This study explores the Management Information Systems' (MIS) implementation and utilisation in social care organisations. The aim of this thesis is to study the level of social work practitioners' involvement in MIS selection and implementation and to determine the links between the utilisation of MIS in social care organisations and the creation of organisational knowledge. Thus, the thesis endeavours to increase understanding of the importance of MIS implementation for personnel and organisations, to capture its meaning and any implications this may have for organisational knowledge and social work practice. To further this aim, a two case-study design was developed and carried out in two social care organisations in England. Semi-structured interviews and direct observation were used as data collection tools. Interviews with open-ended questions were carried out with practitioners, team managers, senior managers and staff responsible for Information Technology applications and programmes. Data analysis was carried out utilising two key methods, within-case and cross-case analysis. The purpose of the analysis was to illustrate the participants' experiences within five main themes: Practitioners' and Team Managers' Feelings about the new MIS' Implementation, Participation, Management Information System, Social Work Practice, and Organisation and Organisational Knowledge. The research findings highlighted that social care organisations need radical shifts in organisational philosophy in order to achieve functioning MIS, and more importantly, to become ‘learning organizations' that capture and disseminate social work practice knowledge and skills. For example, practitioners' participation in MIS implementation was recognised as a key factor, which determined both MIS implementation and organisational knowledge creation in a social care organisation. The qualitative data gathered also revealed that there were constraints in engaging practitioners with organisational procedures and in make them feel valued. The thesis, based on the research findings, concludes with the proposal of two models for MIS implementation and organisational knowledge creation.

My thesis examines the journey made by myself and others from paid employment, usually with a local authority, to self-employed status within an independent practice. I have tried throughout, as far as possible, to uncover the many meanings and essential elements of the experience: both my own, and those of others. Fully integrated within my thesis are the detailed experiences of my research respondents who have travelled a similar journey. I have used a heuristic methodology, first established and pioneered by Clark Moustakas. This demands that the researcher and his or her respondents must have lived through the experience being described. The methodology is congruent with my own positioning as a researcher and also provides a suitable, flexible but rigorous framework within which the emerging story (and stories) can be told. This approach has also been of the utmost value in structuring my research. Moustakas defines the heuristic approach as: A process of internal search through which one discovers the nature and meaning of experience and develops methods and procedures for further investigation and analysis. The self of the researcher is present throughout the process and, while understanding the phenomenon with increasing depth, the researcher also experiences growing self-awareness and self-knowledge. Heuristic processes incorporate creative self-processes and self-discoveries' (1990:9). I have used other approaches for data analysis as Moustakas does not give detailed guidance in this area. I have principally used the approach pioneered by Max Van Manen which can be described as an evolved phenomenological approach. My thesis therefore describes and explores the experience of setting up my independent practice from its very first manifestations through to the present. Integrated within that narrative are the detailed and rich ‘borrowed' experiences of my research respondents captured through 11 in-depth interviews and a consideration of the similarities and differences of the individual experiences. I have let the individual voices speak fully which draws out the themes of the experience of becoming independent in terms of motivation, preparation, the moment of independence and finally, the experience of independence. In the succeeding chapter I have analysed the findings with reference to the literature on the nature of modern day social care organisations, organisational theory and motivation, and have also explored in some depth underlying issues concerning the nature of identity and selfhood and the autonomy of individuals. I conclude that there is a core of selfhood and that, within defined limits, individuals are free to choose their own path. A final creative synthesis draws the research project to a close by considering how all that has been learned fits together. My research strategy has essentially been an exploratory one which aims to “generate knowledge about a relatively under researched or newly emerging subject” (D'Cruz and Jones 2003:17). The under-researched and emerging subject here is about the experience of establishing an independent consultancy in the social care field. My contribution to knowledge on this subject falls into several areas, including what I see as the necessary and gradual liberalisation of the social care field which allowed independent practices to evolve. I also contend that my research respondents had a particular and specific motivational profile which explains why these particular individuals made the move to independence when others did not. A further finding is that my research group exchanged a constricting organisation for a more comfortable one: that of the informal network. I also find that making the move to independence is a near irrevocable step and that, in effect, the research group went through an important identity shift in their transition to independence.

