Search

Professional development has been recognized as one of the strategies to effectively combat sexual prejudice and negative attitudes against lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning/queer (LGBQ+) individuals and sexual minorities. Nevertheless, studies related to LGBQ+-inclusive training are rarely found in the Chinese Hong Kong context, where sexual prejudice still prevails without the establishment of antidiscrimination law. Sociocultural considerations, such as religious and parental influences, are obstacles to discussing the reduction of sexual prejudices, both within wider society and social work organizations, without institutional support. This paper aims to understand social workers' perspectives on prejudice reduction training themes and perceived cultural barriers through qualitative in-depth interviews with 67 social workers. Qualitative thematic analysis yielded the following themes: (1) understanding sexuality; (2) initiating training legitimately; (3) contesting religious and cultural assumptions; (4) resolving value and ethical dilemma; (5) selecting relevant knowledge; (6) implementing diverse training strategies. The study suggests that social workers and service providers need to understand how sexual prejudice is manifested in Hong Kong through unique cultural forces. LGBQ+-inclusive content, addressing updated concepts and prejudice-free language, should be incorporated into the training curriculum. Intergroup contact, professional reflection, and experiential learning are suggested as training strategies (190).

The article reflects on the opportunities that digitalisation offers to rethink and innovate the role of the social service and the function of the social worker. It is based on the results of a qualitative research carried out by interviewing social service managers in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region about changes introduced in their service by the digitalisation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The article focuses in particular on the changes that have occurred in the relationship between social workers and ICTs. The results show that much of the resistance that social workers showed towards ICTs before the pandemic has been overcome. They however still seem to be passive and executive rather than active and creative towards them. In this regard, however, further in-depth studies are needed to highlight the actual processes of appropriation of ICT by social workers. The results confirm that ICTs are able to trigger organisational learning processes that can change the way practitioners work and the way services are organised. They also offer interesting insights into how to exploit the positive aspects of the digitalisation imposed by COVID-19 and how to rethink the training of social workers in order to develop and enhance their digital skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have resuscitated different mindsets in people. While much attention has been focused on the effect on health and the economic system, the study diverted attention to the disrupted social life and psychological trauma caused by the pandemic. This qualitative study explored people's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they will be leveraged to promote social service delivery through social work intervention in the post-pandemic era. The data were collected through phone interviews involving 12 participants, comprising both social workers and nonsocial workers within the Southeast geopolitical zone. The generated data were analyzed thematically and arranged in quotes. The study found that the pandemic has both positive and negative implications for the social and psychological well-being of people. However, there was no effective engagement of social workers' intervention amidst the need for social service during the pandemic. As a result, the level of preparedness of social workers for effective social service delivery in the post-pandemic era is not adequate. However, the finding reveals prospects for social work in Nigeria. The study suggests a swift government response, which will involve revitalizing the social work profession in Nigeria to enhance social service delivery. Also, social work, especially in the health care setting, should leverage this to make its voice heard in society through enhanced education and practice. However, future research should consider exploring new perspectives in social work education and practice based on the experience of COVID-19 to ensure better social service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of O Social em Questão is the property of Faculdades Catolicas - Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro 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.)

Summary: An interview study was conducted with persons receiving home care services and personal assistance in Sweden (13 individuals, 25 interviews) with the aim to analyze their experiences of managing personal and intimate care. The analytical approach was guided by phenomenologically informed research and Erving Goffman's theoretical work on self-presentation and social life as it differs in frontstage and backstage settings. Findings: A reflected approach to the complex challenges associated with becoming and being a person in need of personal and intimate care was revealed. This involved continuous adaptations and attuning to organizational and relational conditions of formal home care. Being a recipient of personal and intimate care does not mean being passive. It entails relating to and sustaining the care relation, where even choosing to accept suboptimal conditions is an act of agency. The recipients' private homes were hybridized, transformed both into a waiting room, with the recipient on standby and into a workplace. The homes thus partly lost their character as a backstage realm where one could avoid the gaze of others. This also led to a hybridization of the personal sphere, in the form of marginal scope for true privacy, necessitating strategies for protecting one's own space. Applications: It is important both to acknowledge the intrusive nature of personal and intimate care, which results in extensive hybridization of the home and personal sphere and to recognize care recipients' agency in the relationship that care establishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco 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.)

Summary: Individuals with intellectual disabilities who might have been previously placed into segregated institutions now live independently in the community, supported by the necessary community care services. Nevertheless, social inclusion can be deemed successful only if they can positively interact with the various microsystems of the community. The disruption of social service provision due to the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to evaluate other systems of support in the community. By adopting a bioecological perspective, qualitative methods are used to examine the interactions between people with intellectual disabilities and their social environment during the pandemic primarily based on focus group sessions with 17 social workers and 12 caregivers. Findings: Three overarching themes are identified through a thematic analysis: (1) limited social ties with the community that could provide support; (2) professional support as the main source of assistance; and (3) limited resources on how to care for people with intellectual disabilities. Applications: The results show that unilateral systems of support with limited participation of other systems lead people with intellectual disabilities to live segregated lives, even though they reside in the community. To fully realize the right of inclusion in society of all people with intellectual disabilities, further efforts are required to promote informal social care for people with intellectual disabilities. There is a need for a shared-care model that provides care in the community by the community through the establishment of neighborly relations and expansion of the social networks of people with intellectual disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Humanities & Educational Sciences Journal is the property of Humanities & Educational Sciences Journal 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.)

Summary : While scholars have examined how neoliberal ideas and policies manifest at the front lines of the welfare state, far less is known about how the neoliberal approach prevalent in such states shapes decisions that senior state actors make about social welfare policy. The current study advances the literature by examining the processes and motivations behind the decision to withdraw from enacting a law designed to secure the social rights of all Israeli citizens. The study is rooted in a critical research paradigm, combining both inductive and deductive analyses of in-depth interviews with 15 senior officials and legislators in the field of social services. Findings : Despite their purported support for equality in the provision of social services, their acknowledgment of the shortcomings of current legislation in this respect, and their active role in promoting an alternative thereto, participants were persuaded to act in such a way as to support free-market measures. These findings illustrate an arena of policymaking wherein some state actors "purchase" other actors' cooperation and compliance with the neoliberal approach. Applications : The "behind-the-scenes" account of the legislative process, set against the backdrop of neoliberal welfare governance, provides insights useful to all those who seek to promote parity-enhancing legislation aimed at supporting marginalized social service recipients, in Israel and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]