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This study explores improvements in psychological resilience among rural left-behind children in China through social services provided by social organisations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with leaders and social workers from 15 social organisations. The results revealed that left-behind children's academic adaptation improved significantly. However, there were cases of failure to enhance physiological and psychological adaptation. This study provides guidelines for policymakers to formulate targeted support policies, for social organisations to assess their service quality and for service providers to change their role to collaborators, thereby jointly helping rural left-behind children improve their psychological resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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ABSTRACT Local policy documents play a key role in the provision of social services in decentralised welfare systems. Previous Swedish research shows great municipal variation in local policies for delegation, which determines social workers' legal rights to make decisions about the welfare service given to older people. In this paper, we examine the association between local conditions and the variation of restrictiveness in local policies on delegation for elder care services, by combining data on political rule and economic, demographic, and geographic characteristics of all Swedish municipalities (n = 290), with data on delegation policy. Based on logistic regression models, the results indicate that population density, political rule and average income are correlated with the probability of restrictiveness in delegation. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding local conditions while allocating the responsibility for the provision of welfare in decentralised states with varying local prerequisites. They further highlight the need for studies investigating the consequences of varying local political policies on the outcome of the elder care services provided to older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I remember reading my termination letter (Figure 1) and being overwhelmed by a sense of urgency and desperation. Urgent because I was unemployed and needed to work and make money [...]

The crisis period of the pandemic caused serious changes that affected religious institutions. One of the notable shifts in religious life over the past few years has been digitalisation and mediatisation. Young people react to new phenomena and processes in the religious domain in their own way, express different assessments and expectations. The article analyses the attitude of young people towards the role of religious organizations in the situation of the pandemic and after it, the level of trust in religious organizations and their representatives, expectations from the clergy, attitude to the processes of digitalisation and mediatisation of religious life. The paper is based on the data of a sociological survey and a number of focus groups. Religious organizations elicit a variety of assessments, from positive (mainly among young believers) to disapproving (among non-believers). Young people, particularly atheists, are critical of the open interaction of religious structures with political institutions and the interference of the church into various aspects of secular society. In part, the youth express the usual criticism of religion, which is popular nowadays. Some of the negative assessments are related to the lack of information, for example, about the real activity of religious structures and individual clergy in helping people who found themselves in a vulnerable position during the coronavirus pandemic. Numerous examples of social service in the form of spiritual, psychological and cial support of those in need from various parishes went almost unnoticed. The popularity of those pastors who use virtual space in their work testifies to young people’s poignant need of to receive information about religion. At the same time, the youth trust informal communication, which is devoid of the traditional instructive tone.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people experience higher levels of economic insecurity and poverty compared to non‐LGBT people. Social safety net programs may reduce this disparity, but the uptake of these programs among LGBT adults has rarely been assessed. We conducted a secondary data analysis of the 2018–2020 Well‐Being and Basic Needs Survey to compare differences in material hardship and social safety net program utilization between LGBT and non‐LGBT adults in the United States. LGBT participants were more likely to report lack of an emergency fund, food insecurity, utilities hardship, medical hardship, and multiple material hardships. LGBT adults had higher odds compared to non‐LGBT adults of using SNAP, income‐ or disability‐based insurance, SSI or SSDI, and housing assistance. There were no differences in use of WIC, reduced‐price/free school lunch benefits, or charitable food. Future studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of the social safety net programs for reducing material hardship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Quality of Life (1018-0389) / Calitatea Vieţii is the property of Romanian Academy Publishing House / Editura Academiei Romane 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: This article explores children's learning experiences from taking part in an educational intervention about social services in school. Data were collected from six group interviews with 27 children after they had participated in lessons about social services. Following a narrative evaluation approach, the analysis focuses on the narratives of change that are made visible through the children's shared reflections about their learning experiences. Findings: In their narratives of change, the children presented the educational intervention as meaningful for them because it increased their knowledge about social services as a possible support function for children and families. Some of the children related their previous more negative perceptions of social services to a collective story building on the idea that social services take children away from their families. Through the educational intervention, this collective story changed in part into another collective story building on the idea that social services help children and families to improve their relationships. Applications: The study shows that an educational intervention about social services in school has the potential to increase children's knowledge about social services and to influence in a positive direction the collective stories that shape public perceptions of social work. Although such changes in collective stories can be expected to benefit social work practice, welfare professionals must be careful to promote opportunities for children to share experiences of social services that challenge, as well as align with, any of these collective stories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE To describe the characteristics of 310 children of up to 16 years of age with suspected abuse admitted to a tertiary pediatric hospital, to describe their management process, as well as to calculate the duration and basic cost of their hospitalization. METHOD Main variables of interest were examined from a data set of minors (demographics, family and socioeconomic status, etc.) from the archives of the Social Service of “P. & A. Kyriakou” Children’s Hospital of Athens. The dataset included the total of children admitted to the hospital with a public prosecutor’s order during a specific three years period. RESULTS The socioeconomic factor most often recorded in this study’s participants was parental unemployment within the nuclear family structure. The main reason for referral to the Hospital’s Social Service was neglect. The most frequently recorded case outcome category was the return of children to their family home under the supervision of Community Social Services. The analysis of the correlations between sex, age, residence status and the referral reasons of minors noted significant differences. CONCLUSIONS The findings of the study may contribute to the design and implementation of future interventions aimed at the development of an effective and immediate response system and the formulation of abuse prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Urban History Review / Revue d'Histoire Urbaine is the property of University of Toronto Press 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.)

