By means of a systemic approach toward analysis and design of complex systems, we introduce the issue of implementing open computational systems on service-oriented architectures. We start by studying general systems theory, as it accounts for analysis and modeling of complex systems, and then compare three different implementation strategies toward system implementation. As such, the comparison is grounded in the notion of supporting architectures and, more specifically, in the practical case of a service-oriented layered architecture for communicating entities (SOLACE). / More material can be found on http://www.soclab.bth.se

Through practical experiences in social work we have found that siblings of children with neuropsychiatric disability are being left behind in family treatment. We have also identified  a knowledge gap through previous research in how siblings experience their role and relationships within the family. The purpose of this study is to establish an understanding of how neuropsychiatric disability affects the siblings in the family. The siblings referred to in this qualitative study, who we got in touch with through social media, have been interviewed through six semi-structured interviews. Furthermore, the answers have been analyzed through systems theory. The results show that the siblings have taken great responsibility for their sibling and taken a step back as the sibling with neuropsychiatric disability had extensive needs that required a lot of attention and care from their parents.

Social workers are responsible for rendering services to children and families who have experienced sexual abuse. These services are to a large degree guided by legislation and organisational policy, but the question arises whether all social workers perceive child sexual abuse in the same way. This is significant since the possibility that a social worker perceives child sexual abuse differently from legislation and existing policies, could lead to having an adverse effect on the rendering of services to children and families exposed to sexual abuse. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the perceptions of social work students regarding child sexual abuse by way of a descriptive qualitative research design. For the purposes of this study the non-probability sampling technique of purposive sampling was used to obtain participants. Fourth-year social work students at a specific higher learning institution were allowed to volunteer for this study and ten students agreed to participate. Unstructured in-depth individual interviews were conducted in order to explore their perceptions of CSA (Child Sexual Abuse). The data was coded into six main perceptions with their categories and subcategories. These perceptions were the following: (1) Child sexual abuse is caused by factors within the child’s ecological environment; (2) Description of the sexually abused child; (3) Description of the perpetrator of child sexual abuse; (4) Child sexual abuse is pervasive and can be characterised by the presence of specific aspects; (5) Child sexual abuse affects the child in specific ways; and (6) Children do not disclose sexual abuse. These results were presented in the format of an article with conclusions, recommendations as well as the limitations of the study. / MSW, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Social workers are responsible for rendering services to children and families who have experienced sexual abuse. These services are to a large degree guided by legislation and organisational policy, but the question arises whether all social workers perceive child sexual abuse in the same way. This is significant since the possibility that a social worker perceives child sexual abuse differently from legislation and existing policies, could lead to having an adverse effect on the rendering of services to children and families exposed to sexual abuse. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the perceptions of social work students regarding child sexual abuse by way of a descriptive qualitative research design. For the purposes of this study the non-probability sampling technique of purposive sampling was used to obtain participants. Fourth-year social work students at a specific higher learning institution were allowed to volunteer for this study and ten students agreed to participate. Unstructured in-depth individual interviews were conducted in order to explore their perceptions of CSA (Child Sexual Abuse). The data was coded into six main perceptions with their categories and subcategories. These perceptions were the following: (1) Child sexual abuse is caused by factors within the child’s ecological environment; (2) Description of the sexually abused child; (3) Description of the perpetrator of child sexual abuse; (4) Child sexual abuse is pervasive and can be characterised by the presence of specific aspects; (5) Child sexual abuse affects the child in specific ways; and (6) Children do not disclose sexual abuse. These results were presented in the format of an article with conclusions, recommendations as well as the limitations of the study. / MSW, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The study explored the narratives of three adoptive couples. The participants were selected using criterion based convenience and snowball sampling. The adoptive couples’ data was captured through written narratives and/or individual or joint semi-structured interviews. The data was then analysed by means of thematic analysis conducted from the perspective of second order cybernetics. The results note the participants’ experiences of their infertility threatened their functioning as a couple. However, this threat to the couples’ functioning was limited by the adoptions through two means. First, the adoptions limited the couples’ communication about their infertility. Second, the adoptions allowed the couples to continue functioning as a couple dedicated to the goal of becoming parents. Differences between the participant couples’ experiences surrounded their interactions with social workers; their selection of support structures; their interaction with external systems; as well as their anxiety towards the individuation of the adopted child. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