Concerns have been raised about the quality of care provided by professional caregivers to vulnerable older adults. However, little is known about the psychological mechanisms that may affect professional caregivers' ability to provide good care. This thesis presents four papers which sought to address this gap in our knowledge. The first paper reports a proposed quantitative multilevel study, investigating the effects of nursing home manager-level and care assistant-level variables on psychosocial caregiving among care assistants. There were no effects of manager-level variables. However, structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses found care assistants' community aspirations and basic need satisfaction at work positively predicted the autonomy and relatedness support care assistants showed towards service users. No indirect effects were found. The second paper presents a new measure of autonomy, relatedness, and competence satisfaction, which had improved construct validity compared to an existing measure and good external validity, being related to measures of well-being and ill-being in expected ways. The third paper reports the relationships between autonomy, relatedness, and competence satisfaction and prosocial behaviour. SEM analyses showed that a higher order factor of basic need satisfaction explained a small but significant amount of variance in prosocial behaviour, but that autonomy, competence, and relatedness satisfaction were not independent predictors. The final paper presents a grounded theory analysis of semi-structured interviews with a range of individuals associated with nursing homes for the elderly. The findings highlight the role of a person-centred perspective at all levels of caregiving, with positive management practices interacting with the qualities and approaches of individual caregivers to support the provision of good care. Overall, this body of research provides a preliminary understanding of the interplay between the personal qualities of professional caregivers and socio-environmental factors in the provision of good care. In addition, it has contributed meaningfully to the SDT literature and its application to real-world settings. These findings pave the way for future research to provide further beneficial insights for policy and practice in professional caregiving.

Family members are themselves affected by the impact of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) upon their relatives and they play an important role in the rehabilitation and long term support required. The study aims to understand how families are impacted and their views on the formal and informal support received directly or indirectly as a consequence of the ABI. To date there has been very little research undertaken by social workers in relation to ABI and/or the experience of family members. A mixed methods research design was employed to capture the lived experience of family members of people with ABI. The results of the quantitative and qualitative data were triangulated against the literature. An online survey was completed by 110 relatives of people with an ABI, seeking their experience of the condition, its impact upon their lives and their views of services. The results of the survey were collated and organised in SPSS (version 24). Non-parametric Spearman's Rho Correlations (non-parametric test) were performed upon the results. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 family members of people with severe ABI to ascertain the family members' experience of their relatives' condition, its impact upon them and their views of the associated formal and informal support received. Inductive thematic analysis of the transcribed interview data was undertaken to identify themes. The quantitative element of the research identified strong correlations between the relative's assessment of the invisible impairments suffered by those with an ABI (cognitive, executive, behavioural and emotional difficulties) and lack of insight. This correlation was not present in relation to physical impairment. It was observed that increased loss of insight and behavioural difficulties were strongly correlated with loss of friendships by the non-injured family member. The results of the inductive thematic analysis identified 7 themes which were: 1: The Context 2: The All-Encompassing Challenge 3: Family Loss and Grief 4: The Unavoidable Burden 5: The Poor Experience of Support 6: Positive Support and Change 7: The Curator of Narrative The research identified that family members' experience is complex and enduring, encompassing most aspects of life, and is affected by the context in which it occurs as well as by formal and informal support structures. The particular nature of the grief and loss experienced by families is ambiguous, develops over time and leads to ambivalent feelings for family members who perceive no option but to remain involved. Informal and formal support frequently fails to take account of the reality and complexity of the condition and fails to integrate the relative by recognising their own losses and trauma. Relatives' views on the services received identified significant gaps in practitioner knowledge, most especially of those aspects of life that were of most concern to them, the invisible impairments and issues with insight. Practitioners that were valued were more likely to be specialists in the condition and practiced as “expert companions” supporting the relative to develop a new “neuro-narrative” to reconstruct their identity in the face of their ongoing grief. The specific nature of the condition requires such an approach if input is to be effective. Greater understanding of the complex lived experience of family members may support more effective responses to both them and the individual with ABI, integrating services and families to improve quality-of-life. As ABI is a process with changes to functioning developing over time, the information and knowledge required by loving and supportive relatives needs to be created with them, being person-, family-, injury-and-context-specific.

