UiS Open Journals (Univ. of Stavanger)
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An Injured Body\u27s Encounter With Cultural Discourses: Young Women’s Experiences of an Injured Body
Get PDFThis article discusses the significance of gender in the encounter between an injured body and cultural discourses. When young women who self-harm present bodies that deviate from the norms for what female bodies should look like, they face sanctions. Young women who injure their own bodies are affected by social discourses about expectations for women and women’s bodies, which in turn affect their gender identities. This article builds on interviews with 12 young women who injure or have injured their own bodie
Assessment in Child Protection: social workers\u27 voices in England and Norway
Get PDFGood quality assessment in Child Protection is crucial to ensure adequate protection and provision. This article explores social workers` experiences with two different Child Protection assessment models: the “professional judgment model”, exemplified by Norway, and the “structured assessment model”, exemplified by England. The aim is to explore the experiences of social workers who carry out assessments in England and Norway, and compare and discuss these experiences in light of “accountability” theory
Resource Development in Canada’s North: Impacts on Families and Communities
Get PDFThe growth of global economies, particularly in Asia, has resulted in an increased demand for natural resources. Canada is a large country rich in hydrocarbons and minerals, and the exploitation of these resources is a priority for Canadian provincial and federal governments. In their rush to reap the economic benefits of resource development, governments have concentrated on creating optimal conditions for the corporations that exploit and produce the resources in northern and remote regions of the country. The rapid promotion of development has meant that families and communities are usually given secondary consideration. The changes associated with resource development exert some serious negative effects on communities and families, and it is important for social workers to understand this reality in order to deliver service in an effective manner.This research used a case study method to examine three examples of the effects of resource development on families and communities in Canada: long distance commuting to the Athabaska oil sands and the effects on families in Newfoundland, diamond mining and the Tlicho people of Wekwee´ti´ in the Northwest Territories, and the large influx of construction workers to develop the processing and port facilities in the community of Kitimat in northwestern British Columbia. The results can inform social work education, as well as the practice of social workers located in remote communities affected by rapid resource development
Memories from the frontline: One unforgettable experience of a child protection social worker in northern Canada
Get PDFIn this essay, a critical incident involving an experienced child protection social worker and a First Nation family is deconstructed utilizing Jan Fook’s Critical Reflection Technique (2002). This deconstruction process investigates the issues of professional boundaries, revictimization, vicarious trauma, power and oppression and the ideas surrounding what a “real” and “good” social worker is. Through the reconstruction process, it is discovered that the assumptions underlying these issues are not helpful, and in fact are harmful to both the social worker’s sense of self as well as to social work practice. A discussion on how to avoid succumbing to the assumptions and expectations is then generated as a means to encourage professional practice without fear. Lastly, a strength-based perspective will be utilized to demonstrate how theory was operationalized with this First Nation family
Regional social planning for childhood in Italy
Get PDFThe objective of the study is that of a planning document analysis of social and health-care policies developed by Italian regional governments during the period from 2007-2010, in order to identify a context analysis, objectives, actions relating to children and to verify the presence of an orientation to child’s rights.The document analysis concerning regional programmes for children was conducted employing a programme theory approach. This approach is used in order to compare programmes that, while very different in breadth and general scope, are nevertheless intervention plans for children, with the purpose of identifying the presence of common models and classifying any resulting differences
Social work in municipalities: contested changes with implications for the profession?
Get PDFThe point of departure of this article is contemporary changes in the relationship between national and local decision making in the Norwegian political system. The last decades’ centralization tendencies seem to be challenged by a “new” emphasis on local discretion, and the article discusses how this will affect social work in municipalities. The changes are contested and controversial and allude to questions such as how much discretion should be given to local decision makers in the name of local democracy, and how much difference should be accepted in the name of diversity? The article argues that professional social work must be context-specific, meaning that in a wide sense local knowledge is a prerequisite for good social work. Devolution and local political and professional discretion are necessary in many cases, but not sufficient in themselves as conditions for success. Professional social workers will encounter a lot of difficult dilemmas arousing from issues related to the equality/liberty debate and the diversity/difference/equality debate in social work discourses. In order to approach these dilemmas, more of a focus on local deliberation and place shaping, in combination with a social work focus on democratic professionalism, is necessary. If this is done successfully, devolution and a recapturing of local discretion and decision-making power will empower clients as well as professionals. Thus, current changes in the relationship between different levels of decision making will enlarge the possibilities for professional social work in the municipalities
Sankofa: Looking Back at my Practice Encounter with Witchcraft, HIV/AIDS and Disability in Ghana
Get PDFSocial work students are trained to develop and maintain a professional sense of integrity, particularly when working in environments beyond their control. Using critical reflection as an example, students are encouraged to pause and reflect during practice encounters, which entails a reassessment of the situation. The aim is to help transform taken for granted ways of thinking and doing things into best practices. In this sense, students are provided with perspectives on theoretical frameworks and encouraged to appreciate the essence of maximizing practice through a culture of learning and reflection. Through the approach of critical reflection, students are also encouraged to understand how power functions in society, especially through ways in which an individual attempts to maintain unequal social relations. Critical reflection therefore helps students to fill knowledge gaps on how to discover and address inequalities in practice situations
Criteria of implementing feeding assistance robots in disability care: a sociomaterial perspective
Get PDFThis article discusses the entanglement of implementing welfare technology in disability care, and draws on ethnographic observations from a pilot project involving 30 disabled citizens from three different boroughs in Denmark. The disabled citizens suffered from diseases such as multiple sclerosis and cerebral paralysis. The article follows four care assistants and four citizens through a period of 10 months, focusing particularly on the experiences and struggle of two citizens. Against this background, the article takes up a number of conflicting values and criteria practiced by diverse interested groups: 1. employee retrenchment, 2. citizen independence and 3. workforce flexibility. The main argument is that the housing institution studied has turned into a battlefield, where professional values of authentic care meet a strong governmental discourse of modernization of the public sector. The study demonstrates that the implementation of welfare technology in disability care is highly fragile, which is predominantly due to the delicate body-technology assembly, and takes place in agony