This thesis is a record of research exploring the limitations to successful policy implementation. Using Community Care as the illustrative example, it asks what these limitations might be, casting a particular light on the part played by care managers, the front-line policy implementers responsible for "needs assessments" which is a key activity in the implementation of Community Care. There is a tension in care management between the influence of procedures and the degree of discretion necessary for needs assessment to be completed effectively. In what ways, then, are policy intentions affected by the activities of care managers? Community Care is an illustration of a public policy imposed by central government through a top-down process of implementation in what is argued as a rationalist endeavour to simplify the complexities of community care and reduce it to questions of technique and structure. This attempt to present a unified conceptualisation of community care is backed by managerial procedures referred to in the public management and policy literature as "managerialism". Social work practice theory provides a third example of the rationalist attempt to simplify processes involving complex social interactions. The limitations to rationalist explanations of community care implementation and the necessity for a different kind of analysis are explored. There is a parallel with the research methodologies employed for this research. The initial interviews were helpful in revealing the degree to which policy implementation was being thwarted by care managers, but this resistance was mirrored in their rejection of my interpretation of their practice. The common thread running through the normative approach to policy implementation, management, social work practice and research methodology is an adherence to positivist forms of knowledge. The implementation of Community Care raises questions of epistemology and ontology that undermine these powerful forms of knowledge. The claim is that a different epistemology suggests practices more likely to lead to effective outcomes. An organisational orientation to effectiveness is revealed in the degree to which outcome has become wedded to techniques of scientific rationalism. A service orientation would define outcome by the degree to which the needs of vulnerable adults were met through reflection upon key relationships. The first of these is an exercise in objectivity which is not well equipped to take account of the subjective experiences of practitioners exploring needs in relationship with vulnerable adults. The service orientation suggests an experiential and participative epistemology in which people engage in the process of learning and understanding most successfully when it is collaborative rather than imposed. The second phase of fieldwork was an experiment using a method built upon a participatory epistemology and gives the reader a glimpse of what might be possible in direct contrast to rationalist approaches. Work with two co-operative inquiry groups has led me to new understandings about the nature of learning for individuals and organisations. The thesis concludes that an effective learning environment facilitating positive and reflective use of discretion can be created through co-operative inquiry, although any approach would need to include other important participants, notably managers and service users, if it is to maximise its effectiveness in the long term.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-67).

Ability and willingness to act ethically is the basis of the quality of the service in helping professions. This thesis deals with the fact which ethical principles are considered to be the most important in work of health care professionals and social workers of the civic association Prevent. In the theoretical part it is dealt with professional ethics, specifics of ethics in health care and social work, about the ethical codes of health and social workers and ethical principles of these professions. Ethics is a philosophical science that seeks to identify and justify the common and general bases which are connected with morality (culturally and historically conditioned by moral standards). The most common approach to the professional ethics is to determine generally formulated ethical principles. The formulation of the ethical principles of the profession can help to understand better the goals that have to be fulfilled. They are defined freely, so they can be acceptable to all. Their freedom is also their weak point - the acceptance of the principle does not give the instructions for a particular act, in addition to the generally accepted principles often come into dispute among them. The basic principles of medical ethics are considered the principles of non maleficience, beneficence, autonomy and justice. Banks defined similar principles for social work ? respect to the right to self-determination, support of well-being or welfare, distributive justice and equality, in the sense of non-discrimination. The practical part of the thesis presents the results of the research. Its goal was to find out which ethical principles are considered by health care professionals and social workers of the civic association Prevent the most important in their profession and how they apply these principles in practice, next to find similarities and differences in the responses of both professional groups and their clients. To achieve the goal the qualitative research was chosen. Interviews, semi-structured interview technique were used to gain the data. The sample was made up three health care professionals, three social workers and three clients civic association Prevent. The research results show that the area of ethics for health care profesiionals and social workers is a difficult topic. The interviewed professionals and clients do not realize the difference between ethics in the health and social work. All interviewees rather see the difference between professionals working with drug users, who are judged as professional and respondents are satisfied with their ethical behavior, and professionals outside the field of addiction, where they met with unethical approach ? prejudices, not respecting of the dignity, condemnation due to addiction. The social workers and health care professionals mention a number of principles which they consider relevant and important to their work. The matching answers to five basic bioethical principles and the principles of social work (non maleficience, beneficence, autonomy, justice, equality-nondiscrimination) has shown that the answers of the respondents of both professions at the same time meet the basic ethical principles of social work and bioethics. Nonmaleficience principle, which is not referred in the literature as the ethical principles of the social work, which two of the three paramedical workers and two of the tree social workers mention in their answers. The principle of the equality, is not mentioned among the basic bioethical principles, two of the three paramedical workers and two of the three social workers. Also the interviewed clients think that it is also very important and significant, the main client requirement in the area of ethics for both professions is the respect for the client, the access without prejudices. The interviewed health care professionals and social workers agree that the main way of solving ethical problems is the intervision in the team and a supervision.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references.