This thesis considers how Christianity shapes the lives, beliefs and identities of African-Caribbean elders. The topic has been selected because the relevance of the Christian faith to black elders has been under theorised in U.K. anti-racist social work literature. The study is located within a qualitative research tradition and draws upon narrative, ethnographic and life story influences. The research is primarily based on semi-structured interviews with fourteen participants aged seventy one – ninety years. The elders were born and raised in the Caribbean and now live and attend Pentecostal and Baptist churches in London having migrated to the U.K during the 1950's and ‘60's. The interview data is analysed using the voice centred relational method (Gilligan 1982). This method gives primacy to the words of the people being interviewed and the meaning ascribed to their experiences. A number of core themes or ‘stories' emerge from the elders' accounts of their lives and religion. These include the story of growing and belonging, the story of rejection and pain, the story of resistance and faithful compliance and the story of love, care and eternal hope. The stories reveal a complex picture where racism and rejection has been part of the tapestry of black elders' adult experiences in the U.K. Equally, their religious upbringing in the Caribbean and their enduring Christian belief has nurtured the elders' sense of identity and self worth and provided a buttress against their more negative experiences. The study draws upon black theology which aids understanding of how Christianity has influenced the history and religious experiences of black Christians. Black theological literature, along with transactional analysis, also provides the theoretical framework through which the elders' stories are discussed. This approach provides originality as such analysis does not appear to have been undertaken previously. From the elders' stories five key themes have emerged which provide insights in to the research question. These are: - the importance of the elders' Christian belief; - narratives as an integral part of black history and knowledge; - dealing with racism and its intersections; - reconciling differing religious and social values- the challenge for social work; - the care needs of African-Caribbean elders – church, family and / or state? Through these themes the study outlines the necessity of social work embracing a more holistic approach to the meeting of African – Caribbean elders' spiritual and religious needs and beliefs. The elders recognise that they may require practical help as they get older but do not feel that social care services will necessarily be responsive to their religious and cultural experiences or provide for the pray life, bible reading and church attendance that form part of their needs. The concept of heaven and an afterlife is very important to the elders and poses a challenge in how social work might work in partnership with church communities to ensure that elders have the ‘good life/ good death‘ they seek. The study makes a number of recommendations whilst questioning whether a largely secular profession will be equipped to provide or commission appropriate, faith based care to African-Caribbean elders. This is because of the largely hostile / indifferent approach towards religion which the study identifies. The final chapter evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the study and its methodological approach before concluding with a number of personal reflections.

The relationship between the statutory registration of a workforce and impact upon practice and practitioners is unclear. Little empirical research in relation to the efficacy of existing professional registers has been undertaken. No research has so far been undertaken in relation to the impact of UK legislated registration upon social work practice. A number of high profile cases in health care such as the Bristol, Shipman, Ayling and Allit inquiries (DH, 1994; Crown Office, 2001 & 2005) have drawn attention to the inadequacies of workforce registration systems. Regulatory approaches to modifying the behaviours of the regulated are widely viewed as problematic in a broad range of theoretical literature from diverse disciplinary bases and methodologies. Literatures caution that just as ‘markets' may behave imperfectly, so may regulatory mechanisms such as workforce registration systems (Ayres & Braithwaite, 1992; Baldwin, Scott & Hood, 1998; Haines, 1999; Sparrow, 2000; Ashworth & Boyne, 2002; Johnstone & Sarre, 2004; Haines & Gurney, 2004; Walshe & Boyd, 2007). The UK Better Regulation Task Force cautions that some regulatory interventions can make a situation worse (2003b). The potential of professional registers generally and the social work register specifically to impact upon quality and improve protection has been questioned since 1982 when the first meetings about the development of a national social work regulatory council were held (Malherbe, 1982). The regulatory body for social work in England, the General Social Care Council (GSCC) came into being in 2002. The first UK register of social workers came into force in 2005 with protection of title implemented shortly after. The first three conduct cases applying sanctions to registrants were heard within a year of the social work register opening. Using a grounded theory approach, in the context of the first three conduct case outcomes, this study sought to elicit the perceptions of qualified social workers on the positive and negative impact(s) of the statutory requirement to register, for both the individuals and the organisations in which they work. This study finds that the first registration conduct case outcomes triggered a reframing of the concept of conduct and that as a consequence, respondents in this study re-positioned their allegiance to registration, and engagement with conduct matters in the workplace. The study considers the relevance of research findings in the context of a changing policy and political landscape.

