notion of spirituality, rather than the significance of formal religion. Evidence from sociological research on religious nurture in British Muslim families challenges this emphasis. Sixty Muslim families from diverse backgrounds in one UK city took part in a qualitative study, consisting of interviews with adults and children aged 12 and under; observation of formal learning and oral and photographic diaries. The article focuses in particular on the importance of religious nurture in Muslim families and parents’ views about ‘spirituality’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Email interviews and internet inquiries were used to explore the nature and extent of employer engagement in qualifying social work education programmes across 10 countries: Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, UK and USA. Findings indicate considerable variations in the nature and extent of engagement in admissions processes, programme management and assessment of student competence. Practice learning/field education was the main area for employer engagement. The desirability of employer engagement is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article advocates incorporating biographical narratives into social work practice involving older lesbian, gay and bisexual service users. Offering a critique of ‘sexuality-blind’ conditions in current policy and practice, the discussion draws on qualitative data to illustrate the potential benefits of narrative approaches for both practitioners and service users. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Poverty is encountered by the majority of users of social services but is often overlooked in social work practice. This article explores the relationship between poverty in older age, pension receipt and the role of social policy formulation in the UK with particular reference to New Labour governance. It also briefly explores the EU context before considering the implications for social work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of International Social Work is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. 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.)

Copyright of International Social Work is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. 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.)

Copyright of International Social Work is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. 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.)

Copyright of International Social Work is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. 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 explores the role of social work with asylum-seekers in Great Britain and Australia. It raises the questions of the contradictions for the profession in the light of increasingly repressive policies in both countries. Social work has always had as its major concern the interests of the most excluded groups in society, but it is now confronted with new social policies that challenge fundamentally its humanitarian and espoused human rights stance. Nowhere is this clearer than in the response by governments in Australia and Great Britain to people fleeing from oppressive regimes. There is little doubt that racialized policy has shaped both Australia's and Great Britain's treatment of immigrants and minorities. More recent approaches have proclaimed multiculturalism in Australia and anti-racism in Great Britain, to which current asylum policies are in direct contradiction. The current policies are characterized by deterrence and punishment. The international domain provides opportunities for social workers to condemn policies and practices that are contrary to the profession's mission.

The article reports on the practice of feminist social workers working with violent men in Great Britain. This article begins by examining why work should be undertaken with violent men, providing a theoretical analysis of male violence from a feminist perspective. Arguments for and against women's involvement in work with men are discussed, and ways in which the work can be handled are considered. In giving an overview of existing projects the argument is that work in this area should aim to enable men to learn how to relate to others, namely women, who have rights which must be observed, including the right not to be attacked. The methodologies go beyond anger management approaches to specific domestic violence focus of programmes for men convicted of assaults on women partners. A significant component is the promotion of gender awareness. This requires men to take personal responsibility for their actions in abusing women by neither externalizing their problems nor seeking to blame others.

Heroin, a drug with major health care and legal implications, presents a major challenge to the international community. Its increasing popularity is reflected in drug use surveys and the entertainment industry. The explosive spread of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection associated with intravenous drug use makes the reduction of risky drug-taking behavior a top priority for all nations. In this article the focus is on heroin because of its highly addictive properties, although tobacco is similarly addictive, according to recent reports its dangerous association with transmission of the AIDS virus, and the marked cultural differences accruing to its treatment. The major purpose of the article is to highlight cultural differences in approaching mutual problems, differences revealed to the author in the course of an interdepartmental faculty-student exchange. That much can be learned, both positive and negative, from cross-cultural policy analysis is an underlying assumption here.

The article discusses the issue of unemployment in Great Britain. Diverse factors, among which are economics, demographics, regional differences, and political avoidance, have worked in tandem toward the development of the current unemployment problem. The unemployed are more than a statistical category; they are people from specific groups and geographical regions. There is no doubt that the longer a person is unemployed, the more accustomed he or she becomes to the situation, and the securing of a job becomes less likely. Most social researchers agree that the many components of joblessness are beyond the control of the unemployed person. The rapid growth of the labour force in Great Britain has greatly decreased the chances for full employment and the present problem includes many more people available for work than jobs available for them. In the face of this reality, the picture is becoming even more bleak. In the wake of this unemployment problem in Great Britain, it is recommended by social planners that work be established for everyone as a matter of political, social and economic priority. This, of course, will require active manpower programs, an income maintenance system, and an income redistribute system which may or may not be politically acceptable. All of these components need to be moulded into an overall preventive, as well as curative, employment policy.

