Thesis (M.S.)--New York School of Social Work.

Thesis--Münster. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (23 p. at end).

Thesis--Münster. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (23 p. at end).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1974. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliography.

Culture, as one of the powerful determinants of human behaviour and motivation, is attracting an increased attention of social work practitioners and educators everywhere; the recent trend in social work literature shows. Two questions which seem to be of vital interest to the protagonists of modern social work, are: 1) How far the cultural conditions of a country permit the growth, development and promotion of social work profession? Social work, as an offspring of democracy, needs democratically governed environments to flourish and fructify. A culture unfamiliar with the concepts of equality, liberty and fraternity, can scarcely be conducive to the attainment of its objectives. Rigid, totalitarian and undemocratic societies, intolerant of the fact of difference and enemies of the freedom of expression, are, inherently and basically; inagreeable and unsuitable to its genius and temper. ii) How to facilitate incorporation and integration of modern social work profession with the dominant culture of the people (whose cause it aspires to serve) so as to, in consonance with basic principles, make it acceptable and agreeable to them without any superimposition? Both these questions necessitate the better understanding of the various cultures with a view to identify those factors which in any way help or hinder the practice of social work. In this thesis the writer has attempted to highlight some of the cultural factors which, in the light of his own knowledge, experience, understanding and observation, tend to (a) obstruct, or (b) facilitate his casework practice in his own country - Pakistan. To supplement and substantiate his observations, the methodology used by the writer includes some representative and pertinent case material gathered from the field of casework practice in Pakistan, in the capacity of, first as a student, Department of Social Work, Punjab University, and later as a member of faculty, in the same Department to supervise post-graduate students placed in various field work settings. The study has been confined to the analysis and interpretation of the cases drawn from the casework field with a view to avoid making thesis unmanageable and bulky. Besides, it is in the field of casework most especially that the influence of culture makes itself most pronouncedly felt, though its role in the whole field of social work cannot be minimized. To facilitate a better understanding of the Pakistani culture a separate chapter has been added, highlighting especially the 'Ideal Culture' of Pakistan which stems from the basic teachings of Islam - the source of inspiration and guidance for the people. In fact without such understanding the whole relationship of culture and social work in Pakistan would be unintelligible, because, despite the fact that the 'real' culture by which the people live, has hardly much to do with Islam, emotionally speaking, Islam goes a long way to determine the destinies and way of life. This study has brought a number of analytical features to light. 1) Most of the obstruction comes from the culture of sub-groups, dogmatic interpretation of Islam, strict adherence to custom and conventions, the conflict between the 'ideal' and the 'real' cultures of the people, and absence of any common frame of reference, etc. 2) The factors facilitating are those which stem from the flexible interpretation of Islam which lends support to philanthropic and humanitarian activities, emphasizes the values of equality, liberty and fraternity, and stresses the dignity and worth of man -providing, thus, an excellent similarity to the basic concepts and values of social work. The findings point to the need for the discretionary and flexible application of social work techniques and principles, inviting at times, an exploration of some new ways and means, fitted to the culture, apart from those commonly used by the social workers. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This report is a study of communication between a range of groups that make up the "society’ of Alexandra Neighbourhood House, a member agency of the Greater Vancouver Community Chest and Council. The purpose of the study is to: 1) identify certain parts of this society as sub-cultural groups; 2) to analyse selected aspects of interaction as they characteristically take place within each group; 3) to compare these aspects of communication within the Neighbourhood House organization with interaction in other unrelated bureaucratic settings. The purpose has not included any attempt to evaluate the function of the agency in the context of the social welfare community. The main method of analysis in this report has been a comparative one in which eleven aspects of interaction have been drawn from a study of communication done by Keesing on elite groups in Samoa. For further comparative scope examples of interaction in community development projects in India have been used. Data for the research on the Neighbourhood House have come from the writer's experience as a caseworker at Alexandra Neighbourhood House during the years i960 and 1961. In that time interviews were held with representative persons from the sub-cultural groups. The findings include uncovering certain constellations of values that appear to be present in certain sub-groups in the society. The concept of 'value' has not been stringently worked out but rather what are called values in this report are the writer's opinion of the important elements, stated or implied, in the respondents' statements. No attempt has been made to assess the relative importance of the values within the groups concerned. Certain similarities and differences in the aspects of interaction in groups in the House and in the: non-Western societies compared have been brought out. The effect of imposed or 'foreign' elements in a society such as the introduction of persons who hold authority outside the traditional lines has also been compared. It was not possible in an initial study such as this to reach a full synthesis between the establishment of the groups as sub-cultures, the identification of characteristic modes of intra-group interaction and finally the type of inter group communication within the society. However, it is believed that the report does point to some sources of Inter group difficulty and misunderstanding. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

