Social Policy Practice Research Articles

Rola usług socjalnych w kreowaniu wizerunku organizacji pozarządowej na przykładzie Caritas Diecezji Radomskiej

New conditions for the functioning of the non-profit sector and changes in the external environment of these organizations related to the dissemination of the paradigm of multi-sectoral social policy, which is an instrument for achieving personalized, professionally produced and supplied social services, make the commitment and civic activity in this area is essential transformation. Non-governmental organizations operate in many areas of social life, supported mainly by individuals, provide a service for public institutions and other NGOs. The most popular form of action is the direct provision of services to members, clients and dependents of the organization. This high position of this direct activities aimed at the needy is the most heartwarming and positive trend of civil society. Providing services to individuals, non-governmental organizations take part and support the tasks of public institutions. It should be noted that the increase in cooperation between NGOs and public institutions contribute to the building of networks and the multiplication of social capital. Transformation of the civil sector expressed the necessity of taking care of self-image non-governmental organizations and their use of the instruments of public relations in the process of building favorable relationships with all actors in the environment internal and external (volunteers, donors, people who use its services, or members of the whole society). In the article shown the process of creating and changing the image through social services for different groups of beneficiaries. Analyzed Caritas Diocese of Radom - an organization that strongly rooted in the practice of local social policy, demonstrating not only professionalism in social work, but also the ability to cooperate and create partnerships and clarity own image.

A cross-national and comparative classification of in-country awareness and policy responses to ‘young carers’

ABSTRACTThe reality for many families where there is chronic illness, mental health problems, disability, alcohol or substance misuse is that children under the age of 18 are involved in caring. Many of these children – known as ‘young carers’ – will be providing regular and significant care, either episodically or over many years, often ‘hidden’ to health, social care and other welfare professionals and services. These children have most often been invisible in social policy and professional practice. What are the reasons why some countries recognize young carers as a priority for social policy while others (most) do not? What are the key factors that influence a country’s awareness and responses to these children? This article provides an original classification and analysis of country-level responses to young carers, drawing on published research, grey literature, policy documents and the authors’ extensive engagement in policy and practice networks for young carers and their families in a wide range of countries. The analysis identifies two of the key factors that influence the extent and nature of these policy responses, focusing on the importance of a reliable in-country research base and the contribution of influential national NGOs and their networks.

“We Routinely Borrow to Survive”: Exploring the Financial Capability of Income-Poor People in India.

A lack of financial capability—financial opportunities and abilities—and poverty are highly interlinked. Over 65 percent of people in India are excluded from any financial services. This article explores income-poor Indians’ experiences with financial capability through a qualitative study. Purposive sampling was used to collect data from 658 individuals, through focus groups (n = 566) and face-to-face interviews (n = 92). Findings show that 97 percent of respondents had the opportunity to earn an income, and 55 percent earned through financial inclusion programs, but 87 percent of respondents earned less than U.S. $2 a day. Although almost all saved and needed to borrow, 46 percent were eligible for formal savings and only 23 percent for formal loans. Financial abilities or knowledge and skills related to income, savings, and loans were higher among the few who had a stable income or had medium and high income in relation to those who had unstable and low income. Respondents experienced many challenges with their financial capabilities, including borrowing to save, fearing formal loans, and lacking clarity about loan and interest rate; banks miscalculating interest rates; and political parties influencing access to loans. Implications for social policy and social work practice are discussed.

Racial inequality and the implementation of emergency management laws in economically distressed urban areas

This study examines the use of emergency management laws as a policy response to fiscal emergencies in urban areas. Focusing on one Midwestern Rust Belt state, we use a mixed methods approach – integrating chronology of legislative history, analysis of Census data, and an ethnographic case study – to examine the dynamics of emergency management laws from a social justice perspective. Analysis of Census data showed that emergency management policies disproportionately affected African Americans and poor families. Analysis indicated that in one state, 51% of African American residents and 16.6% of Hispanic or Latinos residents had lived in cities that were under the governance of an emergency manager at some time during 2008–2013, whereas only 2.4% of the White population similarly had lived in cities under emergency management. An ethnographic case study highlights the mechanisms by which an emergency manager hindered the ability of residents in one urban neighborhood, expected to host a large public works project, to obtain a Community Benefits Agreement intended to provide assistance to residents, most of whom were poor families with young children. We conclude with a discussion of how emergency management laws may impact social service practice and policy practice in urban communities, framed from a social justice perspective. We argue that these are not race neutral policies, given clear evidence of race and ethnic disparities in their implementation.

