Whiting & Birch (E-Journals)
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The Perception of Leaders: A Competitive Test of Social Exchange Theory and Equity Theory
No full textSocial exchange theory and equity theory were used to examine the perception of leaders in a small group context. Participants (n = 154), involved in a semester long group project assessed their leaders contributions to the task and maintenance of the group using measures gauging social exchange and equity forces. These measures were regressed onto desire to work with the leader again in the future. Overall, the results indicate greater support for social exchange theory
In search of social work's post-risk paradigm
Get PDFThis paper describes a paradigmatic shift in child protection practice within the UK, arguing that there is a move away from the risk paradigm but that its replacement is not yet defined. The paper draws upon the critical literature to elucidate this shift and to give examples and arguments for why the risk paradigm is unsustainable and how this has created an essential tension within the profession. The paper finds that while the case against the risk perspective is strongly argued there is not yet a coherent perspective to replace it. The author suggests that this is problematic as practitioners are left with a toolkit of technical interventions to guide their practice but what is missing is the capacity to develop an ethic of practice due to a failure of social work in the UK to engage with philosophical questions about its remit. The paper concludes that social work education needs to focus more on ethical fluency rather than being stuck on statistical understandings of practice and policy in order to achieve a shift in paradigm from ‘risk’ to ‘ethics’
The Eureka Moment? The creation of the British Welfare State
Get PDFThis article explores when the welfare state was established in Britain. First it examines the definitions of the welfare state, before turning to outline the methods and criteria used in exploring the establishment of welfare states. It then discusses the criteria that have been applied to the British case (expenditure; legislation; content; social citizenship; antithesis of the Poor Law) before critically analysing the arguments for different creation periods for the British welfare state (Old Poor Law; nineteenth century; Liberal reforms; inter-war period; 1945; later periods). It is concluded that while the strongest case and the greatest number of dimensions suggest 1945, in the words of T H Marshall: ‘we may still be in doubt what was the exact combination of circumstances in Britain in the 1940's which evoked that cry of "Eureka !
Improving understanding of service user involvement and identity: Disabled people bringing ourselves out of the half-shadows
Get PDFAbstract: We are a group of disabled service users ‘whose experiences are semi-visible or semi-acknowledged within normative discourses’. We have conducted research with other disabled service users to circumvent challenges of research co-production and facilitate inclusion in research of ourselves and our disabled peers who are frequently described as ‘hard to reach’. We carried out this research in order to enhance our own visibility as researchers and bring our experience as disabled service-user representatives out of the ‘half shadows’. In doing this we hoped to expand awareness of the dynamics at play in service user-representation. This research arose directly out of the concerns of the late Patricia Chambers, a disabled woman who expressed deep concern about how her experience as a service user –representative was routinely rendered semi-visible or semi-acknowledged within normative discourses. It begins to explore the extent of our rendition to the half-shadows and to work out strategies for bringing our experience in to the light.Keywords: research access; visibility; service users; user-led research; experienc
Understanding contemporary Family Support: Reflections on theoretical and conceptual frameworks
Get PDFFamily Support is a transdisciplinary field made up of practices and knowledge from different areas, theories and approaches. This article strives to contribute to the development of this complex epistemological foundation by undertaking a review of the main theoretical frameworks. The relationship between the practice and theory of Family Support is analysed in the paper. A review of the ‘state of the art’ is undertaken, exploring both the role of wide-ranging social theory, and more specific psycho-social theories. Practical examples are provided to ground the analysis. Finally, the article proposes an integrated model proposed providing a critical and versatile approach to understanding different realities. Cross-national joint construction is encouraged to advance Family Support as both a theory and to provide a framework which guides both practice and policy
DECISION-MAKING IN THERAPEUTIC GROUPS
Get PDFThe major focus in the group literature on decision-making processes has been in the area of task groups. Relatively little attention has been given to these processes in relation to therapeutic groups. There are linkages between the stages of group decision making and group development which can add understanding and knowledge to practice in therapeutic groups.Publisher’s note: We are now putting all back issues of Groupwork on line. Articles in this issue have been scanned to pdf files as viable original typesetting files no longer exist. Though they may not look it, these files are to some extent searchable. This issue was published nearly 30 years ago. We have stated author professional details as received at time of publication
Using technology for studying populations off the social mainstream
No full textRecognition has been growing of the importance and unique challenges of studying the experience and related personal and relationship outcomes in marginalized populations (e.g. nonwhites, non-heterosexual, indigenous people, those impacted by poverty, physical disability and mental illness, victims of domestic violence). Traditional social research yielded limited knowledge about such population groups due to issues of positionality, limited accessibility and stigmatization. Partcipatory and qualitative methods offered some culturally sensitive effective strategies for generating relevant knowledge about ‘hidden’ populations that were excluded from past research. The constant development of technology expands the possibilities for such research by offering innovative ways to address some of the aforementioned challenges in accessing previously hard to reach population groups and collecting rich data especially relative to sensitive topics. These developments raised debates regarding ethical, logistic and methodological issues including the potential impact of social desirability and differential access to technology. Informed by a review of available knowledge about groups in the half shadows and about using technology for social research, this article discusses and uses two case examples to illustrate employing technology-assisted research of populations under the radar. Future research should continue to focus on identifying additional uses of technology to further develop ways of generating knowledge about those who have been ‘in the half shadow’ to inform the development of appropriate services, intervention strategies and policies that can help enhance social justice