The concept of community is highly problematic in the German context. ‘Gemeinschaft’ plays only a minor role in post-1945 philosophical writing, arguably as a result of the abuse of the concept by the National Socialists (‘Volksgemeinschaft’). Two of the major contemporary social philosophies in the German language, those of Jürgen Habermas and Niklas Luhmann, are deeply critical of ‘community’. Habermas rejects ‘community’ that has not been purified by a rational filter (as opposed to what he conceives of as the ideal ‘Kommunikationsgemeinschaft’). Luhmann rejects the concept outright, arguing that it is simply ‘alteuropäisch’ (i.e. based on out-of-date philosophical assumptions), and that it has no place in the description of modern society. In contrast to these prominent dismissive positions, I argue that the concept of community is an underrated one. First, Habermas relies more heavily on the concept of community than his focus on the ‘Lebenswelt’ makes us believe. I characterise his conception as a ‘transformation’ of systems theory, because his social philosophy partly adopts systems theory, while complementing it with the aspect of ‘community’. Second, I argue that contemporary cultural theoreticians (for example, Peter Sloterdijk) take systems theory as a starting point for developing ultimately communitarian social philosophies. The concept of community proves crucial as supplementation and balancing of systems-theoretical elements in contemporary thinking. Once this transformative role is recognised, a purely historical treatment of the concept of community – one which, as in Luhmann’s systems theory, sees no place for it in present or future theory – begins to look premature.

The purpose of this study was to explore unaccompanied refugee children / young people’s experiences of support from social services in the near term after the decision on permanent residence. Previous research has focused mainly on other aspects of integration. The theoretical approach was based on systems theory and Antonovsky’s theory of SOC (sense of coherence). Four young people were interviewed. The design was qualitative with an inductive approach. The results of the interviews were divided into four themes: experienced support, expected support, participation and required support. A recurring theme in the interviews was that respondents had difficulty understanding the social services role and thus know what support they could expect. They also expressed a need for greater participation in the context of social services different decisions. / Syftet med denna studie var att utforska ensamkommande flyktingbarns/ungdomars upplevelse av stöd från socialtjänsten under den närmaste tiden efter beslut om permanent uppehållstillstånd. Tidigare forskning har framför allt studerat andra aspekter av integrationen. Den teoretiska ansatsen utgick från systemteori samt Antonovskys teori om KASAM (känsla av sammanhang). Fyra ungdomar djupintervjuades. Designen var kvalitativ med en induktiv ansats. Resultaten av intervjuerna indelades i fyra teman: upplevt stöd, förväntat stöd, delaktighet och önskat stöd. Ett genomgående tema i intervjuerna var att respondenterna hade svårt att förstå socialtjänstens roll och därmed veta vilket stöd de kunde förvänta sig. De uttryckte också ett behov av större delaktighet i samband med socialtjänstens olika beslut.

In present study interviews with five officials and the gathering of documentation carried out in a reception center for newly arrived refugees located in a medium-sized municipality in central Sweden. The aim has been on the basis of the collected empirical data to evaluate how the municipality worked to promote the integration of newcomers, what measures were available, whether there were existing goals, and how they were formulated, and the extent to which they were implemented. This constituted, together with earlier research and systems theory based framework for the study's conclusions. The study showed that communication between and within the investigated unit was partly flawed. It has also showed that there was a degree of conflict in organizational approaches within the examined entity which could cause bottlenecks in the activity. The current study also showed the difficulty in estimating the resources currently needed to cover the need of, among others, Swedish for immigrants. / I föreliggande studie har intervjuer av fem tjänstemän samt insamlande av styrdokument genomförts i en mottagningsenhet för nyanlända flyktingar beläget i en medelstor kommun i Mellansverige. Syftet har utifrån insamlad empiri varit att utvärdera hur kommunen arbetat för att främja integrationen av de nyanlända, vilka insatser som stod till buds, huruvida det existerat uppsatta mål, samt hur dessa var formulerade och i vilken utsträckning de efterlevts. Detta utgjorde tillsammans med den utvalda forskningen och den systemteoretiska basen ramverket för studiens slutsatser vilka resultat- och analysdelen grundat sig på. Studien visade att kommunikationen mellan och inom undersökt verksamhet till viss del var bristfällig. Den har även påvisat att det förekom ett visst mått av stridande organisatoriskt synsätt inom den undersökta enheten vilket kunde orsaka flaskhalsar i verksamheten. Den genomförda studien visade även på svårigheten i att beräkna vilka resurser som för tillfället behövdes för att täcka behovet av bland annat SFI-platser.