Familial Factors Influencing Age-Heterogamy vs. Age-Homogamy in Marriage in Bangladesh: Implication for Social Policy Practice

This study examines whether family patterns (social origin of family, marital SES, arranged marriage, higher family size norm, and patriarchal family structure (e.g., extended/joint family, patrilocal residence, and family authority) affect age-heterogamy in marriage in rural Bangladesh. One thousand seven hundred fifty-five pairs of married couples for research purpose were randomly selected from Tanore Upazila of Rajshahi district, Bangladesh. The selected couples (e.g., both husband and wife) were individually interviewed, using questionnaire method (e.g., open-ended and close-ended questions). The collected data were analyzed, applying Spearman’s rank order bivariate correlation, X 2 test, and binary logistic regression. Descriptive findings indicated that most of the couples (76.58 %) studied were age-heterogamous than age-homogenous (23.42 %) in the study area. Results suggested that age-heterogamous marriages than age-homogamous marriages were significantly associated with ethnicity, marital SES, family income, arranged marriage norms, patrilocal residence, and autocratic family authority, adjusting for sex, age, age at marriage, and marital duration. Of the predicting factors, Muslim ethnicity, lower marital SES, middle family income, arranged marriage, middle family size, patrilocal residence, and autocratic family authority were the greatest (1–3 % times) risks factors to persist age-heterogamous marriages among the married couples in rural Bangladesh. This research found that age-heterogamous marriages than age-homogamous marriages were significantly associated with Muslim collective identity than Santal identity, hyper marital SES, arranged marriage, middle family size, and patriarchal family structure (patrilocal residence and men’s absolute authority than other characteristics in the family in rural Bangladesh, adjusting for current age, age at first marriage, and marital duration. The findings may have implications in social policy practice with age-heterogamous married couples in rural Bangladesh.

구 동독 사회정책의 이념과 실제

구 동독 사회정책의 이념과 실제

‘It’s good but it’s not enough’: the relational geographies of social policy and youth mentoring interventions

Developing a critical analysis of the relational and situated practices of social policy, this paper draws on an evaluation of an early intervention project in Scotland (UK) where volunteer adult mentors supported young people ‘at risk’ of offending or antisocial behaviour. Contributing to ‘enlivened’ accounts of social practice, we explore how practices of mentoring developed through the co-presence of mentor and young person in the often transitory spaces of care which characterized the ‘diversionary activities’ approach in the project. We expand the notion of the relational in social practice beyond the care-recipient dyad to include wider networks of care (families, programme workers, social institutions). The paper explores how such social interventions might both be ‘good’ for the young people involved, and yet recognize critiques that more individualized models of intervention inevitably have limitations which make them ‘not enough’ to deal with structural inequalities and disadvantages. Acknowledging the impacts of neoliberalism, we argue critical attention to diverse situated relational practices points to the excessive nature of engagement in social policy and provides scope for transformative practice where young people’s geographies can be ‘upscaled’ to connect to the realms of social policy and practice.