Education transforms the individual and society into a better state of development. Lecturers who are key actors in ensuring the smooth running of most university institutions often embark on strike actions to demand better welfare structures and services that enable them to discharge their duties. While these frequent strikes impact lecturers and students; older adult lecturers suffer greatly from the impact of frequent strikes in Nigeria and studies on the impact of frequent strikes on older adult lecturers are scarce. This qualitative study seeks to fill the gap using an interpretive phenomenological approach by exploring the difficulties frequent strikes have on older adult lecturers and approaches to curb them. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 older adult lecturers who are 60 years and older purposively selected from two universities in Nigeria that have experienced the incessant Academic Staff Union of Universities strike over time. Data from the study were analyzed in themes using manual coding. Findings from the study showed that frequent strikes had a psychological impact such as depression, adverse financial impact on the well-being of older lecturers, and also led to an increased brain drain in the educational sector. It is recommended that policies on education and aging should promote the establishment of effective conflict-resolution mechanisms between university management, lecturers, social workers, and relevant stakeholders as well as enhance resources for quality aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Our goal was to identify specific types of services desired by caregivers and determine subgroups most interested in each service type. Methods: Caregiving questions were added to a state-wide poll conducted in a majority-rural state. Those who identified as caregivers (n = 428) were asked to report on the helpfulness of 6 domains of services. Descriptive analysis and logistic regressions were conducted. Results: Top resources caregivers identified as potentially helpful included hands-on services (33.9%), help coordinating care from multiple providers (21.5%), help with finances (18.9%), and help managing emotional stress (17.8%). Only 15% indicated no caregiver resources would be helpful. Younger caregivers endorsed several service domains as more helpful than older caregivers; caregivers reporting higher stress were more likely to endorse most domains as helpful. Conclusion: Data reinforces the overwhelming need to offer caregiver services. Navigation and integrated and tailored service models may be beneficial to help caregivers identify and access appropriate services within healthcare systems. Innovation: This study uses an innovative approach to identifying needs of caregivers, who are often invisible within the healthcare system. Our findings suggest a paradigm shift is needed to broaden the scope and depth of services offered to caregivers.

Background. The article examines the issue of the formation and current state of the social service of Penza diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church in the period from 1991 to 2024. Particular attention is paid to the formation of diocesan social service department and the currently implemented practices of church charity. The relevance of the study is seen in the fact that the recent history and current state of church social service, especially in Penza diocese, are not sufficiently covered in science. The purpose of the work is to study the practices of social work and charity currently implemented by the Penza diocese, their directions and forms. Materials and methods. The implementation of research tasks was achieved based on the use of materials from the official publications of the Penza dio-cese “Penza Diocesan Bulletin” (2010–2024), “Penza Orthodox Interlocutor” (2004–2024), official websites of Penza diocese, the department of social service and charity of Penza di-ocese, as well as materials from the archives of the department of social service and charity of Penza diocese. The methods of historical analysis and content analysis were chosen as the main methods. Results. The work identifies the main directions and forms of social work practices and charitable activities of Penza diocese in 1991–2024, and examines the recent history of the diocesan department of social service and charity. Conclusions. Mod-ern practices of social service and charity of Penza diocese are implemented within the framework of the following areas of work: volunteerism, protection of the family, mother-hood and childhood, abortion prevention, hospital ministry, assistance to people with disa-bilities, the elderly, the homeless and people in difficult life situations, prevention of alco-holism and assistance to addicts, assistance to refugees and people in emergency zones, spiritual care of social institutions. The forms of modern social service of Penza diocese are quite diverse, both due to the revival of the pre-revolutionary experience of charity and the emergence of innovative forms of work.