The article reports on a study conducted in 1979 of some thirty English social work educational programs, located in thirteen sponsoring institutions. Most of these programs led to a Certificate of Qualification in Social Work, the basic qualification. Some were Post-Qualifying Studies. All programs were recognized by the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work, the British accrediting body. The article finds that structurally, English social work education has placed itself outside the degrees granting system of higher education, in large measure. Students, if over a given age, may enter social work programs with or without any higher education degree. Students may gain an academic degree or not upon completion of a social work program. This is in sharp contrast to the United States pattern, which has placed all professional social work education within the degree structure of higher education. For England, this has opened access for students lacking the academic qualifications what is otherwise necessary in the United States.

The article presents information on the social worker Dame Eileen Younghusband. The London School of Economics, where she took a Certificate in Social Studies and a Diploma in Sociology, gave her an intellectual background. Though Eileen was to direct the first Applied Social Studies course set up at LSE on an experimental basis for three years, she was not technically a qualified social worker and the increasing professionalization of social work overtook her. Dame Eileen's committee work covered a wide variety of statutory and voluntary organizations, where her unique experience and incisive judgments were highly respected. Her achievements, both national and international, attest to her unusual talents. She came to the fore in Great Britain as a faculty member of the Social Science Department of the London, School of Economics where from 1929-1957 she taught a generation of social workers and inaugurated the first generic casework course in Great Britain.

The article reports on family casework in Great Britain. The first family caseworkers were implacably opposed to the provision of state services of almost every kind. Beatrice Webb, whose Minority Report in 1909 outlined a framework of preventive services which foreshadowed the developments of 1948, described her social work opponents on the Poor Law Commission as espousing a policy of "determined resistance to any extension of state or municipal action. Their opposition to state intervention was based on clear principles. They believed that the kind of social problems represented by child neglect, by alcoholism, by prostitution and other forms of degradation among the poor were the result of selfish and thoughtless interventions by members of other classes. The early social workers were only able to take their stance against indiscriminate almsgiving because of a whole-hearted commitment to the notion that a poor family's welfare could be insured by the hard work, thrift and prudence of the parents.

The article discusses the community work in Britain, 1974. The author has reviewed the work of social work agencies whose workers are busy with one of another aspect of community development, community organization, or community action at a local level. Most professionals who regard themselves as community workers, or who have been officially appointed as such, are generally either social workers with a professional training in social work, or people employed in vocational training, adult education or youth work. In the present rather chaotic situation of community work in Great Britain and Ireland, it is worth remembering two questions that are very often forgotten. The grand decisions about regional economic development, the questions concerning the exploitation of natural resources (too often for short-term profit), those concerning the granting of investment funds these are the decisions which exercise the biggest influence on the future of citizens. Such decisions must be constantly reviewed and supervised in a democratic and vigilant way.

The article states that Australia owes its greatness to its resourcefulness. As in other ventures, social work developed in the first half of the twentieth century by using ideas worked out in other places such as the former great powers Great Britain and the U.S. It was economical to borrow from the findings in these countries rather than to study indigenous development. Clearly any research money in Australia had to be used for the production of war weapons, oil and garbage. The influence of nineteenth-century Britain was superseded by that of twentieth-century U.S. and part of the overall Americanization of Australia was ritual going into retreat at Smith College and University of Michigan, by university faculty members. Some prestige seemed to be attached to knowing more about the American scene than the local one.

The article provides information on the January 1974 issue of the journal "International Social Work." It includes three articles in French; two of them are reprinted from other journals. One of them is the distinguished article by Etienne Berthet, Director-General of the International Children's Center, with its striking combination of idealism and realism. It will indeed require great efforts and great sacrifices by more fortunate countries before the poorer countries of the world can even approach a balance between expending resources and expanding population which would provide the conditions for healthy child development as outlined by Berthet. M. Caimo of Louvain, Belgium reports about medical social work in Belgium and discusses its findings, in an attempt to clarify the essential functions of this special branch of social work and to bring the practice of that country into line with modern developments in the U.S. and Great Britain. Richard Nann and Henry Maas, in their article, brings back the question of education for social work.