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[Extract] This chapter focuses on the 'doing' aspect of feminist practice in an Australian political and organisational environment, which I argue is steeped in the neoliberal agenda. The chapter discusses some key constraints and practical responses to feminist social work practice in terms of the sector that deals with domestic violence and sexual assault in the current climate of neoliberalism and managerialism. Through a critical reflective process, it is acknowledged that the culture, structure and policy frameworks articulated by neoliberal and managerialist positions have impacted on feminist practices. These impacts are often simply perceived as a negative; yet it is proposed here that tensions created in the current context may also provide an opportunity for subversive feminist practices with key organisations to further feminist agendas and social change. Although located in a specific sector, it is suggested that the experiences reflected upon here, and the practice responses discussed, are transferable. Through reflection on practice, five key areas impacted by the neoliberal and managerialist agenda were identified: stifling of activism, collaboration and partnership, keeping gender on the agenda, management and education and training. Although these five key areas have been identified, these are all components of the larger threat of the current environment-that being attempts to dismantle feminist practices. This chapter speaks to the practical application of feminist social work in each of the identified areas with the overarching focus of practice being to maintain the feminist gains that have been made to 'hold the line' and to advance feminist practices in a hostile political environment.

Background Child abuse and Youth Sexual Violence and Abuse (YSVA) are persistent social issues across the globe. The development and implementation of effective prevention strategies are a common focus for those working at the coalface. The Cairns Child Protection Investigation Unit of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) developed and implemented the “Speak Up. Be Strong. Be Heard.” (SUBSBH) initiative. This police-led multi-component child abuse prevention initiative has been implemented in 26 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the Far North Queensland Police District since June 2016. Objective The aim of this research was to evaluate the success of the SUBSBH initiative. Participants and setting Existing data held by QPS were examined. These data include statistics on reporting of YSVA offences, internal program documents and reports, and evaluation feedback forms completed prior to this evaluation study. Information collected via these sources pertained to 26 Indigenous communities within the Far North Queensland Police District. The above-mentioned feedback forms were completed by 307 participants, of whom approximately 90% are Indigenous. Methods This study adopted desktop analysis and triangulation through a range of qualitative and quantitative data to ensure robust and rigorous evaluation of the SUBSBH initiative. Results The study found that the initiative was successful in meeting basic accepted practice for child abuse and YSVA prevention programs, receiving positive participant feedback on the educational program, achieving the initiative’s objective to increase reporting of YSVA, and achieving cost-efficiency in meeting outcomes. Importantly, the increase in reporting of YSVA was statistically significant. Conclusion This study contributes to current understanding regarding the implementation of multi-component child abuse prevention initiatives and provides an example of a cost-efficient police-led community response to child abuse and YSVA in Indigenous communities. The findings may guide responses in other communities which grapple with this critical social issue.

Social work is a discipline that attracts students from diverse academic backgrounds. Many are first in family to attend university, and come to university through alternative pathways such as vocational education. As a result, there are higher levels of attrition compared to other disciplines, especially in the first year. To address this, and in keeping with a commitment to provide accessible education, one school of social work undertook a project to embed academic literacies into the curriculum. This paper used Gibb’s reflective process to explore how this was experienced by team members. Data were collected via staff focus groups at two different points in time across the project and compared. The reflection unpacked a number of tensions experienced by team members, including concerns about potential loss of resources as a result of academics adopting new roles, and concerns about implementing what was seen as Westernised academic skills which may not fit with students’ ways of thinking and c...

Social work continues to move towards the incorporation of spirituality within social work theory and practice, yet gaps remain at many levels. The current dearth of theorization of spirituality in social work has created a situation where individual social workers wishing to include spirituality in their practice are forced to rely on their own initiative and inventiveness, with no clear theoretical, practical, or ethical guidelines. This article presents the beginnings of an integrated spiritual practice framework which may help to address some of these concerns. This research scrutinized the proposed Integrated Spiritual Practice Framework (ISPF) through literature survey of three spiritual ideologies (Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism) using the process of metatriangulation. The study found that each ideological perspective provided evidence and support for the structures and concepts of the ISPF. Through the analysis and theory building process, each ideology contributed greater understanding of components of the ISPF, resulting in a more sophisticated and developed framework for integrating spirituality within social work.

This article introduces the conceptual practice tool of 'The Vortex of Violence' and one suggested practice model for utilising the vortex of violence in practice with women who have experienced a domestic violence relationship. The practice tool and model are an expansion of 'The Cycle of Violence' that shifts the focus from explanation of the dynamics of abusive relationships to the exploration of the lived experience of women and the development of a personal/therapeutic template for healing and reclaiming of their lives.

The current exploration to incorporating spirituality within social work has left many unanswered questions. This paper explores four identified spiritual paradigms articulated and authenticated through the survey of literature of three spiritual ideologies (Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism) using the process of meta-triangulation. This paper offers the beginnings of a possible answer to some of the central questions, through the articulation of spiritual paradigms that already exist in a language and format that will make them accessible to social work.

[Extract] This book makes a valuable contribution to the growing body of knowledge within social work pertaining to the inclusion of spirituality in practice. The exploration of spirituality as a form of critical practice is a promising expansion on current discussions. The book is presented in three parts: the first establishes the author's interpretation of spirituality and the argument for critical spirituality; the second presents a model for critical spirituality and guides to incorporating critical spirituality in practice; and the third presents four interviews with practitioners who use spirituality as part of their practice.

Six lecture summaries:The Castle Complex revisited: recent research on the Atlantic Iron AgeThe Newstead excavations: a Roman frontier post and its people revisitedThe Iceman - a mountaineer of 5000 years agoEnclosing, planting and building: the contribution of the Montgomery Act of 1770 on the agriculture and landscape of the Border countiesThe Auld Stane ManA typology of the equestrian chase motif in early medieval Pictish sculpture

Purpose – The current exploration and inclusion of spirituality across disciplines has, up to this point, focused largely on defining spirituality and creating practice and assessment tools. Little has been done in building the foundational structures at the level of paradigm, theory, methods, measures and research methodology. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a section of findings resulting from a comprehensive qualitative research program using the process of meta-triangulation, which explored spiritual perspectives from paradigm to practice. Findings – The results of this research begin to address gaps at these levels through the articulation of spiritual ways of knowing and the methods and measures that stem from them. Once articulated, it was possible to explore the parallels and differences between spiritual and physical ways of knowing, their methods and measures. Originality/value – It is acknowledged that such research may be resisted by some factions as they attempt to maintain positions of power and privilege. Thus, this paper presents the research within this contested and turbulent landscape.