The Canadian public sector employs around one-fifth of Canadian workers; they are responsible for policy making, stewarding public funds, and serving the public. Canadian governments struggle with job satisfaction, engagement, retention, and turnover, all of which may be associated with public service motivation (PSM). We conducted a scoping review of Canadian PSM research to synthesize what is known about these associations in the Canadian context. We identified 24 published studies and four works in progress. These demonstrate that PSM exists among Canadian public servants from the early stages of their career until later stages, and that PSM bolsters attraction to public sector work among students. No studies measured PSM among Canadian public servants using a validated instrument. Further research about the contributions of PSM to the quality of Canadian public services and how employers can nurture PSM is recommended, particularly given recent changes in work environments. Le secteur public canadien emploie environ un cinquieme des travailleurs canadiens; ces derniers sont responsables de l'elaboration des politiques, de la gestion des fonds publics et du service au public. Les gouvernements canadiens se debattent avec la satisfaction au travail, l'engagement, la retention et le roulement de personnel, qui peuvent tous etre associes a la motivation de travailler pour le service public (PSM). Nous avons effectue une revue exploratoire de la documentation canadienne sur la MSP afin de synthetiser ce que Ton sait de ces associations dans le contexte canadien. Nous avons identifie 24 etudes publiees et quatre travaux en cours. Ceux-ci demontrent que la PSM existe bien parmi les fonctionnaires canadiens des le debut de leur carriere jusqu'aux phases ulterieures, et quelle renforce l'attrait pour le travail dans le secteur public parmi les etudiants. Aucune etude n'a utilise d'instrument valide pour mesurer la PSM parmi les fonctionnaires canadiens. Nous recommandons des recherches plus approfondies concernant comment la PSM peut contribuer a la qualite des services publics canadiens et sur la maniere dont les employeurs peuvent l'encourager, en particulier compte tenu des recents changements dans les milieux de travail., INTRODUCTION Public Service Motivation (PSM) is an important construct in public administration, and more specifically public sector management scholarship that originated in the United States. It speaks to three categories [...]

Public servants play a vital role as intermediaries between policymakers and the public, offering expert advice on public policy and implementing ministerial decisions for the common good. Given that most Canadians interact with non-partisan, professional bureaucrats, public sentiment towards public servants becomes a crucial indicator of the health of the country's democracy. Trust levels serve as a barometer: high trust aligns with a well-functioning system, while low trust may challenge government legitimacy and its ability to fulfill democratic mandates. This study explores confidence levels in the public service in Alberta amid the COVID-19 pandemic, using data from the April 2022 Viewpoint Alberta survey. Our findings illuminate diverse attitudes towards public servants amidst significant social, economic, and political upheaval. En offrant des conseils specialises sur les politiques publiques et en appliquant les decisions ministerielles pour le bien commun, les fonctionnaires jouent un role indispensable d'intermediaires entre les decideurs politiques et le public. Etant donne que la plupart des Canadiens interagissent avec des bureaucrates professionnels impartiaux, l'opinion du public a l'egard des fonctionnaires devient un indicateur essentiel de la sante democratique du pays. Les niveaux de confiance servent de barometre : une confiance elevee correspond a un systeme qui fonctionne bien, tandis qu'une confiance faible peut remettre en cause la legitimite du gouvernement et sa capacite a remplir ses mandats democratiques. A partir des donnees de l'enquete Viewpoint Alberta d'avril 2022, cette etude examine les niveaux de confiance dans la fonction publique de l'Alberta en pleine pandemie de COVID-19. Nos resultats mettent en lumiere les attitudes variees a l'egard des fonctionnaires dans un contexte lourd de bouleversements sociaux, economiques et politiques., INTRODUCTION Public servants are an essential link between policymakers and the public, informing and implementing the policy decisions of the former in the form of programs and services for the [...]

The ability to 'network' between businesses and local institutions has been the subject of numerous studies and has fueled a line of multidisciplinary research which has made it possible to highlight the complexity of local systems and the interconnection between culture, economy and society. On the political-institutional side, the image of a 'virtuous' territory has been built which, through these links, strengthens its ability to create 'value' both by successfully adapting to the new complexities brought about by the neoliberal system and by exploiting the opportunities it offers. In fact, economic indicators overall show an increase in production after a succession of repeated pre- and post-pandemic crises. However, these same networks prove inadequate to effectively counter the increase in small entrepreneurs in economic difficulty. Starting from my recent field experience in Brianza, this article aims to illustrate some situations that have required the intervention of social services, but also the difficulty of these in developing intervention projects on people/families atypical with respect to social groups normally recipients of aid. Their atypicality lies in the fact that normative categories such as 'unemployed', 'poor', 'marginalized' cannot be uncritically reproduced in their regard, through which services normally develop intervention practices and ways of defining problems, before 'identification/activation of specific social networks in the area. Affected by the crisis and excluded from the benefits of the economic recovery, these subjects, central figures of the neoliberal society project, end up turning to social services when the legislative provisions to protect the business activity prove inadequate and when the family economic situation is now compromised.