Social workers tend to expect public acceptance of their comparatively recent attainment to professional status. It is possible to suspect, however, that this expectation is based, not on known fact, but on hopeful assumption, and that, in truth, there are many misconceptions, and many anachronistic ideas about social workers and social agencies abroad in the community. In order to test this hypothesis, this study explores a small area of professional social work practise, in an attempt to learn what expectations of service and of social workers new applicants bring to a Family Service Agency and whether these expectations are realistically related, not only to the function of the agency, but to the present-day role of the social worker. The method used was to present, first, a brief statistical analysis of the referral sources. This was followed by personal interviews with a group of new applicants who did not become clients. The interview material was then examined and analyzed by applicant-group. Two main divisions were utilized; first, "Lost Applicants: The Urgent Ones", under which appear "The 'White Heat' of Need", and "Apparent Urgency"; and second, "Lost Applicants: The Doubtful Ones", under which appear "Fluid Expectations", "Social Class Barriers", and "Negative Transference". The study reveals, in a way which tends to complement and confirm the findings of a companion study by E. Mildred Porter, that it is the new applicants for casework service from a Family Service Agency who are becoming the lost clients. This is particularly important because this appears to be a group of applicants who could have received a valid preventive service. Analysis of the interviews reveals a number of serious barriers to communication between new applicants and caseworkers which contributed to the loss of these potential clients. These barriers consisted of misunderstood need, misconceptions of role on the part of both applicants and caseworkers, lack of confidence in social workers as professional people, and negative attitudes toward social workers and "The Welfare" which persist from the past and are no longer valid. The crucial importance of the initial interview with the new applicant is highlighted and a re-assessment of the efficacy of "telephone intake" suggested. It is further suggested that the true urgency of a new applicant's need is difficult to assess and that the approach to the assignment of priorities when there is a waiting list needs to be much more diagnostically oriented and much more attuned to the barriers to communication which can be assumed to exist between new applicant and caseworker. Particularly is this true when consideration is to.be given, to the "new clientele" of social work - that is, the middle class applicant whose steps toward a social agency are fearful and whose expression of need is controlled. The same barriers to communication which exist between new applicant and caseworker can be presumed to exist between social workers and the larger community. This may account, at least in part, for the grave difficulties social work, as a profession, experiences in mass media public relations and "interpretation" in general. This study suggests that the same kind of active, aware attempts to overcome barriers to communication between caseworker and new applicant need to be made between social work and the larger community so that anachronistic attitudes can be modified and an authoritative "public image" of social work achieved. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Present trends and stresses in family service agencies are related to external and internal demands for more effective service for an increasingly diversified clientele. In the face of these demands, the device of the "waiting-list" has become widely prevalent in family service agencies throughout North America. This represents a backlog of accepted applicants who cannot be given immediate- service, and it inevitably necessitates giving some applicants priority over others, on the basis of relative urgency. The waiting-list developed as a result of efforts to protect the quality of casework service to families, but it does pose some serious questions about the quality as well" as the quantity of service to the community. What is urgency? What happens to those who wait for service? What is the relationship of the waiting-list and priority decisions at intake to the changing constituency of the family service agencies? This study examines some of the questions that arise when there is a waiting list in a family agency, by focusing on certain aspects of the waiting-list of one agency. This is an exploratory survey of the waiting-list of one agency (The Family Service Agency of Greater Vancouver), as it is reflected in a block of 95 cases accepted for service during a two month period -of 1958. It includes a statistical survey of the applicants and their families and the main problems they presented at the time they approached the agency. The sample is then divided into two main groups - .brief service and continued service cases (according to the Family Service Association of America-definition). Statistical information about the length of the waiting period, opening status, length of service, and main presenting problems is related to each of these groups, and also to cases which received priority service and those which did not get this consideration. Case study of brief service cases is focused on evaluation of services they received, and particularly on the effects of the waiting period and priority decisions. Study of continued service cases includes statistical information about the total items of service provided to this group, and the family members who received direct service. For the purpose of case study the continued service cases are divided into three groups according to the length of service they received, and described as short-term, medium-term and long-term cases. Case examples give a picture of the range of the clientele and services provided to these three groups. Although three-quarters of the initial applicants were women, in continued services cases the male marital partner was usually involved and men received a substantial amount of direct service. The employment of the male bread-winners in the sample was mainly lower middle class and upper working class in status, but there was representation from groups of higher and lower status. However, information about the applicants’ family groupings, interpreted in the light of current literature, suggests that most of them are identified with the so-called "middle class values" of family life, and this is supported by examination of case material. Among adult clients, particularly those who received service over long periods, there appears to be a high incidence of personality disorders. Others, particularly among the new applicants, are persons easier to help by casework methods. The study points up the importance of new applicants, and the need for giving them greater consideration at intake if new clientele are to be reached in any numbers. The most positive fact revealed by the study is that "loss" of cases in the process of intake is almost entirely a problem of "engaging", the new applicant. It is suggested that when there is a waiting-list, personal intake interviews should be offered to all who are making a first application. Apart from the need for more consideration for new applicants, extension of effective service appears to be related to the quality of intake service, rather than to any concrete rules for priority determination. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

