Area Of Social Services Research Articles

Structure of Social Forestry Service Area in Cenrana District, Maros Regency

Abstract Damaged road access, absence of markets in some villages, and lack of access to technology are challenges for forest communities in the Cenrana District. Optimising service centres in social forestry (SF) locations can support social forestry activities. Based on scalogram and gravity analysis, the structure of social forestry areas in the Cenrana Sub-district shows Limampoccoe Village as the sub-district level service centre, providing warehousing, commodity distribution, quality control, and packaging and branding services. Labuaja Sub-Village (Laiya Village), Malaka Sub-Village (Cenrana Baru Village), Bululohe Sub-Village (Rompegading Village), and Nahung Sub-Village (Labuaja Village) serve as commodity auction market locations, local trials, counselling, honey cultivation facilities, and processing technology for derivative products such as aren palm, candlenut, porang, and coffee. Road infrastructure and tourist attraction signposts are in Malaka Hamlet (Cenrana Baru Village). Conflicts in Labuaja Village require conflict resolution in social forestry management.

Age-friendly initiatives – GHANA

The global increase in the population of older persons has profound inter-sectoral implications, necessitating the development of age-friendly initiatives at the global and national levels. While progress has been relatively slower across Sub-Saharan African countries, highlighting existing commendable initiatives is essential to identify the current gaps and promote the development of strategies and interventions to promote age-friendly societies. This mini-review highlights some of the key initiatives in Ghana in the areas of policy, healthcare, finance, social services, education and research and in promoting dementia-friendly communities.

Государственное регулирование развития малого бизнеса в социальной сфере

Social entrepreneurship as a special type of business is aimed at reducing social tension in society, ensuring employment, accessibility and variety of social services. Most social entrepreneurs in Russia belong to the category of small businesses. Improving state regulation of the development of small social entrepreneurship helps to reduce the severity of social problems and strengthen interaction between the state and business on this issue. The purpose of the article is to assess trends in the development of small social entrepreneurship in the country, current measures of state regulation and develop proposals for their improvement. The study revealed trends in the development of small businesses in the social sphere in Russia, reflecting high growth rates in the number of small social entrepreneurship entities, its spread to various areas of activity with a predominance in the areas of education, social services and sports and leisure. The growth in the number of social entrepreneurs is mostly observed in large conglomerations. However, the continuing low share of social enterprises in the total number of small businesses in the country, the analysis of the implemented measures of state support for them, does not allow us to draw a conclusion about the sufficiency of the conditions created in the country for the support and promotion of social entrepreneurship. State regulation of the development of small social entrepreneurship is proposed to be carried out in the direction of improving the institutional environment, expanding the range of entities that ensure the development and promotion of small businesses in the social sphere.

Let Us Dream’s Migration to a Global Virtual Conference: Delivering a Social Entrepreneurial Event

This case study applies Rudolph et al.’s social entrepreneurship model to describe the migration of Let Us Dream’s (LUD) face-to-face social entrepreneurial conference to a virtual platform during the COVID-19 pandemic. LUD Triennial International Conference focused on community service initiatives in the areas of education, health, and social services for the purpose of impacting local and international communities in a transformative way. Organizers experienced many positive outcomes (e.g., high attendance and participant satisfaction), human capital, and leadership development of its collaborative volunteer planning teams, and the empowerment of local and global communities. The discussion section elaborates on the social entrepreneurship model findings, and other lessons learned, and provides recommendations for others planning to deliver a virtual or hybrid conference in multicultural contexts.

Using Quality Improvement as a Mechanism for Fostering Partnerships and Promoting Equity in a Health System Change Model.

Quality improvement (QI) processes provide a framework for systematically examining target outcomes and what changes can be made to result in improvement and ensure equity. We present a case study of how QI processes were used as a means of partnership building to enhance equity in designing materials for a Medicaid pilot program, North Carolina Integrated Care for Kids (NC InCK). The NC InCK model addresses social determinants of health by providing structured care integration across core child health and social service areas and using an alternative payment model to incentivize high quality child outcomes. During the two-year planning period prior to the NC InCK model launch, we used Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles to conduct usability testing as a QI strategy for a component of the NC InCK model: the Shared Action Plan (SAP). We conducted usability testing with four Family Council members, nine care managers, and one physician. Participants reviewed the SAP and provided feedback via a survey. After reviewing feedback with InCK leadership and the Family Council, we implemented recommendations that led to a SAP that uses clear and accessible language, that highlights family strengths and family-identified goals, and that is distinct from other care management plans. Usability testing forced refinement of materials before NC InCK launched, created opportunities for building and enhancing community partnerships and promoted equity within the NC InCK team and Family Council by considering multiple perspectives when deciding on SAP revisions.

