The study which is documented in this dissertation was undertaken to portray primarily, the involvement of welfare officers in the performance of administrative and management functions. The period during which the study was conducted, that is, prior to the postapartheid era, was very significant. The significance of the research period was in the sense that welfare officers of the former KwaZulu Government who were interviewed, were already critically evaluating their functions and work situation. The study provided a medium whereby welfare officers expressed the perceptions of their real and present, as well as their ideal and envisaged work situation, in the context of the post-apartheid environment. The study took cogmsance of the welfare officers' performance of their functions as public servants in the field of public administration. In the above context, the study viewed public administration as a vast field of work consisting of a number of main function-groups namely: (i) The generic administrative functions each of which has two dimensions that is: (a) the conceptual (initiatory and innovative) and directive dimension and (b) the managerial dimension. (ii) The auxiliary functions (iii) The line functions - also referred to as functional activities. Although the study focused on administrative and management functions which are reported separately, it should be noted that like in any public institution, both dimensions of generic administrative functions of welfare officers are performed along with the functional, auxiliary and instrumental activities. The ultimate aim of public administration, which is also recognised by this study, is the promotion of the general welfare of the community. The study has realised the fact that welfare officers were significant promoters of the community's welfare. For being promoters of the welfare of the community, welfare officers have the responsibility and the obligation to commit themselves to the observation of normative guidelines to ensure that their service delivery is effective and efficient. In line with the above statement, the welfare officers' observation of current and future normative factors features prominently in this study. Although responses on current and future normative factors are presented separately in this report, this study acknowledges the significance of welfare officers integrated approach to the observation of and commitment to both current and future normative guidelines. Apart from the listed examples of interviewees' involvement in performing their functions, and advantages of observing normative guidelines, detailed accounts of what were perceived as obstacles are also presented. Responses, remarks and ideas expressed by interviewees provided adequate information on which the researcher based his conclusions and recommendations. The apparent merit of this study is in its depiction and revelations of the extent and magnitude of welfare officers' functions, responsibilities, commitments and obligations. Another favourable and notable feature of the study is the fact that it was conveniently timed at an opportune transitional period whereby both the current and future work environments of welfare officers could be critically assessed, evaluated, and possibly amended. / Thesis (MPA)-University of Durban-Westville, 1995.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a recognized social problem. The IPV is common in all types of intimate relations, this essays purpose was focused on the violence performed by women against men. To find the social workers conceptions the study conducted a survey sent to local social service in Sweden. The essay had a statistic approach to visualize the social workers conceptions, and a discursive approach to focus on the language used in text answers. Different aspects of the violence were explored to find the conceptions. How the social workers explain the causes of violence related to gender, and if the social workers claim theirs knowledge about IPV is different depending of the offender’s gender. The result shows that the social workers claimed that they had less knowledge about IPV with a female offender than a male offender. When the social worker described the male victim the answers focused to the feeling of shame, which were not as connected to female victim as male. The study found that the social workers experience that they had less knowledge of IPV against men. Nearby half of the social worker claimed that they had less knowledge about IPV in relation to their job.

Šio darbo tikslas atskleisti lygtinai paleistų asmenų iš pataisos įstaigų integracijos į visuomenę teisines prielaidas ir pagalbos galimybes. Šiam tikslui pasiekti iškelti šie uždaviniai: 1. Apžvelgti lygtinio paleidimo istorinę raidą bei teisinę bazę, sukuriančią prielaidas lygtinai paleistų asmenų integraciją į visuomenę. 2. Išanalizuoti pataisos įstaigose ir pataisos inspekcijoje vykdomas socialinės integracijos ir socialinės reabilitacijos programas, suteikiančias pagalbos galimybes asmenims, lygtinai paleistiems iš pataisos įstaigų, integruotis į visuomenę. 3. Nustatyti lygtinai paleistų asmenų iš pataisos įstaigų integracijos į visuomenę teisines prielaidas ir pagalbos galimybes. Teorinėje dalyje atliekama mokslinės literatūros analizė, nagrinėjami ir analizuojami teisės aktai reglamentuojantys lygtinį paleidimą, darbas su nuteistaisiais ruošiamais lygtiniam paleidimui iš pataisos įstaigų, pataisos inspekcijos ir jų veikla dirbant su lygtinai paleistais asmenimis ir padedant jiems socialiai integruotis visuomenėje, taip pat vyriausybinių ir visuomeninių organizacijų veiklos įtaka lygtinai paleistų asmenų socialinės integracijos procese. Vykdant integraciją ir nuteistasis, ir socialinis darbuotojas susiduria su įvairiomis problemomis, todėl šiuo tyrimu norima išsiaiškinti nuteistųjų sėkmingos integracijos į visuomenę teisines prielaidas ir pagalbos galimybes. Tyrime dalyvavo dvi respondentų grupės: asmenys, lygtinai paleisti iš pataisos įstaigų ir Kauno m. ir r... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of the thesis is to reveal the opportunities and preconditions of the people sentenced on probation and to stress the aspects of the integration into the society. In order to reach the aim, two goals are identified: 1) To survey the historical development and the legal basis of the suspended sentence, giving the opportunities for the integration into the society of the people sentenced on probation. 2) To analyze the programs of social integration and vindication taking place in the institutions of the penitentiary and in the Inspection of penitentiary providing possibilities to the people sentenced on probation to be integrated into the society. 3) To define the preconditions and the opportunities of the people sentenced on probation into the society. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with the analysis of the scientific literature; legal acts controlling the suspended sentence; practical work with the people sentenced on probation and being ready to leave the places of the imprisonment; the practical activity of the penitentiary inspections with the people sentenced on probation helping them to integrate themselves into the society; the influence of the governmental and public organizations on the process of integration into the society of the people sentenced on probation. In the process of integration both a person sentenced on probation and a social worker meet with different problems. Actually, the research reveals the opportunities of help and legal... [to full text]