Performing dialogical Dutchness: negotiating a national imaginary in parenting guidance

AbstractIn contemporary Europe, national identities are fiercely contested and governments have sought ways to strengthen national identification. Notwithstanding this European pattern, government policies are implemented differently and belonging to the nation comes to involve different images and enactments across contexts. In the Netherlands, especially, belonging to the nation is at stake in many high‐profile public and political struggles. In this context, a pervasive public imaginary we call ‘dialogical Dutchness’ represents the Dutch as distinctly anti‐nationalist and open to difference. This raises the question whether national boundaries actually become traversable in view of such a national imaginary. How does one become a Dutch subject if Dutchness entails not being nationalist? Through the analysis of a Dutch social policy practice – state‐provided parenting courses – we show how dialogical Dutchness is negotiated and transformed in actual enactments of national difference and belonging. Although dialogical Dutchness foregrounds openness to difference and valorises discussion, it comes to perpetuate and substantiate boundaries between those who belong to the nation and those whose belonging is still in question.

International trends in Russian social work

Social work in Russia has been undergoing a process of reform nationally and with regard to the international context. The present paper outlines the international trends in three main social work spheres: social work education, social services policy and social work practice. In the introduction background information on the social and economic situation in Russia is provided. The first section of paper is devoted to the main features of development of social work in Russia. In the next section, some of the key issues of development of social work education in Russia are discussed. The system of social work higher education is being reformed in accordance with the principles of the Bologna process. Therefore, the importance of cooperation with European universities is increasing. In the next section, attention turns to the broad policy context of social services and to government attempts to reform social services. New legislation for the Russian system of social services is being developed in line with neoliberal trends that characterize many European countries. Then the paper focuses on social work practice in Russia. The theoretical perspectives of current Russian social work practice are primarily concerned with prevention and empowerment. Finally, an example is given of the Russian-Finnish project ‘Empowerment of families with children’, which contributed to improving the effectiveness of family and child welfare services in the border regions.

Sosyal Belediyecilik Uygulamalarında Kent Bilgi Sistemlerinin Kullanımı: Konya Büyükşehir Belediyesi Örneği

Social policies, which have gained importance after Industrial Revolution have substantially changed in line with economic understanding. With global oil crisis in the 1970s, the process of transformation in which wealth state enter has also influenced wealth. This process of transformation which can be summarized as passage to free market economy by abandoning Keynesian economic policies, governments come to decentralize their non-fundamental duties to local administrations, private sector or non-governmental organizations. Together with social policy practices of central administrations, local administrations have come to the fore as fundamental social politic actors by moving with the times. The weight of local administrations in social policy systems can vary along countries and in recent years it is seen that municipalities in Turkey has started come to the fore with social policy practices. The concept of social policy is adopted in municipal work as social municipal work. In this context, with social data center project by the Konya Metropolitan Municipality a detailed investigation is carried out on the social fabric of the city. The project aims to inform every relief institution about any relief received in the system, to help those who are indeed need, to prevent repetitive aids and thus abuse, fairly distribute relief supplies, prevent waste of recourses by informing relief institutions to a maximum extend. In this study, the importance of data about social fabric needed to make optimal decisions in conduction of civic services and information obtained was analyzed

Advocacy research and social policy

Purpose – Much social policy research today is commissioned, published and publicised by organisations with direct involvement in that particular aspect of policy. Whilst much good can result from such “advocacy research”, at times the tactics employed by some groups have been criticised for exaggerated claims making and sensationalist reporting as they attempt to get their particular issue into the political and public domain and also generate more government funding and/or increase public donations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate such claims. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper the author wishes to look at some of the tactics utilised by advocacy groups in order to establish the legitimacy of their particular concern. The author focuses on material published by Action for Children and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and between 2010 and 2012 in relation to child maltreatment, critically analysing them from a social constructionist standpoint and drawing on aspects of moral panic theory. Findings – The paper concludes by warning of the dangers for both social policy and related practice that can arise from uncritically accepting the claims of contemporary moral entrepreneurs. Originality/value – This paper uses theoretical concepts to analyse contemporary campaigns by two charity organisations.