Sierra Leone and Peace Education: A Case Study of Transportation Poverty in the Aftermath of Civil War

Unequal access to education and employment inequalities were major issues that led to the Sierra Leone civil war from 1991 to 2002. Many educational practices were introduced to the country in the direct aftermath of the war to bring more positive changes such as education opportunities and reconciliation. However, by using the social constructionist approach in our analysis, we found that infrastructural issues were neglected by researchers and practitioners which had a long-term negative effect on local residents. In particular, transportation poverty became a major issue in preventing the delivery of peace education practices and teaching pedagogies by preventing regular travelling from urban to rural areas. Consequently, more inequalities could be found in areas of social services. This study suggests that peace education initiatives should consider whether these promoted practices will generate different forms of inequalities.

Dealing with Service Failures and Complaints on Social Media: The Role of Online Social Support in China

In China, social media has altered how clients and businesses talk about poor service. Customers now use social media to voice their complaints and disappointment when service faults occur. This study aims to examine the impact of online social support on customer complaint intentions on social media, as well as discuss the role of personality traits, particularly proactive personality, as a boundary condition in this relationship. In 2023, a survey of 348 college students was conducted and analyzed using hierarchical regression and confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, mediating analysis, as well as moderating analysis. The results revealed that online information support and emotional support had a positive impact on customers’ continued complaint intentions on social media. This study suggests that the complex nature of customer complaints on social media requires a creative management strategy, with possible implications for use in social service agencies. Moreover, these research findings indicate the relationship between information support, emotional support, and customer continued complaint intentions on social media. This study recommends that future research could include more study samples to attain better results to see if these results would also apply directly to the social service area.

Sosialisasi Peranan Lembaga Adat dalam Menyelesaikan Pelanggaran Adat di Kaseupahan Sinar Resmi Kabupaten Sukabumi

Kaseuphan Sinar Official adopts the common law style, showing the usual characteristics of the common law community itself. Issues of violations and incidents affect not only modern nations, but also indigenous peoples as well as areas of social service. There is a moral system that acts as a countermeasure and as a place to settle violations. Communities that are Target Partners of Community Service should facilitate the role of traditional institutions and resolution of common cases in ​​Target Partners of Community Service so that future Target Partners of Community Service can take advantage of traditional institutions. It is expected that you will understand and be able to understand. It is suitable for the courts of the Indonesian state. And beyond that, in disputes involving children or within the framework of common law. It is hoped that eligible community service partners will be able to learn more about how to handle common cases involving children. Additionally, even after socialization and modules, the community expected that target partners of her services have knowledge of child protection law (such as rights and responsibilities) as an integral part of the target partner environment of the service. will be as a result, we found that the targeted community service partners were very enthusiastic about carrying out this activity, which was reflected in the various questions posed to the resource personnel. This community service provides an overview of the community services team working to maximize the role of traditional institutions in Karawang Regency's Sinar Official Village and reduce the number of child protection violations in the area.

Exploring mandatory reporting in social care and social services in Sweden

AbstractIn Sweden, mandatory reporting in social services is regulated by the Social Services Act to protect service users and improve services. The aim of this article is to describe mandatory reports by staff and compare types of mistreatment, severity and actions across three areas of social services: elderly care, disability services, and individual and family care. All the reports written by staff and investigated by a designated official over a 1‐year period (n = 1105) in one of the largest regions in Sweden were retrieved, inductively coded and quantitatively analysed. The results showed that most of the reports related to unsafe behaviour and organisational issues. Of all the reports, 14% (n = 156) were deemed to be serious. Differences in assessing mistreatment are discussed in relation to incident reporting in health care. The need for new models of analysis for mandatory reporting in social care is highlighted.