"Dependency" like many other concepts in social welfare needs careful and explanatory definition. The present study approached this first through a discussion of various meanings of dependency, and then by an examination of the characteristics of a representative sample of recipients of Social Allowance in a particular area of British Columbia. The area is the District of Coquitlam, a typical 'intermediate', semi-rural municipality. The sample includes some complete families, some broken or incomplete families, with only one parent, and a number of single persons. The "setting" 'of the study is described in two parts, (a) the eligibility requirements of the Social Assistance Act, and (b) the general characteristics of Coquitlam. The statistical survey of this group covers the following attributes: (1) family and non-family groups, and number of children; (2) period on assistance; (3) types of disability and (4) occupational background. Characteristic groups and problems are illustrated by case extracts. Several well marked patterns evolve from the statistical survey and are as follows: (a) family formation; (b) disability; (c) children in public assistance families; (d) the length of time that persons were in receipt of assistance, and (e) earning capacity. Implications for social welfare are considered with other comparable studies, including a number of University of British Columbia Social Work theses, as supporting references. The principal areas are (a) the need for better recording and information in certain areas critical for understanding needs and giving help; (b) the use of the welfare committee of the municipal council as a medium for better community participation in social welfare programs, and (c) a consideration of rehabilitation resources, both legislative and 'self-help'. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Fee-charging has been the subject of extensive discussion within voluntary family agencies. The trend toward initiating fees, particularly in American family agencies, has been growing steadily. However, there has been little research designed to evaluate the supposed objectives of this policy; including the therapeutic values, the expansion of service, or the reinforcement of the professional status of social work. In addition, the basic question of why fees should be charged at all, has been largely ignored. The present study is necessarily an exploratory one. It is confined to the analysis of a particular period of fee-charging experience in the Family Service Agency of Greater Vancouver. The techniques, values, and appropriateness of this policy were reviewed for (a) the total caseload in a survey year; (b) cases selected for the analysis of specific areas. The largest attention was given to "fee cases", and those cases where a fee was proposed, but not charged. The analysis suggests strongly that, while there can be therapeutic benefits from fee-charging, the fee itself is most often appropriate where it is based primarily upon ability to pay. The task for the Agency is to be selective enough in determining which clients should be told about, and charged, fees. Client resistance to casework is a significant factor, influencing worker attitudes toward fee-charging. Consistency in the application of the present policy is needed. It is particularly necessary to exclude the very dependent client. A major premise is suggested for fee-charging, after discussion of alternative premises, and of the reason for charging a fee under this premise. Fee-charging practice would have a changed emphasis; there would be clearer administrative exclusions, and more skilled exclusions based upon casework judgment. Adequate ability to pay would be primary data in deciding between alternatives. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate