Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 127-133).

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-133). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009. / Full text also available online. Scroll down for electronic link.

This qualitative multiple-case study was designed to explore how CEOs in philanthropy learn to make strategic decisions. The study builds off the following premises: (1) as part of their role, CEOs need to make critical decisions in a complex and rapidly changing environment; (2) due to the role of a CEO there are power dynamics at play, and these may have an impact on how CEOs are able to engage in conversation; and (3) due to the staff reporting to the CEO and the CEO reporting to the board, they are essentially peerless within their respective organization, possibly contributing to a sense of isolation. The research site of this study was across a number of organizations, one for each participant. There were three primary sources of data: semi-structured interviews, data collection of publicly available documents, and critical incident reports. Key findings included that: (1) all participants engaged with staff and/or the Board of directors before making a strategic decision, either to obtain buy-in or get information needed to make the decision; (2) informal learning was the primary way participants learned what activities they needed to partake in, in order to make a critical decision; and (3) having full authority and responsibility helped CEOs in their decision-making, while power and other interpersonal dynamics hindered a CEOs ability to make a critical decision. Two main categories of CEOs emerged during the data collection process, those who were deemed Reflective and those who were Action-Oriented. Although not part of this research study’s original design, the data collection took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and also after a resurgence of attention to police brutality against Black people in the United States and other violence towards historically marginalized groups. These themes were prevalent throughout the data gathered for this study and findings and analysis. The overarching recommendation emanating from this research is that succession plans should be put in place in order to best develop potential candidates for the role of CEO.

No description available.

The study of faith-based giving , development and engagement with human catastrophe is only beginni ng to be identified and resear ched by social scientists and other disciplines. Almost all faiths in the world im press upon their adherents to serve and engage in humanitarian aid causes. Some faiths prescribe and proscribe through divine teachings on how adheren ts should go about participating in humanitarian aid causes and set certai n constraints and parameters for its fulfilment as a religious act and duty. Islam is one such religion that requires its adherents to conform to religious acts of giving through the institution of charity which makes up the third article of faith. Muslims the world over are required to give a portion of their surplus income by way of prescribed and optional charities to humanitarian aid causes both within a nd outside of their community. This prescription is incumbent on all Muslims irre spective of the type of society that they live in as long as they profess faith. The Muslim community in South Africa comprises a minority group with diverse socio-historical backgrounds and its demographic position is no different to the majority of the country’s population. It is characterised by Muslims who had slave, indentured, migrant and trading histories who have now made a permanent presence in the southern tip of the African continent. Its social organisation has evolved over time and currently as a mino rity group it has entrenched itself in all facets of the South African way of life, networking with other diasporic communities and nation states worldwide. It has a well-developed philanthropic infrastructure and is known to have undertaken humanitarian aid causes both within and outside of its community. In post-apartheid South Africa, the Sout h African Muslim community, given the country’s reintegration in the global system after years of political isolation, has played an indelible role in supporting humanitarian aid causes in disaster affected areas. It is in this context that this study examines the role of a Muslim faith-based organisation’s engagement in benevolent disaster related humanitarian aid causes in South Africa. Given the diverse number of faith-bas ed humanitarian organisations amongst Muslims in South Africa, the study undertakes an extensive case study of one faith-based organisation which has a track record in providing such service. The study is preceded by an extensive literature study with a view to formulating a conceptual framework upon which later analysis is undertaken together with the empirical data. It draws on key sociological concepts in the field of philanthropy in order to provide a scientific context to the study. An in-depth analysis is made of religious texts and writings which prov ide the context around which faith-based organisations fulfil their humanitarian aid objectives. The empirical aspect of the study is triangulated using both qualitative and quantitat ive data derived from a select group of donors and volunteers who made up the key respondents in the study. Documentary and conflict analysis were under taken to construct a profile of the case taking into consideration the different aspects of its social organisation. The study concludes with the presentation of the key findings of the research in keeping with its main assumptions and concludes with practical recommendations and how to better align with faith-based organisations engaged in international disaster relief missions with a view to be more effective and pursue sustainable ways of engagement in disaster afflicted areas. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