Disability and Social Inclusion: Lessons From the Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic necessitated rapid, radical changes to global systems, structures, and organisations across all areas of life, including education, healthcare, and social services. These changes were something of a double‐edged sword. On the one hand, widespread adoption of the kinds of remote‐working technologies long advocated for by disabled people opened up possibilities for inclusion. On the other, some people’s inability to access such technologies, together with increased social isolation, exacerbated forms of exclusion. This thematic issue considers what lessons can be learned from the pandemic in striving to design a future which is more inclusive for all. In this editorial, we provide a brief overview of some of the major challenges the pandemic created for disabled people, who were disproportionately negatively affected by it. We also suggest that a disability rights lens is a useful way of highlighting both the contingency of disability and the need for more responsive and humane healthcare systems. The editorial goes on to outline the opportunities to challenge entrenched ableism and create a “new normal” the pandemic afforded. It concludes by offering a thematic overview of the articles in this thematic issue, which together reveal a complex pattern of inclusions and exclusions, interdependence, and intersectionality.

Social Welfare for Thailand’s Elderly: Policy Perspectives and Proposals for Co-production

With the increasing number of older adults and the mechanisms driving elderly work in the past, most work is separated. There is a redundancy in the issue of promoting and supporting the welfare of the elderly and redundant space. Many agencies deal with the elderly. As a result, the operation of the elderly is not considered part of the overall welfare provision. The objectives of this study were (1) to study the problem of social welfare provision for the elderly, according to the process of public policy, categorized into policy formulation, policy implementation, and policy evaluation, and (2) to analyze the social welfare provision for the elderly in the areas of health, housing, income, employment, education, recreation, and general social services from the perspective of experts. Qualitative research was conducted on secondary data and data collected using an Ethnographic Delphi Futures Research technique, whereby twenty-five informants were classified into three groups: 1) Nine people with direct or indirect roles and responsibilities in the development of welfare schemes and setting guidelines for the elderly; 2) Ten individuals with roles providing welfare services to the elderly in either provincial or local areas, and 3) Six academics studying welfare provisions for the elderly. In-depth interviews were conducted, and data systems were organized to analyze and classify content. The analysis found that: 1) Public policy is currently inadequate due to the following problems and management conditions: a) A central authority determines policy formulation concerning welfare for the elderly. As a result, welfare provisions cannot respond to the specific problems of the elderly in each area; b) A gap exists between policy formulation and implementation of each welfare policy; and c) While welfare policies do undergo an evaluation process, assessments are low quality and incomprehensive according to standards outlined in Thailand’s Elderly Act; 2) All experts agreed that government mechanisms should provide welfare for the elderly in cooperation with the government, private and public sectors to address insufficient budget allocation and reduce the redundancy of receiving interest. It is proposed that social welfare for the elderly should follow a pluralistic model. Many parties participate in welfare provision utilizing groups or networks of people in the community. Interconnected networks require co-production and joint management to optimize the efficiency and quality of public services.

Interprofissionalidade e terapia ocupacional: percepção dos participantes do Programa de Aprimoramento Profissional em um serviço de reabilitação

Abstract The “Prof. Gabriel O. S. Porto” Center for Studies and Research in Rehabilitation (CEPRE) participated in the Professional Improvement Program (PAP) for non-medical health professionals from 1994 to 2019. This study aimed to understand and assess the occurrence of interprofessionality and the role of occupational therapy among the PAP participants working at CEPRE. This descriptive, qualitative research involved 18 interns from the areas of speech therapy, education, psychology, social service, and occupational therapy who joined PAP at CEPRE in 2018. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews that included both closed and open questions addressing experiences and insights during PAP. These interviews were audio recorded and later transcribed. The data were assessed by content analysis. The results showed that professional improvement positively influenced knowledge about other areas, especially occupational therapy, which was facilitated through interdisciplinary classes. The content analysis revealed that shared moments were important for the occurrence of patient-centered interprofessional practice with a focus on comprehensiveness, and that this space further strengthened the overall work.

Application of ICT in the co production of social services

Aim/purpose – The purpose of this article was to identify the information and commu- nication technology (ICT) tools fostering the co-production of social services, acknowl- edging that the technological environment is an important contextual condition enhanc- ing the development of co-production. Design/methodology/approach – The method used was systematic literature review (SLR). Findings – As a result of the review, the catalog of solutions and tools offered by infor- mation and communication technologies was presented. The results of the research car- ried out indicate that the co-production of social services is favored by the use of such ICT tools as mobile applications, crowdsourcing, open data, big data, real-time data collection and analysis, gamification, and social media. Research implications/limitations – The main implication of the research is the com- prehensive catalog of ICT tools that can be used to facilitate social service co-production. ICT tools also favor the emergence of new forms of co-production; there-fore, the acquaintance of these tools can accelerate this process. The study is constrained by sev- eral limitations. The study is constrained by several limitations. First, applied methodol- ogy, which is qualitative, analyzes secondary data. Second, the co-production in the social services area includes many and various services, and ICT application and impact can differ by specific type of service. Originality/value/contribution – This paper contributes to research on the co-production of social services, particularly in terms of the use of new technologies in this process, in two ways. First, the development of the catalog of ICT tools favoring social service co-production. Their application fosters the involvement of contextual actors, increasing the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of social services. In this way, the social service co-production contributes to better addressing the citizens’ needs, increasing their quality of life and well-being, and unleashing their potential. Second, by taking the PSL perspective and situating factors favoring co-production within a service ecosystem framework, this paper draws attention to public value emerging from new relations, extensive dialogue, delibera- tion, common arrangements, and collaborative activity in virtual communities. Keywords: co-production, public services, social services, public management, ICT. JEL Classification: H41, H83, O33, O35, Z18.

