1,721,021 research outputs found
Beyond cultural competence: working across cultures in a globalized world
No full text[Extract] Cultures increasingly interact with each other through the process of globalization, and organizations and individuals resort to different models of cross-cultural practice to manage their interactions constructively. Of these models, cultural competence is arguably the most widely used model in countries of the "Western" world. It is undoubtedly a very attractive model from an organizational perspective, in that it premises competence as something that can be achieved and measured objectively. However, the conceptual base of the model raises some very critical questions concerning the achievability and desirability of competence, and whether it reflects a colonial approach (with the inherent power relationships), and assumes that cultures are static rather than constantly evolving and modified through interaction
Community development and mental health promotion
No full textIt is estimated that 450 million people are experiencing mental illness at any one time, most of whom live in developing countries and a great majority of them being women (World Health Organization, 2001). Mental illness affects one in four people at some stage during their lives. This paper based on a review of literature delineates the scope of community development in mental health promotion. To make more meaning relevant Australian references are utilised in this review essay. Mental illness is common in Australia with one in five Australians experiencing a mental illness at some stage in their lives, and many experiencing more than one mental illness at one time (Mindframe National Media Initiative, 2011). In this paper the authors review perspectives currently available for health promotion in social work in relation to mental health. The authors emphasise the importance of strength-based community development perspectives in mental health practice and an attempt is made to put forward an integrated model for, addressing mental health issues in a community context. The model looks at highlighting the need for developing and sustaining community spirit and promoting resilience in communities
Community work in the context of uncertainty: challenges and opportunites
No full textIn this last chapter, the authors intend to provide a snapshot of the main discussions, themes and issues that have emerged for us. As has been evident from the previous chapters, community practice takes places in a wider socio-political context and social workers/community development workers are urged to 'work with people rather than for people'. We appreciate that we live in a world of uncertainties and we do not know what the future holds for us either. This is true for several communities across the globe that are deprived of basic necessities in life and are dependent on the NGOs or Government interventions to find a solution to their everyday concerns. This poses a question about the approaches and underpinning theoretical foundations in community practice, that is, how can we possibly work with people in the ever-changing socio-political situation and when governments slip and slide away from their commitment to welfare because of emerging neo-liberal considerations, heavily influenced by globalisation? In this concluding paper, we attempt to revisit these aspects, namely, globalisation and uncertainty, and their impact on communities. Emerging literature, our practice experience, and our challenges are presented to the reader in a community development perspective
Strengths-based practice towards human wellbeing: future directions
No full text[Extract] The authors of this particular anthology of writings are all concerned scholars in the field of mental health and have been searching for meaningful ways to improve the wellbeing of the human kind. Our chosen paths, journeys and distances that we took have been different, but the destination seems to be the same; of wanting to gaze toward a future that would not have to be through a crystal ball. If we searched through each chapter the emerging keywords that we all seem to have grappled with are Strengths-based practice, coping and resilience, and hope and wellbeing social work. Therefore we ask the following questions and attempt to answer these in this last chapter.
Is there a methodology that allows us to talk about how things could be? When no one previously contemplated about these things? How can our social work practice be strengthened by the difficult situations that we encounter, 'just as a bonfire in a strong wind not blown out, but blazes even brighter?' (Pulla, Chenoweth, Francis, Bakaj, 2012, pvii)
Lost to view: the resilience of Indigenous Australians in the face of systematic racism
No full textIndigenous Australians are extraordinarily resilient to have survived at all. They have been massacred, disenfranchised, marginalised and discriminated against since colonisation. Consequently, ongoing physical, emotional, psychological and social harm is evident resulting in too many original Australians feeling rudderless and hopeless. Initiatives to improve the plight of Indigenous Australians have shown mixed results. Self-determination and empowerment have been recommended as positive strategies to improve coping and resilience, while also fostering hope. How achievable is this though in a society like Australia? Automaticity of thought, as evidenced in stereotyping, is linked to deep-seated beliefs derived from social interaction and the society that an individual lives in and absorbs values and beliefs from. As Frith (2012) noted, introspection of our actions can be fragile and erroneous. We need to think about what we think. We need to examine thinking and actively promote the need to self regulate thinking in all members of society. How we think about other people affects them. How people see themselves is largely made up of reflected appraisal. This paper provides examples of racism linked to automatic thinking (and the harm that it can do) along with some strategies aimed at increasing equity and social justice for Indigenous Australians. No matter how resilient Indigenous Australians are, unless the environment fosters equality while valuing the uniqueness of Australia's first people, long-term positive gains will be difficult to obtain. It is time for all Australians to join with Aboriginal Australians in understanding and celebrating their pivotal place in Australian society