The aim of this research, set in two schools in Malmö, Sweden, was to examine the outcomes of a combined approach of a behavioural modification program and a biofeedback intervention for students, aged 7 to 12, with behavioural and concentration difficulties. Biofeedback is the use of technology to measure physiological changes in the body (such as heart rate and breathing) and gives this information back to the user. The behavioural modification program was an intervention known as Family Class, whereby students (and their parents) attended for 12 weeks to work on classroom issues identified by the teacher. It is accepted that students with behavioural and concentration difficulties are at risk of going on to develop more severe problems such as ADHD, if early intervention programs are not implemented (Barkley, 1996). In addition, the Swedish education system is under increasing political pressure given poor international results (PISA, 2013) and poor high school graduation rates (Cederberg et al, 2011). Working as a social worker across two schools, I was ideally placed to assess the current intervention provision, adapt it and subsequently carry out the research to evaluate the outcomes. The research drew on a pragmatist epistemology (Hall, 2013) that supported the semi-experimental design used in the study. A mixed methods approach to gathering the data from parents, teachers and the students was used. Qualitative data collected before and after the intervention, were sought through interviews with students in which vignettes were used to identify their ideas on self-regulation of behaviour, whilst quantitative data on the impact of the combined intervention were gathered through pre/post measures using The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Biofeedback software and behavioural sheets. The thesis also traces the author's changing identity from a practitioner to a researcher-practitioner. The experience of doing the research was interwoven into the fabric of the study, helping to ensure that the study is rooted in practice. In that respect, a key social work value, empowerment, was critically discussed by referring to the theories of Michel Foucault and John Dewey. A view that self-regulation can be seen as an act of empowerment was the resulting outcome of this theoretical discussion. This position supported the author's personal practice and the intention behind the intervention was the focus of the research. The key findings from the qualitative data suggested that the majority of the sample of 13 students (most of whom had experienced difficulties for more than a year) had learnt self-regulation skills and understood self-regulation ideas; from their responses to the vignettes, it appeared students had moved from a position of reliance on teachers and other adults when managing behaviour and concentration difficulties to a position that encouraged a balance between the students' self understanding on how to manage classroom challenges and the role the teacher can play in this. This was backed up by SDQ feedback from the parents and teachers on the changes in the students' own behaviour in relation to the following categories: hyperactivity and attention, peer interaction and pro-social behaviour, conduct behaviour, emotional difficulties, impact on relationships and perceptions of the problem. The biofeedback data also showed that the group as a whole had learnt how to regulate their breathing and heart rate. The key implications for social work practice are that the combination of a behavioural modification approach such as Family Class with biofeedback has potential in helping students with behavioural and concentration difficulties in a school setting. The methods and methodology used in this research proved to be a suitable approach to identifying the impacts of an innovative intervention and could be considered by other social workers carrying out research in similar settings.

Previous research has revealed that social workers struggle with recognising, naming and intervening in cases of emotional abuse (Iwaniec et al. 2007). A possible reason for this is that the impact on children of emotional abuse is experienced and played out predominantly within the psychosocial rather than the physical domain. With the effects being less observable, they are more challenging to attribute directly to emotionally abusive behaviours by parents and caregivers (Glaser and Prior 1997). Not enough is yet understood about the challenges that working with emotional abuse in families present to child protection social workers in England. This Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded PhD project seeks to advance knowledge of this topic by exploring some of the emotional and cognitive processes social workers follow when working in situations with children and families where emotional abuse is a concern. A key focus of the research is social workers' subjectivity and the ways in which this influences their practice. Aspects of practice including reflexivity, intuition and emotional self-efficacy are explored, alongside the use of law and policy and more formal assessment tools. The supportive measures social workers use to process and contain the complex feelings they experience in their daily work are investigated in relation to the decisions they make. The research is small-scale and qualitative in nature. The data have been gathered from a sample of child protection social workers from two local authorities in the South East of England. Two focus groups were conducted, designed to generate broad themes to be further explored in individual interviews. Eight social workers were interviewed individually twice, with their follow-up interview held approximately two months after the first to give the interviewee an opportunity to reflect on the subject matter. The semi-structured interview schedule included exploration of how factors such as previous practice experiences, educational training and cultural background contribute to participants' decision-making processes during assessment and intervention with cases of emotional abuse. Underpinned by a psychosocial approach, the analysis looks ‘under the surface' of participants' responses to consider what may be subjective or unconscious in their narratives, and what might be hidden or denied. This enabled a deeper exploration of the nuances of practice with emotional abuse, allowing the individual social workers to emerge as three-dimensional human beings with vulnerabilities and strengths. The research findings indicate that individual social workers approach identifying, assessing and intervening with children and families where emotional abuse is a concern in different ways. The social workers interviewed had clear individual strengths as a consequence of their particular approach, but struggled with reconciling their weaknesses if the impact of their day-to-day experiences of the work was not managed effectively. Defended responses to their own emotional reactions resulted in anxiety, lack of self-efficacy and splitting. Supportive mechanisms identified in the data as important to improving work with emotional abuse are containing supervisory relationships, sustained peer support and a secure workplace environment that promotes a feeling of connectedness to the wider team. The aim of the research is to contribute guidance to support social workers in their work with children and families where emotional abuse is, or may be present.