M.A. / The principle aim of the present study was to uncover the similarities and differences between the National Plan for Family Life (NPFL) and six state-funded programmes of social welfare organisations. A checklist was compiled from the NPFL on the basis of an explorative-descriptive research design with the following categories: "principles", "aim", "objectives", "the identified needs of families", "target groups" and "actions". The content of the said six state-funded programmes of social-welfare organisations were then analysed by means of the said checklist in order to uncover any possible similarities and differences. The latter checklist was also utilised as the framework for the dissemination of the findings and recommendations arrived at and made on account of the study. Of these thirty-five findings, the following deserve to be mentioned: • In the category entitled "principles", no correlation could be drawn, as not one of the programmes documented principles as their basis. • In the category entitled "aim", the concept "marriage and family life" only featured in two programmes, whilst no programme provided for the concept "optimum quality marriage and family life". • The strengthening of marriage and family life featured in the category entitled "objectives" especially as far as significance attribution, interpersonal relations and resilience to overcome adversity were concerned. Similarities in respect of the concept "strengthening" were only uncovered in one programme, whilst three programmes included facets of marriage and family life such as interpersonal relations. The NPFL takes cognisance of the effect and affect of inhuman and inhibitory circumstances in families' physical environment. Only one programme bore partial resemblance to this, thanks to a formulated objective aimed at the improvement of children's physical environment. The privileges, rights, responsibilities and joys associated with parenthood and family life are highlighted in the NPFL, whilst children's rights are only referred to in one programme and the honouring of these responsibilities is referred to in another. No programme, however, make any mention of the joys of parenthood and family life. Preparation for the various life phases in order to prevent dysfunctioning is emphasised in the NPFL, whilst none of the other programmes barring one allow for the word "preparation" in their objectives. The facilitation of therapeutic and supporting services, aimed at the handling of dysfunctions in family life, is emphasised in the NPFL; an aspect which all six programmes share. • The following sub-categories feature in the category entitled 9dentified needs" of the checklist: "marital relations", "family relations", "parent/child relations", "individual factors", "needs relating to the interface between family and community" and "value orientations". With the exception of the interface between family and community, as well as value orientations, a similarity was uncovered between all these sub-categories. • Strong similarities were found between the categories entitled "target groups" and "actions", as contained in the checklist of the NPFL and the six programmes.

Psychosis most commonly first occurs during adolescence or early adulthood, disrupting the social and occupational transitions characterising this time. Studies on social and occupational outcomes in psychosis have tended to focus on observer-rated, dysfunction-based outcomes. However, mental health services are increasingly adopting a personal recovery model; focusing on facilitating hopeful and individually meaningful lives. Social inclusion is paramount to personal recovery but there is a need for greater awareness of the processes by which mental health services facilitate social inclusion for young people with psychosis. Cognitive models and research with longterm psychosis service users suggests that negative self-beliefs contribute to poorer social outcomes in psychosis, whereas personal recovery models emphasise the role of hopefulness and therapeutic relationships with optimistic mental health professionals. This thesis first investigates a structural model of social inclusion and its association with hope and negative self-beliefs for healthy young people (n= 387). Then the processes by which young service users' self-beliefs, therapeutic relationships and professionals' beliefs influence social inclusion are explored using directed path models (n= 51). Directed path models then test how professional characteristics, focusing on attachment styles and job attitudes, facilitate therapeutic relationships (n= 61). Finally, the contributions of self-beliefs, therapeutic relationships, professional beliefs and social inclusion in predicting vocational outcomes are explored (n= 51). Current findings support the relative importance of hopefulness over negative selfbeliefs in social inclusion for young people with and without psychosis. Hope appears particularly important for adolescents compared to young adults. Positive relationships with optimistic professionals predict service users' hopefulness, social inclusion and vocational activity. Findings suggest that professionals' own attachment style and job attitudes may aid in positive therapeutic relationship formation. These findings encourage a greater focus on therapeutic relationships and service users' hopefulness in youth psychosis service provision. Professional training should encourage greater awareness of professionals' own attachment style and job attitudes, and how these factors impact on positive therapeutic relationship development.