Reconciliation Narratives of Survivors from War in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Full text linkThe aim of this article was to analyze the retold experiences of 27 survivors from the 1990s war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I have examined verbal markers of reconciliation and implacability and I have analyzed described terms for reconciliation that are being actualized in the narratives. In the narratives of those interviewed, implacability is the prominent them, but the possibility of reconciliation is mentioned, if some conditions are met. These conditions are for example justice for the victims of the war, a confession from the offender and his emotional involvement (for instance showing remorse and shame). The picture that emerges from the analyzed narratives is that it is easier to forgive someone imprisoned for his atrocities.Konferens:1) ‘I too, remember dust’: Peace-building, Politics & the Arts’, The University of Winchester, Winchester, England (20150907-20150908).2) Researching Security: Approaches, Concepts and Policies, University St. Kliment Ohridski, Faculty of Security, Skopje, Ohrid, Macedonia (20150602-20150603).3) Crisis Management Days. 8th International Scientific Conference, University of Applied Sciences Velika Gorica, Velika Gorica, Croatia (20150514-20150515).4) After Communism. East and West Under Scrutiny, Craiova University, Craiova, Romania (20150424-20150425).5) DO THE RIGHT THING! Anthropology and morality, The Swedish Anthropological Association and Lund University, Lund, Sweden (20150417-20150419).6) First Conference of Victimology in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassadors of Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, International Peace Research Association – IPRA, Bihać University, Sakarya University and Institute of Knowledge Management Skopje, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (20150303-20150304).7) International Conference on Community Empowerment, Coping, Resilience and Hope, Brisbane Institute of Strengths Based Practice, Hyderabad, India (20141214-20141216).8) Victims' protection: International law, national legislations and practice, The Fifth Annual Conference of the Victimology Society of Serbia, Victimology Society of Serbia, Beograd, Serbia (20141127-20141128).9) Criminal Justice and Security in Central and Eastern Europe, Understanding Professionalism, Trust, and Legitimacy, The Tenth Biennial International Conference, University of Maribor, Ljubljana, Slovenia (20140915-20140917).10) The Balkans in the New Millennium: From Balkanization to EUtopia, The Balkans Sociological Forum, Tetovo University (SEE) and Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Tetovo and Skopje, Republic of Macedonia (20140620-20140622).11) Sigurnost urbanih sredina (”The Security of Urban Areas”), Sarajevo University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (20140516).12) Ett inkluderande samhälle? En inkluderande sociologi? (”An inclusive society? An inclusive sociology?”), University of Gothenburg and Swedish Sociological Association, Gothenburg, Sweden (20140313-201403 15).13) Annual Conference of Urban Research and Development Society – Democracy, Citizenship and Urban Violence, Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, (20140312-20140313).14) Annual International Conference on Forensic Science – Criminalistics Research (FSCR), Global Science and Technology Forum (GSTF), Singapore, Singapore, (20131209-20131210).15) Crisis, Critique and Change, the 11th European Sociological Association Conference, Turin University, Turin, Italien, (20130828-20130831).16) Place and Perspectives of Criminal Justice, Criminology and Security Studies in Contemporary Settings, Sarajevo University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (20130516).War sociology – renewed analysis of ethnographic material from Bosni
Safety-Net Groups: an approach to community development
No full textCommunity development is an important strategy to achieve change and develop communities. It can be a vehicle for community members to take charge of the development of their community by working together collectively. This chapter explores how the formation of Safety-Net Groups in communities can become the means and outcome of community development in rural communities. The process of formation of such groups facilitates the development of social cohesion, community belonging and social capital. The groups themselves provide a safety-net to people who are experiencing social isolation and deprivation.
This paper is based on both field practice and teaching community development subjects at an Australian university. Practice observations and reflections suggest that people affiliate and associate with various groups based on their need and interest. In this paper we examine purposeful formation of Safety-Net Groups as a strategy for community development where people can attain a sense of belonging, and feel protected and safe. We explore Safety-Net Groups (SNGs) in relation to self-help groups, highlighting the potential of SNGs to take on a social action focus. This paper illustrates how SNGs can be developed, fostered and sustained and emphasises SNGs as a valuable and user-friendly tool for community development
In response to globalization: community development in social work education
No full textIn the 21st Century, the process of globalization continues at a rapid pace, fuelled by improvements in information and communication technology and infrastructure. Very little of what happens in the world is a local event and there is constant interaction between the global and the local. Globalization has also led to a number of complex transnational problems, such as climate change and the global financial crisis, problems that impact most heavily on marginalized communities and individuals in society. In this chapter, the role that community development can play in enabling professional social workers to respond effectively to the impacts of globalization is analyzed. The themes drawn from this discussion are further examined in the context of social work and social work education. The chapter closes with a delineation of Integrated Social Work as an approach to enable future social workers to work effectively in a globalized world
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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