The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility of linking the formal social service delivery system, represented by professional social work services, with the informal system, represented by self-help/mutual aid groups. The developmental research model described by Thomas (1978a, 1978b, 1981, 1985b) was selected as appropriate to the goal of moving beyond the acquisition of knowledge to that of the application of knowledge by practising social workers for the benefit of clients. In the first part of the study the historical and social factors which contributed to the development of the self-help movement in South Africa were explored. The second part of the study focused on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Durban social workers in relation to self-help groups and established the feasibility of the proposed development. A 75,6% response was received from a questionnaire distributed to all qualified social workers in the Durban area. One hundred and sixteen social workers (51%) who indicated that they were willing to participate further in the investigation were then interviewed. Through the questionnaire and the interview, social workers became cognizant of self-help groups, the nature of their services and the range of possible roles and relationships with them. Mutual aid/self-help groups were found to be part of a strong historical and cultural tradition in South Africa. Many groups had developed as a response to the inadequacies of state welfare services. Social development and change functions coexisted with the service and citizen participation attributes of groups established in post-industrial economies. The social workers were found to have generally positive attitudes to self-help groups and to be engaged in a variety of activities in interacting with them. The conclusion demonstrates that the findings have implications: first, for social welfare policy, particularly in relation to the issue of privatisation; secondly, for social work practice, in that the linking of formal and informal services would be feasible and that the need exists for collaborative interaction between the two; thirdly for social work education which needs to combine theory-building with the application of theory in practice. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1989.

This study reviews the policy and practice of Islamic social welfare efforts in Indonesia. Findings from this study suggest that Indonesian Islamic welfare policies are ambivalent. The ambivalent character is due, in part, to the need of the government to maintain the status of Indonesia as a secular state, while at the same time, to accommodate Muslim aspirations to practice Islamic social welfare. Some Islamic welfare organizations have succeeded in combining Islamic social welfare programs with a modern social development perspective that is relevant to large national development programs. Dompet Dhuafa Republika's (DD) experience of collecting Islamic welfare funds and developing social welfare programs reveals significant potentials of Islamic welfare efforts to contribute to statutory social welfare services. These findings have shown that there is a promising prospect for Indonesia to further augment a pluralistic social welfare system.

In the aftermath of three high-profile honor killings the social service administrators became strongly criticized for their lack of skills and knowledge when it comes to dealing with honorrelated cases. In order to fix this lack of knowledge and to respond to the criticism from the society, the Swedish government allocated resources to train administrators in social services to improve their knowledge of honor-related violence and know how to handle clients who are victims of honor-related crimes. The aim of this study is to examine how social service administrators perceive their professional knowledge regarding to their work in honor-related cases. How they perceive their competence and discretion in relation to the work of honor-related problems and their perception of what resources the organization has to provide training and skill development in this area. The study shows that the social service administrators experience that there has been a development of knowledge in some areas regarding their work with honor-related cases but that there still exists an uneven distribution in terms of knowledge between small and large communities in Sweden.