An Algorithm for Locating the Educational Function of Rural Primary Schools under the Background of Rural Revitalization by Neural Networking

The functional orientation of agricultural primary schools in China has not been “rewritten” under the Rural Revitalization Strategy but has been given new connotation and new requirements. With the help of qualitative research design, taking three representative agricultural primary schools as the research field, a semistructured interview was conducted with 12 teachers engaged in management, teaching, and scientific research. According to the analysis of NVivo data, the Rural Revitalization Strategy promotes the expansion of agricultural primary schools in the four functional areas of teaching, scientific research, social services and cultural inheritance, and innovation, that is, to provide the “three rural” identity and value construction of agricultural primary school students under the curriculum reform; build first-class disciplines and first-class research and become the booster of Rural Revitalization; create a “decent” campus culture for agriculture, rural areas, and farmers; and cultivate new talents with morality, feelings, knowledge and ability.

The role of 360º virtual reality in social intervention: a further contribution to the theory-practice relationship of social work studies

ABSTRACT This pioneering study in Spain in this specific area of knowledge, social work and social services, is framed around the incorporation of Virtual Reality (VR) in the social work teaching-learning process using 360º videos during the COVID-19 pandemic. Owing to the impossibility of face-to-face interaction, in order to put theory into practice, a VR simulation application—the Innovation Social Work App (iSWAPP) – was developed (intellectual property registration number 04/2021/491). In order to study the factors that determine the predisposition of social work students to use VR as a complementary pedagogical tool in the theory-practice learning process to acquire professional skills, a quantitative analysis was performed using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The study was performed in May 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic with a sample comprising 42 social work undergraduates at the University of Cádiz. The most significant results were the opportunities and potential of VR in the teaching-learning process, especially in teaching practice. The conclusions of the study show that 360° VR enables progress to be made in response to the structural need to build positive bidirectional synergies between theory and practice in social work in order to improve the quality of professional intervention.

Study on the effect of AIDS preventive cascade services provided by social organizations for men who have sex with men in China

Objective: To analyze the effect and main gaps of each stage in the AIDS prevention cascade for men who have sex with men (MSM) provided in intervention projects supported by the China AIDS Fund for non-governmental organizations (CAFNGO) and provide suggestions to improve the quality of cascade services and project management. Methods: Data were collected through the CAFNGO management information system and field interviews to analyze the differences in the number of MSM receiving HIV testing and confirming tests, the newly reported patients, and the number of antiviral treatment (ART) referrals of newly established reported patients among different social organization service areas. A service chain chart was also drawn. Results: Between 2016 and 2020, 1 508 MSM intervention projects were funded by CAFNGO, including 1 183 234 MSM being mobilized to receive HIV testing. However, only 68.8% (1 183 234/1 719 139) of the testing capacity of social organizations was covered by these projects. As a result, 55 783 HIV-positive MSM were detected in preliminary screening, and only 86.6% (48 327/55 783) received confirming tests. The proportion of newly reported infections was 3.8% (45 347/1 183 234). The ratio of antiviral treatment (ART) referrals for newly reported patients between 2017 and 2020 was 89.8% (32 719/36 444). 75.8%(1 143/1 508) of total MSM intervention projects were implemented by community-based organizations (Non-registered civil affairs departments). In comparison, organizations registered in civil affairs departments took up 24.2% (365/1 508) of the total MSM intervention projects. No significant difference was noticed in the proportion of newly reported infected (3.8% and 3.8%) and the ratio of ART referrals (89.7% and 89.9%) between community-based organizations and registered organizations' projects. But these two proportions are significantly different between these two types of organizations in some areas in China. Conclusions: The AIDS prevention cascade established in CAFNGO has effectively promoted the early detection and treatment of infected MSM. However, CAFNGO needs more financial support to extend testing coverage for MSM. Meanwhile, confirmation testing for positives in preliminary screening and ART referrals needs to be improved for newly reported patients. In addition, various capacity building needs to be provided for different social organizations.