The aim of this thesis is to monitor the work of selected female orders in social service and healthcare and to classify the target groups that nuns work with. At the same time the thesis studies the interdigitation of spiritual life and the values of conventual order with practical nuns' work and it also monitors the experience of particular nuns relating to their work in ordinary life outside their community. An important aspect is also their concept of social work and healthcare with respect to their order and their concept with respect to secular concept. To meet the target of this thesis I have chosen a qualitative research method, particularly a half-structured dialogue method, which provided both free narration of individual nuns and possible further questions of the inquirer, which helped explain the details. In chapter "Results" there are portraits of each nun, created on the basis of half-structured dialogues. The portraits keep their authenticity, although redundant words were omitted and dialectal and colloquial expressions were translated into standard Czech. The main value of this thesis lies in the compact overview of induvidual institutions, where nuns work. These organizations are either own by particular congregations, which concern Sisters of Mercy of St. Borromeo and Congregation of the Mercy Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis under the Protection of the Holy Family in Brno, to whom these organizations were returned in the 90s of the 20th century or the nuns work in organizations that are owned by someone else, which is the case of Daughters of Charity of st. Vincent de Paul. The significant value of this thesis lies in the complete number of nuns in particular congregations, the data are clearly written in the table, created on the basis of the study of all parts of the Catalogue of the male and female congregations in the Czech Republic. Table 12 shows the number of nuns in particular congregations from the end of the 90s of the 20th century till the year 2015. Table 13 shows the number of nuns in selected congregations who work in healthcare and social service at present.

This diploma thesis is focused on social work in home hospice care. The aim of the thesis is to map and describe the specifics of social work in particular mobile hospice organization Cesta domů, z. ú.. First, a palliative and hospice care is defined in the thesis with respect to current situation in the Czech republic. In the following part I define the needs of a dying person in home care. I also discuss potential sources of financial support for the families. Part of the thesis contains investigation based on interviews with social workers from organization Cesta domů, z .ú.

The first chapter examines the relationship of the society to the seniors, perception surrounding seniors, negative and positive views of the seniors in the history, then ageism. The second chapter refers to the dependence and vulnerability as the dimension of human existence. For that reason, here is paid attention to the care of seniors, with a more detailed focus on the seniors with dementia and the senior's dying. There aren't also omitted the care of social workers and therefore is a notice of the burn-out syndrome. In the last chapter is given positive influence of autonomy and dignified approach on the success life of the seniors. Furthermore, the importance of ethical standards contained in codes of ethics and ethical theories for the correct decision and behaviour of a social worker.

The diploma thesis focuses on the cooperation and communication of a social worker in a hospital with state administration bodies when providing alternative family care. The theoretical part defines basic concepts. It also describes the role of a social worker in the hospital in the solution of alternative family care and subsequent cooperation with state administration bodies that are participants in this process. The theoretical part is divided into two chapters. The first deals with social work in general, then specifies social work in health care and in the hospital. It describes the state administration, social investigation and the process of cooperation. The second part is devoted to substitute family care and the typology of mothers.The empirical part contains research, which was attended mainly by hospital social workers who deals with alternative family care in the hospital and pass information to the state administration and the Department of Social and Legal Protection of Children. The discussion part compares theoretical knowledge from the literature with empirical knowledge obtained by quantitative research.

The thesis deals with the issue of cooperation between the health care and social care sectors in the framework of care for the elderly in the home environment. It focuses more closely on the case of the city of Prague. The aim of the thesis is to examine the current state of cooperation of the health care and social care sector in the city of Prague in the field of care for the elderly and to identify the impact of government decisions as well as decisions of individual city districts of Prague on the work of field workers. Attention is paid to the needs of field workers and to specific barriers that they have themselves identified and which, according to the workers, make it impossible to set up a functional cooperation system. On the basis of an analysis of national level documents, documents issued by the capital city of Prague or specific districts, good practice from European Union countries (namely Sweden, the Netherlands and Belgium) a set appropriate ways of dealing with the issue has been proposed.