Family socio-cultural values affecting early marriage between Muslim and Santal communities in rural Bangladesh

Purpose – Family socio-cultural values and its practices have pervasive effects on early age at first marriage in every society. The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare how family socio-cultural values and its practices exert effect on early age at first marriage between Muslim and Santal couples in rural Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – First of all through snow-ball process and checking of marriage documents the author carefully identified 598 couples from Muslim and 560 from Santal who were married the first time between 1995 and 2005 years and whose age range was 12-48 years for husbands and 10-45 years for wives. Then, 585 pairs of couples (295 for Muslim and 290 for Santal) were randomly selected from the Talonda of Rajshahi district, Bangladesh. Data were collected, applying interview method with semi-structural questionnaire in family setting. Then the collected data were analyzed, using χ2 test and binary logistic regression (BLR) technique. Findings – The frequency distribution showed that most of the Santal couples compared to the Muslim ones were married before the minimum legal age in Bangladesh. The results of χ2 test of the frequency distribution were significant at p<0.01 and p<0.05 level. In addition, results of BLR analysis suggested that early age at first marriage was significantly (p<0.01 and p<0.05) associated with family socio-cultural values studied. It is argued that ethnicity, family pattern, residence pattern, illiteracy and ascriptive occupational status were the risk factors to persist early marriage among the Santal couples than the Muslim ones in rural Bangladesh. Practical implications – Although the findings are suggestive to understand differences in early marriage associated with family socio-cultural values between the ethnic couples, further cross-cultural study should be conducted on how socio-psychological factors affect early marriage between the ethnic groups. In spite of the limitations these findings may have implications in comparative social policy practice to prevent early marriage associated with changes in family socio-cultural values between the ethnic groups in Bangladesh. Originality/value – The findings in the paper are original in linking between family socio-cultural theory, its related policy and practice to prevent early marriage between the ethnic couples in Bangladesh.

Politics: The phenomenon of social policy and its usage

In this work we are trying to comprehend social policy as a major field in politics, explaining its theoretical specificity in order to offer the reader the basic ideas of the phenomena: politics, social and social policy. Our intention is to analyze, through the contents of social policy, its use in social life as the means of governing and ruling, winning and keeping power and progress of society. Theoretically and scientifically, it is quite justified to consider social policy through these three spheres avoiding the stereotype present in theory and practice of social policy, its place and role in life of an individual, group, state, region and society in global sphere. We want to point out its vitality and its importance in development of each community, especially in the moment of global processes, reforms, change of value system, when important and unimportant, essence and form, lasting and temporary are often confused. We want to show that without conducting substantial and constructive policy no policy and organization of society are possible referring to the man of this century. The essence of social riddle solving is in architecture and design of society that will develop itself in harmony and progress, in which the conflicts will be minor and prosperity will be achieved in the unity of political, economic and social.

Different social practices of corporate social policy (on the example of russian enterprises)

Different social practices of corporate social policy (on the example of russian enterprises)

Дифференциация социальных практик корпоративной социальной политики (на примере российских предприятий)

Дифференциация социальных практик корпоративной социальной политики (на примере российских предприятий)

Melancholy and happiness

This paper explores an under-theorised phenomenon – the experience of melancholy as an enhancer of happiness. Drawing from philosophy and literature, I define melancholy as an experience that combines the pleasure of feeling sad with sober self-reflection. Despite expectations to the contrary, two potentially positive outcomes of melancholy are identified – insightful pensiveness, and emotional connectedness with loss and pain. These outcomes can enhance happiness as understood in key texts of contemporary Anglo-American philosophy, and, consistent with findings in psychology, also have important implications for wider debates in social policy and welfare practice. First, the pensiveness associated with melancholy can make unique contributions to personal insights, and help develop and fulfill ‘authentic happiness’ and ‘informed desires’. These contributions oppose hedonist accounts of happiness, but are conducive to enhancing happiness properly understood. Second, melancholy can also provide a psychologically safe arena for experiencing loss and pain, where a person can more positively accept the limits of the human condition. This acceptance enhances her happiness, as she is better able to live ‘in the moment’ and so derive satisfaction from her presently-orientated activities and commitments.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANISATION

This article provides an overview and history, as well as outlining the aims, objectives and organizational structure of the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (DENOSA). The role and responsibility of DENOSA as a professional association is delineated in relation to social policy development, service and practice affairs, nursing education and professional advancement, research, socio-economic welfare and its trade union wing. The history of the national nursing association in the country since 1944 leading to the establishment of DENOSA in 1996 is also briefly described. The objectives and structures are outlined, and the national, regional and international networks to which the organization belongs, identified. The roles and responsibilities of the organisation are then critically analyzed and illustrated with regard to current projects. In conclusion, the challenges faced by the organization are mentioned.