Health Services, Counseling, Psychological, and Social Services: Implementing the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model

Schools can address the barriers to the educational success of students by utilizing the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model in the areas of health services, counseling, psychological and social services. Health and Physical Education (PE) teachers are uniquely positioned to assist in the reduction of physical and mental health barriers to learning by participating in the WSCC team; and to help integrate plans to address academic, behavioral, social, and emotional needs. Their unique role as experts in health and physical activity also allows the time and format to integrate health and mental health systems of support within their curriculum. Health and PE teachers can work within the existing programs and frameworks utilized in schools to promote a positive school environment and improve the physical and mental well-being of students.

Smart Age-Friendly Villages: Literature Review and Research Agenda

The European concept of Smart Villages encompasses the digital transformation of many activities to revitalise rural areas. Smart Village is based on modern technology such as sensors, robotics, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, enabling a direct connection between consumer and producer, sharing machines and services. The application of smart technologies to support mobility, care for the elderly, e-health, tourism, decentralised energy empowers rural areas to develop a system of services that can lead to eco-social or even self-sufficient rural regions. Caring for the elderly is one of the most significant challenges for all of us and an excellent opportunity for the concept of Smart Silver Villages. Older adults want to stay longer independent in their rural community and live their prosperous lives, with minimum possible health risks. However, the literature related to the Smart Villages concept primarily covers energy infrastructure, digital infrastructure, agriculture, and much less the area of social services and care for the older population in rural areas. This paper aims to review the literature of care services in rural communities to encourage scientists to do more research work and develop sophisticated models for this nowadays and future important area of wellbeing for humans.

Role Expectations and Observed Performance of School Counsellors in Edo State of Nigeria

This study investigated school counsellors’ awareness of their cognate role expectations and the observed performance of these roles. Three research questions were raised as guide for the study. The descriptive survey research design was used for the study. Purposive sampling procedure was used to select twenty public schools with professional counsellors in Edo State. From the selected schools, five students each from Senior Secondary School Two (SS2), who volunteered to participate in the study, were used for data collection. Two structured self-constructed questionnaire were personally administered by the researcher, one for counsellors and one for students. The data obtained were analysed using frequency counts and percentages, and mean ratings. The results obtained revealed that counsellors were aware of all their role expectations except in the area of appraisal service, counsellors role performances were unsatisfactory in the areas of orientation service, appraisal service, vocational and personal social services and information service. The counsellors however, performed satisfactorily in other five areas such as; individual and group counselling, educational counselling, follow up and referral counselling services and there were evidences of constraints to effective implementation of counselling services in the schools studied. Based on the findings of the study, some recommendations were made that school principals should be more supportive of the school counsellors’ work and also there should be regular workshop for training and retraining of school counsellors to enable them upgrade their knowledge and skills. It is hoped that the recommendations put forward in this paper, would go a long way in promoting counselling services in the schools, while further sustained research on this subject matter is required. Keywords: Counsellors, cognate role, expectations, observed performance. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-36-12 Publication date: December 31 st 2021

Demographic, Transition, and Vocational Rehabilitation Service Variables’ Association With High School Completion Outcomes of Youth With Disabilities Receiving SSI

Completing high school expands career prospects for young adults with disabilities, increasing their likelihood for gainful employment. Those who graduate from high school are more likely to have higher salaries and longer job tenure than those who do not have high school diplomas. As such, graduating from high school is a significant milestone for students with disabilities. Yet, the specific predictors of high school completion among youth with disabilities are not well understood. This study used three multiple logistic regression analyses and a hierarchical logistic regression analysis to evaluate demographic, PROMISE transition services, and vocational rehabilitation (VR) services as predictors of high school completion in a sample of 350 transition-age youth receiving Supplemental Security Income. Among the demographic variables examined, race, disability type, parent education, and family income were significant predictors of completion. For transition services, social skills training and self-advocacy training were independently associated with high school completion, while miscellaneous training was the only independent significant VR service predictor. Findings support the importance of pre-employment transition services, especially in the areas of social skills training, self-advocacy training, and VR services in the areas of miscellaneous training that can be used to promote completion of high school.