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Evidence based practice (EBP) has asserted itself as the best way to respond to risk and uncertainty in child and family social work, a relatively new profession with a constantly shifting knowledge base. Informed by a social constructionist approach, the thesis asks: (1) what types of knowledge do social workers use and what meanings do they attach to these; and (2) what strategies do they use when sharing knowledge within their epistemic community? Based on semi-structured interviews and research diaries with child and family social workers, I detect two types of knowledge the participants reported using, namely gut feeling and evidence. I identify the social element of gut feeling and that it is central to the response to uncertainty. I also reveal that the knowledge social workers associated with evidence is narrower than the EBP approach. I argue that these findings show that there is a gap between research and practice, and that the extent to which social workers are ‘comfortable’ with uncertainty is related to how they conceptualise the fact/ value distinction. I also identify two knowledge sharing strategies, conceptualised as (1) standard knowledge filtering (SKF) and (2) dynamic knowledge filtering (DKF). Users of SKF aimed to render gut feeling and the associated uncertainty invisible, whilst users of DKF aimed to keep uncertainty visible and share gut feeling with others. The thesis reveals why some types of knowledge are shared and others are not, the differences between social workers, as well as the causes of frictions and frustrations associated with knowledge sharing. The dominance of EBP, however, conceals such complex processes and differences. By uncovering and conceptualising them effectively, the thesis makes an original contribution to a better understandings of gut feeling, evidence, fact and value which are central components of constructing and translating social work to co-workers.

The study examines the consequences of widows’ usage of the services of Faith-Based (FBOs) and Secular aid organizations (SBOs) to empower themselves in rural communities in Abia state Nigeria. To achieve this, the study adopted ideas proposed in three human development theories, the Relational Autonomy, Capability and the Cultural and Institutional approaches to advance a more general framework that analyses the various levels (micro, meso and macro) rural widows in Nigeria could be empowered. To explore these various levels of the widows’ empowerment, the thesis focused on three research questions; the first of which asks about the widows’ perceptions of their vulnerabilities in the rural communities and how their vulnerability translate to choices they make to transform their lives; the second enquires about the extent to which the aid organizations made attempt to address the needs of the widows in their service delivery; and the final question focuses on other ways the widows empowered themselves in the rural communities, especially when the services of the aid organizations were not forthcoming, thereby depicting their agency in the empowerment. The study used the constructivist ethnography and comparative approach as the paradigms of enquiry and relied mainly on observations and interviews (semi-structured interviews) for data collection. The field work was carried out over a period of 7 months in four aid organizations (i.e. 2 Faith Based and 2 secular aid organizations) and 12 communities in Abia state Nigeria where the aid organizations operate. The sample population was the widow beneficiaries and staff of the aid organizations. The research revealed that although the aid organizations were the major providers of services to the widows, the widows empowered themselves by various means, which include their individual and collective capacities, and by utilizing supports from indigenous groups and social networks to enhance their wellbeing in their communities. The study revealed that the assessment of rural widows’ empowerment, especially in traditional societies like Nigeria, should address all levels at which these women could operate as agents to enhance their wellbeing. The outcome from the different levels of analysis showed that the grassroots support groups were relevant in the widows’ empowerment in the rural communities, especially as they provided immediate supports and cultural repertoires these women could tap to improve their lives. The study highlights the relevance of these cultural groups in addressing the widows’ exertion of their agency in grassroots level. The study goes on to suggest that a better empowerment practice for improving lives of rural widows in Nigeria should focus on the perspectives of the widows as beneficiaries instead of organizational objectives. This will provide spec for identifying their aspirations, specific needs, and the social actors who are relevant in their empowerment in grassroots. The study also offered policy recommendations for advancing more empowerment of widows in rural areas in Nigeria.

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the implications of nation-building policies in Kazakhstan for the future of Kazakh identity. To consider the implications of largely inclusive policies, this dissertation investigates how young Kazakh adults, born and raised in different cultural and geographical contexts yet with a shared experience of studying and working in the capital city, perceive ethnic, civic, and cultural categories of national identity. A mixed methods approach is used, incorporating the comparative analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. A sample of 120 males and females aged 22 to 30, graduated from a higher education institution, and currently working in Astana, Kazakhstan, completed a questionnaire assessing subjective perceptions of their national identity. Quantitative data are complemented by qualitative data from 30 participants, providing depth and validity to the questionnaire answers. The young adults’ responses reveal that Kazakhs are becoming less segregated culturally, encouraged by the government’s inclusive form of nation-building, the relocation of the capital city and the economic growth. It is argued that the young adults are Kazakhs not only in blood and colour, but also in taste and perception. The prevalence of civic virtues despite the presence of robust ethnic identification was recognized and the urge to organise social life in terms of sharp nationalist boundaries proved thin. The implications of these findings for nation-building policies are discussed. Efforts should be directed towards introducing the historical inclusivity of Kazakh identity and highlighting the sufficiency of cultural integration of non-titular ethnic groups to become members of Kazakh nation.

A literature review on the conversion studies reveals that most models of religious conversion postulate Christian-centric and western-centric perspectives. One of these models is the seven-stage Rambo Model. This study’s main objective is to critically engage the Rambo Model in exploring the conversion process of the Dusun Muslim converts in Brunei Darussalam and to answer the first research question that seeks to find out the actual definitions of the conversion stages as how they had been typically experienced by the converts. The model’s framework is further tested by the second research question which aims to identify the determinant that explains the variations and similarities found in the stage sequence of the conversion process of the Dusun Muslim converts in comparison to those occurring in different religious settings. Drawing on the qualitative data obtained through interviews and the utilisation of relevant literature, the case study of the Dusun Muslim converts confirms the cultural specificity issue inherent in the Rambo Model. Some theoretical changes were suggested where a new concept of contextual components and of culture-free definitions of the stages were added to the model’s framework. This modified version of the Rambo Model was found to be effective in demonstrating that the actual definitions of the conversion stages of the Dusun Muslim converts are unique and distinctly specific, principally due to the effects of Brunei’s majority-religion context. The theoretical changes of the model were also useful in explaining the variations and similarities in the stage order of conversion process occurring in different religious settings. Thus, by presenting a non-Christian and non-western case study of religious conversion, this study concludes that a more generic version of the Rambo Model can actually be formulated and be utilised by future research undertakings.

This study attempts to explain the emergence and possible resolution of the issue of human rights violation in modern Turkey. Underpinned by a portrayal of human rights in their relation to the development of capitalism and the social philosophy of natural law, a theoretical framework of economic self-interest and an emotional 'social imagination' is constructed. Being a contemporary variation on Adam Smith's understanding of self-love and sympathy, this theory develops a ‘world economy’ based view of ‘cosmopolitan responsibility’ for the institutionalisation of human rights. Empirically, a comparative analysis of the emergence of social dislocation and related inter-ethnic tension during the decline of the Ottoman Empire serves to illuminate further analyses of the social character of modern Turkey, and the challenges inherent in resolving the human rights violations of which the country contemporarily stands accused.