The decline in funding allocations to state-supported institutions of higher education (IHEs) in Kentucky has compelled these universities to secure alternate forms of funding to support their capacity to meet public expectations. These other funding streams include increasing enrollment numbers, securing philanthropic support, and acquiring sponsored funding for research projects and programs. While smaller statesupported IHEs face resource and credibility challenges in their pursuit to expand external funding activity, these Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs) continue to strategically bolster their respective research enterprises amid shrinking budgets and increased competition for external funds. Research administration offices are the institutional units responsible for facilitating and supporting the pursuit of sponsored research and are integral to the research missions of these ERIs as an essential structure that enhances the capacity to secure externally sponsored funding. This study explores how external and internal environmental changes influenced adaptive responses, including reconfiguring institutional policies, modifying the role of research administrators, and restructuring offices of sponsored programs to increase the amount of ERI federal research productivity and procurement. This research employs qualitative methods to gain an understanding of how ERIs adapt to a decline in state appropriations and reconfigure organizational structures and roles to facilitate adaptation. The chief research officer (CRO) and staff of sponsored programs offices (SPOs) at three purposefully selected state-supported ERIs in Kentucky were given pre-surveys and interviewed. Next numerous documents related to each site’s research enterprise were collected and analyzed to understand how sponsored program offices are structured, how duties are officially codified and delineated, and what policies are in place to govern research activity. Key findings in the study support the importance of upper-administrative knowledge building and leadership in expanding the ERI research enterprise. Additionally, strategic resource allocation, organizational restructuring, a strong policy base and a focus on research development activities are critical elements in bolstering competitive external funding procurement.

The inability of the public sector to satisfy social needs - like poverty alleviation, social inclusion of disadvantaged groups, unemployment, health and education - are redefining the relationship between the governments and their citizens by making the latter play an active role as the provider of the welfare state. Citizens through their entrepreneurial activity have been pulled to the third sector leading to the emergence of new organizational forms like social enterprises and social franchises. The main focus of this research study is the investigation of the new interorganizational format of social franchising which has received ‘scunt’ research attention up to now. The behaviour of actors and organizations in the social economy sector are influenced by the properties and dynamics of elements coming from the political, social, organizational and individual level. We have adopted a systems approach of social network theory. A grounded theory named Social Franchise Model (SoFraM) has been induced from an exploratory empirical mixed method study conducted at various stages and from different sources during a time frame of thirty months. Primary data were raised through six case studies in the UK and Greece, more than 143 interviews with social entrepreneurs and various stakeholders and three action research projects which were the subject of analytic induction supported by archival analysis of secondary data coming from governmental, European Commission, local authority and other sources. Our findings indicate that the formation, growth and success of social franchises is heavily shaped through: firstly, law, regulations, and incentives introduced by centralized or formal institutions- both supranational and national- as well as their driving logics; secondly, the relational and structural embeddedness of actors in networks and the social norms that subsequently emerge; thirdly, the characteristics of the individual social entrepreneurship profile; and finally elements of the social innovation model adopted. The properties of the system of informal or decentralised institutions of networks have been further explored through a pilot quantitative study on mainstream franchises in the UK and Greece. An online self-administered questionnaire has been created based on our conceptual framework of the Franchise Network Model (FNM) drawn from existing scales from literature. The findings indicate that relational and structural embeddedness of actors and organizations in networks determine choices of formation, partner selection, governance mode and the subsequent performance of franchise systems.