Revisiting ISSA's Dynamic Social Security: 2007–2014, and beyond

AbstractThe International Social Security Association's (ISSA) Dynamic Social Security conceptual framework has been developed as a tool to identify and analyse current and emerging challenges in social security policy and administrative practice and to guide decision‐makers in developing effective and sustainable responses to these. The longer‐term core objective of the framework is to help extend social security coverage to all through the development of effective social security systems that contributed to socially inclusive and economically productive societies. As revealed by an examination of the ISSA's work priorities, perceptions of the framework have evolved over time. In some instances greater emphasis has been given by the Association to policy analysis, especially in support of the objective of coverage extension. More recently the emphasis has been placed on the practical necessity to support the development of higher performing social security administrations; a core mission objective of the ISSA. In looking to identify future challenges (megatrends) that hold the potential to impact negatively upon social security programmes and administrations, and to develop appropriate responses to these, the ISSA should keep sight of the fact that Dynamic Social Security has an essential analytical role as well as a practical one.

Exploration and Implication of Value Orientation Patterns in Social Policy-Practice with Ethnic Communities in Bangladesh

PurposeValue orientation patterns (VOPs) are the fundamental existential and relational problems among traditional ethnic communities in Bangladesh. Using Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s analytical framework (e.g., man-nature, human nature, time, activity, and relation), we explore, compare, and imply VOPs and its interrelationships in social policy-practice among Muslim, Hindu, Santal, and Oraon ethnic groups in Bangladesh.MethodFor research purpose, 585 respondents (Muslim = 150 and 145 per for Hindu, Santal, and Oraon) were selected through cluster random sampling from Rasulpur union, Naogaon, Bangladesh. Relevant data were collected through semistructural questionnaire method with interview technique. We explored and analyzed variations in VOPs among the ethnic groups using Pearson chi-squire test. Spearman rank order correlation technique was applied to analyze interrelationships of the VOPs studied.ResultsThe descriptive findings showed that VOPs of the ethnic groups explored were the first ranges and directions in Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s framework used. The results suggested that the VOPs examined in the study were significantly different and also interrelated at p < 0.01 level among the ethnic groups in Rasulpur of Bangladesh.Conclusion and ImplicationsThe cross-cultural findings on the differences in and relationships between VOPs, that were traditional-emotional in nature, may exert effects on interpersonal and interethnic community relations in Bangladesh. The findings, therefore, may be implied in comparative social policy to design culturally sensitive sociocognitive programs intended to change in the ethnic communities’ traditional-emotional VOPs into rational-pragmatic ones. Social work practitioners also may practice their social knowledge and skills to change in VOPs and build up harmonious, justified, and balanced interethnic group relations in Bangladesh.

I'm Game, are You? Reducing Real-World Security Threats by Managing Employee Activity in Online Social Networks

ABSTRACTEmployees' use of online social networking (OSN) is dramatically increasing the risk exposure of companies. This study extends previous information security policy compliance research to include factors influencing employees to play OSN games on company-owned computers. An online factorial survey method experiment collected data from a sample of white-collar workers for testing hypotheses based upon accountability and boundary theories. The likelihood to play OSN games is tested with and without a policy related to this behavior. Results indicate that the presence of a social networking policy, logging awareness, and monitoring practices reduced participants' likelihood of playing OSN games on company-owned computers. After splitting the sample on the presence/absence of an OSN policy, results show that in the presence of a policy, monitoring practices and age significantly reduced the participants' likelihood of playing. In the absence of a policy, logging and monitoring reduced the likelihood of playing.