Abstract: I studien undersöks hur myndighetspersoner upplever att samverkan fungerar, samt vad det finns för likheter samt skillnader på samverkan i Uppsala respektive Östersunds kommun. Dessa aktörer är betydelsefulla i arbetet med våldsutsatta kvinnor, därför är det en viktig förutsättning att ta tillvara varandras kompetenser för en god samverkan. Ämnet våld i nära relationer är fortfarande nytt för socialtjänsten, vilket gör att det finns bristande kunskap i arbetet för våldsutsatta kvinnor. Detta är en kvalitativ studie som är grundad på semistrukturerade intervjuer, respondenterna till undersökningen arbetar på socialtjänsten och kvinnofridsverksamheter. Resultatet i studien kan sammanfattas med att samverkan mellan verksamheterna och organisationerna är nödvändiga och att samarbetet leder till bättre insatser samt förutsättningar i arbetet med våldsutsatta kvinnor. Resultatet visar att samverkan inte fungerar optimalt då ansvarsfördelningen kan bli otydlig ibland samt att det behövs vissa förutsättningar som gemensamma mål, samsyn och resurser för en god samverkan. / <p>141007</p>

Research indicates that the majority of clients seeking Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services are self-referred, and that a relationship exists between self-referral and the belief that an EAP is effective. Fifty-three subjects read an advertisement proclaiming that a fictitious EAP was effective. Following the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), motivation to elaborate upon the advertisement's arguments was manipulated and two message sources (EAP clients; a fictitious professional consulting firm) were used. Although motivation had no effect on subjects' belief that the EAP was effective or their intention to self-refer, participants exposed to the less expert, trustworthy, and believable source (EAP clients) experienced a greater reduction in their self-referral intention than participants exposed to the more expert, trustworthy, and believable source (consulting firm). A positive correlation between belief in the EAP and self-referral intention was found. Implications for the ELM, EAP advertising, and research are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The study suggests that two domestic conditions are critical to foster opportunities for sustainable peace between formerly conflicting societies. The conditions are defined as social capital and political integration. These are explored in the context of Israeli and Palestinian societies following the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993 and through 1999, just one year prior to the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifada. / Social capital refers to networks of association. Strong networks of relationship are important because they are positively associated with a community and/or society's ability to foster social cohesion, to problem-solve and cope with growing uncertainty such as that exemplifying the period of transition from conflict to peace. / Income inequality is inversely related to social capital. Communities and societies characterized by growing income inequality are typified by diminishing social capital, hence receding capacity to weather the impact of major societal change. / The term political integration refers to the relationship between a government and its citizens. In politically integrated societies citizens share a sense that government is concerned with their welfare and hence their loyalty is expressed through support of the government, its programs and policies. Growing political fragmentation, a lack of abidance, and the breakdown of relationships between civil society and government mark politically disintegrated societies. Political integration is particularly relevant in the aftermath of the signing of a peace agreement when domestic sectarian divides threaten to undermine the national entity that must maintain the delicate balance attained by formerly conflicting societies. / Social capital and political integration are the outcome of greater or lesser human rights: social and economic, civil and political. The persistence of inequality, social and economic, civil and political, wears down the relationships between members of a society and between citizens and their government. / Analysis of standard social and economic indicators in Palestinian and Israeli societies suggests that despite the promised peace dividend social and economic inequality persisted and in some instances worsened between 1993 and 1999. Analysis of civil and political conditions in both societies suggests that political disintegration as opposed to growing integration characterized the six-year period.

The aim of this Australian Research Council Linkage doctoral project with industry partners UnitingCare-Lifeline Ballarat and Lifeline Australia was to investigate whether calls to Lifeline – a generalist telephone counselling and referral service – could be used as valid and reliable social indicators of health. The Lifeline Australia service receives approximately 1,000 calls a day and key details of each call are recorded on its Client Services Management Information System (CSMIS). A number of research questions directed this study: (1) What are the characteristics or attributes of callers to Lifeline?; (2) How do the patterns of calls to Lifeline vary spatially?; and (3) What is the statistical relationship between calls to Lifeline and other measures of community health? This thesis presents a detailed descriptive summary and analysis of Lifeline’s national CSMIS call data (N = 90,128 cases) from 01-04-2003 to 29-06-2003. It explores this and other sources of call data, such as the Telstra Exchange data, for their potential to be used as social indicators. The project created a model of generalist telephone counselling and referral use (MGTCRU). The MGTCRU was used as a theoretical base to a call rate indicator, named the Lifeline Indicator of Social Need (LISN), which reflects the community’s capacity to provide social support to its most socially isolated residents. The LISN was found to have useful attributes and a potential for use as a social indicator of community strength. The call rate indicator showed a statistically significant relationship with the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia, measures of socio-economic disadvantage, and suicide rates. However, the CSMIS database was found to have certain limitations. The thesis presents recommendations for this situation to be addressed. While acknowledging that there are limitations to telephone counselling call data it is clear that these call data can be used to create cost effective, rapid, reliable, and potentially valid social indicators. This thesis has made a number of significant empirical and theoretical contributions to knowledge on telephone counselling and referral. The descriptive summary of the CSMIS data provided in this thesis might be used in innovative ways by social researchers. The LISN could be used on its own or included in other social indices. The MGTCRU provides a theoretical framework for understanding telephone counselling and referral services use and may assist these services to organise their operations and meet the needs of their callers. This project may have particular application to a current upgrade of Lifeline Australia’s telephony and call data systems. / Doctor of Philosophy