This is a small scale, qualitative research study, based on focus group and interview data from eight participants across two workplaces. The participants are workers involved in supporting those young people who are unable to live with their families during their transition to adulthood: they are drawn from two services within the same local authority, leaving care and a specialist adolescent support service which provides housing and support for homeless 16 and 17 year olds. A review of the literature in this field identifies a gap in the research, with few studies focussed on the voices of workers engaged in this specific area of work. I have used three analytical frameworks (thematic, narrative and voice-centred relational) to explore the data from different perspectives. Positioning the data in this three-dimensional framework has enabled me to produce an in-depth analysis, considering more than simply the content of participants' responses. My findings are presented as a reflexive account, exploring how the respondents talk about their work. The data suggests that the talk falls into two broad areas: workers positioning themselves within a framework of organisation(s) and workers positioning themselves in relation to individual young people. A picture emerges from the data of two quite different workplaces. The relative structure and clarity of the leaving care personal adviser's job role appears to unite this group of workers around a more coherent script for talking about the work they do. In contrast, the workers from the specialist adolescent service openly acknowledge that there are differences of approach within their organisation, and appear to lack a shared way of articulating their role. The way in which the workers position themselves within the organisation also differs between the two groups: the leaving care workers talk passionately about the division between ‘us' (workers) and ‘them' (management). The specialist adolescent workers barely mention their managers, and there is little talk of a group identity (an ‘us'). These workers talk about the relationship they develop with individual young people as an intervention in itself. This relationship is conceptualised in various ways, with the clearest construct being parent-child. There appears to be a difference between the two organisations in the way in which this parent role is enacted: leaving care workers talk of an organisational corporate parenting responsibility, whilst workers from the specialist adolescent service talk more freely of thinking and acting as a good parent. In relation to their direct 1:1 work, the majority of participants describe using conversation to facilitate the development of problem solving skills, encouraging reflective thinking through the process of co-creating narrative. These emotional and cognitive skills are talked about as more valuable than specific practical independent living skills. The data suggests that emotional labour is acknowledged and managed very differently in these two workplaces. The leaving care group found it difficult to talk about the emotional aspects of their role, and this plays out in different ways in the interviews. Some participants describe struggling to manage the emotional impact of their work, otherwise struggle to articulate the emotional content of the work. As a group, they retreat from talk of emotional involvement with young people, distancing themselves by stating that it is beyond what is possible within their role. In contrast, the workers from the specialist adolescent service talk more comfortably about their emotional responses to the work: they appear to feel safer using themselves in their work, and seem better able to contain this emotional labour within the overall professional boundaries of their role. Workers talk of ‘making a tiny impact' - acknowledging the potential for their support to make a positive difference in young people's lives, whilst also highlighting the limitations of their role.

This thesis seeks to interrogate the experiences and outcomes of anti-racist social work education and evaluate the pedagogic relevance and practice utility of teaching social work students about ‘race', racism and anti-racism. A mixed methods research strategy is drawn upon to explore how professional social work training prepares students to work with ‘cultural diversity' and ‘cultural difference' and to evaluate the outcomes of teaching and learning which focuses on anti-racism. The methodological position drawn upon in this thesis is a pragmatic one (Williams, 2006), which recognises the role of both nomothetic and idiographic approaches to enabling us to describe and understand how social work students and tutors experience and make sense of anti-racist social work education and the pedagogic challenges and barriers they face to engaging with this discrete area of professional education. Anti-racism is the theoretical and conceptual focus of this thesis and it encompasses a broad coalition of different perspectives and academic interests concerned with actively identifying and resisting racism. It has been characterised as a set of disparate polycentric overlapping practices and discourses (Anthias & Lloyd, 2002), whilst exhibiting a politically committed form of practice (Bhatti-Sinclair, 2011). It has also been described as a radical and oppositional project which emphasises the need to actively identify and resist racism (Bonnett & Carrington, 1996; Tomlinson, 2002). Historically it has been associated with the politics of resistance and social movements in support of decolonialisation, anti fascism and equal rights for immigrant workers (Dominelli, 2008). Frequently, it has been characterised as reflecting a radical dualism between ‘white racism versus Black resistance' (Gillborn & Ladson-Billings, 2004). Within social work education, anti-racism despite its retrenchment and appropriation into a broad ‘anti oppressive' practice model (Williams, 1999), continues to be regarded as a progressive educational strategy which has a transformative role. It is viewed as an effective approach to challenging the attitudes and values of individual students (Heron, 2008). It can also lead to ‘perspective transformation' (Mezirow, 1981), and ‘critical consciousness' through the process of conscientization (Freire, 1970). Anti-racism is therefore considered to have a valuable pedagogic role in raising awareness of racial inequalities and the processes associated with racial exclusion, whilst also providing a wider critique of the state, its culture, its institutions, ideology, legislation and policy frameworks (Singh, 2006a). The qualitative and quantitative data presented in this thesis suggests that it is possible to discover the situated experiences of teaching and learning on anti-racism and measure how these pedagogic interventions can affect and lead to knowledge, skills and attitudinal change (Carpenter, 2005; 2011). The empirical evidence drawn upon in this thesis identifies important group differences, related to age, ‘race' and experience of working with a BME service user, which are important for understanding how anti-racist social work education is experienced differently by learners, and how it leaves a complex set footprints which enable us to appreciate how this educational intervention works in different ways for different types of students. Sometimes these differences are subtle, but at other times they are more evident and suggestive of group experiences which go beyond the individual. The empirical evidence also suggests that social work educators experience anti-racist social work education as a challenging and emotionally supercharged area of the curriculum and that their levels of engagement, preparedness and commitment is often dependent upon where they are positioned socially, culturally and politically. This thesis is important because regionally and nationally there have been very few attempts to empirically capture how professional social work training programmes accommodate and evidence ‘race' equality and cultural diversity issues (Williams et al., 2009; Williams & Parrott, 2013).