Drawing on principles from systems theory, critical health psychology and narrative analysis, this research sought to examine the relationships between environments that facilitate creative arts-based group work, and notions of self-governance and self-determination that they may give rise to; exploring whether such processes are discernible in speech, language and narrative formation. The research constituted an eleven month, qualitative community-university project that examined ways in which the 'Centre user and volunteer led' organisational ethos of the Brighton Unemployed Centre Families Project (BUCFP) - a charity working to relieve poverty and hardship based in the south of England - related to the forming of a creatively working and self-managing group. This sought to better understand the emergence of the group; the ways in which participation was experienced; and what (if any) effects participation may have had on sense-making and narrative formation surrounding the topic of food poverty. Using arts-based and participatory methods, the research was carried out with a group of twenty Centre users with experience of food poverty. It culminated in the production and display of an art exhibition on this topic as part of the Brighton Festival in May 2015. The research suggests that using participatory and arts-based approaches in the exploration of food poverty in the facilitative environment of the BUCFP enabled participants to examine and contest societal discourses surrounding poverty. The research describes how, through a complex interplay between group discussion and the material and semiosis of art-making, participants developed and symbolised a counter narrative that deflected stigmatising narratives surrounding food poverty, instead developing a collectivised narrative of resistance. The ability to 're-narrativise' forms of social discourse and to signify the taking of a position in the socio-cultural and political landscape through creative methods may be tied to notions of wellbeing that are important to consider within a community health milieu.

Shortcomings in the quality and level of social workers' communication with children have led to queries about the role qualifying training plays in equipping students for this challenging aspect of their practice (SWTF, 2009; House of Commons, 2009). This thesis seeks to clarify some of the factors and processes which support qualifying students in learning to become effective communicators with children. The evidence for what should be taught to students to enable them to communicate effectively with children and the programme structures and pedagogic approaches which best facilitate students' learning and development are explored. An original framework for practice is outlined which constitutes a taxonomy of 32 evidence-informed ‘dimensions' of ‘Communicative Capability' needed for effective social work practice with children, set within ‘domains' of ‘Knowing' (knowledge and understanding), ‘Doing' (skills and techniques), and ‘Being' (ethics, values, personal qualities and emotional capacities). The compass of the dimensions is broad and diverse, so requires teaching and learning opportunities across the whole curriculum including in fieldwork placements, rather than just through a discrete course or specific pedagogical model (Lefevre et al, 2008). The Communicative Capabilities taxonomy has been used as a framework for analysing data collected from social work students on an MA qualifying programme which I teach. Taking a realist approach (Robson, 2011), as an insider (Drake, 2010), I sought to learn more about students' journeys towards qualified practice so as to identify any factors or processes which support or hinder students' learning and development. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected at four time points during the programme using self-efficacy scales, course feedback, and written responses to a case vignette, which were analysed for students' awareness of the Communicative Capabilities. Baseline data on student characteristics, intentions and experiences were gathered so that individual trajectories could be identified and mapped against these. Once students had been qualified for between 16-18 months, follow-up interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of five participants using a semi-structured questionnaire. There were a number of limitations and methodological constraints, most notably those engendered by the lack of a comparison group and small sample, so findings must be regarded as emergent and tentative. An analysis of students' learning journeys indicated trajectories were rooted in specific experiences, strengths and learning styles. Students would benefit from developing a personalised learning plan which would enable them to maximise their potential and plug gaps in their capabilities. Ways need to be found to enable students to build up from generalist proficiencies in communication, so that first generic, then child-focused, and finally child-specialist applied capabilities in communication can be developed to at least a basic level at the point of qualification. Drawing on Kolb (1984), a cyclical model of the teaching and learning process has been mapped to the development of Knowing, Being and Doing capabilities. Students enter qualifying training with pre-course concrete experience of communication which provides a valuable source for inductive learning through critical reflection. Related theoretical input enables them to conceptualise processes of communication (developing Knowing). Skills may be acquired and honed through active experimentation with techniques and methods both in the university and in placements which are subject to observation and feedback (Doing). Tutor modelling and experiential approaches to capability-building help engender the kind of thoughtful, ethical, contained and engaged use of self by students (Being) which matters to children. Learning needs to be integrated and consolidated so that it is not forgotten or absorbed solely into tacit professional knowledge (Eraut, 1994). The learning cycle has been developed into a proposed framework for how qualifying programmes could ensure a coherent and integrated learning experience.